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Stuart Broad

It’s over and done within three days of the 5th and final Ashes Test at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, Australia began Day 3 still on their 3rd innings spell on 37-3 where Keeper Alex Carey extended their lead to 270 after being all out for 155.

England then have to respond the 271 target to win not long after lunch, Unfortunately, they weren’t up to the task despite a good opening partnership as they are bowled out for 124 & Australia win by 146 runs + wrap up 4-0 in the series.

England disappointed once again when they showed some fight especially with the ball on hand, Stuart Broad can still be a threat to the opposition at age 35 alongside Mark Wood, who is outstanding, where he collected 3 wickets in the 1st & six in the 3rd innings.

Credit to Sam Billings filling-in the gloves for Jos Buttler as well as Zak Crawley with his numerous catches & 2nd innings spell as Opener on 36, however, the rest just couldn’t face up to the standard set by Australia which is where they were eaten up this quick before it was too late.

And Australia, how good is it to wrap up a 4-0 clean sweep with their 150th Test victory v England. Although there’s still some room for improvement from their Top 4 batsmen, but there’s a few that stood out amongst the Starting XI where they turned the tide and made their way towards the homestretch.

The fast bowling cartel is always in great hands with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins & Scott Boland, the same goes to Travis Head with the bat who saved their day in Australia’s 1st innings spell and played extraordinary in the middle-order at 5 & Cameron Green can not only bat handy runs but also take wickets where he will be a long-term fixture here at No.6.

The Ashes is done for now here as the next edition will take place in England mid-2023, bring on the Australian Open Tennis over the next two weeks to round off the summer of sport starting today.

#Cricket #Ashes #BlundstoneArena #Australia #England #MarkWood #StuartBroad #TravisHead #CameronGreen #PatCummins #ScottBoland #MitchellStarc #ZakCrawley #SamBillings #AlexCarey #AUSvENG

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There’s so much going on yesterday on Day 2 of the 5th Test at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, Australia resumed with the bat earlier in the afternoon on 241-6 when the end of the first day’s play was cut short due to rain as they were all out for 303.

Then England came in to bat and couldn’t catch up to the Aussies inside 50 overs where they were eventually wiped off on just 188 not long after tea, although the away team fought back early after the innings change with the ball but they are still behind by 152 runs going into Day 3 today. Meanwhile, Australia will resume with the bat once more at 37/3 with Steve Smith on 17* & nightwatchmen Scott Boland on 3*.

England still have deeper batting issues to address even though they’ve made more wholesale changes, yes it’s unlucky to see Rory Burns being run-out on his recall in place of Haseeb Hameed as Opener but it’s woeful when three of their Top 4 were trapped by Australian skipper Pat Cummins before Mitchell Starc shared the workload & finished the job. With the ball, it’s great to see England bounce back when the Australian Opening pair were sent back upstairs early plus Marnus Labuschagne, however, they better complete this batting collapse ASAP & go big if a win is possible for the first time in this Ashes Series.

Australia had some great moments when Nathan Lyon smashed a handful amount of runs on 31 at No.10 which is great to bow out past 300 during their 1st innings spell, they also restricted England in return of 188 thanks to Captain Cummins with a 4fer plus Mitchell Starc who finished the opposition’s bottom-half batting card. They were not good with the bat, however, in the 3rd innings when Dave Warner & Usman Khawaja were out again that cheap plus Labuschagne as they were very vulnerable off the England bounce. All they can do now is take their time with a few hours of play today, otherwise use that 4th innings spell with the ball as their main weapon & finish it up ASAP for the win.

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This is top-notch Test Cricket on Day 1 yesterday with both bat and ball from Australia and England at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, England off to a brilliant start having won the toss & bowled first through a earned a couple of early wickets but Australia fought back later on before rain called stumps slightly early for the night.

Australia is still batting in the middle at 241-6 going into Day 2 later this afternoon.

