I left the oval at 6.15 on Friday and said to my Brother and his mates that there wasn't going to be a wicket in the final 15 minutes and so got to Vauxhall and on my way to Clapham junction as the final over was being bowled.
They have the X factor as a team even without playing Ashwin. They would probably be even further in the lead if he had played.
Winning in Australia wasn't a fluke and even though they have bad sessions when they are on it they are just a better side than England. Stokes wasn't available and Butter remains an enigma in test cricket but pleased he will return after the birth of his child.
The home advantage which dominated test cricket for so long has gone; at least where India are concerned.
They haven't even needed their spin twins who put England to the sword in India.
Like yesterday, the clickbait were adamant that England had a greater chance of winning now that Hameed was out.
They meant to say "a greater chance of losing".
Two hundred opening stands in the last three innings (after 36 and 40 overs respectively) is the sort of platform we need in every innings. It's not Hameed or Burns' fault that we went from 100-0 to 210 all out. It continues to frustrate me that people don't understand that a red ball offers far more to a bowler (and for much longer) than a white one does. I'm sure some think that these batsmen should be able to clear their front leg and smash the ball to the boundary in the way they might do in the shortened form of the game. It simply isn't that easy as the likes of Bumrah can execute plans to the extent that they can land a ball on a sixpence and let it do the rest.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
Hameed getting out yesterday both increased the chance of England winning AND of England losing! If England wanted to draw, we needed him and Burns to stay in, as they looked pretty comfortable out there.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
I agree to a point, if a good bowler gets wickets more often and earlier, it saves more runs than a bits and pieces player will get with the ball, but you need to be careful not to have too many so there is some support at say 8 & 9 for the batsman still in rather than making it effectively 6/7 out, all out every time.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
I agree to a point, if a good bowler gets wickets more often and earlier, it saves more runs than a bits and pieces player will get with the ball, but you need to be careful not to have too many so there is some support at say 8 & 9 for the batsman still in rather than making it effectively 6/7 out, all out every time.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
good logic, we could end up with Buttler at 7 & Woakes at 8.. Woakes is near genuine all rounder status and Robinson (IF he plays) despite his failures at the Oval is no mug .. I dare say though that Bairstow will still be in the team at the expense of a bowler thus reducing Root's attacking bowling options.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
I agree to a point, if a good bowler gets wickets more often and earlier, it saves more runs than a bits and pieces player will get with the ball, but you need to be careful not to have too many so there is some support at say 8 & 9 for the batsman still in rather than making it effectively 6/7 out, all out every time.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
good logic, we could end up with Buttler at 7 & Woakes at 8.. Woakes is near genuine all rounder status and Robinson (IF he plays) despite his failures at the Oval is no mug .. I dare say though that Bairstow will still be in the team at the expense of a bowler thus reducing Root's attacking bowling options.
We won't go in with 4 bowlers though and haven't done so in living memory. Parkinson could get smashed out of the attack and that would leave us with just Wood, Woakes and Anderson toiling away with any one of them capable of breaking down too. Which is why we miss Stokes so much and he isn't certain to tour. We are also anything but a good side with the bat as evidenced by the fact that only Root would get into the Indian top six - even Jadeja's average is better than all of ours bar the skipper.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
I agree to a point, if a good bowler gets wickets more often and earlier, it saves more runs than a bits and pieces player will get with the ball, but you need to be careful not to have too many so there is some support at say 8 & 9 for the batsman still in rather than making it effectively 6/7 out, all out every time.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
good logic, we could end up with Buttler at 7 & Woakes at 8.. Woakes is near genuine all rounder status and Robinson (IF he plays) despite his failures at the Oval is no mug .. I dare say though that Bairstow will still be in the team at the expense of a bowler thus reducing Root's attacking bowling options.
We won't go in with 4 bowlers though and haven't done so in living memory. Parkinson could get smashed out of the attack and that would leave us with just Wood, Woakes and Anderson toiling away with any one of them capable of breaking down too. Which is why we miss Stokes so much and he isn't certain to tour. We are also anything but a good side with the bat as evidenced by the fact that only Root would get into the Indian top six - even Jadeja's average is better than all of ours bar the skipper.
