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England Cricket 2024
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I was a bit doubtful whether Stokes was going to be suited to captaincy when he was first appointed, but for me this typifies why he's good at the job over & above the obvious on-field inspiration. There was an obvious excuse he could have hidden behind and very few would have blamed him for doing so, but he prefers to take responsibility and focus on improving what the team can improve.Addick Addict said:Stokes "just goes to show how you can't afford to drop catches at vital times". That was not the fault of the pitch that Pakistan prepared.2 -
The weird thing is that Pakistan packed their team full of spin bowlers, yet it was just 2 of them which took all the wickets and bowled most of the overs.Chris_from_Sidcup said:
7th time in history that two bowlers took all 20 wickets in a test.Addick Addict said:Sajid and Noman took all 20 of England's wickets between them. Wonder how many times two bowlers have done that before?
First time since 1972 and only the second time since 1956.
No 11 Zahid Mehmood the leg spinner bowled just 6 overs in the match.0 -
what was done to that pitch to change it from (mostly) a batsmen's paradise to a spinner's spitting death trap ?0
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If it ain't broke then you don't have to try and fix it and when your two spinners take 20 wickets @ 12.55 then you really don't have to fix it by bowling those other spinners. Which begs the question as to whether, in addition to our two spinners (12 wickets @ 27.67), assuming that the pitch for the final Test looks like it is a bunsen burner, we pick our own variation? Rehan Ahmed is similar to Zahid in the sense that he is a leggie who might get a few wickets but because of a lack of control might not be as effective in keeping the pressure on the batsmen as finger spinners have been in these conditions.killerandflash said:
The weird thing is that Pakistan packed their team full of spin bowlers, yet it was just 2 of them which took all the wickets and bowled most of the overs.Chris_from_Sidcup said:
7th time in history that two bowlers took all 20 wickets in a test.Addick Addict said:Sajid and Noman took all 20 of England's wickets between them. Wonder how many times two bowlers have done that before?
First time since 1972 and only the second time since 1956.
No 11 Zahid Mehmood the leg spinner bowled just 6 overs in the match.
Including Rehan raises other questions - do we leave out a seamer and go in with one plus Stokes or drop Pope? With one Test to go and knowing how this regime thinks, I very much doubt that we will leave Pope out as much because it creates that issue as to who bats at 3 as well as Rehan batting at 7. Rehan can bat and ultimately may well be good enough to do so but with Smith at 6 and struggling to acclimatise too in the conditions, I just can't see that happening. So, to my mind, we'll either leave Carse and Potts out and bring in Rehan and Atkinson or just make one change and sub the Surrey seamer for one of the two Durham quicks.0 -
Sarfaraz and Kohli putting on a very watchable show atm1
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The pitch was never as good as Duckett (who succeeded in choosing the right time to play his various sweep shots and executing them to the right ball) made it look or as bad as most of our batsmen played it. As the game wore on, Pakistan showed that even the least accomplished of bats can adapt to the situation by putting on 49 for the 9th wicket in the first innings and 55 for the 9th wicket in the second innings. Both of those 9th wicket partnerships are individually more than ALL 18 that we produced following the fall of the 2nd wicket in our first innings.Lincsaddick said:what was done to that pitch to change it from (mostly) a batsmen's paradise to a spinner's spitting death trap ?1 -
We were pathetic 2nd innings, still too many of those performances for me. We will get battered by the Aussies2
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no, but Nathan Lyon has always fared well against us and that's before Stark Cummings and Hazelwood get stuck into us
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which is all true but not linked to that innings. For what it’s worth, I’d be surprised if all 3 of those seamers play more than 2/3 matches together or that the Aussies will have sorted out their openers issuesRedhenry said:no, but Nathan Lyon has always fared well against us and that's before Stark Cummings and Hazelwood get stuck into us0 - Sponsored links:
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I hope I'm wrong but our 2nd innings at the Oval against Sri Lanka is still fresh in my mind1
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Don't think the Aussies are a done deal to be good at home. Their top order is hardly settled and their bowlers bar Cummins are all prone to injury.1
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Redhenry said:We were pathetic 2nd innings, still too many of those performances for me. We will get battered by the Aussies
Noooo. On that 9th day pitch it was difficult to know which balls to attack and against spin it always looks bad when it doesn't come off and the ball goes high in the air off a top edge. I watched nearly every ball and there was some impressive bowling by Sajid and Noman.
Of course there was some bad choices made by our batters.
You are so wide of the mark.
No comparison between pitches in Pakistan and India to Australia.
Carse, Atkinson and Potts will continue to improve, will Josh Hull be test standard in 13 months time.
Josh Tongue could be another to step up.
Will Ollie Stone stay fit and is Wood any chance of making it ?
Stokes, I'm unsure about regarding bowling in another years time ?
Will Jofra Archer ever be considered fit enough for test cricket again ?
