In just a few hours, the time for talking will have come to an end and the time for action will have begun. Until then, boy has there been a lot of talking.
The primary aggressor has been the unlikely figure of Australia’s offspinner Nathan Lyon. He looks like a cross between the least effective person at the office and a weasel, and he is the slowest bowler in the Australian team. Nevertheless, on Monday he declared his hope that Australia would “end the careers” of English batsmen. He also suggested that Australia were trying to get Root out of the side, that Australia’s fast bowlers were the best in the world, and that England have no chance of winning.
This follows Josh Hazlewood talking about Australia trying to “open up a few scars” for the England players who toured in 2013/14. Before that, David Warner said that England should expect “war”, and that he would make himself “hate” them during the series. In all honesty, the build up has been less like a cricket match and more like Wrestlemania.
I suppose that I should be annoyed by this kind of behaviour, but in truth I can understand why they feel the need to do it. This Ashes series is not a clash of the giants. It’s not even a clash of two particularly good teams. Divorced from the historical significance of a small urn and centuries of colonial rivalry, this matchup has very little going for it. Both batting lineups have gaping holes in them and both bowling lineups are good but lacking in depth should anything happen to the starters. And in England’s case, things have already started happening to their starters.
With this in mind, I don’t begrudge the Australians trying to drum up a little interest in the game. Are they using outdated and quite frankly offensive language when doing it? Yes, of course they are. They’re Australian. But the series does need promoting and people are talking about all these ridiculous statements, so mission accomplished I guess?
Looking forward to the actual cricket match tonight, the big question seemed to be about England’s fourth fast bowler. In the warmups, the position was Craig Overton’s to lose. After having managed three consecutive ducks with the bat, and good but not great figures with the ball, he has indeed lost out to Jake Ball. Ball claims to have fully recovered from his ankle injury, although England are certainly not without form when it comes to bringing injured players back prematurely.
On the Australian side of things, Warner and Marsh both have minor injury worries, causing CA to draft Glenn Maxwell in as late cover. I’m sure I speak for all England fans when I wish Shaun Marsh a very speedy recovery.
Which brings me to our big announcement: We at Being Outside Cricket will be running a live blog through the first day’s play. The post will begin around 9.30pm and go through the night as we take turns talking about the game and whatever else comes up. It’s a whole new experience for us, so please join us if you can.
Being Outside Cricket 
Just a reminder of the way Australian media promoted The England rugby team’s tour of Australia last year.
That went well.
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The latest from Tony Greig’s legendary Bureau of Meteorology…
http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/brisbane.shtml
A bit…
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After a long period of being disengaged with the fortune of the England side, I’ve found myself surprisingly interested in tonight’s events.
“It’s not even a clash of two particularly good teams.” Agreed Danny, this in itself makes me hopeful it will be an interesting contest and somebody unexpected will stick their hand up on both sides.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Joe handles the side in the pressure cooker and following the posts (and poetry) here as a first port of call.
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I know the feeling, Riverman, and good to have you back. There’s always something exciting about the start of the Ashes Down Under. It’s memories of the cliched old transistor radio when satellite TV was something for Tomorrow’s World. It’s the knowledge during the 90s that we’d be beaten, but by a team building towards all time greatness. It’s of hating Greg Chappell and Rodney Hogg, and Dennis Lillee and John Dyson and Tony bleedin’ Crafter. It was better back then, but then again it was worse, if that makes sense.
We’ll try to keep the momentum going….
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Hi LCL. In one way I’ve never been away. I’m one of your silent subscribers. I read every post. Yes I can remember dozing off with the radio on in the knowledge that Gower had his 100.
My area of interest has been watching the county game in recent years (not the Blast) so yes I’m a purist with no truck for the new t20 comp. One of those cricket lovers who pay their county subs and try to get to as much 4 day cricket as possible given the schedule.
I’ve never had Sky but by chance or design I signed up for BT Sport a year ago. I’m really looking forward to tonight.
Good luck to you all with the live blogging.
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Our luck depends on participation. There are a lot of folk out there.
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Danny has set this up nicely. In many ways this feels like the completion of a circle for me. How Did We Lose in Adelaide had rumbled along, but only after the disastrous events of the 13/14 Ashes tour did it kick off. Originally on my own, picking up commenters along the way, we now reach the 17/18 iteration of the Ashes, with a strong writing team and great guest posters. The cadre of commenters has changed, evolved, with loyal stayers of the course and those that have drifted away. The new discoverers of our blog really make my day/week/month and if they stick, well that’s all to the good.