Credit to Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad with the early wickets that sent the Australian top-order packing early, they bowled a good and fuller bounce plus the read on areas where the opposition struggled to execute and use it as their best strengths through to slip. Speaking of catches Zak Crawley made 3 which is nice from their opener on the field. However, but England just couldn’t hold Travis Head and Cameron Green accountable when these two came in & were punished with plenty of leaked runs, they better bat big in return with Rory Burns back in the side plus two new players in due to finger injury issues.

Australia would be disappointed with their Top 4 after they were dismissed cheaply against the England quicks, Usman Khawaja’s red-hot recall after his pair of centuries last week didn’t continue yesterday when he was moved from the middle-order to Opener with David Warner and so far it’s the complete opposite. While Warner & Steve Smith were booted for a duck, Labuschagne did bat okay on 44 then again his experimentation shot tying to hit leg-side was an error of his judgment when he was clean bowled by Broad.

In the end, it’s not all doom and gloom thanks to Travis Head who saved Australia’s 1st innings spell with another Test 100 at 5 when he come back from iso and batted big which is sensational as Head deserves his long-term spot here. Hats off also to all-rounder Cameron Green where he communicated well with Head before he secured another half-ton on 74, although Alex Carey & Mitchell Starc just came in bat not long before stumps but they can bat some handy runs before Australia bring their bowlers in.

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Australia were very close with just one wicket left to win but England did a great job blocking as many balls as possible until the very end on Day 5 at 270-9 as both teams settled for a draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but how good is Test Cricket when it’s unique, finest and most competitive longest format that creates moments like this one in the history of the game.

England left off from Day 4 at 30-0 with 358 runs left to try & meet the 388 run target where they finally got an opener who stood up against the Australian bowling attack in Zak Crawley, he used his near 2-meter build & read well that translated into some brilliant shots down the ground plus the overcast conditions as an advantage which was key to his fantastic knock today of 77. We also gave a shoutout to Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow once again for their dynamic batting approach in the middle-order having communicated well & cashed in the opposition’s missed catches at the other end with more runs for England, their influence successfully passed onto the tail-enders to make up the remaining time once the middle-order options were gone during the last session and it turned out to be a success by just stay in there & defend.

And Australia would be disappointed not to finish up today with a win as their 150th victory in Test level would have to wait until at least after next weekend in Hobart, Scott Boland once again unstoppable on his 2nd Test match with the ball of 7 wickets in an Ashes Test while skipper Pat Cummins nearly became their hero after he dismissed Jos Buttler and Mark Wood that made way for England tail-enders a while ago. However, they just bottled a couple of catches on the field that cost them untapped wickets and make their way closer towards the finish line, it would’ve been nice if Australia listened to this mantra from commentator Pommie Mbangwa “catches win matches” and manned themselves up to get the job done sooner rather than later.

Australia still leads the five-match 2021-22 Ashes Series 3-0 after Game 4 with the 5th and final one left at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, it will be a Day-Nighter once again like Adelaide earlier on Game 2 from early December as it begins on Friday afternoon.

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What a day for the Aussies on Day 2 of the 4th Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground thanks to the returning Usman Khawaja as they scored 416/8 before the declaration while England are on 13/0 with a trail of 403 runs, Khawaja scored a whopping 133 before he was bowled out by Stuart Broad who just got his 5fer but his sensational knock of 137 today outsmarted the whole England side where he came in at five in place for Travis Head after he was tested positive to COVID rather than the usual opening/top-order role.

Usman is just a proper test player having scored countless of runs before in red ball cricket especially via the domestic format both in Australia & England, yes it’s true that he was not a regular in the Australian Test team whether it’s through injuries or loss of form but at age 35 he still has the ability and determination to play Test for another few years before retiring.

Without Usman it wouldn’t be possible for Australia to reach 400 with Steve Smith also piling the runs on 67 as well as a brilliant quickfire spell from Mitchell Starc at the tail end on 34, regardless of the weather conditions tomorrow they need their bowlers to get the job done ASAP then think about following on or bat a bit more.

