England Cricket Team Thread

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borofan
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby borofan » 08 Jul 2017, 18:58

Lord Rother wrote:Good point. But is fitness still a factor?

Don't see why it should be. That was an obsession of Andy Flower's. I think Bayliss is a little more laid back (but then it would be difficult to be as uptight as Flower). These days I think Samit does look after himself a little better than he did. He'll never be a whippet in the field, but he's a pretty decent cricketer.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby joels344 » 09 Jul 2017, 15:02

Anyone following the ENG vs. SA series? I've been following moments from each day, but not actively watching every session (kinda impossible with my job). I watch or listen whenever I find the time. Should be an interesting first challenge for Joe Root as Test captain. He put up 190 and England are looking in good position to win the 1st Test.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Diamond Dog » 09 Jul 2017, 15:26

They are now SA are 12-2, chasing 331, in the last innings.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Penk! » 09 Jul 2017, 15:36

It's been a really absorbing match so far. England have been on top the whole time yet one batting collapse on the fourth afternoon and SA are right back in it. A poor start from them, though; one more wicket and they're batting to save the draw.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby WG Kaspar » 09 Jul 2017, 16:59

They are dead and buried. 67-6 is pathetic no matter what. If test cricket ever dies it will be because players don't understand what test means.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Diamond Dog » 09 Jul 2017, 17:11

82-8. I think they fancy tomorrow off, don't you?
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Penk! » 09 Jul 2017, 18:11

borofan wrote:
PENK wrote:
WG Kaspar wrote:I'm more interested to see how playing two spinners at Lord's will work.


Two part-time spinners equal one proper spinner is perhaps the thinking...

If you want a slow left arm trundler who doesn't spin the ball, then why Dawson and not Samit Patel? Samit is just as average a bowler, and a far better batsman who is in the form of his life with the bat.


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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Diamond Dog » 09 Jul 2017, 18:23

If that had been Pakistan, there would have been questions asked.

They couldn't give a shit - totally threw the game, never looked up for it, didn't look disappointed when they were out either.

Piss poor.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby joels344 » 10 Jul 2017, 05:08

Horrific batting from SA. They seemed to have went into their second innings with zero intention of winning. I'm an England fan, but would like to see some competent effort from the opposing side.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Penk! » 15 Jul 2017, 13:56

Can they please ditch Ballance now. Even my mother-in-law has identified the massive flaw in his technique.

Root, as so often, seems to be playing on a different pitch to everybody else: he is surely the most technically adept and adaptable batsman around today. He just needs to be more consistent in turning good scores into big ones.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby joels344 » 16 Jul 2017, 06:13

Gary Ballance needs to go. They need a more consistent and technically sound number 3. I wasn't able to watch today's play, but it seems like England had a classic England collapse. I'm seeing more ducks and less balls faced than I would like to see in an innings.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Penk! » 16 Jul 2017, 19:26

It's difficult to draw any conclusions from two tests; any weaknesses were already apparent. This habit of following impressive wins with limp performances was a habit during Cook's reign and Root will need time to change the team's mentality.
They were excellent in the first test but a lot of it was down to the performances of Root and Moeen (I've often been critical of Moeen but he can pull out great performances now and again).

One big thing that is still obviously an issue is the batting: I think that England's one-day improvements have had a detrimental effect on the test team, and they need to find a proper balance (not a Ballance, though) between positive strokemaking and grinding out big scores.
The senior players - Cook, Root and Bairstow - are not doing enough to support the rest, in that they are not making big runs themselves. They have healthy averages but as I showed a few pages back, they're not playing the innings that really matter. Root got a big score in the first test but again here he failed to turn a flashy 70-odd into something that really put England into the match.
Bairstow has now passed 40 fourteen times since he last made a century. Eleven of those times, he has got out before reaching 60. There is something very wrong with his concentration.
If Ballance is to go they need to do it soon so that the new man - Stoneman or Westley? - can get some experience against the SA attack, rather than coming in for the easier ride that the Windies will provide. Jennings looks very shaky. One hopes that Hameed can rediscover some form.

The bowling is a worry, as well: who will replace Anderson (and indeed Broad) when the time comes? Wood has not impressed and Woakes will presumably slot back in for him, Finn's time has passed, Ball hasn't convinced... this guy at Yorkshire has been getting wickets.
I am not sure what Liam Dawson is doing in the team. Surely they can find a better use for that position.

