IF I were neutral, I'd say that it's good that the Windies have found a goodish test team after years of poor performances .. in fact I'll say it anyway
IF I were neutral, I'd say that it's good that the Windies have found a goodish test team after years of poor performances .. in fact I'll say it anyway
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out
I bet Foakes is loving having to keep for 145 overs plus - if they bat for another 20 overs that will be over 1,000 squats and that's without the constant running to the stumps, taking throws etc etc.
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
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out
I bet Foakes is loving having to keep for 145 overs plus - if they bat for another 20 overs that will be over 1,000 squats and that's without the constant running to the stumps, taking throws etc etc.
Especially when he's having to keep to his own bowling
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out
I bet Foakes is loving having to keep for 145 overs plus - if they bat for another 20 overs that will be over 1,000 squats and that's without the constant running to the stumps, taking throws etc etc.
Especially when he's having to keep to his own bowling
Agreed but what's one letter between friends? Foakes has only ever bowled one over in the pro game though.
171 runs in 90.1 overs in the day. A lead of 62 nevertheless.
Unless the Windies can push their score over 400 and the lead to over 100 tomorrow, they would surely have been better off to have been bowled out or declared today and had 30 minutes at England tonight?
171 runs in 90.1 overs in the day. A lead of 62 nevertheless.
Unless the Windies can push their score over 400 and the lead to over 100 tomorrow, they would surely have been better off to have been bowled out or declared today and had 30 minutes at England tonight?
The Windies were probably of the belief that, as they have to bat last, they will have the worst of the wicket - so better to ensure a meaningful lead after the 1st innings no matter how long that might take.
Effectively, they have now batted England out of the game but had they gone all out for that bigger lead then they might not even have had a lead at all. Whereas if they get that 100 lead and bowl us out for say 250 then a chase of 150 would be far more achievable on a potentially wearing wicket.
The current prices are:
Windies 2.88 (15/8) Draw 1.83 (5/6) England 9.00 (8/1)
Unfortunately Woakes just isn't up to standard outside of the UK - I suspect this might've been his last chance to prove something and he's missed the mark terribly. Overton not really up to it either.
Have to blood in Mahmood next Test. And hopefully Robinson will be available too.
Overton bowling in the 70s... Anderson and Broad at home, Mahmood carrying the drinks.
Wood may not be able to bowl in the game again so, effectively, we are missing the following:
Broad Anderson Wood Archer Robinson Stone
That's a pretty impressive list of absent fast bowlers. Imagine Australia with no Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, Richardson, Boland and Pattinson - because that is the equivalent.
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.
I agree and I'd be happy with Pope at 4. All I've said in the past is that he should never bat in the top3 and I stand by that.
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.
I agree and I'd be happy with Pope at 4. All I've said in the past is that he should never bat in the top3 and I stand by that.
Although, more often than not, batting at 4 for England is batting at 3. But I suspect that Root has been told to bat at 3 to stop that happening quite so often.
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out
I bet Foakes is loving having to keep for 145 overs plus - if they bat for another 20 overs that will be over 1,000 squats and that's without the constant running to the stumps, taking throws etc etc.
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.
I agree and I'd be happy with Pope at 4. All I've said in the past is that he should never bat in the top3 and I stand by that.
Pope hasn't got the runs for England to be able to have a batting line up built around him. It would seem odd to have Root at 3 to protect Pope at 4, when Root is the premier batsman and captain, so needs a longer rest at the start of the innings.
He definitely shouldn't be at 6, as down there you'd expect the player either to be an all rounder (whether a bowler or keeper) or someone who can defend but also someone who can really accelerate the scoring (like a Buttler or Bairstow)
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out
I bet Foakes is loving having to keep for 145 overs plus - if they bat for another 20 overs that will be over 1,000 squats and that's without the constant running to the stumps, taking throws etc etc.
isn't it his job to do that?
Course it's his job!!!! I was responding to the "They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out". It's the bowlers' job to bowl. But the longer they are out there doing so the more it impacts on their performance both in this innings and the second one.
Foakes has already kept for almost two days solid and for 950 balls - standing around as a fielder like Crawley or Lees might have done is knackering enough but keeping is mentally and physically exhausting, even more so in heat and especially when you add the effect of having to wear a helmet for 50 of those overs as Foakes has had to do. That affects concentration and also the ability to subsequently bat with a clear mind. You are also, as keeper, very much the voice on the pitch that keeps the fielders on their toes and the person responsible most for encouraging the bowlers. It all adds up. My own son has come off with nosebleeds and been treated for dehydration playing in Australia as a result of the cumulative affect of doing so.
