Absoutely mullered them. Great comeback after Lords, which I personally witnessed 3 days of. I always thought we were the better team, we just had to play to our capabilities. I think everyone, bar Robson, will be pleased with their performances over this series & even Robson may have done enough to survive. If Cook is due the flack when we were losing. He deserves the praise, when we anihilate the opposition. If I was in charge I'd keep Cook as captain for the next 6 months minimum.
NB The next Test Series is in the WI April 2015 :-)
Hmm, despite the Northern Line stiffing this morning and the lunchtime shower, almost a perfect day at the cricket. Almost, because I was hoping for a contest, it was all too easy for England, who played really well, but against spineless opposition. To lose 2 consecutive matches in well under 3 days of actual playing time was pathetic
Think Robson may well (and should) be dropped, but very pleased how well Buttler, Ballance and to a lesser extent Moeen Ali have taken to Test cricket, hope they can carry out improving too.
Great day today and was lucky enough to be sat one seat away from a fellow Addick who follows CL. India were woeful but it was a perfect series to ground the newbies. I left the ground feeling drunk and happy, I'll take that.
Simply making a point that i dont think Cook is a very good captain- is that wrong ?
Also strange that i see names on here who dont normally comment on the cricket threads - and generally have no cricket comment in those posts. I think if you read back through my posts fully you might understand my 'tone' - then again, i dont go around calling people a 'knob' but hey-ho, i've been called worse.
Anyway, back to Cook, i think he is poor (as a captain, before Chizz jumps on me) - almost as poor as India have been in the last 3 tests. i'm sure you'll agree that beating Oz is more important than anything else - and my view is that if Cook is in charge next year then we will likely lose the series , with someone else in charge we might have a chance of winning.
Who?
I dont know Chizz, i dont know - as Lancy says, there arent many out there - my only thoughts in that respect is that the times i've seen Broady as captain for the ODI team he has been quite inventive and aggressive - so, maybe Broady.
Quite inventive, quite aggressive, quite bad. Broad's has a losing record as captain of England; Cook has a winning record. I think we can ignore any claims Broad might have on the role. And therefore, conclusively, Cook is, by a good margin, the very best possible choice of England captain. Long may that continue.
Not so Chizz, not so i'm afraid. England have always placed importance on Test matches, and for the past decade have been pretty good at it - however, up to the Ageas Bowl match this series, we had gone 10 Test matches without a win under Cook (5 losses and 1 draw v OZ, 1 draw and 1 loss v Sri Lanka and 1 loss and 1 draw v India). England have always regarded ODI's as second (maybe even 3rd after 20/20) in terms of priority and importance.
Looking on Cricinfo Statsguru since 1st Jan 2013 the stats for England are as follows....
Tests Played 21 W 6 L 7 D 8 ODI Played 35 W 16 L 18 D 1
So, if you take the assumption Cook was in charge of all the Test matches and Broad all the ODIs (dont know if that's true or not), then Cook and Broad have similar records in terms of their win/loss ratio , however, Broad has a MUCH better record in terms of percentage wins - circa 45 per cent v 28 per cent. And yes, i am a cricket 'nut' ! Best Sport on the planet .
Interesting opinions. But here are the facts:
Cook's record as captain, in Tests W12 D8 L8 (ie a "winning record"). Broad's record as captain, in ODIs/T20s W13 L16 (ie a "losing record").
Of course, the fact that Broad is undergoing surgery so likely to miss the one day series.
If an unfit bowler with a losing record is the best possible alternative, then it's very, very clear that Cook is the best man for the job.
I'm not advocating Broad as captain, but to be fair England are much better at Test cricket than ODIs and T20s, so it's hard to blame the captain in that format. With countries like the West Indies or India, the reverse is true. Dhoni is an inspired captain in ODIs and T20s, whereas in Tests, his leadership in the field got worse and worse as the series went on. Same man, but VERY different records :-)
I'm not advocating Broad as captain, but to be fair England are much better at Test cricket than ODIs and T20s, so it's hard to blame the captain in that format. With countries like the West Indies or India, the reverse is true. Dhoni is an inspired captain in ODIs and T20s, whereas in Tests, his leadership in the field got worse and worse as the series went on. Same man, but VERY different records :-)
Neither am I. Cook's the best man for the job as Test captain. No question; no competition; no doubt.
Not only is he England's greatest ever century-maker, but he has a steely, iron will. He's clearly incredibly determined, ambitious and accomplished. But I also suspect he has the full, unwavering support of each and every member of the Test squad. I can't remember any time that could have been said about a captain since Brearley.
Surprised to see that Bopara isn't in the ODI & 20/20 squad. Good in a run chase and a useful limited overs bowler. Not sure what Stokes or Woakes might do that Bopara would've done.
