The Ashes | 2025-26 | 5 tests | Nov 21 to Jan 08 | Discussion Thread

[Gollum]

Good news is that now, Poms, Kiwis, WIndians all have test wins in Aus in the last 15 years. NZ famously won in Hobart 2011 to draw that series. 

 

Pak, SL still zero......at least Lankans have that 2-0 win in RSA and 2014 Eng win to be happy about, nothing for Pooks. 

Edited December 27, 2025 by Gollum

[Gollum]

Last year MCG test, Jaiswal scored 80s in both innings. Unlucky run out once, and a controversial caught behind (possible snicko error) in the other.

 

Looked at the scorecard, in 2nd innings India got shot out for 155, Jaiswal 84, Pant 30, nobody else reached double digits. One man scored 60% of runs from the bat that innings (12 extras) and was the 7th wicket to fall, insane potential he has. Will be Indian cricket's biggest loss if he doesn't achieve his potential. 

[Lone Wolf]

10 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Good news is that now, Poms, Kiwis, WIndians all have test wins in Aus in the last 15 years. NZ famously won in Hobart 2011 to draw that series. 

 

Pak, SL still zero......at least Lankans have that 2-0 win in RSA and 2014 Eng win to be happy about, nothing for Pooks. 

Pooks could have won in Centurion boxing day test last year... But such is the Bavuma voodoo.. that Rabada pulled off a peak Klusner type inns Outta nowhere to deny them a outright win.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2025 by Lone Wolf

[Gollum]

2 minutes ago, Lone Wolf said:

Pooks could have won in Centurion boxing day test last year... But such is the Bavuma voodoo.. that Rabada pulled off a peak Klusner type inns Outta nowhere to deny them a outright win.

Twice in last 12 months, Rabada has won them tests against Pak, with the bat. 

 

Lord Bavuma is yet to lose a test. Beat Aussies in Lord's in an ICC final, humiliated India in India. Would have 13/13 wins as captain but for rain in a match in WI. 

 

Imagine a silent, 5 ft taklu guy having such aura !!!!

 

[Gollum]

@Lone Wolf, don't see Aussies beating this RSA side next year, even at full strength. May win a test on the back of something special by Head/Carey, but RSA has too much quality for them. RSA is probably the first side in history to bat all the way to number 11, and a generational pace attack, led by a brilliant captain, coach is also fire. Even their spinner (Harmer/Maharaj) is better than Lyon presently, which will be a first in Aus-RSA rivalry. 

[Gollum]

Terrible for fans. Last Sunday of the year, vacation mode, MCG test day 3 with match evenly poised, that is what all cricket fans deserved. Instead for the second time this series, we have had a 2 days finish. 

[Gollum]

Usually we have Boxing Day tests in Aus, RSA, NZ.

 

But this year, no more test cricket. 

 

Next year, we will again have 2 Boxing Day tests, Aus vs NZ, RSA vs Eng. 

[Talkie]

Australia fumbled an easy 5-0 by preparing this pitch

[Talkie]

18 hours ago, The Hound said:

Misfortune of Root and other current day batters that they have to play on such spicy wickets in AUS. Pitches in 90s & 2000s used to be flatter than highways. 

2000s were highways. 90s were tougher than today

[Lone Wolf]

59 minutes ago, Gollum said:

@Lone Wolf, don't see Aussies beating this RSA side next year, even at full strength. May win a test on the back of something special by Head/Carey, but RSA has too much quality for them. RSA is probably the first side in history to bat all the way to number 11, and a generational pace attack, led by a brilliant captain, coach is also fire. Even their spinner (Harmer/Maharaj) is better than Lyon presently, which will be a first in Aus-RSA rivalry. 

Depends on Pitches tbh SA pitches can be lottery.

Australian pace attack will enjoy those conditions.

It will be a close series either way.

[Nikhil_cric]

Ridiculous, lottery pitch. 

 

 

[rollingstoned]

2 hours ago, Gollum said:

Good news is that now, Poms, Kiwis, WIndians all have test wins in Aus in the last 15 years. NZ famously won in Hobart 2011 to draw that series. 

 

Pak, SL still zero......at least Lankans have that 2-0 win in RSA and 2014 Eng win to be happy about, nothing for Pooks. 

Pooks have 2 drawn series in England under Misbah last decade. It's not a series win but one was in a 4 match series. 

 

Edited December 27, 2025 by rollingstoned

[Gollum]

11 minutes ago, rollingstoned said:

Pooks have 2 drawn series in England under Misbah last decade. It's not a series win but one was in a 4 match series. 

 

They did very well in that 2016 series. 2-2 against Cook's side was impressive. Eng also had a mental block against them, lost in 17 CT as well as 19 WC to them. 

[Nikhil_cric]

5 minutes ago, Gollum said:

They did very well in that 2016 series. 2-2 against Cook's side was impressive. Eng also had a mental block against them, lost in 17 CT as well as 19 WC to them. 

