Tomorrow at 10:00 am (midnight today GMT and Zulu) the first Ashes Test will begin at The Gabba in Brissy, just down the track from Boadicea and me. Weather permitting. We’re in one of our rainy years (La Niña), so getting rained off is quite a possibility. Fingers crossed – “she’ll be right!”
As you all will probably remember, I lost interest in Aussie cricket after Sandpapergate. Players, Management and all the hangers-on. I have followed a few games recently – WCT20 was, I have to admit, quite fun – but not to any depth. But time has passed and it is the Ashes after all, so I guess I’ll be watching every ball, as usual.
Tim Paine has gone; jumped just before he was pushed out of a post he should never have held. CA knew and must recognise that they have brought Australia into an even worse position by appointing him. The same goes for Langer, who is still insisting that Paine will be back – not a hope, in my view.
As far as the new Captain is concerned, well, nice lad, good bowler, handy bat, but is he ready for the top job? Time will tell. Smith as vice-captain – totally wrong in many ways. Carey? OK as a reasonable wicky, but others are at least as good. I would have preferred Matty Wade, but there you go . . .
The rest of the squad is sort of OK, but Mitch Starc must be on his ninth life – it’s perform or retire, I reckon. His wife’s much better, of course.
It’s nice to see a few names I recognise in the England team – Joe Root, Broad, Anderson (who will miss the first test ‘cos he’s strained his calf in the nets), all of whom can be match winners all by themselves when the mood takes them. As a group, formidable.
The only other thing I’ve learnt is that, apparently, allegedly, the entire Yorkshire Club is a hotbed of racist, fascist bullies and all three coaches have buggered off. I don’t believe a word of it – it’s hard enough to understand anything a Yorkshireman says, even when he’s sober. And that’s quite rare. 😎
Putting all contentious things to one side, lets hope we enjoy a series of spectacular cricket. Who’s going to win? Haven’t the faintest! Cummins or Root? Well, one of ’em, I’m sure.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Strewth!
First ball of the series, Starc sent the opener’s leg stump flying! No call for his retirement – time for the doubters to shut up (and that includes me).
All our guys did well, rather to my surprise. Joe Root should have listened to Ian Healey’s advice and not chosen to bat when he won the toss, but to be fair Cummins said that’s what he would have done too.
A lot can happen in the next three innings, I know, but that’s a pretty impressive start. Massive thunderstorm throwing a tantrum from the Gabba to here, hope it clears smartish.
Help ma Boab!
Now if we were playing snooker I would be giving it yaldi but watching that I’m all my eye and Peggy Martin. Nothing like mixing dialects to deflect from the score. And what’s wrong with Emmerdale any way?
Nope, day 1 to the Aussies. Your bowling attack is too fierce for our batsmen. Dream start for big Pat and my McGrathian prediction could be inverted. The coverage on UK TV pre-match showed Steve Harmison’s opening delivery in Ashes 2006/2007. What a contrast with Starc’s.
Oh well. any chance of rain, rain, rain, rain for the next four days, Bearsy?
You certainly mixed ’em up there Royalist! And I do believe it’s Betty Martin – which left me even more confused than you intended! I had to look up one or two of your comments!
Woolloongabba weather forecast for Thurs & Friday: possible Thunder storms; Sat: Sunny; Sun: possible showers…
England might get lucky!
The other night I was watching a rerun of an episode of “Last of the Summer Wine” in which two of the characters, Compo and Clegg, were attempting to persuade a third rather stiff and pretentious fellow that the Yorkshire Gods, especially one called Earnshaw, should not be mocked. So a comment like yours, Bearsy, about the incomprehensibilty of Yorkshire men, even when sober, seems to me to be tempting fate. I’m sure there must be at least one Yorkshire player in the Ashes squad, accompanied by a guardian god who may not take kindly to disparaging remarks. Where do you think the thunderstorm came from, though admittedly a bit late in the day?