It's a real headache!
'won't go in with four bowlers' ??? .. do you mean 5 bowlers ? .. four bowlers and a 'batter who bowls a bit' has been our 'fate' for a long time now .. as for Stokes ? .. nowhere near so talented, BUT Woakes should be asked to play that role .. England can't go on 'shortening the tail' because the top order is continually failing. Surely if runs are scarce you need bowlers to attack the opposition tp prevent them overtaking poor scores. Good in theory. B T W two England 'rejects' Stoneman (174) and Robson (253) have just made BIG 100s for Middx, albeit against a Sussex attack of unknowns, unknown to me at any rate. Both are now over 30, an age at which English batsmen often seem to have matured and learnt enough abut batting to solidify and prolong a career, (e.g Mark Ramprakash after moving to Surrey)
Matt Parkinson, is not playing for Lancashire this week, I don't know if he is injured
Lancs have used their two all rounder/spinners, Wells and Croft but England might well have already tipped off Lancs that Parkinson was likely to be called up and didn't want him playing for that reason. He bowled 86 overs in last week's game and took 7 wickets
I expect Shami and Ashwin to come in for India. Not sure if they'll tinker with a batsman instead of Rahane who has Vihari/Agarwal/Yadav/Shaw waiting in the wings. They will probably be able to move Shubman Gill back to opening and KL down there as a longer term solution.
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
I agree to a point, if a good bowler gets wickets more often and earlier, it saves more runs than a bits and pieces player will get with the ball, but you need to be careful not to have too many so there is some support at say 8 & 9 for the batsman still in rather than making it effectively 6/7 out, all out every time.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
good logic, we could end up with Buttler at 7 & Woakes at 8.. Woakes is near genuine all rounder status and Robinson (IF he plays) despite his failures at the Oval is no mug .. I dare say though that Bairstow will still be in the team at the expense of a bowler thus reducing Root's attacking bowling options.
We won't go in with 4 bowlers though and haven't done so in living memory. Parkinson could get smashed out of the attack and that would leave us with just Wood, Woakes and Anderson toiling away with any one of them capable of breaking down too. Which is why we miss Stokes so much and he isn't certain to tour. We are also anything but a good side with the bat as evidenced by the fact that only Root would get into the Indian top six - even Jadeja's average is better than all of ours bar the skipper.
It's a real headache!
'won't go in with four bowlers' ??? .. do you mean 5 bowlers ? .. four bowlers and a 'batter who bowls a bit' has been our 'fate' for a long time now .. as for Stokes ? .. nowhere near so talented, BUT Woakes should be asked to play that role .. England can't go on 'shortening the tail' because the top order is continually failing. Surely if runs are scarce you need bowlers to attack the opposition tp prevent them overtaking poor scores. Good in theory. B T W two England 'rejects' Stoneman (174) and Robson (253) have just made BIG 100s for Middx, albeit against a Sussex attack of unknowns, unknown to me at any rate. Both are now over 30, an age at which English batsmen often seem to have matured and learnt enough abut batting to solidify and prolong a career, (e.g Mark Ramprakash after moving to Surrey)
Sussex are 103-0 at close of 2nd day, five wickets have fallen in 2 days, so safe to say a very good batting wicket
Buttler, Leach and Wood added to the squad for the next Test
a good call would have been Matt Parkinson (NO 44 in the c c averages) to play on his home turf .. his 'Hundred form' (excuse those, to some, blasphemous words lol) was good .. he gives the ball a right good tweak and is an infectious and enthusiastic character .. the English selector Silverwood, along with Root sure lack a bit of devil and a willingness to experiment .. mind you the press are all too keen to get on their backs for any perceived 'craziness'
Thing is Matt Parkinson is a real specialist number 11, he’ll make the tail even longer, whilst moeen gives a bit of batting and leach can block it out (and a man of the match winning test knock under his belt). Bess is out of favour but is no mug with the bat. If we want Jimmy and broady to go to Australia then we can’t have another number 11 as well.
