Junk bond: One that has a huge risk that it will not be paid back but that may possibly make a large profit.
The Cambridge Dictionary couldn’t define Bazball any better.
When the ECB fuddie duddies took a punt on Brendon McCullum’s devil-may-care philosophy, the English Test team was virtually worthless.
They invested in a scheme which initially delivered an extraordinary yield but the short-term profits did not last – it is a commodity which does not stack up well when compared with a genuine blue-chip stock like the Australian side.
In the third look at the Ashes Stockmarket for the summer, it’s hard to find any value in England after their back-to-back eight-wicket shellackings while the locals continue to spike.
Looking at the updates from the pre-second Test forecast, Mitchell Starc showed why he was at the top of the buys list.
After taking 13 wickets in Perth, he pouched another eight at the Gabba, including 6-75 to carry the attack in the first innings while also top-scoring with 77 while making a crucially frustrating late partnership with Scott Boland.
Another display like that and he will be officially worth his weight in gold – with bullion currently listed at $6428 per ounce, that’s roughly $20.41 million for Starc. Sounds about right.
Bazball hyperbole was another buy going into Brisbane on the back of McCullum saying they would not be shying away from their attacking blueprint.
Well, he outdid himself this time by claiming they were over-prepared despite spending more time kicking up their heels with ill-deserved extra days off than training leading into the second Test.
Brydon Carse was also considered a buy after he was the only England bowler to enhance his value in Perth and despite four wickets, he went at more than five an over so the number-crunchers are now advising that his status has been downgraded to a hold.
Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
From the stocks marked as holds prior to Brisbane, Jake Weatherald is now almost a buy after an impressive 72 and an unbeaten 17 to get the Aussies over the line.
At the very least he will hold his spot with Travis Head going back to the middle order if the selectors are short-sighted enough to bring opener Usman Khawaja back from casualty ward/retirement lounge.
Harry Brook is just clinging onto hold status as his first Ashes tour goes south very quickly.
Of the sells, Zak Crawley remains on the list to avoid despite a spirited 76 and 44 as he is just as likely to record another pair next up, Nathan Lyon investors should also tread warily after he was dropped for the second time in three Tests even though he’s being recalled in Adelaide while Mark Wood unfortunately succumbed to his injury curse and won’t be seen again this summer, if again at all at this level.
Now to see what the market has in store for the third Test.
Buy
Alex Carey: He will never top Adam Gilchrist in the debate over Australia’s greatest all-time keeper but such is the quality of his glovework, there can’t have been any finer.
Some of his crisp efforts up to the stumps to Michael Neser and Scott Boland on a seaming surface had the likes of Gilchrist and Brad Haddin in awe in commentary.
Tradition: Conventional wisdom is trumping radical new ideas. Ever since the advent of Bazball there have been calls from ill-informed types suggesting that the Aussies should fight fire with fire.
Why would they change a winning style to be more like an England team which throws haymakers but leads with a glass jaw?
England’s Zak Crawley reacts as he leaves the field after losing his wicket.(AP Photo/Gary Day)
And the Aussies (apart from Cameron Green’s short-lived scattergun approach) proved in Brisbane that you can bat in traditional fashion to keep the run rate ticking over without resorting to outlandish shots.
They tracked at 4.34 in 117 overs in the first innings which was only fractionally less than England (4.37) as they adopted their usual cavalier approach for the most part (apart from the dark sheep of the team, Joe Root, whose sensible approach earned him a lowly strike rate of 66.99, which any Bazball apologist will tell you is secondary to his run tally of 138 without being dismissed).
Hold
Pink-ball Tests: Of the 25 that have been held over the past decade, 14 have been in Australia.
It is not catching on in other nations due to a variety of factors – the evening dew in the subcontinent makes it a tricky option in those parts and we all know the BCCI will snub innovations for years, like video review, until it can figure out how to manufacture the rules for India’s gain.
Jofra Archer: Not quite in the sell category just yet but on the way down. He needs redemption in the City of Churches.
Blistering speed only gets you so far, just ask Devon Malcolm, Shaun Tait and Fidel Edwards, who all gave the 160km/h barrier a nudge but never consistently dominated at Test level.
Michael Neser: After a workmanlike 1-43 first up, it looked like the second innings would be the Queenslander’s final fling in Test cricket.
But after tricking Crawley and Ollie Pope into return catches with subtle seam movement, he cashed in with three more scalps, including Ben Stokes and Will Jacks after their stubborn partnership.
The 35-year-old veteran will get another chance in the Aussie team even though he may not be needed again in this series with Pat Cummins back on deck in Adelaide next week.
Sell
Australia’s Michael Neser celebrates the wicket of England’s Zak Crawley. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Bazball: As noted above, this enterprise is collapsing due to the lack of steel in its foundation.
McCullum is contracted for another couple of years but he should be on shaky ground unless the ECB is prepared to settle for the mediocrity of contriving results on tailored pitches at home before getting smashed whenever they take on a big dog on foreign soil.
Josh Inglis: Being picked at No.7 in the batting order was a bit of a slap in the face.
The designated wicketkeeper in Carey was tasked with the six spot with Inglis, free of the extra physical graft that comes with the gloves, was told he would be coming in after him.
Inglis made a breezy 23 before he was castled by Stokes to make it four low scores on the trot since his 102 on debut in Sri Lanka at the start of the year.
Don’t rule out the Aussie selectors bringing Khawaja back and putting Head back into the middle order at Inglis’ expense or replacing him straight up with Beau Webster.
Jamie Smith: Billed as the next big thing as a keeper who could hold his own as a specialist batter, he was dreadful with the gloves and registered a duck and four.
He’s not the first player on their maiden tour to Australia who has found the going tough and when Pope is the back-up keeper, he can rest assured that his position is safe but that is the problem with the entire England team.
>Cricket News
%20(3).jpeg)
0 Comments