We are a team in transition in the bowling( post Anderson and Broad) and we will beat the Aussies in 13 months time. (Brave words which could turn into an omelette on my face)
Root, Brook are world class and whether Pope will get over this sticky patch is hard to know. Since his test double Hundred he has struggled. Crawley and Duckett could still be the opening pair and the Aussie pace men will all be in their 30's and fading 🤞🏻
Jamie Smith will be excellent in Australia with Bat and Gloves.
To go from 832/7 to being "pathetic" is a quantum leap in one test match.
1-1 and a 1 match shoot out.1 -
I'm willing to be convinced otherwise and whilst his batting will suit that McCullum era and he may well come off in that respect, I'm not sure that Jordan is a Test international keeper. Certainly not yet anyway. There are reasons why he was behind Billings and Robinson at Kent and my doubt, at present, isn't based on his inability to take stunning catches. It is that concentration that is required. Smith will, hopefully, get there in that respect - the missed stumping and drop weren't down to his ability but because his mind and body aren't used to the endurance required to take each and every one that comes your way. It will be the same for Jordan who hasn't kept wicket in any CC game, as far as I'm aware, for over a year. There is, admittedly, a difference keeping in NZ and England than in the Indian subcontinent but concentration is a prerequisite whatever the conditions.fenaddick said:2 -
My big issue in the Smith Vs Foakes debate, is that while Smith is definitely a better batsman, can he still bat like that after a TOUGH day or two in the field under a baking sun, often standing to spinners?
And for Cox, his keeping in 5 day games is even less proven, albeit NZ is a lot easier to keep in.1 -
Fully expecting a left field seamer pick for the New Zealand tour too.0
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India collapse from a comfortable 433-4 to 462 all out, leaving NZ 107 to win the first test.0
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So they lost 16 wickets for a combined 75 runs and 4 wickets for 433 runs.Chizz said:India collapse from a comfortable 433-4 to 462 all out, leaving NZ 107 to win the first test.
Bonkers.0 - Sponsored links:
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And of course, given we accept that it's harder to score runs in other climes and keeping does affect an ability to bat well too, then, perhaps, we should look at where Foakes has played his Test matches: Sri Lanka (3), India (8), West Indies (5), NZ (2) and Pakistan (1) and England (6). So that's 19 abroad and 6 at home. There might be an argument for more of a "horses for courses" approach - not necessarily for all tours because Smith, overall, might have more of an affect on the game in Australia but, in the Indian subcontinent, perhaps Foakes should be the keeper if Smith does make regular mistakes. I say "if" because he has to be given more of a chance to prove himself.killerandflash said:My big issue in the Smith Vs Foakes debate, is that while Smith is definitely a better batsman, can he still bat like that after a TOUGH day or two in the field under a baking sun, often standing to spinners?
And for Cox, his keeping in 5 day games is even less proven, albeit NZ is a lot easier to keep in.0 -
I mentioned previously how I felt that it would do Bashir some good to get some experience of club cricket in Australia this winter where the standard of Grade cricket is exceptionally high - for more game time and to get used to what it's like to bowl on hard bouncy tracks against quality batsmen who aren't going to hold back.
Jake Fraser-McGurk's last game for Australia was in a T20 against England in Cardiff when he scored 50 off 31 balls. He has moved states this season to South Australia and has joined West Torrens for his club (who also have, amongst others, Spencer Johnson in their ranks). Yesterday he played in a two-day game (second day next Saturday) and was out first ball. Today he took part in a 50 over match. And was again out first ball.
The standard of club cricket out there really is a level above that seen here simply because there aren't State games, week in week out and even when there is, players are expected and willing to turn out for their clubs. Even if it's only for half a dozen games or so, Bashir would do far better playing there than bowling in indoor nets here.4 -
Haha, that is ridiculousfenaddick said:0 -
Michael Pepper the Essex Wicketkeeper has been called into the white ball squad that's off to the Windies in place of Jos Buttler who's still injured.0
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Our spin attack would be worthy of the name if they had basic control of length and line
We all love to love Jack Leach but he is still unable to exercise any real control, he can't go two overs (at best) without missing his length and releasing any pressure he might have accumulated.
On a bunsen/snakepit like Multan in the 2nd test, the Pakistan bowlers didn't need any bowling variations, the pitch provided all the unpredictability required to skittle us. All they needed to do was consistently hit the length from which the bounce, grip, etc was so variable. No mystery balls or unpickable releases required, just control.
Shoaib Bashir is even less good. He got wickets when the ball leaped and took the shoulder of the bat.
Neither bowler can consistently hit a handkerchief sized area and that's not international standard.
If the Rawalpindi pitch is being 'prepared' to emulate Multan last week then the same bowlers will achieve similar results - the toss will be a bigger influence on the outcome than Messrs Leach or Bashir.
For my two penn'th, that level of pitch chicanery is equivalent to the choreagraphed feigned-injury/timewaste/unoffical-timeout bollocks that has crept into football. It might not technically be outwith any specific rule but we all know it's cheating.1 -
Not English but of note ..Kagiso Rabada smashes Test cricket record to give South Africa edge over Bangladesh0
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Rehan Ahmed and Gus Atkinson come into the side
1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir.
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