When you think of brilliant double acts who springs to mind?
Laurel and Hardy, Shearer and Sutton, Ant and Dec, Morecambe and Wise, wherever you look history is filled with all these duos who just bounce off each other and fit so well together like the pieces of a jigsaw.
But here’s one though that quite a few people would probably miss out from that list or maybe even forget somehow, and that’s Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson.
The pair have been the pinnacle of England cricket’s fast bowling attack for over a decade now, and in that time they have picked up over 1,200 test wickets between them.
However, when Broad announced on Saturday evening that he would be retiring from cricket at the conclusion of the Ashes I felt slightly emotional.
At the age of 37, after picking up 167 caps – his first coming back in 2007 against Sri Lanka, Broad decided it was time to put the whites into storage, but not before going out with a flourish.
His final ball that he faced he dispatched for six into the crowd, before picking up Australia’s final two wickets to carry England to victory by 49 runs and level the series at 2-2, a dream send off.
There’s so many moments you could pick out from Broad’s career though, from his batting which ended up with him picking up the nickname nighthawk, to his electric bowling which always had David Warner in all kinds of trouble, he will be deeply missed, none more so than by his partner his crime Anderson.
Anderson himself turned 41 on Sunday, with people thinking if anyone was maybe going to call it a day after this series it would be him, but the boy from Burnley will seemingly keep the spikes out for a while longer yet and I’m glad because it would be soul destroying seeing both him and Broad go at the same time.
I think the word legend can get thrown around a little too much when it comes to sport but Stuart Broad fits the mould perfectly, as does James Anderson.
To continue running in and bowling the way they do with such enthusiasm for so long has been magnificent to watch, but what is interesting now is who will take that place and really nail down their spot at the front of England’s bowling attack.
From this Ashes series alone England had their chances in the first two tests to win them both, but after they failed to bowl out Australia’s tail in the first, and just ended up short in the second, they were staring defeat right in the face.
Bringing Mark Wood and Chris Woakes in at Headingley seemed to do the trick, the extra pace from Wood and his ability to bowl a brilliant short ball rocked the Aussies, but it was his batting alongside Woakes which dragged them back to 2-1.
Again at Old Trafford England were the ones in control, the weather possibly saving Australia and meaning they kept the Ashes, but England were determined not to lose and produced another excellent display at the Oval to make it 2-2.
Woakes gives England such a solid all-round option, and I would be disappointed if he wasn’t involved more regularly again in the test side going forward, while the only issue with Wood is his injuries that he picks up all the time meaning you almost have to wrap him in cotton wool.
You’ve got Ollie Robinson who got injured this series to come into the team, and then there’s Josh Tongue who also bowls with a lot of pace, so I think it’ll just be a matter of what suits this style of cricket the most going forward.
Moeen Ali has also said his test career is over again now, he bowled superbly on that final day of the fifth test may I add, leaving England with a gap in the spin department until Jack Leach is fit again.
Anderson isn’t done with yet either, although I was worried at the start when he said that the wicket in the first test match had nothing in it for him, which did leave people to think that retirement was possibly looming.
Despite Steve Smith having a light hearted joke with Anderson on Sunday when the Aussies gave Broad a guard of honour when he came out and he tried to usher Anderson through as well, Jimmy will keep on rolling.
Batting wise I thought Crawley and Duckett were really important in setting the tempo for the full innings and making sure Bazball was going to be in full operation.
Crawley put together some lovely innings while Duckett’s downfall at times was the fact he never wanted to leave the ball, which at the same time was also a positive as it showcased this attacking brand of cricket.
Brooks, Root and Stokes all had highs and lows as does any batsman through a test series but it is a really dangerous 3,4 and 5 that England have coming in especially if the openers can set things up for them.
Bairstow got better as the series went along, shaking off the early signs of rustiness, even though I’m sure Ben Foakes will be sat thinking what does he have to do to get a proper crack in this team.
Overall though I think going forward this side has really increased its excitement factor through this Ashes, because it ultimately showed that this style of cricket works at the highest level and has everyone talking about it.
There’s one person who I’ve been keeping a close eye this summer in county cricket and that’s James Rew from Somerset, who at the age of only 19 has scored over 1000 runs in the county championship this season and being the first one to do it.