a good side shouldn't have to depend on 'the tail' to bail out a failing batting line up .. bowlers are selected (at least SHOULD be selected) to take wickets and not to block up an end or score a few runs at the end of an indifferent innings .. the idea that a mediocre bowler who can bat a bit is preferable to a dangerous bowler who is a complete rabbit is soooo negative .. select 'batters' to score runs and bowlers to take wickets and save the mediocre 'all rounders' for the one day game we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
I agree to a point, if a good bowler gets wickets more often and earlier, it saves more runs than a bits and pieces player will get with the ball, but you need to be careful not to have too many so there is some support at say 8 & 9 for the batsman still in rather than making it effectively 6/7 out, all out every time.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
good logic, we could end up with Buttler at 7 & Woakes at 8.. Woakes is near genuine all rounder status and Robinson (IF he plays) despite his failures at the Oval is no mug .. I dare say though that Bairstow will still be in the team at the expense of a bowler thus reducing Root's attacking bowling options.
We won't go in with 4 bowlers though and haven't done so in living memory. Parkinson could get smashed out of the attack and that would leave us with just Wood, Woakes and Anderson toiling away with any one of them capable of breaking down too. Which is why we miss Stokes so much and he isn't certain to tour. We are also anything but a good side with the bat as evidenced by the fact that only Root would get into the Indian top six - even Jadeja's average is better than all of ours bar the skipper.
It's a real headache!
'won't go in with four bowlers' ??? .. do you mean 5 bowlers ? .. four bowlers and a 'batter who bowls a bit' has been our 'fate' for a long time now .. as for Stokes ? .. nowhere near so talented, BUT Woakes should be asked to play that role .. England can't go on 'shortening the tail' because the top order is continually failing. Surely if runs are scarce you need bowlers to attack the opposition tp prevent them overtaking poor scores. Good in theory. B T W two England 'rejects' Stoneman (174) and Robson (253) have just made BIG 100s for Middx, albeit against a Sussex attack of unknowns, unknown to me at any rate. Both are now over 30, an age at which English batsmen often seem to have matured and learnt enough abut batting to solidify and prolong a career, (e.g Mark Ramprakash after moving to Surrey)
The Sussex bowling attack's average age is 20 and Bumrah has probably has as many Test wickets as they have First Class wickets combined.
Stoneman bagged a pair last week against Derbyshire. In this game's score of 676-5, Robbie White hit an unbeaten ton too and has a lifetime average of 22.45. Andersson scored 88 and his average is 17.80. Should they be called up too?
Both Robson and Stoneman are openers. Are we going to drop Burns or Hameed after they've had two stands of 100 in the last three innings?
You also use the example of Ramrakash but this is someone who averaged 27 for England from 92 innings. Again hardly a recommendation as he prolonged his life as a county player not an international one. And he was, following his move, playing on the road that is the Oval.
I think the major difference in the 2 teams is mentality..kohli, as much as i despise his posturing desperately wants to win and his team mates have bought into the intensity that he demands on the pitch...
I am not sure silverwood and root have those characteristics....We should have won that last test ..,we let them off the hook in the 1st innings and it was for bairstow and ali to press on on the Friday but as usual they let the team down
If root hasn't got the personality to get more from his players then the coach should demand more from the team. To win you must really want to win not just think that it will happen
Feeling very negative that things will improve in the short term as ( as others have said, very little 4 day cricket is being played) and the big money is in limited overs cricket..
Just want to see ruthlessness if we get ahead in the game at old Trafford.
Aside from the fact we just aren’t good enough with the bat as a team at the moment, key problem for me was that Root just didn’t have a spinner he could trust for the second innings to do a decent shift at one end and keep scoring tight. Moen just cant do it and he he doesn’t feel he can himself either. Result leads to Anderson, Woakes and co being flogged into the ground when they could,be rotated better at one end,
Think we are going to struggle with this until we get a decent reliable spinner emerge again.
I think the major difference in the 2 teams is mentality..kohli, as much as i despise his posturing desperately wants to win and his team mates have bought into the intensity that he demands on the pitch...
