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England Cricket 2026
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Dancing in the streets of Colombo
Ciyars!0 -
Karim_myBagheri said:Dancing in the streets of Colombo
Ciyars!
Blimey, the England players really do have a low alcohol threshold. The game finished less than an hour ago.0 -
We’re not a 50-over cricket country. We take Tests seriously. Oh.2
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Not sure if this is true and I can’t be arsed to check, but assuming it is, that is an insane stat.0
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Crawley averages 31.98 in FC cricket and Rashid averages 32.48.1
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If we think that it is weird that Crawley is being selected in the Test side then it is, perhaps, even more bizarre that he has now been picked for the ODI team.
Crawley made his List A debut for Kent on 17th May 2017, will be 29 next week and in the eight and a half years since he made his debut, he has batted just 31 times for county and country. His last 50 over match anywhere, prior to today, was for England against West Indies in December 2023 when he was out for a duck. He averages 25.62 in ODIs and 32.68 overall in 50 over cricket with a strike rate of 76.63.
Given the ODI WC is almost two years away, why are we not taking this opportunity to give someone like Asa Tribe a run? He might only be 22 but he is sought after by any number of T20 franchises and has had just four less 50 over innings than Crawley despite being more than six years younger. He averaged 80.20 with a strike rate of 95.47 last season in our domestic competition.
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I liked this last night to write a reply this morning.Addick Addict said:If we think that it is weird that Crawley is being selected in the Test side then it is, perhaps, even more bizarre that he has now been picked for the ODI team.
Crawley made his List A debut for Kent on 17th May 2017, will be 29 next week and in the eight and a half years since he made his debut, he has batted just 31 times for county and country. His last 50 over match anywhere, prior to today, was for England against West Indies in December 2023 when he was out for a duck. He averages 25.62 in ODIs and 32.68 overall in 50 over cricket with a strike rate of 76.63.
Given the ODI WC is almost two years away, why are we not taking this opportunity to give someone like Asa Tribe a run? He might only be 22 but he is sought after by any number of T20 franchises and has had just four less 50 over innings than Crawley despite being more than six years younger. He averaged 80.20 with a strike rate of 95.47 last season in our domestic competition.
I find the OD side completely confusing. Yes we supposedly "bat to 11" and you've got a no10 in Dawson who has 4 List A hundreds and averages a smidge under 34 , who could easily bat higher.
You've got the test side top 6 which is a bit weird.
I think the bigger overall problem is that outside of internationals none of these players play domestic 50 over games thanks to the ECB scheduling. Would love to see the young guns given a chance in one of these OD series's over the summer and see what they can do.1 -
Crawley is a "gut feeling pick" for the ODI team, just as he is for the Test team. He "looks" like someone who ought to be a really good ODI opener, just as he looks like someone who should be a really effective Test opener in Australia.
The balance of the Test team in the Ashes was flawed, picking Jacks at number 8 instead of a proper bowler because we were worried about not getting enough runs, and the ODI team is even worse. Overton is the classic case of choosing a bowler because he is handy with the bat as well, rather than because of his bowling skills. Fine if he's the 4th seamer, but when he's one of your 2 seamers, and expected to close the innings out.
In reality the issue for England yesterday, was the inability to score of the spinners on a slow Asian surface, an age old problem going back to well before Bazball. At least we have these 6 matches before the T20 WC to get more acclimatised.3 -
Crawley "looks like" one when he's playing a glorious cover drive on a road. Not when the pitch or overhead conditions offer anything. Pitches aren't what they used to be, primarily because they are now used a lot more than they were decades ago due to the advent of white ball competitions so the chances are he is always likely to struggle with his technique of playing so far in front of him. That is something either he can't change or doesn't want to try to work on changing.killerandflash said:Crawley is a "gut feeling pick" for the ODI team, just as he is for the Test team. He "looks" like someone who ought to be a really good ODI opener, just as he looks like someone who should be a really effective Test opener in Australia.
The balance of the Test team in the Ashes was flawed, picking Jacks at number 8 instead of a proper bowler because we were worried about not getting enough runs, and the ODI team is even worse. Overton is the classic case of choosing a bowler because he is handy with the bat as well, rather than because of his bowling skills. Fine if he's the 4th seamer, but when he's one of your 2 seamers, and expected to close the innings out.
