Very good toss to win and this will be a real test of concentration for one player namely Pope. It's hard enough keeping when you don't do it regularly but it's so easy to go to sleep when nothing is happening on the pitch and you've been out there for a sustained period of time. Hopefully, by the time Pakistan bat, there will be enough to keep him interested. I wonder if he's actually kept in red ball since he last did so for England?
Meanwhile Australia, on a different motorway, have declared on 598-4 (Labuschagne 204, Smith 200*, Head 99, Khawaja 65 and poor old Warner missing out with 5!) against the West Indies
Very good toss to win and this will be a real test of concentration for one player namely Pope. It's hard enough keeping when you don't do it regularly but it's so easy to go to sleep when nothing is happening on the pitch and you've been out there for a sustained period of time. Hopefully, by the time Pakistan bat, there will be enough to keep him interested. I wonder if he's actually kept in red ball since he last did so for England?
Meanwhile Australia, on a different motorway, have declared on 598-4 (Labuschagne 204, Smith 200*, Head 99, Khawaja 65 and poor old Warner missing out with 5!) against the West Indies
Jacks is world class under the lid at short leg though so we won't miss Pope there.
Agree its a test for him but not too worried as its a short term solution.
Very good toss to win and this will be a real test of concentration for one player namely Pope. It's hard enough keeping when you don't do it regularly but it's so easy to go to sleep when nothing is happening on the pitch and you've been out there for a sustained period of time. Hopefully, by the time Pakistan bat, there will be enough to keep him interested. I wonder if he's actually kept in red ball since he last did so for England?
Meanwhile Australia, on a different motorway, have declared on 598-4 (Labuschagne 204, Smith 200*, Head 99, Khawaja 65 and poor old Warner missing out with 5!) against the West Indies
It's taken australia the best part of 6 sessions, amateurs.
Interesting that Duckett doesn't get picked for six years but as soon as he moves to a Test hosting county in Notts and better track he scores 1012 runs in the CC not opening and gets the international gig doing so. Hameed, with 1235 runs and opening for Notts, must be looking on with envy especially given the nature of this track.
One does wonder, though, whether Duckett would have been given a longer opportunity to prove himself under the current regime than than the four matches he had back in 2016 on "bunsen burners" in Bangladesh and India. Equally, perhaps Duckett is now reaching the potential he showed all those years ago and grown up a bit because his off the field issues haven't helped him in that respect either.
Still, there is a record here that only a badger such as myself will probably have spotted- these two centurions were both born in Kent and a mile or so apart too with Crawley in Bromley and Duckett in Farnborough!
Very good toss to win and this will be a real test of concentration for one player namely Pope. It's hard enough keeping when you don't do it regularly but it's so easy to go to sleep when nothing is happening on the pitch and you've been out there for a sustained period of time. Hopefully, by the time Pakistan bat, there will be enough to keep him interested. I wonder if he's actually kept in red ball since he last did so for England?
Meanwhile Australia, on a different motorway, have declared on 598-4 (Labuschagne 204, Smith 200*, Head 99, Khawaja 65 and poor old Warner missing out with 5!) against the West Indies
Jacks is world class under the lid at short leg though so we won't miss Pope there.
Agree its a test for him but not too worried as its a short term solution.
I wonder if any consideration was given to Duckett keeping although opening and doing so is a massive task. He has done it a lot more than Pope has recently and the latter only bats one place further down. In fact, I couldn't help noticing that Pope has never taken a stumping in any form of the professional game and he's played 185 matches! Yes I recognise that he hasn't kept in that many of them but that does serve to confirm his lack of experience with the gloves.
Bairstow's injury could not have been at a worst time for him. Missed out on a WC win and now could find that his replacement, Brook, is hard to dislodge
Bairstow's injury could not have been at a worst time for him. Missed out on a WC win and now could find that his replacement, Brook, is hard to dislodge
Bairstow will walk back into the side when he absolutely feels like it
Bairstow's injury could not have been at a worst time for him. Missed out on a WC win and now could find that his replacement, Brook, is hard to dislodge
Bairstow will walk back into the side when he absolutely feels like it
Not if he falls off any tees in the meantime he won't
Bairstow's injury could not have been at a worst time for him. Missed out on a WC win and now could find that his replacement, Brook, is hard to dislodge
Bairstow will walk back into the side when he absolutely feels like it
Not if he falls off any tees in the meantime he won't
An inarguable point.
Pope the Attacker looks much more comfortable than previous iterations. He's really good at going after bowling
Yes it was flippant to suggest that Bairstow won't get straight back in but, if Brook scored big runs in this series, are England and someone like McCullum in particular going to readily dump a 23 year old who has had to bide his time and is the future in all forms available to him (with the implications of what is close to happening in world cricket and fear that England might lose him to that) or bring back the 33 year old in a blink of the eyelid?
Yes it was flippant to suggest that Bairstow won't get straight back in but, if Brook scored big runs in this series, are England and someone like McCullum in particular going to readily dump a 23 year old who has had to bide his time and is the future in all forms available to him (with the implications of what is close to happening in world cricket and fear that England might lose him to that) or bring back the 33 year old in a blink of the eyelid?
They'll both play. Either Bairstow or Pope will keep. Foakes is simply more expendable.
Comments
Meanwhile Australia, on a different motorway, have declared on 598-4 (Labuschagne 204, Smith 200*, Head 99, Khawaja 65 and poor old Warner missing out with 5!) against the West Indies
Agree its a test for him but not too worried as its a short term solution.
Good to see.
Interesting that Duckett doesn't get picked for six years but as soon as he moves to a Test hosting county in Notts and better track he scores 1012 runs in the CC not opening and gets the international gig doing so. Hameed, with 1235 runs and opening for Notts, must be looking on with envy especially given the nature of this track.
One does wonder, though, whether Duckett would have been given a longer opportunity to prove himself under the current regime than than the four matches he had back in 2016 on "bunsen burners" in Bangladesh and India. Equally, perhaps Duckett is now reaching the potential he showed all those years ago and grown up a bit because his off the field issues haven't helped him in that respect either.
Still, there is a record here that only a badger such as myself will probably have spotted- these two centurions were both born in Kent and a mile or so apart too with Crawley in Bromley and Duckett in Farnborough!
286-3
Pope the Attacker looks much more comfortable than previous iterations. He's really good at going after bowling