I am not sure silverwood and root have those characteristics....We should have won that last test ..,we let them off the hook in the 1st innings and it was for bairstow and ali to press on on the Friday but as usual they let the team down
If root hasn't got the personality to get more from his players then the coach should demand more from the team. To win you must really want to win not just think that it will happen
Feeling very negative that things will improve in the short term as ( as others have said, very little 4 day cricket is being played) and the big money is in limited overs cricket..
Just want to see ruthlessness if we get ahead in the game at old Trafford.
I think that's very fair comment. Too many of our players lack the presence on the pitch and a lot of that comes down to them not feeling as being established at Test level. The likes of KP, Flintoff and Collingwood all thrived on confrontation but also had that gritty determination and self belief to make things happen.
I've also witnessed, at county age group level, players not taking responsibility for their own game because they look round the dressing room thinking that it's OK for them not to do so well because the rest of the team aren't performing. It's not that they don't care - they just get used to their own mutual mediocrity. And the reverse can happen too. When one has a big score, another will think "if he can do that so can I". Trouble is when the only one of them is doing it for us with is when of the best three on form in the world the gap is too big to relate to.
Hameed and Pope have the basic technique to be successful. They need to start believing that they can do it. Once they do that then others might do too and then some will develop that "in your face" mentality. Of the bowlers, Anderson has it and Robinson is capable of giving it out but is probably very conscious that he is walking a bit of a tightrope. Woakes, Moeen, Wood etc are good guys who would just be laughed at by the opposition if they tried dishing it out!
Aside from the fact we just aren’t good enough with the bat as a team at the moment, key problem for me was that Root just didn’t have a spinner he could trust for the second innings to do a decent shift at one end and keep scoring tight. Moen just cant do it and he he doesn’t feel he can himself either. Result leads to Anderson, Woakes and co being flogged into the ground when they could,be rotated better at one end,
Think we are going to struggle with this until we get a decent reliable spinner emerge again.
And 2 or 3 batsmen, to be honest, we've not had a really decent one come though since Root/Stokes.
Although I think Crawley, whilst rightly dropped, will come good.
Aside from the fact we just aren’t good enough with the bat as a team at the moment, key problem for me was that Root just didn’t have a spinner he could trust for the second innings to do a decent shift at one end and keep scoring tight. Moen just cant do it and he he doesn’t feel he can himself either. Result leads to Anderson, Woakes and co being flogged into the ground when they could,be rotated better at one end,
Think we are going to struggle with this until we get a decent reliable spinner emerge again.
And 2 or 3 batsmen, to be honest, we've not had a really decent one come though since Root/Stokes.
Although I think Crawley, whilst rightly dropped, will come good.
International 'class' (I use the word loosely) English batsmen are continually in one day mode it seems and lack the patience or probably now the ability to concentrate for the long periods that test match batting requires .. the exception (of course) is Joe Root .. BUT, as a captain he should be able to demand of his players better levels of patience and professionalism, not only in batting but in fielding, the two dropped catches by Burns arguably cost England the game, Sharma dropped on 3 went on to make 127. An effective captain really needs to be a bit aloof from his team and must be able to dish out a right bollocking when needed. Root lacks this 'nasty' streak and this all too often makes his team i m o too lethargic and complacent. Problem is of course there is just no obvious alternative to JR as skipper. Would Buttler be a better choice and would the captaincy rekindle his desire to make himself regularly available ? The bowling. As Michael Vaughan, a shrewd commentator as well as a very demanding ex England captain, has said, the pace attack is good in 'typical English' conditions when the ball moves around and makes batsmen on edge and wary. But on hot days on a flat track, they lack the sheer pace, variety and penetration to worry quality batsmen. Let's hope that Mark Wood can bring some ooomppphh to the attack in Manchester. Wood is 31, Archer is made of glass and i m o is more interested in lucrative 20/20 contracts rather than test cricket. There is a shortage of really fast bowlers coming along behind Wood, or am I wrong in all this ? Despite all this, England has produced great teams in the not too distant past and will do so again;. All we need is a few South Africans in the Pietersen, Trott, Strauss, Prior mould to sign up for us
Root has said that Buttler will come straight back in, which is pretty baffling really looking at his batting record in the 3 Tests he played. I can't see any justification for dropping someone in the top 6 to make way for him
Josh Bohannon of Lancs is worth a look .. Ist Class average of 45.38 from 31 games. Just 2 tons so far so he's consistent without making too many BIG scores it seems .. he is 24 and also bowls a bit .. He won't get a sniff of a chance from this regime though
Josh Bohannon of Lancs is worth a look .. Ist Class average of 45.38 from 31 games. Just 2 tons so far so he's consistent without making too many BIG scores it seems .. he is 24 and also bowls a bit .. He won't get a sniff of a chance from this regime though
He's just made 34 and 8 against Nottinghamshire and bowled ten wicketless overs. Which player would you drop so that we can 'have a look' at him in a Test against India we have to win to save the series?