I think we’ve achieved something in those four years. A voice that does, occasionally, get listened to. An outlet away from the cosy consensus and mutual back-slapping of the media and their acolytes. A vent for people to rage at the dying of the light, not going gently, but putting views forcefully, powerfully and many times compellingly. This isn’t an old boys and girls club, but an opportunity to put your points out there. Given what we hear, it’s heard.
What we’ve seen in the run-up to this Ashes is a press in sit back and relax mode. It’s been a tough cycle and some haven’t made it through (although they all still seem to get some form of gig). The storm has, more or less, passed for a while. Now we have the tedious fight to save something that is only in trouble because it doesn’t make enough money compared to another format. We face a game that can go down the money route, and create a new sport, or fight to save it’s soul and cast off the people who have kept it going. There’s a lot riding on a good Ashes series for these two nations. A compelling sporting drama, with ebb and flow, would do a lot of good. Five tests of “we know who is going to win very early on” will do no-one any good.
2017 has been a hard year to blog. Sean, Chris and I have been run off our feet, or been in positions where blogging is not something we could find time for. Cricket has done its best to alienate it, as it has you. But we are, at heart, cricket fans. Let’s give this a shot. Let’s give this series our attention, critical as always, but from the heart of sport lovers who need to fight back. I am appealing to those who might not comment any more to do so. To show that the series means something still. Let us know what you think.
I write because (a) I want to and (b) I love doing it. When (b) wanes, as it has done, this becomes a job rather than a hobby (as much as I hate that word). When I see one of our main objects of derision call his podcast “Inside Cricket” you can’t help but laugh. When you hear us being told that throughout the four years that this blog was ignored by those in the media, and that you know that’s not true, and when you see some of the passionate objection to what we have done, it is worth it.
2002 saw me at the Ashes. I knew we were going to lose. It wasn’t even important in the whole scheme of things. It was adventure. Cricket inspired me to get out and about. I owe the game a lot, and it’s why I care about it, even if the powers that be don’t give a shit for the likes of me. Join us tonight, if you can, for the early exchanges. All four of us will be on at some point. If it works, we’ll do it again (possibly Friday night). But we’ll do the best we can to keep this rolling through the whole series.
We’ve been hit over 1 million times in the past four years. From absolutely nothing. Thanks Chris, Sean and Danny. Thanks to Simon, Mark and NonOxCol who have been here from the start(ish) and all the others that kept with us, and are with us now. And let’s give this series the best we can.
PS – I think we’ll lose. But this England team is mercurial. I don’t think it will be 5-0, let’s put it that way. And I do think Alastair Cook will make it 7 out of 110 or so. Just a feeling.
Peter
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Oooh Friday night when I come in from the pub could be fun. It’s the blogging equivalent of going on ebay at 3am when hammered. You poor people!
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Amen. Here’s to a good series.
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Classic muppetry.
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Despite the fact that the ECB and the cricket media have dome to make me hate cricket and this England team Iam really looking forwaor to this series. The Ahses throught the night was always special, and for me it started with the radio crackling and buzzing as you could almost feel the warmth and the heat coming through the airways. Then it was the channel 9 highlights on BBC at about 7.30pm before it all started again.
Then satellite arrived and you could watch through the night. (If you didn’t have to go to work the next day.) This coincided with the rise of the great Aussie team that dominated for nearly 2 decades. Even then we used to win the odd test match. Usually a dead rubber mind, but last time was embarrassing. There’s no KP to blame if it all goes wrong this time.
Partly one of the reasons I am excited about this is Im not sure how much longer test cricket will be around, and if it the players will be able to play it, and have the required skills with all the 20/20. So enjoy it while you can.
The beer is in the fridge……. so I will see you all later. Can’t promise I will last through the night, but let’s see how they go in the first session or 2.
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Beer? I’ve got a Red Bull IV prepared…
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Here was me wondering what a Red Bull 4 was.
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Let the carnival begin.
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Wasn’t Red Bull 4 about Helen Mirren and Robert De Niro going head to head as boxing assassins?
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Found myself getting surprisingly excited. It’s been quite a low-key summer – I’ve followed most of the cricket but not really been that engaged. But now I’m really looking forward to it.