Meanwhile, it’s great to see Stuart Broad secure his 5fer for England which is incredible especially when he dismissed plenty of key opposition players with the ball, but unfortunately the rest have let him down while Smith & Khawaja prolonged Australia’s 1st innings batting spell past 400 that left England a very difficult task to catch up tomorrow before their opening pair (Haseeb Hameed & Zak Crawley) gets exposed cheaply yet again.

Leaving Broad out at the start of the Ashes in Brisbane even though he still has the pace to burn at 35 like a fine wine alongside another experienced ageless star in Jimmy Anderson (age 39) is a huge mistake, yes England’s bowling has been okay so far after three tests but not on par as Australia’s if you leave out Broad and Anderson.

#AUSvENG #Ashes #Cricket #Australia #England #UsmanKhawaja #StuartBroad #SteveSmith #SydneyCricketGround #MitchellStarc

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Mother Nature may have interrupted for most of today but at least we’ve seen some of the action at the Sydney Cricket Ground where Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, they are on 126-3 right now at stumps after Day 1 but it’s England who took up the early wickets especially at the expense of both of Australia’s openers (David Warner & Marcus Harris) plus Marnus Labuschagne.

Australia did fire off for a start having formed two 50-run partnerships but just pressed the panic button when they were caught behind the keepers’ gloves or the slips & couldn’t have the opportunity to make up big numbers of their own. There’s still time to turn it around though with Steve Smith in there on 6* as well as the returning Usman Khawaja at 5 in place of Travis Head on 4*.

And England credits the wet weather to their strong start with the ball, they read the off-stump well alongside a full length that saw the opposition edged straight into their hands & now they want to get Smith & Khawaja out early + the remaining tail tomorrow then they hope to produce a big total in return if England want to be closer to the box seat which hasn’t happened so far in this Ashes tour even though they already lost another series here 3-0.

#Ashes #Cricket #SydneyCricketGround #Australia #England #MarkWood #StuartBroad #JamesAnderson #DavidWarner #MarcusHarris #MarnusLabuschagne #SteveSmith #UsmanKhawaja #TestCricket

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Nice seeing Joe Root & Dawid Malan pick up the pieces for England where they made up some lost time as this partnership continued to work like the previous test at the Gabba last week during the opening session, however, they weren’t unable to hold on that momentum after the dinner break even though it’s a long way away to chase that run trail down with England lost four wickets for 57 towards tea (197-6) before they were all out for 236 (237 runs behind Australia).

Australia on the other hand fought back after a slow start earlier in the afternoon (140-2 at dinner) as they still maintain a healthy run lead ahead of the change of innings with the option of enforcing the follow-on, but they instead not to do so & batted once again where Australia will resume at 45-1 alongside a 282 run lead on Day 4 tomorrow.

Credit from stand-in skipper Steve Smith, who picked up two catches off the dangerous Root & Malan pair, while Mitchell Starc continued to shine with four wickets on hand after a brilliant quickfire batting spell last night including some support from Cameron Green (2 wickets) & Nathan Lyon made England regret not bringing a dedicated spinner in this test.

With the bat during such a short time tonight, Marcus Harris would be disappointed when he didn’t communicate well that ran David Warner out but he’s fine right now at 21* with more to come & Michael Neser hopes to secure a debut Test 50 having been jettisoned to the crease as the nightwatchman before Australia can declare within 100-150 runs more so their bowlers are rested up to finish the job.

Going to back to England now apart from Root & Malan, it’s great to see Ben Stokes & Chris Woakes pick up handy runs as they can while Stuart Broad added just a few against a tiring Australian bowling attack plus a six off an unlucky mis-catch from Mitchell Starc before he was spot on the field via direct hit to Warner. There’s nothing else to say at this stage when England still need to try and limit Australia’s 2nd innings spell ASAP before going all-in for whatever run total they require with two days left at Adelaide Oval.

#AUSvENG #Ashes #Australia #England #TestCricket #Cricket #AdelaideOval

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Australia on a roll after Day 1 of the 2nd Test at Adelaide Oval under the day/night setting at 221/2, it’s nice to see David Warner & Marnus Labuschagne form a bigger partnership by using a mixture of defensive blocks off good balls & vary a couple of strike selections that made England tough to handle.

