Neither his batting average nor his bowling average are top level. As soon as a better all rounder and a better spinner are available for selection, I would absolutely consider dropping Ali.
Stokes is a shoe-in once he becomes available for selection and he would come in for Woakes or Overton.
Then for me, Stokes bats six and Ali with a batting average of 34 point something is pushed down to eight but as soon as we have a spinner of Lyon's (or better) calibre available, then having a batsman with an average of less than 35 coming in at eight is a luxury.
He survives because he can do a bit of both but his problem is that he does neither with consistency.
The only way he keeps his place in the team long term is if:
1. his batting average begins to push 40 (currently lower than 35) so they want to find a permanent place for him at five/six or 2. his bowling average gets closer to 30 so we don't need to look for a new spin option.
I firmly believe Moeen would benefit from having one of two disciplines relieved from his shoulders. England and the player himself would need to decide which is it going forward and stick to it.
Steve Smith used to be able to do a bit of both but then he started to concentrate on his batting. Now he rarely bowls and is one of the world's best.
Oh also @Leuth I am firmly on the Overton train after seeing how he handled his first day of Test cricket yesterday.
Woakes doesn't inspire me this series (too many dobbers by the standards of an Aussie pitch) but if Overton turns out to be a bit useless long term then Woakes comes back into the team.
Woakes is generally a decent option in UK conditions.
Neither his batting average nor his bowling average are top level. As soon as a better all rounder and a better spinner are available for selection, I would absolutely consider dropping Ali.
Stokes is a shoe-in once he becomes available for selection and he would come in for Woakes or Overton.
Then for me, Stokes bats six and Ali with average of 34 point something is pushed down to eight but as soon as we have a spinner of Lyon's (or better) calibre available, then having a batsman with an average of less than 35 coming in at eight is a luxury.
He survives because he can do a bit of both but his problem is that he does neither with consistency.
The only way he keeps his place in the team long term is if:
1. his batting average begins to push 40 (currently lower than 35) so they have to find a permanent place for him at five/six or 2. his bowling average gets closer to 30 so we don't need to look for a new spin option.
Decent points, my 2 cents for what they are worth is Moen Ali as a batsman and fielder justifies his place, throw his bowling in and he can win games. He's been below average this year but I think he's a far better batsman than a spin bowler, that's a bad reflection of how shallow the English spin talent pool is more than Ali. The test side pretty much stumbled on Swann and having Panesar around at the point Warne packed in and Murali knocked top level cricket on the head helped.
Moeen bowls too quickly without any flight. He needs to be bowling at around 54mph and hrs bowling too full. There's nothing aerial and spinners are all about the flight. It's really frustrating to see.
There's some devil in this pitch. The odd one is spinnng and bouncing and it's coming off the pitch with a bit of pace. We've seen some balls on a good to full length bouncing well over the stumps. England facing the Aussie quicks with a new ball in hand and under the lights does not fill me with confidence. We need them out fast and see off the new ball before the afternoon session is through. Don't see us skittling them out that quickly though. Getting Paine was a bit of a lucky wicket - 9 times out of 10 that would have been at least a 4 and maybe a 6.
To be fair to England, there have been at least a dozen played and misses from Australia today. You can bet the ball will find the edge every time an English batsman so much as thinks about dangling their bat in harms way.
Marsh given not out lbw to Anderson. Reviewed and decision upheld. Pitched outside leg stump.
Can someone please explain why if a ball pitches outside leg stump you can't be lbw ? In my view if its going to hit the stumps it should be out - thats the whole bloody point of the game.
Right, I'm off to bed in pessimistic mood. Expecting to wake up to an Aussie score of around 400 and England 4 or 5 down for around a hundred in their first innings. Hopefully two or three of ours can bat with the kind of obstinance and luck that the Aussies have been, but I won't hold my breath.
Comments
Neither his batting average nor his bowling average are top level. As soon as a better all rounder and a better spinner are available for selection, I would absolutely consider dropping Ali.
Stokes is a shoe-in once he becomes available for selection and he would come in for Woakes or Overton.
Then for me, Stokes bats six and Ali with a batting average of 34 point something is pushed down to eight but as soon as we have a spinner of Lyon's (or better) calibre available, then having a batsman with an average of less than 35 coming in at eight is a luxury.
He survives because he can do a bit of both but his problem is that he does neither with consistency.
The only way he keeps his place in the team long term is if:
1. his batting average begins to push 40 (currently lower than 35) so they want to find a permanent place for him at five/six or
2. his bowling average gets closer to 30 so we don't need to look for a new spin option.
Steve Smith used to be able to do a bit of both but then he started to concentrate on his batting. Now he rarely bowls and is one of the world's best.
Woakes doesn't inspire me this series (too many dobbers by the standards of an Aussie pitch) but if Overton turns out to be a bit useless long term then Woakes comes back into the team.
Woakes is generally a decent option in UK conditions.
Live stream for day 2. Not sure how long it will stay up.
Handscomb out. Aus currently 232-5.
Anderson gets Marsh lbw for 29.
Marsh has reviewed it though...
Would be huge if this is upheld.
240-5
Anderson making the ball do all sorts.
Please make me look stupid.
Jimmy had it turning around corners 10 overs ago.
Aussies 306-6.
97-2 in the session.
Broad gets Starc out.
I know the Aussies have about 100 more runs at this stage than they did but we really can't afford another 50+ partnership.
No luck at all today.