For me, in a way this will finally draw a line under the disastrous last series down under – either through some sort of redemption story for those still playing, or finally putting to bed questions of greatness.
i just really hope for a close exciting series, and not a 3-2 scoreline where all games were innings or 300 run victories. Just one where all games are in the balance until the final few sessions.
I don’t think there is anything like this on the sporting calendar if you are a supporter of either team, not in terms of history or significance. Not even the football World Cup holds the kind of intrigue that can build up over a 2 month tour.
Really hope for positive competitive cricket, win or lose, and hope you all enjoy it too.I will be reading the posts with interest, being unable to watch anything myself and not too trusting of many more official press. Keep up the great work and hope you all enjoy the series.
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I realise the writer is the definition of Guardian Marmite…
…but I’m just savouring the imminent sulk from some of our social media friends.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/nov/22/bt-sky-england-ashes-unnameables
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It’s more like a complaint that it’s on BT than anything else. The subtext is that Sky was fine and dandy, after all she can afford it, but those rotters at BT have nabbed the rights this time. It’s not fair, wah wah wah.
Since away Tests were never broadcast on terrestrial TV, it’s a weird time to be complaining about it.
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I am seeing quite a few Sky subscribers winging because they don’t have, or can’t aford BT as well. Ordinarily I would have sympathy with these people, but many of them had no sypmpathy with those who couldn’t aford Sky. Then it was Im ok Jack f*** you. One well know cricket writer patronised these people and told them in no uncertain terms to get lost.
So pardon me if I have little or no sympathy for these “Sky selfish” creatures. They are the Mr Wengers of subscription TV. It was fine when they had the deepest pockets who could aford it. Then Russian and Arab money turned up at other clubs, and it was all whinging about how it was so unfair. “Finacial doping” Blah blah blah.
I am fortunate to be able to pay for both. Although for how much longer if they keep putting the prices up remains to be seen? I feel sorry for those that can’t aford it, but I don’t remember some of theese Sky bullies caring a jot for others.
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Its not actually difficult to add BT for either free or very little with just a little bit of effort. We managed to add it at home for a fiver and for free to my Wife’s Ipad so I can watch in bed. It just needed a few phonecalls.
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Thank god for this blog. Will look forward to reading the various comments throughout the series on here instead many of the twitter brigade trying to out-hipster each other
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I like watching Josh Hazelwood speak. He’s a side of the mouth talker with incredibly tight thin lips and has reduced the word “Australia” to even fewer letters. For Josh, it’s “Straya”. And with his side talking tight thin lips, he’s just so Strayan when he says it. Fantastic.
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And yet he’s got a name that suggests some pommie public school ponce. You can’t even make his nickname work, Hazelwoody doesn’t fly. They probably just call him Woody.
Soon they call him Mitch II.
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I’ve inadvertently got the morning off tomorrow for a hospital appointment so I will be trying to push through the first session at least. Still get ridiculous nerves before an Ashes series and this one is no different. Particularly if England are batting first…
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Newman pushing for Mark Wood’s inclusion again:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-5108499/Mark-Wood-nearing-injury-return-eyes-Ashes-place.html
There’s some new info here:
“I’ve had a series of sugar injections which sounds a bit bizarre but it’ s the sort of thing that could work long-term…. This is to do with the ligaments in my ankle. The sugar basically messes up your ligament and then it heals tighter. It was a horrible injection. I should be tough enough to deal with it being from up north!”
I’ve never heard of this process before but it sounds ghastly. Anyone know more?
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I’m guessing that Lyons outburst yesterday is an attempt to get the England batsman to try and attack him. I think that is what he and Smith want. They hope for England to commit suicide. We will see if they fall for it.
Agnew was just on 5 live saying how few test matches the Aussie fast bowlers have actually played. I get the impression England journos are getting confident. Which is always a bad sign.
Is Nasser out there with the Mail? Holt has been given a ticket for some reason no one can understand. Is Newman out there?
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Newman is out there but I don’t think Hussain is.
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Holt on Sunday. Cannot wait.
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Does he know it’s a test match and not 20/20? Perhaps he thinks he is going to write another hit piece against Morgan.
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Sky pundit predictions:
http://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/16374/11137020/sky-cricket-pundits-make-their-ashes-predictions-are-they-backing-england
(Yes, they mostly are).
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