OMG. England just don't know when to lay down. One wicket remaining and 74 runs required. One of the greatest test match innings by an Englishman. Arise Sir Ben...
Was watching it live and consistently said as long as they have Stokes they have a shot. I don't know why we didn't bowl more yorkers at them in the final overs. Good show, Poms. Now let's see how you do against that team plus Smith, arguably the best test batsman of the modern era.
On this topic I have been consistent - Bancroft's conduct was unacceptable, Smith and Warner's foreknowledge of it was unacceptable. At the time I advocated for a lifetime ban for all 3 from test cricket. Nevertheless, we went with the greatest penalty ever handed down for ball tampering. We took the greatest player of the modern era out of the game for 12 months and are heavily handicapping ourselves by having a useless captain in Paine for 12 additional months. Chatter has been around removing Smith's 12 month ban from leadership positions, a move I have consistently opposed. Plenty of high profile players have been caught ball tampering and it has resulted in nothing near the coverage of this, nor anywhere near the penalty. This includes cricketers as diverse as: - Tendulkar - Du Plessis - Philander - Anderson - Broad - Atherton - The 2005 English test side - The same South African side we cheated against, in both 2014 and 2016. Admittedly they are handicapped due to racial quotas, but still - there is no excuse. And unlike in all of these cases, we handed down significant punishments. So when someone says "you cheated!" I can at least stand proud that we took a strong stand, unprecedented in the history of the sport.
Well we'll see how that team does against arguably the best bowler in the modern era with the return of Anderson. The real winner here though is test match cricket. If Australia had won and retained the Ashes the last two matches would have been meaningless but now we are set for a real contest. The world cup win with its unbelievable final is all well and good but the 5 day game is still the greatest form of cricket. Roll on Old Trafford...
Whatever bans were/were not handed out is what happened and we accept the actions taken. Trying to justify Smith's ban by saying that others weren't punished enough or at all, is a different point. Still, now the ban is over he can carry on playing, and hopefully he won't cheat anymore.
Arguable? Yeah, I don't doubt that. But I think the situations are different. For instance, Warne has played 4 less test matches, with far more wickets and a better economy, despite admittedly bowling more deliveries. There is much more of a case for Smith than there is for Anderson. Indeed, Smith even smashes the rest of the top end of the record list in innings batted. I agree emphatically. I was secretly going for the Brits for this very reason. This has been one of the most exciting test matches in years, with plenty of twists and turns. Good show old chap! I'm not justifying anything, I'm saying I would have banned him, Warner and Bancroft for life if I could have, but as it is us Australians have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of as we set the standard on punishment for this sort of cheating. Bancroft, and to a slightly lesser extent Smith and Warner do indeed have a lot to be ashamed of, but I think they're doing the right thing at the moment. I'd bet my mortgage Smith won't cheat again, but only time will truly tell.
Want to make it really interesting? A little wager. You're an Aussie so I know you like a bet. Australia win the series and I have to eat Vegemite until the next Ashes down under. England win and you have to eat Marmite. You in?
Works for me, why not haha If we draw do we both eat or neither? If we tie I reckon we should eat the bottles too.
If we draw the test series we carry over the bet to the one day matches. If we tie both remaining tests we both have to emigrate to New Zealand or Wales and take up their pastime of sheep shagging.
Jimmy Anderson has been ruled out of any further involvement in the Ashes series. This is a massive blow. The odds of me having to eat Vegemite for the next 2 years have been greatly increased. Archer and Broad are going to have to step up to the challenge. Expect to see bouncers and swing bowling galore. Time for our opening batsmen to earn their crust as well. Hopefully Sir Ben's great form will continue.
Oh well, Australia retain the Ashes. I've not quite given up on retaining my Marmite yet though. Just got to win the last Test and then win the one day series.