Although Warner may be unlucky not to escape the nervous 90s on 95 through that catch from Stuart Broad off Ben Stokes, there’s still some question marks though such as Marcus Harris’s batting which didn’t work out well once again in the afternoon session but we’ll wait and see how Michael Neser steps up on his debut Test match after Pat Cummins got in contact with someone who has COVID and was forced to isolate for a week.

For now, let Labuschagne (95) get his 100 tomorrow afternoon when play resumes as well as help stand-in skipper Steve Smith (18) form another big partnership for another 100-150 runs before declaring it & bring out these bowlers with a slightly changed line-up of Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson & Nathan Lyon.

England had the early advantage off Marcus Harris thanks to the returning Stuart Broad who later captured another victim in Warner with his catch a while ago after he was dropped during the opening test which gave some relief, but they were helpless for the majority with no way to make Warner & Labuschagne feel vulnerable of their spin & speed plus there’s little support from the field either including that dropped catch from keeper Jos Buttler twice on Labuschagne at 21 & 95*

The away team will have much-needed sleep now for the night & hopefully they wake up refreshed with ideas at least to knock down the remaining Australian batting card first as early as possible, then the pressure is on for their openers to step up in order to help the top & middle order pile the maximum runs they need to help England stay in contention.

#Ashes #Australia #England #Cricket #TestCricket #DavidWarner #MarnusLabuschagne #StuartBroad #InternationalCricket #Adelaide Oval

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Written by Josh Winter

Really since the turn of the century, we have seen more and more sportsmen and sportswomen play into later ages. With better healthcare and nutrition, sportspeople are able to take care of their bodies later and later. Darren Stevens is the obvious example of this, having just been a key member of Kent winning the Blast. So it bring up an interesting point, which is whether or not professional cricketers can play into their 40s.

The case for cricketers playing into their 40s has been backed up a lot recently by performances in domestic and international cricket by a variety of players. Darren Stevens is a good example of a player in his 40s, still performing at a high level in domestic cricket. Stevens produced a match winning performance in the blast semi final against Sussex, hitting an impressive 47 off 28 as he got his side up to 168. He backed that performance up with his bowling, getting a big wicket in Sussex batsmen David Wiese. Stevens is quite easily old enough to be the father of a lot of his teammates, starting his county championship career before teammates Zak Crawley and Jordan Cox were born. 

Stevens has never played for England, but he is widely regarded as the greatest English all rounder to never play for his country. Averaging 35 with the bat and 24 with the ball across its career means it’s tough to see why he has never been called up, but Stevens is a great example of age being irrelevant in domestic cricket. There aren’t many examples of players in county cricket playing above 40, with Stevens being the first 45 year old to play county championship cricket since Eddie Hemmings back in 1994. 

Tim Murtagh is another good example, as he is captain of Middlesex at the age of 40. The problem with county championship games is it can be very difficult on the body. Four day matches are tough for players in their 40s, with the potential for whole days to be spent out in the field. Fielding is the main problem, as it can be extremely tiring for players, and the long season is tough for their bodies. County championship teams play around 14 games a year, which can be up to four days long. It is very difficult for players to keep up when their bodies are struggling to cope with the intense workloads.

Something that you will see a lot more often is players in their 40s playing T20 cricket. T20 cricket is a lot less challenging on the body, as these players have a lot less to do. It is why you see players like AB De Villiers, Andre Flintoff and Shane Warne only play T20 cricket at the end of their careers. T20 gives these players a format which is a lot less challenging on their bodies, as games go from being 4 days to 4 hours. At the moment, looking at this years blast, you saw Gareth Batty, Darren Stevens and Ryan ten Doeschate all still performing to a high level in the blast, with Stevens being the only one of still play county championship games. 

