4th test: England v South Africa at Old Trafford, Aug 4-8 2017

[TheParraboy]

Day 1 - poms won toss and elected to bat

6/260

no philander for SA, dekock to bat at 4

 

[hineyrulz]

Day 1 - poms won toss and elected to bat

6/260

no philander for SA, dekock to bat at 4

Was the deck a road??? Or Plodlander was really injured???

 

[Tommy Smith]

Lol Keaton Jennings.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood will abuse him like he's David Warner touring the subcontinent.

I'm honestly not sure which odds are the most delicious I've ever seen - Australia @ $1.57 for the Ashes or Winx for the Plate @ $1.60.

Put your life savings on the multi because if we don't lose 5 nil I'll be shocked.

 

[hineyrulz]

Lol Keaton Jennings.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood will abuse him like he's David Warner touring the subcontinent.

I'm honestly not sure which odds are the most delicious I've ever seen - Australia @ $1.57 for the Ashes or Winx for the Plate @ $1.60.

Put your life savings on the multi because if we don't lose 5 nil I'll be shocked.

Good to see you being cocky and confident before the tour has started

 

[Tommy Smith]

Haha man I haven't dreaded an Ashes series like this since about 2002/2003.
I can't see anything other than a 4 or 5 nil flogging.

Our main wicket taker atm is Moeen Ali and I can't remember the last time a good touring spin bowler wasn't pasted in Australia, let alone a bad one.

Kumble in 04? Otherwise they all get wasted.

And our two mainstay quicks are older and less threatening than they used to be.

And don't get me started on our top order batting.

If we even manage to draw the series it'd be as big a shock to me as Leicester winning the EPL.

Gutted the pay dispute was sorted. Was our only hope.

 

[Twizzle]

giving up already ?

 

[Tommy Smith]

Yes.

I'm not looking forward to it at all.

 

[jargan83]

Bairstow going the tonk

 

[jargan83]

Lol Bairstow out LBW on 99

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Jimmy Anderson has had an end of the ground named after him.

The bellend.

 

[TheParraboy]

Jimmy Anderson has had an end of the ground named after him.

The bellend.

Im sure we can name a ground in Australia for him too at his last test here

The End

 

[Twizzle]

The Poms fight back

 

[Das Gupta]

You wonder how much of a better batsmen Bairstow could become if he gave up the gloves. He would have more time just to work on his batting. It would surely strengthen England's batting as well if he moved up to 3 or 4 and Buttler came in for the gloves. Buttler would be a better batsmen than some of the other mugs they have had in this series.

 

[JJ]

Moeen Ali is a modern great, giant of the game - South Africans and Australians alike fear him

 

[Das Gupta]

Moeen Ali is a modern great, giant of the game - South Africans and Australians alike fear him

Yep on pommy pitches he is a weapon.

 

[Mr Spock!]

This Saffer team is very average....

 

[Twizzle]

gee Ali is in some form, not sure if he will be able to bowl like that on our pitches tho

 

[hineyrulz]

Gee the Saffers have turned to Dogshit pretty quickly.

 

[Timbo]

If Moeen Ali and Toby Roland-Jones are in their four frontline bowlers this summer, we will eat them without salt.

Fine cricketers, not suited to our pitches or conditions.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

If Moeen Ali and Toby Roland-Jones are in their four frontline bowlers this summer, we will eat them without salt.

Fine cricketers, not suited to our pitches or conditions.

Never a truer statement.
I don't believe we have the bowlers that suit the conditions out here that can take 20 wickets a match.
We will have our moments with the ball but I can't see us being a dominate threat needed out here.Pace and bounce is the rule out here not seam and swing. Australia is too tough to beat at home unless you have a team that is very good (which we aren't) or Australia has a team that are hopeless. Which they are not.
Our bowlers possible lack of success out here doesn't include our fragile batting line up atm confronting Stac, Hazelwood etc on their decks.
The ashes will be all over weather permitting by Perth.