The other aspect is that Foakes hadn't kept for three months up until the warm up game here. Like footballers, it takes time to build up the physical endurance required to do the job - you can train as much as you like but nothing replicates playing - and unlike a home series when you might have kept for a number of County Championship games, there is no possibility of building that up on tour when you haven't done the job for so long.
I am absolutely convinced that this is why Buttler looked so miserable doing the job and why he made so many mistakes. Keeping in Test cricket was the only time he did so for more than 50 overs - some of those drops/missed stumpings he would take 10/10 in a keeping drill but the fatigue caused him to switch off. And why there was so little energy coming from him. He's nowhere near as good a keeper as Foakes but it isn't just the great takes that are the difference. It is maintaining even the basic parts of the job and that requires 100% concentration.
What are the Windies doing....? 24 runs in 14 overs since the last wicket. Do they want to win this or are they being paid for minutes spent at the crease.
They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out
I bet Foakes is loving having to keep for 145 overs plus - if they bat for another 20 overs that will be over 1,000 squats and that's without the constant running to the stumps, taking throws etc etc.
isn't it his job to do that?
Course it's his job!!!! I was responding to the "They are certainly tiring the England bowlers out". It's the bowlers' job to bowl. But the longer they are out there doing so the more it impacts on their performance both in this innings and the second one.
Foakes has already kept for almost two days solid and for 950 balls - standing around as a fielder like Crawley or Lees might have done is knackering enough but keeping is mentally and physically exhausting, even more so in heat and especially when you add the effect of having to wear a helmet for 50 of those overs as Foakes has had to do. That affects concentration and also the ability to subsequently bat with a clear mind. You are also, as keeper, very much the voice on the pitch that keeps the fielders on their toes and the person responsible most for encouraging the bowlers. It all adds up. My own son has come off with nosebleeds and been treated for dehydration playing in Australia as a result of the cumulative affect of doing so.
The other aspect is that Foakes hadn't kept for three months up until the warm up game here. Like footballers, it takes time to build up the physical endurance required to do the job - you can train as much as you like but nothing replicates playing - and unlike a home series when you might have kept for a number of County Championship games, there is no possibility of building that up on tour when you haven't done the job for so long.
I am absolutely convinced that this is why Buttler looked so miserable doing the job and why he made so many mistakes. Keeping in Test cricket was the only time he did so for more than 50 overs - some of those drops/missed stumpings he would take 10/10 in a keeping drill but the fatigue caused him to switch off. And why there was so little energy coming from him. He's nowhere near as good a keeper as Foakes but it isn't just the great takes that are the difference. It is maintaining even the basic parts of the job and that requires 100% concentration.
Billings in the Ashes gave England a big boost in the field, simply due to the energy and enthusiasm he showed out there, when compared to Buttler
Lees out LBW - head not in line with ball and falling over. Even worse, he reviews it in a nanosecond
24-1
Very poor waste of a review. It's become a thing where top order players automatically review LBWs, hoping they're missing. He would have known whether he hit it or not
Lees out LBW - head not in line with ball and falling over. Even worse, he reviews it in a nanosecond
24-1
Very poor waste of a review. It's become a thing where top order players automatically review LBWs, hoping they're missing. He would have known whether he hit it or not
I don't think we could see whether he got a signal from Crawley but it was, as you say, almost premeditated. Batsmen seem to have forgotten that reviews are meant to be used to turn over howlers not as a vehicle for self preservation.
Lees deserves the series to prove himself and I hope he has some success in that regard but the fact that he has been out LBW in seven of his last 21 First Class innings is worrying. Haven't seen any of the other dismissals but the head going too far across and falling over will mean that he ends up outside the line of the ball and also playing across his pads. Which is a very basic technical fault and not one that one would expect of a Test opener.
Lees out LBW - head not in line with ball and falling over. Even worse, he reviews it in a nanosecond
24-1
Very poor waste of a review. It's become a thing where top order players automatically review LBWs, hoping they're missing. He would have known whether he hit it or not
I don't think we could see whether he got a signal from Crawley but it was, as you say, almost premeditated. Batsmen seem to have forgotten that reviews are meant to be used to turn over howlers not as a vehicle for self preservation.