No Stokes or Anderson in that first Test which they won. 

 

A good series but they had their fair share of luck. 

[Lone Wolf]

18 minutes ago, rollingstoned said:

Pooks have 2 drawn series in England under Misbah last decade. It's not a series win but one was in a 4 match series. 

 

One was under Sarfaraz I reckon.. before that series they played a test match in Ireland.. which was incidentally first ever test match for the Irish.

Pooks got good preparation and they demolished England in Lords..

Bobzy the king did well.

[vvvslaxman]

3 hours ago, Nikhil_cric said:

The reason they struggle is not because of technical issues. It's because Australian wickets are the toughest wickets to bat on nowadays. 

 

Perth, Gabba and MCG have seen the most seam movement among all venues in the world in the last 5 years. 

 

Near impossible levels.

 

Nobody can bat consistently on such wickets - regardless of technique when the ball seams significantly.

 

This is a bowling era because pitches are being curated a particular way in order to maximise WTC points. 

 

None of the batters from 2005-2019 would have made significant runs on some of the pitches being tailored these days. 

 

Leaving 10 mm grass on a pitch like MCG is ridiculous. 

 

It becomes a bowling shootout and you need lots of luck in terms of toss and in terms of looking to bat aggressively and hoping that it pays off. 

 

Also, it's even harder now because the kookaburra ball swings/seams and holds shape for much longer than it used to before 2020 after they improved it.

 

Bowling attacks are also bowling quicker and more accurate with wobble seam deliveries galore. 

 

Back in the day, only a few like Pollock, Ambrose and Walsh, Asif, Stuart Clark etc knew how to bowl it. Every other domestic bowler bowls it now.

 

Batting techniques have next to nothing to do with batting collapses these days. 

 

The few times batsmen have got flatter pitches with less grass they have scored heavily everywhere, notably the England series earlier this year. 

 

Otherwise, on greenish pitches with this new kookaburra ball and with 4 seamers bowling wobble seam, every other team will lose more than half their side before the 40 over mark. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex carey looked far better than most of their top order abtsman.  Let us say this is a washed up unit that will struggle in msot places in the world. Head was averaging in the 40s coming into this series for this season. They need to revamp the unit for once. They may get away from this

 

Australia Great Throws 'Modern Batters' Under The Bus As Boxing Day Test Ends In 2 Days

 

Former Australia fast bowler and Test double centurion Jason Gillespie has expressed serious concerns over the mindset and preparation of modern-day batters, questioning their willingness to put in the hard yards to improve technique, especially in testing conditions. Gillespie was disappointed with the overall batting display from both sides, insisting that the conditions were challenging but far from unplayable. "My overriding feeling is the batting hasn't been as good as it could be," Gillespie said on ABC Sport during the Boxing Day Ashes Test

 

 

"I can't believe what I've seen to be honest. Yes there's movement off the surface and a little through the air. But I wouldn't say there's demons in the surface," he added.

Gillespie feels modern batters are too quick to accept dismissal rather than fight through tough phases.

"It just seems to me the modern batter, the moment there's any sideways movement there's this saying of 'there's one with my name on it so make the most of it'. I'm not quite sure that's the right approach," he noted.

The former Australian seamer also questioned current training methods, wondering whether batters are avoiding uncomfortable practice conditions, "Are modern batters batting enough on surfaces that favour bowlers in practice or do they just go and have the easy throwdowns as opposed to a good hard contest in training?"

According to Gillespie, meaningful improvement only comes through struggle and problem-solving.

"That's how you learn, work out solutions, problem solve, work out strategies. We certainly haven't seen any of that," he said.

England's batting has repeatedly faltered under pressure in the ongoing series.

A similar pattern has been visible in India as well, particularly in home conditions where spin-friendly pitches demand patience and sound technique. On several occasions, Indian batters have thrown away their wickets instead of grinding it out.

In an era dominated by aggressive strokeplay and quick scoring, Gillespie's remarks serve as a reminder that Test cricket still rewards discipline, resilience, and the willingness to endure tough spells at the crease.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

 

[vvvslaxman]

Australia should revert to medium roads.

[goose]

what a let down. i dont buy it's all the fault of the pitch for once second. there's a race to the bottom in batting standards. 

[vvvslaxman]

Just now, goose said:

what a let down. i dont buy it's all the fault of the pitch for once second. there's a race to the bottom in batting standards. 

Cam Green was a classic example. Boland looked more assured than him.

[Gollum]

46 minutes ago, Nikhil_cric said:

No Stokes or Anderson in that first Test which they won. 

 

A good series but they had their fair share of luck. 

Usually rare for teams to field their best XIs every single time in a long series. 

 

Pak had good showings in Eng in 2010 (both against Eng and Aus), 2016, 2018. Won 2017 CT, had a creditable 2019 WC campaign where they beat both NZ and Eng. They have good memories in England, may change this decade.