Mr Hankey

Couldnt quite believe some of the responses to his display on saturday…..i thought first half he was quality, they just kept him quiet throughout the second, but thats otib for ya!

Did think he seemed a bit “off” from the limited time we saw him on the pitch on Saturday….didn’t quite seem as sharp as we are used to seeing him, so could well be something that has carried over from the pre-season knock that has just led on to this. Massive shame for him & us.

Oh i’m not saying our summer has been bad at all, i think it has been very good, but considering i had no idea until half hour ago that they had signed Josh Bowler & Karlan Grant (i know he had a bad year last season but he knows where the net is) just imagine how delighted we would of been with them 2 with a bit of Aaron Ramsey chucked in……his legs can’t be anymore passed it than Andy King’s! We would be pretty confident of a very good season. Not sure how they are going to get away with it, unless they win promotion? Something about a Turkish manager doesn’t scream success to me however. Hopefully it all goes tits up.

Im shocked at their signings, they have had a better summer than us which seems absurd considering the restrictions they should be under!

Think Ayling is going to struggle big time this season, looked shot last year and is getting on a bit, no pace left in him.

Yeh you are correct on that one, forgot that he was a left-sided defender, probably not where we would need any further cover.

I think Ciaran Clark, depending on his fitness & wage demands, would be an outstanding signing for a season or 2.

Thats one of the things that crossed my mind after hearing. Can’t remember watching too much of him in real life, but always used to sign him. RIP Chris.

Yet they let Boland terrorise our batters in Edgbaston when the light was awful and it was raining, umpires seem immune from criticism in cricket, but more consistency is very much needed.

Not sure if i will ever forgive Ollie Robinson’s bowling in the first test against Lyon & Cummins after this…..such a shite way for it to end

So the Aussies are going to go with Travis Head as their main spinner, maybe with Marnus pitching in as well? Seems a bit odd that……not sure why Cameron Green has been chucked straight back in, he hasn’t looked very good to me this series, but we’ll take it!

Both of them are god awful & always have been, that Kaveh is an absolute weapon, just have a read of what Crystal Palace fans think of him. They are both part of the main reasons why sky sports news is such a joke these days and why you can’t trust a word of their “sources” when it comes to transfers - many years back sky sports were always the most reliable and trustworthy before those 2 got more involved.

Goodbye, Alex

As @And Its Smith said, just wouldn't be possible due to the bowlers, if he wasn't keeping wicket he was out. Whilst i agree i would like to see him without the pressure of being keeper it just wasn't going to happen.

Didn't think they would drop Bairstow, especially after we won. However, he looks completely shot to pieces so can't see anything changing for him in the next 2 tests, apart from more misery..........sorry for the dampener! Hope he proves me wrong.

This will be done by 4pm, no chance of it going until tomorrow.

Crawley either won’t learn or more worryingly can’t learn.

Peter Whittingham by a country mile.

Be a shame if Tongue is rested. He is very erratic & can be what you need to break down a settled partnership. Robinson just adds nothing for me, i expect the Aussies would be much happier facing his slow bowling than god knows what coming at them from Tongue.

Am i being far too optimistic to suggest that i am confident that if we bowl them out around 350-365 that i think we will chase them down…….is it just me??? ?

Yeh i think you are right there, they will certainly be discussing how to make things better or when they need to change thier approach, i think some people think that Stokes and Baz are just saying “be aggressive, whack anything you can!” but of course they will be talking & looking at things to make it better. Was surprised by Stokes, the one player that i didn’t expect to be the anchor! He did very well to keep things ticking over with Brook.

All for Bazball, but sometimes you just dont need to force it. The pitch is/was there for runs all day long no matter how you bat. My issue with yesterday is that when Lyon was injured, all they had to do was calm things down for 7 or 8 overs and just let the bowlers tire themselves instead of looking for the shots - it turned out Australia set their traps perfectly to get the wickets, particularly Root’s. Still think we will at least draw level, maybe even slightly ahead after our innings, but we missed out on a chance to put some real pressure on the Aussies. It’s still looking decent to me, but could of been a lot better had we played a little bit smarter at times. I certainly don’t want them to change their approach, but yesterday does feel like a missed opportunity at the moment if they just played the conditions at times, fingers crossed it all goes well today.

Think he will end up at West Ham, especially now Rice has gone. Would be a great move for him & should get us a good fee. Perfect stepping stone to move on again in another 4 years should he carry on developing the way we think he will.