He's done woefully whenever in the test side but like Eoin Morgan, he's been an integral part of the ODI set up for a few years now. Just a bit surprised, don't think he did anything to deserve being dropped.
England's ODI record is poor because theyve shoehorned too many test players into a format that doesn't suit their skillset. Cook, Bell, Root and Ballance are all good players but they don't score quickly enough and lack the power to score enough boundaries. At least the call up of Hales the England team is moving in the right direction.
England's ODI record is poor because theyve shoehorned too many test players into a format that doesn't suit their skillset. Cook, Bell, Root and Ballance are all good players but they don't score quickly enough and lack the power to score enough boundaries. At least the call up of Hales the England team is moving in the right direction.
Don't agree with that about Ballance. He's more than capable of scoring very quickly in the shorter formats as some of his innings for Yorkshire have proved. He also has a strike rate of 120 in T20, and 71 in the few ODI's he's already played.
England's ODI record is poor because theyve shoehorned too many test players into a format that doesn't suit their skillset. Cook, Bell, Root and Ballance are all good players but they don't score quickly enough and lack the power to score enough boundaries. At least the call up of Hales the England team is moving in the right direction.
Don't agree with that about Ballance. He's more than capable of scoring very quickly in the shorter formats as some of his innings for Yorkshire have proved. He also has a strike rate of 120 in T20, and 71 in the few ODI's he's already played.
Root's century at the Oval was at a very respectable pace, with shots all over the park. Balance can play quickly as well. Cook in ODIs though is too one dimensional
England's ODI record is poor because theyve shoehorned too many test players into a format that doesn't suit their skillset. Cook, Bell, Root and Ballance are all good players but they don't score quickly enough and lack the power to score enough boundaries. At least the call up of Hales the England team is moving in the right direction.
Don't agree with that about Ballance. He's more than capable of scoring very quickly in the shorter formats as some of his innings for Yorkshire have proved. He also has a strike rate of 120 in T20, and 71 in the few ODI's he's already played.
Root's century at the Oval was at a very respectable pace, with shots all over the park. Balance can play quickly as well. Cook in ODIs though is too one dimensional
Over the last four years, Alistair Cook's strike rate in ODIs is 81.3. Better than Bell, Root, Trott, Broad, Bairstow, Woakes, Stokes, Ballance. Only Buttler, Keiswetter, Jordan, Morgan, Bresnan and Finn(!) rival him. So on that basis, Cook is clearly one of the best ODI batsmen we have to select.
In comparison, the ODI strike rates for some of the other all-time great England players are Botham (79.1), Gower (75.15), Gooch (61.88) and Vaughan (68.29). So the argument that Cook is too slow scoring for ODIs just doesn't hold water.
I actually think it's a decent squad. Be interesting to see how they perform. Absolutely delighted to see Hales finally given his chance in the 50 over format. I honestly believe he could become the best 1 day batsman in the world
Overall Cook's strike rate is in the upper 70s though, and he bats during the opening power play periods when most teams aim to really attack. A lot of the other players are in during the quiet middle overs when the field is spread.
Strike rates were poorer in the olden days, as the average scores were lower, but then boundaries were longer, bats nowhere near as good, and bowling attacks far more hostile. David Warner wouldn't be smashing Marshall and Holding out of the ground!
Comments
I always thought we were the better team, we just had to play to our capabilities.
I think everyone, bar Robson, will be pleased with their performances over this series & even Robson may have done enough to survive.
If Cook is due the flack when we were losing. He deserves the praise, when we anihilate the opposition.
If I was in charge I'd keep Cook as captain for the next 6 months minimum.
NB The next Test Series is in the WI April 2015 :-)
Cook's record as captain, in Tests W12 D8 L8 (ie a "winning record"). Broad's record as captain, in ODIs/T20s W13 L16 (ie a "losing record").
Of course, the fact that Broad is undergoing surgery so likely to miss the one day series.
If an unfit bowler with a losing record is the best possible alternative, then it's very, very clear that Cook is the best man for the job.
Not only is he England's greatest ever century-maker, but he has a steely, iron will. He's clearly incredibly determined, ambitious and accomplished. But I also suspect he has the full, unwavering support of each and every member of the Test squad. I can't remember any time that could have been said about a captain since Brearley.
Having good season though.
He's done woefully whenever in the test side but like Eoin Morgan, he's been an integral part of the ODI set up for a few years now. Just a bit surprised, don't think he did anything to deserve being dropped.
In comparison, the ODI strike rates for some of the other all-time great England players are Botham (79.1), Gower (75.15), Gooch (61.88) and Vaughan (68.29). So the argument that Cook is too slow scoring for ODIs just doesn't hold water.
Strike rates were poorer in the olden days, as the average scores were lower, but then boundaries were longer, bats nowhere near as good, and bowling attacks far more hostile. David Warner wouldn't be smashing Marshall and Holding out of the ground!