The IPL seems to be a place where legends play when they’re still over 40 years old. Australian legends Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne both played in the IPL aged 41. Legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan played in the IPL aged 42, with his last season being in 2014 for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The most impressive of any would be Australian spinner Brad Hogg. Hogg played in the IPL with Kolkata in 2016, aged 45. You will often see spinners play to later ages, as shown by Warne, Hogg and Muralitharan all playing in the IPL past 40. Spin bowling is a lot less stressful on the body than fast bowling. We see pace bowlers like Mark Wood throw their bodies into every ball, putting an incredibly large amount of force through their knees and ankles every ball.  Spinners don’t have the same amount of force going through their bodies as they bowl. This means they can continue to bowl at a later age without losing any of what makes them a great bowler. It is one of the reasons why Darren Stevens has taken so many wickets still in his 40s, he never relied on blistering pace to get wickets when he was younger. Therefore he could continue to bowl the same way even when his body started to get slower. This is why you will see spin bowlers continue to play further into their 30s and 40s than pace bowlers.

In International cricket, there are still currently very few players playing into their 40s. Chris Gayle and Mohammad Hafeez are good examples of that currently. Both in the squads for their countries for the t20 world cup later this year, both are still playing to an exceptionally high level. Chris Gayle still possess the power hitting that has made him a monster over his career. Hafeez is still an excellent all rounder and there are a lot of teams worldwide who would love to have the 40 year old in their team. Both are great examples that cricketers can play into their 40s, even in international cricket. The 2019 world cup saw 40 year old Imran Tahir pick up 11 wickets in the tournament for South Africa, including getting England captain Eoin Morgan out. T20 cricket has shown to be a good place for aging cricket stars. International cricket can be good for stars, especially T20.

However, something you see a lot less of is players in their 40s succeeding in test cricket. You can see this in domestic cricket, as the county championship has talented players like Hashim Amla and Alastair Cook succeeding, when they have been out of test cricket for a few years. Amla and Cook are both still playing at a high quality, but they both also are unlikely to be able to play well in test cricket. Test cricket is incredibly tough on the body, with a five match series being really tough on the body. Currently, test cricket does not have anyone playing at the age of 40 or over. Dilruwan Perera and Jimmy Anderson are the closest to 40, both playing test cricket at the grand age of 39. It is an impressive feat, specifically for Anderson, who is still England’s best pace bowler despite his age. Jimmy is truly a phenomenal cricketer, and he has expressed his interest in playing into his 40s. Jimmy wants to be playing in the ashes later this year, and even carry on beyond the series. It is a difficult thing to do, as your body will deteriorate. There is no way Anderson plays all five tests this winter, and he will need the rest he has now before the ashes.

Sadly, the main reason for cricketers struggling to play into their 40s is injury. Injuries become more and more common the older you get, as players bodies just start to age and wear. Injuries have plagued Anderson over the last few years, and it seems unlikely he can make it into his 40s without more injuries. It is why many players avoid the longest form of the game as a whole when they age, because it is incredibly testing on your body. Fast bowlers especially have to be wary of this. Just looking at England’s fast bowling attack, we have seen injuries to Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes just in the last 12 months. Injuries can ruin careers. Sadly, Dale Steyn is a great example of this. Steyn retiring from test cricket two years ago was a big disappointment for cricket faans, but the fast bowler just could not stay healthy. No matter the advancement we see in nutrition and wellness, injuries will still happen. They are tough to avoid and can make it very difficult to still play at a high level into your 40s. There is no way that after his serious injury this year that Jofra Archer will still be able to play in his 40s. It is a lot easier for spinners and batsmen to still succeed during their 40s.

Players like Darren Stevens, Chris Gayle and Jimmy Anderson are showing that you can play at a high level in all different formats, as you begin to hit your 40s and even get into your mid-40s. It will continue to become easier, as treatment and healthcare continues to improve. Hopefully for these players, the intensity of cricket is not increasing more than the improvements in taking care of these players bodies. It gives a lot of hope to amateurs or semi pro players, as they can still take that step into professional career, into their 30s and even early 40s. This trend will likely continue and more and more cricketers will play into their 40s.

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