Big day coming up. All three results currently possible with the draw probably slight favourite due to Sunday's forecast. However one bad session with the bat for either side today and they will fighting to avoid defeat for the remainder of the game.
For what it's worth I am not that fussed that he is not in the England team. I was merely responding to what I perceived to be AA's assertion of the sort of "KP who?" attitude because we are doing well.
KP would still quite clearly make this side better, only further evidenced when you see that Ian Bell has got six scores of 0 or 1 in his last nine innings (I think), batting in KP's position.
PS. Sorry AA if that wasn't what you were suggesting.
Anyone know what the mercenary (formerly known as KP) is doing these days?
Natal? Cannock CC? Notts? England? Hants? Royal Challengers? Surrey? Deccan Chargers? Delhi Daredevils? St Lucia Zouks? Melbourne Stars? Lashings? Commentating? Book writing? Texting?
Or, for that matter:
Who cares?
He's not playing for England, while Ian Bell (batting in KP's position!) can't buy a run ...
Plenty of people apart from KP that can step up should Bell get dropped thank you. Morgan, Bairstow, Hales (with a bit of a batting order shuffle), Taylor are scoring runs in county cricket trying to impress the selectors. Surely KP is doing is doing the same if he so badly wants back in? Oh no wait he's massaging his ego on a beach in St Lucia.
Bairstow is. Morgan and Taylor are in horrendous 4-day nick and Hales has lost his form. Bairstow so far ahead of the others now. As a proud Worcs fan I'd probably have Daryl Mitchell ahead of them should Cook or Lyth injure themselves :P
For what it's worth I am not that fussed that he is not in the England team. I was merely responding to what I perceived to be AA's assertion of the sort of "KP who?" attitude because we are doing well.
KP would still quite clearly make this side better, only further evidenced when you see that Ian Bell has got six scores of 0 or 1 in his last nine innings (I think), batting in KP's position.
PS. Sorry AA if that wasn't what you were suggesting.
Pulling KP back into this England team would make the team significantly worse. The devastating effect it would have on Cook, as Captain, and on the fabulous cohort of young players we now have (Ballance, Root, Buttler, Mooen, Wood) as well as the players that have had to put up with KP's disrespect and spiteful disloyalty (Anderson, Broad, Bell) means that, thankfully, no-one in their right mind would entertain the idea.
KP was a brilliant player and deserves a place in the history books for some of his fantastics innings, especially in the Ashes. However, nowadays, the further he is away from the England team (physically as well as mentally), the better the team is going to be.
For what it's worth I am not that fussed that he is not in the England team. I was merely responding to what I perceived to be AA's assertion of the sort of "KP who?" attitude because we are doing well.
KP would still quite clearly make this side better, only further evidenced when you see that Ian Bell has got six scores of 0 or 1 in his last nine innings (I think), batting in KP's position.
PS. Sorry AA if that wasn't what you were suggesting.
Pulling KP back into this England team would make the team significantly worse. The devastating effect it would have on Cook, as Captain, and on the fabulous cohort of young players we now have (Ballance, Root, Buttler, Mooen, Wood) as well as the players that have had to put up with KP's disrespect and spiteful disloyalty (Anderson, Broad, Bell) means that, thankfully, no-one in their right mind would entertain the idea.
KP was a brilliant player and deserves a place in the history books for some of his fantastics innings, especially in the Ashes. However, nowadays, the further he is away from the England team (physically as well as mentally), the better the team is going to be.
For what it's worth I am not that fussed that he is not in the England team. I was merely responding to what I perceived to be AA's assertion of the sort of "KP who?" attitude because we are doing well.
KP would still quite clearly make this side better, only further evidenced when you see that Ian Bell has got six scores of 0 or 1 in his last nine innings (I think), batting in KP's position.
PS. Sorry AA if that wasn't what you were suggesting.
I have never suggested that KP isn't possibly good enough. But he hasn't proved it because scoring 300 against a team that has won one game in three years proves nothing. Even Kent managed to beat them!
It is more to do with the amount of work that has to be done to manage his ego. England did it for a decade and yet it still managed to create divisions.
I suppose the point I was trying to make is that we are now playing the type of cricket he has always played but without him and all the baggage he brings with him. And as has been proven by our performances against NZ we do have players coming through who can do the job.
