After listening to the recent TGC podcast which recapped the England's humiliating performance in the 3rd Test, Sam Perry comically implied that the
>Border-Gavaskar Trophy ('BGT') currently has a greater significance than the Ashes.
Growing up watching and idolising great Ashes performances from both Australian and English greats such as Steve Waugh , Punter, Johnson, McGrath, Warne, Flintoff, Cook, Trott, Pietersen et al , the Ashes were symbolised as the pinnacle for both Australian and English cricket , or even the pinnacle for Test cricket.
However the recent performance of the English team questions the validity of the Ashes as the pinnacle of Test cricket. It is safe to forecast that the English Test team is not going to improve dramatically within the next couple of years. As many pundits believe that the Test team's failures in the recent year is a systematic failure of the ECB's management in developing batsmen in their First Class County program.There is a high possibility that Australia will safely retain the Ashes for another 8 years after England's systemic batting woes.
With the recent rise of India's red ball program (the 'Asian Century') which is now under the guidance of Dravid, Is it fair to say that the BGT is now the pinnacle of Australian cricket until England presents a competitive red ball squad for the Ashes ? Thoughts ?
Planning to go to the ashes one day in Melbourne
Does Root need to relinquish the captaincy? If so who replaces him?
Does Silverwood need to be replaced? If so who replaces him?
What players need to swapped out, and who is worth persevering with?
As an English fan, its depressing that there are no real answers to any of the above, beyond the obvious of maybe playing our best keeper in Foakes, and thats before you talk about all the changes that need to be made in the County game to ensure that test match quality players are coming through. There legitimately needs to be a generational shift.
Having missed out on 19 I am so glad I decided to ignore the reviews and pick up the game on the PS5. the players feel so much more grounded and have a weight to them, the animations for batting and bowling are much smoother and it's overall a big upgrade in my opinion. Aside from a few rough edges, if you're on the fence about the game I'd say pick it up and see for yourself, it's really not bad at all!
This is why the Ashes is the pinnacle of cricket.
No other series will have a finish that intense to a rain-affected dead rubber match. Hell, in any other series probably Bairstow doesn't bat with his injury.
But it's the Ashes, so every game matters.
Congratulations to Australia for absolutely wrecking the English in the 2021-22 Ashes series.
In the interest of bat-and-ball sport synergy, let's remember the day that cricket's best batsman met baseball's best batter.
Don Bradman, owner of [the greatest career batting average](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batting_average_(cricket) in Test cricket, was on a sort of "working honeymoon" in the (northern hemisphere) summer of 1932, touring the United States and Canada. On July 20, he took in a game between the White Sox and Yankees in New York. The Yankees won 7-2. Babe Ruth, who was out of the lineup due to injuries, hosted Bradman in his private box. The details of the meeting may have been exaggerated (or just invented) by an excited sports reporter, but the following is alleged to have occurred:
-
Bradman exclaimed "By Jove, a double play!", surprising Ruth, who had expected to have to explain the action on the field to his guest. (This could actually be true; there were two double plays in the game.)
-
Ruth joked about the fact that Bradman was a relatively small man, saying "I thought you were a husky guy. But we little fellows can hit 'em harder than the big ones."
-
Ruth was shocked to learn that, in cricket, "sometimes you don't have to run when you hit the ball."
-
Ruth promised to give cricket a try (see above, re: not always having to run when you hit the ball). He later begged off when he learned how little cricketers were paid at the time.
The next day, The New York Times referred to Bradman as "the wild man of the wicket" and "the ring-tailed wallaby of the cricket crease."
The two men never met again, but were later connected by a coincidence: Bradman's last innings took place just two days before Ruth's death in 1948.
Starts at midnight CET tomorrow I think. I know Belushi’s is an option but is there anywhere cooler? Bit of Soul Limbo at +8 to keep us going at lunch?