In reality the issue for England yesterday, was the inability to score of the spinners on a slow Asian surface, an age old problem going back to well before Bazball. At least we have these 6 matches before the T20 WC to get more acclimatised.
Ultimately, it's what you put consistently in the book that counts. There isn't a top five batter in the history of Test cricket that has failed as many times as he has. There comes a point when evidence takes over from "gut feeling".
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I fear Zak is a 21st Century Graeme Hick. Looks great, lovely to watch but doesn’t deliver the runs expected consistently.2
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Ramps 52 tests average of 270
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The comparison for Test cricket is a valid one with almost an identical return - Hick averaged 31.32 vs Crawley's 31.18. The difference is that Hick was supreme in county cricket whereas Crawley's record is poor at that level - Hick's first class average was 52.23 as opposed to Crawley's average of 31.98.LenGlover said:I fear Zak is a 21st Century Graeme Hick. Looks great, lovely to watch but doesn’t deliver the runs expected consistently.
There is also one other fundamental difference. Hick, like Ramprakash, kept getting dropped. He played 65 matches over the course of nine and a half years whereas Crawley has had one less Test in just over six years. One management solidified the self-doubts of a player whereas the other has backed him to the hilt.
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He Wishes he was a Hick .LenGlover said:I fear Zak is a 21st Century Graeme Hick. Looks great, lovely to watch but doesn’t deliver the runs expected consistently.0 -
As I've said above, Ramprakash kept getting dropped and he, himself, has said that this really damaged his confidence. His 52 Tests were over the course of 11 years whereas Crawley has had 64 matches in 6 years. The other thing is that 53 of Ramprakash's 92 innings were against the West Indies (29) and Australia (24) sides of the time. He also averaged 53.14 in first class cricket.billysboots said:Ramps 52 tests average of 270 -
Ollie Pope is more of a modern day Ramps or Hick, as he's scored loads of runs in the county game, but not translated that form into the international game.0
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I expect we can make those comparisons at the end of Pope's career .He didn't really have a big body of work behind him before he got called up and he too has benefitted from being consistently selected despite his flaws like Crawley.killerandflash said:Ollie Pope is more of a modern day Ramps or Hick, as he's scored loads of runs in the county game, but not translated that form into the international game.
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1-15 off 4 and 45* off 18 for James Coles to fire Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the final of the SA20.
Serious serious talent and probably the Liam Dawson replacement in the T20 side long term. Hopefully this year he gets his shot at international level.1 -
Why are we warming up for a T20 World Cup by playing a 50-over series?1
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3 T20’s followkinveachyaddick said:Why are we warming up for a T20 World Cup by playing a 50-over series?0 -
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Crawley out injured for the second ODI so Ahmed to open0
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Sri Lanka won the toss and will bat. Jacks in for Crawley. Ahmed opening is an interesting move.0
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Sam Curran & Jamie Overton has to be the worst opening bowling partnership I can remember England using0
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Great to have Gower back on commentary3
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I love that Harmison and Gower are wearing traditional Sr Lankan clothing allied with trainers and in the case of Gower his Panama hat.0
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Overton I agree.arny23394 said:Sam Curran & Jamie Overton has to be the worst opening bowling partnership I can remember England using
Curran often produces something1 -
As I post Overton gets a wicket0
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He does but I just don’t rate him. Dreadful record too. I’d smash him out of the stratosphereblackpool72 said:
Overton I agree.arny23394 said:Sam Curran & Jamie Overton has to be the worst opening bowling partnership I can remember England using
Curran often produces something0 -
If he bowled that moon ball at you I even think you could tbharny23394 said:
He does but I just don’t rate him. Dreadful record too. I’d smash him out of the stratosphereblackpool72 said:
Overton I agree.arny23394 said:Sam Curran & Jamie Overton has to be the worst opening bowling partnership I can remember England using
Curran often produces something1 -
Six spinners (Rashid, Ahmed, Dawson, Jacks, Bethell and Root). Is this the most number of spinners we've ever had in an England team?0