Josh Bohannon of Lancs is worth a look .. Ist Class average of 45.38 from 31 games. Just 2 tons so far so he's consistent without making too many BIG scores it seems .. he is 24 and also bowls a bit .. He won't get a sniff of a chance from this regime though
He's just made 34 and 8 against Nottinghamshire and bowled ten wicketless overs. Which player would you drop so that we can 'have a look' at him in a Test against India we have to win to save the series?
Josh Bohannon of Lancs is worth a look .. Ist Class average of 45.38 from 31 games. Just 2 tons so far so he's consistent without making too many BIG scores it seems .. he is 24 and also bowls a bit .. He won't get a sniff of a chance from this regime though
He's just made 34 and 8 against Nottinghamshire and bowled ten wicketless overs. Which player would you drop so that we can 'have a look' at him in a Test against India we have to win to save the series?
lol .. that's one game .. nit picker
If he's any good (and I have no idea) he'll be on the radar. But I can't imagine he'll get a Test call up before the Ashes are over
Josh Bohannon of Lancs is worth a look .. Ist Class average of 45.38 from 31 games. Just 2 tons so far so he's consistent without making too many BIG scores it seems .. he is 24 and also bowls a bit .. He won't get a sniff of a chance from this regime though
He's just made 34 and 8 against Nottinghamshire and bowled ten wicketless overs. Which player would you drop so that we can 'have a look' at him in a Test against India we have to win to save the series?
lol .. that's one game .. nit picker
If he's any good (and I have no idea) he'll be on the radar. But I can't imagine he'll get a Test call up before the Ashes are over
I dare say he's on Silverwood's radar but as I said I doubt he'll get a sniff so long as (e.g.) Bairstow keeps breathing. Also, I do hope that England has a 'scouting system' following Smith and Taylor's sacking
Final Test of the summer starts in Manchester on September 10th. Even with the unseasonably good weather (which has just broken btw) the know that its going to rain.
What idiot decided too play in mid September in MANCHESTER. Do they not know about the weather in the UK ??
Comments
I left the oval at 6.15 on Friday and said to my Brother and his mates that there wasn't going to be a wicket in the final 15 minutes and so got to Vauxhall and on my way to Clapham junction as the final over was being bowled.
They have the X factor as a team even without playing Ashwin. They would probably be even further in the lead if he had played.
Winning in Australia wasn't a fluke and even though they have bad sessions when they are on it they are just a better side than England. Stokes wasn't available and Butter remains an enigma in test cricket but pleased he will return after the birth of his child.
The home advantage which dominated test cricket for so long has gone; at least where India are concerned.
They haven't even needed their spin twins who put England to the sword in India.
Two hundred opening stands in the last three innings (after 36 and 40 overs respectively) is the sort of platform we need in every innings. It's not Hameed or Burns' fault that we went from 100-0 to 210 all out. It continues to frustrate me that people don't understand that a red ball offers far more to a bowler (and for much longer) than a white one does. I'm sure some think that these batsmen should be able to clear their front leg and smash the ball to the boundary in the way they might do in the shortened form of the game. It simply isn't that easy as the likes of Bumrah can execute plans to the extent that they can land a ball on a sixpence and let it do the rest.