He’s definitely a name to watch out for in the future, but at the minute I don’t really think your going to see too many changes to that test side.
Away from the cricket then and the return of the football season is edging ever closer, seems like only yesterday we saw Manchester City lift that Premier League title.
England’s women are the centre of the attention right now over in Australia having just finished top of their group and qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup with their best performance of the tournament so far.
In the first two games I think even England themselves would admit that they weren’t at their best which saw them lift the Euros last summer, but they still managed to pick up wins and that’s all you can do in the group stage.
Losing Keira Walsh in the last match was a massive blow because she is the person who keeps the game flowing in the midfield with her excellent control, but it was good to hear that it wasn’t an ACL injury so, fingers crossed her World Cup isn’t over.
I’m glad the 6-1 win against China showed what they are capable of though, and hopefully that’s them starting to move on through the gears now as we approach the serious parts of the tournament.
Domestic league wise though and every piece I do at the minute it feels as though I’m having to talk about my club Wolves because of one thing or another.
To hear reports that the club is potentially up for sale by the owners is interesting, but as you can tell from the transfer window so far it’s seen a lot of outgoings which obviously fits the narrative that they are trying to gain some of their money back before selling.
Of course as well there was a financial fair play issue where players had to go anyways, and up to this point I just feel like Ruben Neves was the only one which I’m really worried about and we already knew he was on his way.
Raul Jimenez sadly never came back the same player after his horrific injury but he is the best striker I’ve seen play in the gold and black in my lifetime anyways and it’s sad to see him go.
His attitude last season towards being involved at the World Cup with Mexico was understandable, but it made things very difficult for him with the new manager and that relationship didn’t recover as shown at the last home game of the season when he wasn’t brought on.
Fabio Silva can play more of an important role this season I feel alongside Sasa who’s coming back from his ACL injury, and they can help Matheus Cunha get the goals that we have lacked for the last two seasons.
I see a few fans panicking by the lack of business and by all the outgoings but, we do have a lot of players on our books and can anyone really stake a claim and say other than Neves important players to this team moving forward have left or will be leaving?
Coady and Jimenez were two key players in our first few seasons under Nuno but they don’t suit the style of football the new coach wants to play, while Nathan Collins was frustrating for sure because he had a lot of potential but just didn’t really deliver on it.
Ryan Giles has been impressive in the Championship but with Bueno back there and Matt Doherty coming back there’s plenty of competition for placed, and Ait-Nouri going allows Lopetegui to focus on a core group more I think.
Podence could also be on his way, but the group there has another star quality to do well this season so it definitely isn’t all doom and gloom.
Is it slightly worrying? Yes for sure, and I think by not backing the Lopetegui so far this window we have played a dangerous game in potentially losing someone who is a hugely talented manager, but keeping him in charge is massive for this group, and if Lage was still in charge then I really would be hitting the panic button.
Away from Wolves we still have the Saudi Arabian league buying more players, and if you didn’t read my piece talking about their growing influence in the world of sport I would urge you to have a look because I would be here all day again talking about it.
Some of you lot might have also caught me on the television the other week as well, that’s if you opened BBC I Player on the telly that is, otherwise it was your phone or tablet or whatever new has been designed these days.
It was a really nice occasion to be a part of and I loved every minute of it, and it was really nice to see all the messages of support about it as well.
Without my refereeing at the minute you would probably see me be massively bored as I’m still searching for the next steps into the world of journalism, and funnily enough as I was travelling about today I bumped into a lecturer from UCLan who got chatting to me about my next steps so.
We will see anyways, there’s no rush, maybe by the next time you hear from me in one of these blog pieces I’ll have some good news.
I want to close this piece by also saying how the rugby season is now also edging ever closer for Fylde, still feels weird that I’m not involved like I have been the last two seasons but I will be watching on don’t worry.
Like I said when mentioning the football, it seems like only yesterday it was the end of all the seasons and it’s turned around so fast, but it is exciting that’s for sure.
Alongside the reffing I’ll try to make an appearance or two at The Woodlands but nothing is guaranteed, Allan will keep me updated anyways I’m sure.
I do want to paint the picture though that this could be a good season for the club after two really solid ones, and maybe promotion might be on the cards.
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