What should have been happening is that someone like Woakes or Overton should have been doing the Holder role (21 overs for 24 runs and the wickets of Lawrence and Foakes) which then would enable Wood and Stokes to bowl short, quick spells. Instead they went for 58 off 12 overs. Now Stokes and Wood are bowling together and will probably have to rest at much the same time too.
I actually feel sorry for Woakes because he is one of cricket's good guys. He's also been misused in the past but, time and time again, it has been shown that he isn't an attacking bowler abroad. I suspect the real reason he's being selected is because we don't trust our batting line up and want him at 8 rather than Overton, Leach or Wood.
Good job for us that Blackwood has such a good middle to his thigh pad. Would never have happened if he just had a towel down there like a lot of us third team players used to have!!!
Its been clear since Jonny came back into the side in the india series last summer he had worked on his technique and looked much more put together. He is now seeing the rewards and i really hope it continues. Would love it if we see Jonny the quality test match player of 2016-18 without losing anything in his white ball game.
And that is very much the point. Some players like Bairstow have the ability to work on their game and adapt. Others like Ballance, Jennings ot Hales either can't or simply refuse to do so.
I mean it took him from 2018 till 2021 to get there but sure I'll take your point.
Its been clear since Jonny came back into the side in the india series last summer he had worked on his technique and looked much more put together. He is now seeing the rewards and i really hope it continues. Would love it if we see Jonny the quality test match player of 2016-18 without losing anything in his white ball game.
And that is very much the point. Some players like Bairstow have the ability to work on their game and adapt. Others like Ballance, Jennings ot Hales either can't or simply refuse to do so.
I mean it took him from 2018 till 2021 to get there but sure I'll take your point.
To which I would respond by saying that Pope has plenty of time to work it out. Though I suspect that it might be more in his head because these things aren't always technical. The problem for the likes of Rampakash and Hick, for example, was a lack of self-belief when it comes to believing that they belong on the highest stage against the best bowling. They were both also mucked about by England, constantly being dropped and then recalled.
As I've also said with Pope, though, hiding at 6 doesn't actually do him any good and offers him a false sense of security. Lawrence is in situ now but, should he fail in his series, then I would like to see Pope being given that run at 4. He is good enough but has to believe that he is good enough. That only comes with runs and not runs at The Oval against average bowling because Pope is too intelligent to kid himself that this is the equivalent of doing that in Test cricket.
It says three things about Foakes standing up to Woakes:
(1) Foakes is confident and capable enough to do so (2) The wicket is slow (3) The ball has gone soft (4) Foakes is military medium on this wicket - this is the biggest factor in my opinion - and he is probably privately quite insulted that Foakes is doing so in order to create some pressure
Comments
Blackwood 11 (24) c Overton b Woakes
Great review in the end.
As I've also said with Pope, though, hiding at 6 doesn't actually do him any good and offers him a false sense of security. Lawrence is in situ now but, should he fail in his series, then I would like to see Pope being given that run at 4. He is good enough but has to believe that he is good enough. That only comes with runs and not runs at The Oval against average bowling because Pope is too intelligent to kid himself that this is the equivalent of doing that in Test cricket.
(1) Foakes is confident and capable enough to do so
(2) The wicket is slow
(3) The ball has gone soft
(4) Foakes is military medium on this wicket - this is the biggest factor in my opinion - and he is probably privately quite insulted that Foakes is doing so in order to create some pressure
Da Silva 32 (88) lbw b Leach
Joseph 2 (7) c Pope b Overton
Saying ashes 17 18 tour.
Anyone we know