South Africa are also a team in transition following de Villiers and Steyn's retirements. They have a similar mix to England, of established class acts (Amla, Du Plessis, Philander, Morkel), exciting youngsters (de Kock, Rabada) and guys who don't seem to be up to it (Kuhn, Bavuma). Two well-matched teams with lots of strengths and weaknesses: makes for an unpredictable and thus far absorbing series.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby mentalist (slight return) » 17 Jul 2017, 00:35

Over here in Australia, the team don't even have a job :lol: :cry:
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Penk! » 17 Jul 2017, 11:42

TAXI FOR GARY BALLANCE
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Lord Rother » 19 Jul 2017, 06:36

Splint for Gary Ballance.

Whatever - celebrate. he's gone.

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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Lord Rother » 19 Jul 2017, 06:42

I wouldn't mind seeing Rory Burns opening - he's a grafter. Drop Jennings to 3.

Samit Patel for Liam Dawson. (But they won't bin Dawson yet, they'll wait until he's proved beyond doubt, what everyone else can see, dragging the team's performance down as he goes, that he has nothing much to offer at this level.

Not sure that Patel does either, but at least he is in banging form right now.

I like Wood a lot - if he's not injured (and Woakes isn't fit yet) then I'd leave him in. If neither are fit, what about a Curran or Overton? We do need to be looking at the next generation quicks.

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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Penk! » 19 Jul 2017, 08:05

Wood is injured too apparently. Roland-Jones is presumably next cab off the rank, though looking at the numbers he hasn't done much in the Championship and Jamie Porter - who got a lot of wickets last year as well - and Ben Coad are the form pacemen.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby borofan » 19 Jul 2017, 21:03

Lord Rother wrote:I wouldn't mind seeing Rory Burns opening - he's a grafter. Drop Jennings to 3.

Samit Patel for Liam Dawson. (But they won't bin Dawson yet, they'll wait until he's proved beyond doubt, what everyone else can see, dragging the team's performance down as he goes, that he has nothing much to offer at this level.

Not sure that Patel does either, but at least he is in banging form right now.

I like Wood a lot - if he's not injured (and Woakes isn't fit yet) then I'd leave him in. If neither are fit, what about a Curran or Overton? We do need to be looking at the next generation quicks.

Burns? If you must pick an opener from the brown hatters, it has to be Stoneman. Agree on Samit - I've been saying that for weeks (if we must have a non-spinning slow left arm dobber). Personally, I'd bring in another specialist batsman to bat at 5, and shuffle Bairstow, Stokes and Moeen down a place. Who that batsman would be, I really don't have a clue.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby borofan » 19 Jul 2017, 21:08

PENK wrote:Wood is injured too apparently. Roland-Jones is presumably next cab off the rank, though looking at the numbers he hasn't done much in the Championship and Jamie Porter - who got a lot of wickets last year as well - and Ben Coad are the form pacemen.

Far too early for Ben Coad. He only got into our side this season (and that was only because Siddy and Brooks were injured in April), and is just not ready yet. Lions this winter, then we'll see.
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Re: England Cricket Team Thread

Postby Lord Rother » 19 Jul 2017, 21:19

borofan wrote:
Lord Rother wrote:I wouldn't mind seeing Rory Burns opening - he's a grafter. Drop Jennings to 3.

Samit Patel for Liam Dawson. (But they won't bin Dawson yet, they'll wait until he's proved beyond doubt, what everyone else can see, dragging the team's performance down as he goes, that he has nothing much to offer at this level.

Not sure that Patel does either, but at least he is in banging form right now.

I like Wood a lot - if he's not injured (and Woakes isn't fit yet) then I'd leave him in. If neither are fit, what about a Curran or Overton? We do need to be looking at the next generation quicks.

Burns? If you must pick an opener from the brown hatters, it has to be Stoneman. Agree on Samit - I've been saying that for weeks (if we must have a non-spinning slow left arm dobber). Personally, I'd bring in another specialist batsman to bat at 5, and shuffle Bairstow, Stokes and Moeen down a place. Who that batsman would be, I really don't have a clue.


Why does it have to be Stoneman?

He is 30 with a 1st class average of 34, Burns is 26 with an average of 42.


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