Lees deserves the series to prove himself and I hope he has some success in that regard but the fact that he has been out LBW in seven of his last 21 First Class innings is worrying. Haven't seen any of the other dismissals but the head going too far across and falling over will mean that he ends up outside the line of the ball and also playing across his pads. Which is a very basic technical fault and not one that one would expect of a Test opener.
England's selection strategy is also causing confusion. Even if Lees and Lawrence make a few runs here, we have no idea if Burns, Hameed and Malan would have made similar scores or better, in easier conditions than in Australia on sporty pitches
Lees out LBW - head not in line with ball and falling over. Even worse, he reviews it in a nanosecond
24-1
Very poor waste of a review. It's become a thing where top order players automatically review LBWs, hoping they're missing. He would have known whether he hit it or not
I don't think we could see whether he got a signal from Crawley but it was, as you say, almost premeditated. Batsmen seem to have forgotten that reviews are meant to be used to turn over howlers not as a vehicle for self preservation.
Lees deserves the series to prove himself and I hope he has some success in that regard but the fact that he has been out LBW in seven of his last 21 First Class innings is worrying. Haven't seen any of the other dismissals but the head going too far across and falling over will mean that he ends up outside the line of the ball and also playing across his pads. Which is a very basic technical fault and not one that one would expect of a Test opener.
England's selection strategy is also causing confusion. Even if Lees and Lawrence make a few runs here, we have no idea if Burns, Hameed and Malan would have made similar scores or better, in easier conditions than in Australia on sporty pitches
Exactly this. Lees also only has a first class average of 34 I believe. Just goes to show how short of quality we are at the top of the order
Comments
Bonus run out wicket there
Effectively, they have now batted England out of the game but had they gone all out for that bigger lead then they might not even have had a lead at all. Whereas if they get that 100 lead and bowl us out for say 250 then a chase of 150 would be far more achievable on a potentially wearing wicket.
The current prices are:
Windies 2.88 (15/8)
Draw 1.83 (5/6)
England 9.00 (8/1)
Unfortunately Woakes just isn't up to standard outside of the UK - I suspect this might've been his last chance to prove something and he's missed the mark terribly. Overton not really up to it either.
Have to blood in Mahmood next Test. And hopefully Robinson will be available too.
Broad
Anderson
Wood
Archer
Robinson
Stone
That's a pretty impressive list of absent fast bowlers. Imagine Australia with no Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, Richardson, Boland and Pattinson - because that is the equivalent.
He definitely shouldn't be at 6, as down there you'd expect the player either to be an all rounder (whether a bowler or keeper) or someone who can defend but also someone who can really accelerate the scoring (like a Buttler or Bairstow)
Foakes has already kept for almost two days solid and for 950 balls - standing around as a fielder like Crawley or Lees might have done is knackering enough but keeping is mentally and physically exhausting, even more so in heat and especially when you add the effect of having to wear a helmet for 50 of those overs as Foakes has had to do. That affects concentration and also the ability to subsequently bat with a clear mind. You are also, as keeper, very much the voice on the pitch that keeps the fielders on their toes and the person responsible most for encouraging the bowlers. It all adds up. My own son has come off with nosebleeds and been treated for dehydration playing in Australia as a result of the cumulative affect of doing so.
The other aspect is that Foakes hadn't kept for three months up until the warm up game here. Like footballers, it takes time to build up the physical endurance required to do the job - you can train as much as you like but nothing replicates playing - and unlike a home series when you might have kept for a number of County Championship games, there is no possibility of building that up on tour when you haven't done the job for so long.
I am absolutely convinced that this is why Buttler looked so miserable doing the job and why he made so many mistakes. Keeping in Test cricket was the only time he did so for more than 50 overs - some of those drops/missed stumpings he would take 10/10 in a keeping drill but the fatigue caused him to switch off. And why there was so little energy coming from him. He's nowhere near as good a keeper as Foakes but it isn't just the great takes that are the difference. It is maintaining even the basic parts of the job and that requires 100% concentration.
24-1
Lees deserves the series to prove himself and I hope he has some success in that regard but the fact that he has been out LBW in seven of his last 21 First Class innings is worrying. Haven't seen any of the other dismissals but the head going too far across and falling over will mean that he ends up outside the line of the ball and also playing across his pads. Which is a very basic technical fault and not one that one would expect of a Test opener.
Lees also only has a first class average of 34 I believe.
Just goes to show how short of quality we are at the top of the order
He needs to go on and made it count now