10 Things #47

GH and the rest is cricket

1/ The Ashes are, still, on.

Travis’s Head, from Scuzz’s granddaughter Vivi (seven)

2/ You’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise, given the viscosity of time since that two-day monstrosity in Perth, and the players being out of sight apart from their occasional organised emanation. Marnus is backing Australia’s pink ball experience. Colour me amazed! Joe Root is unconcerned about facing Mitchell Starc. Mirabile dictu! Travis is happy to keep opening. Just fancy that! There’s a temptation to write something but, honestly, the world is replete with Bazball takes.

3/ The only real news we have is that Mark Wood will miss Brisbane, which is hardly surprising considering that he’d barely played this year and squeezed out three second-innings overs in Perth. On this evidence he is the Tyson of 1958-59 not 1954-55 - on that tour too many, on the basis of name recognition and prior success. Also, Usman Khawaja demurs the ICC’s opinion and says that Optus Stadium’s pitch was ‘shit’. Doth he protest too much, especially given he faced only six deliveries himself? Khawaja’s candour is often refreshing, and it must feel like the world is on his aching back at the moment, but tough conditions in Australia also helped him build his survivor’s reputation. I wouldn’t expect batting life to get any easier at his home ground on Thursday either…..