If England wanted to draw, we needed him and Burns to stay in, as they looked pretty comfortable out there.
we need to win this last test to square the series and neither Ali nor Leach are i m o good enough to pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen. Parkinson might be rubbish, he might be a match winner, he needs to play so we can find out .. and this applies to any newcomer.
That said, if say Woakes and Wood play, I think you can risk Jimmy & Parkinson as the last 2 and see how Parkinson does. I'd love him to do well in Tests, we badly need a proper spinner.
We won't go in with 4 bowlers though and haven't done so in living memory. Parkinson could get smashed out of the attack and that would leave us with just Wood, Woakes and Anderson toiling away with any one of them capable of breaking down too. Which is why we miss Stokes so much and he isn't certain to tour. We are also anything but a good side with the bat as evidenced by the fact that only Root would get into the Indian top six - even Jadeja's average is better than all of ours bar the skipper.
It's a real headache!
B T W two England 'rejects' Stoneman (174) and Robson (253) have just made BIG 100s for Middx, albeit against a Sussex attack of unknowns, unknown to me at any rate. Both are now over 30, an age at which English batsmen often seem to have matured and learnt enough abut batting to solidify and prolong a career, (e.g Mark Ramprakash after moving to Surrey)
Sussex are 103-0 at close of 2nd day, five wickets have fallen in 2 days, so safe to say a very good batting wicket
Stoneman bagged a pair last week against Derbyshire. In this game's score of 676-5, Robbie White hit an unbeaten ton too and has a lifetime average of 22.45. Andersson scored 88 and his average is 17.80. Should they be called up too?
Both Robson and Stoneman are openers. Are we going to drop Burns or Hameed after they've had two stands of 100 in the last three innings?
You also use the example of Ramrakash but this is someone who averaged 27 for England from 92 innings. Again hardly a recommendation as he prolonged his life as a county player not an international one. And he was, following his move, playing on the road that is the Oval.
I am not sure silverwood and root have those characteristics....We should have won that last test ..,we let them off the hook in the 1st innings and it was for bairstow and ali to press on on the Friday but as usual they let the team down
If root hasn't got the personality to get more from his players then the coach should demand more from the team. To win you must really want to win not just think that it will happen
Feeling very negative that things will improve in the short term as ( as others have said, very little 4 day cricket is being played) and the big money is in limited overs cricket..
Just want to see ruthlessness if we get ahead in the game at old Trafford.
Think we are going to struggle with this until we get a decent reliable spinner emerge again.
I've also witnessed, at county age group level, players not taking responsibility for their own game because they look round the dressing room thinking that it's OK for them not to do so well because the rest of the team aren't performing. It's not that they don't care - they just get used to their own mutual mediocrity. And the reverse can happen too. When one has a big score, another will think "if he can do that so can I". Trouble is when the only one of them is doing it for us with is when of the best three on form in the world the gap is too big to relate to.
Hameed and Pope have the basic technique to be successful. They need to start believing that they can do it. Once they do that then others might do too and then some will develop that "in your face" mentality. Of the bowlers, Anderson has it and Robinson is capable of giving it out but is probably very conscious that he is walking a bit of a tightrope. Woakes, Moeen, Wood etc are good guys who would just be laughed at by the opposition if they tried dishing it out!
Although I think Crawley, whilst rightly dropped, will come good.
Weather looks shyte!
The bowling. As Michael Vaughan, a shrewd commentator as well as a very demanding ex England captain, has said, the pace attack is good in 'typical English' conditions when the ball moves around and makes batsmen on edge and wary. But on hot days on a flat track, they lack the sheer pace, variety and penetration to worry quality batsmen. Let's hope that Mark Wood can bring some ooomppphh to the attack in Manchester. Wood is 31, Archer is made of glass and i m o is more interested in lucrative 20/20 contracts rather than test cricket. There is a shortage of really fast bowlers coming along behind Wood, or am I wrong in all this ?
Despite all this, England has produced great teams in the not too distant past and will do so again;. All we need is a few South Africans in the Pietersen, Trott, Strauss, Prior mould to sign up for us
What idiot decided too play in mid September in MANCHESTER. Do they not know about the weather in the UK ??