I'm afraid Bell has always been a confidence player. It took him, after all, almost 50 Tests to score a hundred in an innings when another player hadn't done so too. He is, in fact, the complete opposite of KP. Classy in every sense of the word.
Assuming he fails in the second innings but we don't lose this Test, I think we can still "carry" him into the next one if only because it creates a united front against an Aussie side missing Harris and possibly Starc too. Class is permanent and form temporary but if he doesn't show signs of a recovery in the second Test he, sadly, has to go.
That would then create an opportunity to bring in another batsmen and/or move Ali up the order and introduce Rashid. I tell you this though. Ali's strength has now become his weakness because there probably hasn't been a more gifted batsmen to bat at 8 in our side. And by "gift" I don't just mean his technique. I mean his phlegmatic attitude. Someone who appreciates that he is in the team to do a specific job and who will do it to the best of his ability and for the benefit of the team.
Which brings me nicely full circle back to KP. Someone who bowled spin and batted at 8 for Natal. But a person who hasn't always done things for the benefit of the team but for himself. And that has a lot of the time, in turn, helped the team. But his ego hasn't.
I think the bet of the day has to be a draw. Poor weather on the last day forecast, and i can see the Aussie's tail wagging for a little longer today too
Guys I understand all of that about the mental side of the game and agree it would be damaging. I was literally just trying to say I would have thought KP would do better at 4 than Bell has been doing. Just didn't express it very well.
Anyhow, what a start! Great over from the smug pommie cheat!
I think the bet of the day has to be a draw. Poor weather on the last day forecast, and i can see the Aussie's tail wagging for a little longer today too
One thing that has "evolved" (if that's the word) over time, it is the screams of exclamation from the keeper and slips every time the ball passes the bat - as if a ball that isn't within three feet of the bat and a batsman has made no attempt to play at is some sort of wondrous achievement!
One thing that has "evolved" (if that's the word) over time, it is the screams of exclamation from the keeper and slips every time the ball passes the bat - as if a ball that isn't within three feet of the bat and a batsman has made no attempt to play at is some sort of wondrous achievement!
I get that when umpiring Kent League games too - every dot ball has the bowling team wooping and hollering. Really annoys me. I don't mind encouragement, but not every bloomin' ball!
Comments
However one bad session with the bat for either side today and they will fighting to avoid defeat for the remainder of the game.
KP would still quite clearly make this side better, only further evidenced when you see that Ian Bell has got six scores of 0 or 1 in his last nine innings (I think), batting in KP's position.
PS. Sorry AA if that wasn't what you were suggesting.
KP was a brilliant player and deserves a place in the history books for some of his fantastics innings, especially in the Ashes. However, nowadays, the further he is away from the England team (physically as well as mentally), the better the team is going to be.
It is more to do with the amount of work that has to be done to manage his ego. England did it for a decade and yet it still managed to create divisions.
I suppose the point I was trying to make is that we are now playing the type of cricket he has always played but without him and all the baggage he brings with him. And as has been proven by our performances against NZ we do have players coming through who can do the job.
I'm afraid Bell has always been a confidence player. It took him, after all, almost 50 Tests to score a hundred in an innings when another player hadn't done so too. He is, in fact, the complete opposite of KP. Classy in every sense of the word.
Assuming he fails in the second innings but we don't lose this Test, I think we can still "carry" him into the next one if only because it creates a united front against an Aussie side missing Harris and possibly Starc too. Class is permanent and form temporary but if he doesn't show signs of a recovery in the second Test he, sadly, has to go.
That would then create an opportunity to bring in another batsmen and/or move Ali up the order and introduce Rashid. I tell you this though. Ali's strength has now become his weakness because there probably hasn't been a more gifted batsmen to bat at 8 in our side. And by "gift" I don't just mean his technique. I mean his phlegmatic attitude. Someone who appreciates that he is in the team to do a specific job and who will do it to the best of his ability and for the benefit of the team.
Which brings me nicely full circle back to KP. Someone who bowled spin and batted at 8 for Natal. But a person who hasn't always done things for the benefit of the team but for himself. And that has a lot of the time, in turn, helped the team. But his ego hasn't.
In comes the man with the most 6s in Ashes history - Haddin.
Anyhow, what a start! Great over from the smug pommie cheat!
265-7
Well he's in now so Woody do your bit!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2653822