Absolutely gutting, felt like he went for it to make up for giving away the corner first time round.
Wasn't a great header either, felt like the equaliser was coming for the entirety of added time
The 'we only need one big play to get back into this' mentality only ever works in the narrow scenario where the other Super Bowl quality team also doesn't score any points.
Personally not an outcome I'd be counting on in the biggest game of my career
What would be your thoughts on why Fraser might contribute to conceding?
He's replaced three very different players here, so it often comes with a significant personelle or formation shift?
In the second example, some spinners over-angle the seam so it's more forward-square/backward-point, and you get 'in-to-in' off-breaks, which drift in and turn in.
I think it's rare to get an off-break arm-ball that swings in, apart from Ashwin (which I have re-posted in the past)
Hi Ian, thanks for the kind words.
Yes, that's a good assesment! If you think about a right-arm off spinner, their arm ball often points straightish, but to the slips, and that swings away from a RHB.
For a stock off break, itthe seam is a lot squarer, aiming at deep-square, also drifting away
Carse making great use of the perfect overhead conditions early up to find some serious hoops
#TheAshes 🏏
It seems the mantra is to empower players to avoid 'fear of failure', and to play cricket that puts pressure back on the opposition.
It's much more about leaning into players' natural skills (which have become more attacking over time) rather than just being gung-ho all the time
🏏
A great session for England so far, Stokes and Jacks managing to put some pressure back on the bowlers by... *checks notes* ...not getting themselves out for a bit.
It's likely far too little, too late, but it's nice to see that it can be done
#Ashes 🏏
I hope anyone who was calling for more 'traditional English bowlers' is seeing how placid the non-Starc seamers are looking with this pink ball.
The fact is, you *need* higher pace in Aus to make the bounce count, and it looks like England have the better arsenal in this Test.
#cricket #Ashes 🏏
I enjoyed chatting to The Athletic a few weeks ago about the context around the next day-night Ashes Test:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
There's only a small sample size for pink-ball Tests, so it is always fascinating to see how they play out (in hopefully more than 2 days!)
#cricket #Ashes
Fair enough, but I think young players are allowed to make mistakes and say the odd stupid thing, without it undermining the whole project.
I think there has been a concerted effort to get better at that, I agree
The funny thing is, they really, really aren't, it's very media overblown.
The main principal is to empower players to play positive, entertaining cricket without fear of failure.
Doing anything different in cricket always comes with heavy scrutiny every time it isn't perfect
I've seen a lot of criticism of England being too aggressive during a flurry of wickets (and in general), which I didn't want to pass judgement on. I need to watch the full 2nd session, as painful as it might be
Not to defend England's performance with the bat, but this innings from Head shows you *exactly* how damaging an aggressive approach can be in a low scoring game.
No-one is criticising Head's shot selection because it's working. Execution, not intent, is the issue.
#Cricket #Ashes
Glossing over the first innings, it was VERY FUN to see England looks so threatening with the ball in an away Ashes series
Pace, accuracy, skill. It's been a long term plan to have this many high quailty options, and it's finally coming to fruition
#Cricket #Ashes
If I get time, I'll post my 5 Things to Watch Out For in this series too, but that might be a 2am kind of post
With the #Ashes round the corner, and some new followers as a result, it's time repost this from the 2023 Ashes:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/2023-ashes...
Your guide to navigating talk of conditions, the 'new Kookaburra ball' and other theories on swing bowling!
#Cricket 🏏
Boosting these as The Ashes fast approach. 2 cricket starter packs including official accounts, journalists, bloggers, enthusiastic amateurs and passionate followers.
We don't like cricket, we love it!
Check out the Cricket feed too, use the 🏏 to help separate from the insect or #Cricket #TheAshes
Really enjoyed chatting to The Athletic on the (lack of) impact of 'overhead conditions' in cricket:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...
A pleasure meeting @nallum.bsky.social too, who approached the problem from a different perspective, but firmly joins the 'Look Down, Not Up' brigade
#cricket
Linsey Smith out in the middle for England at No.10, which makes her the first left-handed batter to face a ball at a World Cup for England Women since Lydia Greenway in 2013.
By ending 5*, she becomes England's fifth-highest left-handed run-scorer at Women's World Cups, ever.
The organisation of this entire Women's Cricket World Cup cycle has been a farce from start to finish, but because no-one cares about cricket administration, it has largely passed completely under the radar.
A dark, overcast Day 1 of a Test match? Time to repost my blog on cloud cover:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#ENGvsIND #cricket
Some late-stage Test match thoughts from me on some of the cold adages in cricket, why we shouldn't always trust them, and how to actually think about 'overheads':
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#cricket #ENGvsIND
Haha, I think some reverse swing is the one thing this series is missing!
There are definitely some factors for drift around bowling speed and ball condition that haven't been that well researched yet, but Washington's drift numbers are super impressive
Here's a repost of my thread on drift and how it works too, for anyone who missed it the first time!
#cricket #ENGvsIND
With all the talk in this Test match about Washington Sundar's drift, it's a good time to reshare my blog on the science of drift, and how it actually works:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
TL;DR: It's more about seam position, and less about revs, than you likely think
#cricket #ENGvsIND
I love to hear Ponting compare Archer to Steyn in terms of lowering his pace to move the new ball, then cranking it up later in an innings.
It's a rare skill to be able to do both, and often gets lost when people see Jofra bowling 93mph+. He's more than just an out-an-out pacer.
#ENGvsIND #cricket
Yeah, I don't think this is the case. Wobble seam deliveries don't seam more (in fact their average deviation is a lot less because they regularly miss the seam), but it's the variation in movement that is difficult to play.
I do thing they often have lower spin, but not something I've researched.
It's an interesting one, for one, Bumrah just hits the seam more often than anyone. I think it's the extra rotational energy on impact that helps the seam 'grip', as it were, causing it to 'jag' a bit more.
Though I think the ball-pitch interaction is understudied, and not my area of expertise!
Really important piece from @hganjoo.bsky.social on what makes Bumrah not only exceptional, but also so *different*.
A truly unique bowler, who is joy to watch, even when he is playing against your team!
#cricket #ENGvIND
www.espncricinfo.com/story/how-bu...
