steps wrote:
Yeah I'd say those are the right calls although I was under the impression Bell was concentrating on IPL and Big Bash these days but if he wants back in the team he has to be a better option than Ballance.
My Country Cricket knowledge is very average, but a lot of the pundits/journalists for cricket I follow have been raving about Samit Patel this year. Him or Rashid for Dawson possibly. Rashid has always impressed me.
Ballance is the main one for me that has to go.
I liked Hameed, he seemed confident with the bat and his overall presence in the team. Would like to see him in the team.
Nesticles wrote:
My Country Cricket knowledge is very average, but a lot of the pundits/journalists for cricket I follow have been raving about Samit Patel this year. Him or Rashid for Dawson possibly. Rashid has always impressed me.
Ballance is the main one for me that has to go.
I liked Hameed, he seemed confident with the bat and his overall presence in the team. Would like to see him in the team.
I like Hameed as well, and there's no doubting he is one for the future
The trouble is that currently he is in awful nick for Lancs, no point chucking him in at the deep end and destroying his confidence- that won't bode well for the future.
Samit Patel is a good player but I wouldn't be thinking about a second spinner unless the pitch is an absolute dust bowl. Much rather the extra seamer in there.
If this is what Test cricket is going to be like from now on, it's time to call the whole thing off. Two tests into what was a highly anticipated series, we have yet to have a competitive session, let alone match. Neither side has shown any inclination to dig in when the going gets tough. England in this match lacked brains, heart, and courage; all that was needed was a little dog and a golden brick road. It's shameful that the ECB have the nerve to charge £100 to watch atrocious performances like this.
The balance (not to mention the Ballance) of the side is all wrong, with too many so-called all-rounders, who are all right when it comes to a 20 or 50 over thrash, but with no aptitude for test cricket. But most of all, it's a side lacking brains and guts.
The only Englishman to emerge with any credit, and that qualified, was Jimmy Anderson. His flimsy prod to be caught behind first ball summed up the whole game, and probably his own attitude to "batsmen" who couldn't bat through 100 overs in two innings combined, who couldn't score 150 in perfect conditions with only a modicum of variable bounce.
Very well captained by Faf du Plessis, who showed England what they are missing, and what his own side lacked at Lord's. Also very fine swing bowling from Philander. But really, the resistance was pathetic.
Root said after Lord's he wanted his players to get a real test. Well, they got it, and they ****ed it abysmally.
When was the last time we played a test match before this series? I can hardly remember.
Apparently it was in India before Christmas. A full 7 months with no test cricket. Why are we then surprised that our batsmen forget how to bat in test matches? We might have improved in ODIs but we've gone backwards in the 5 day format.
As stated before, aside from some good swing bowling from Philander, we mostly gave away our wickets through rash shot choices or just generally poor batting, when a little stubborn defence and digging in, tiring out the bowlers would have worked well enough on what was a decent batters wicket.
Dawson definitely needs to go before the next test, no requirement for two spinners in Kennington. I'd love to see Finn back in.
I would love to hear what Bayliss and Root spoke to the players about how to approach this innings from Sunday evening into yesterday morning. From where I'm sitting, very little. It looked like a case of "just go out and play some shots".
Root is going to have to get tough very quickly if he wants to be a success.
Being the golden boy of English cricket will not spare him from taking flak if we carry on producing rubbish like that. He may not have been able to believe Vaughan's comments, but he should listen to them.
Many times over the years I've been infuriated by the inability of England players to dig in and bat out a draw. This is not a new problem, but it is getting worse.
As brilliant as he has been, someone in that management needs to sit Bairstow down and ask him what his thought process was in that second innings. He is an experienced professional sportsman.
1) You can't catch the SA total
2) The lead is too big to knock the bowler out of the attack.
3) You are not in a position to dominate the opposition
The only option is to shut down and play as tight as possible. I can't fathom his mindset. It is irresponsible and amateur.
Bend it like Repka wrote:Root is going to have to get tough very quickly if he wants to be a success.
Being the golden boy of English cricket will not spare him from taking flak if we carry on producing rubbish like that. He may not have been able to believe Vaughan's comments, but he should listen to them.
Vaughan is supposed to be his mate too.
Joe is gonna find out what being skipper is all about, as you said, very quickly and his allies will soon desert him if things dont improve.
Doesn't matter if he is his mate or not, Vaughan is paid to give his opinion and in his and certainly anyone with half a cricketing brain opinion that was shambolic and a disgraceful batting display.
The selectors need to have a long hard look at themselves as Hussain said on Sky. Currently we have the second best batsmen available to English cricket unable to be selected for the national team due to purely political reasons. Someone needs to knock KP's Strauss's and the team's heads together and sort this out. In no other country would they ostracise one of the biggest talents we've had available for such a long period of time. The Aussies certainly wouldn't do it only the ECB and their backward agenda.
And if you don't play Rashid, play another batsman to strengthen what has been a pathetically weak batting line-up for a considerable length of time now. Maybe Stoneman, Bell or Westley of Essex to come in.
Well it looks like Ballance is out anyway with a sore finger, so he'll be gone for someone - probably Stoneman.
We don't need two spinners, plus 3 seamers and Stokes in the team. 6 front line bowlers is overkill on a pitch that isn't a sharp turner, so unless the Oval has turned into Chennai I'd be dumping Dawson and bringing in another batsman - Westley at Essex seems to be the next man in the frame for a run out.
Slacking student wrote:Tweaked a calf therefore was unable to field, 7 days till the next test. Plenty of time to recover...
You seem to always leave out the part where KP is a total c***. Good batsman, complete w*****. He isn't ever playing for England again, so you may as well forget about him
