Cricket fred

[Big D]

Denly perishes, at least he fought.

A big win beckons; those two sessions middle end of aussie innings did for us, but Aus are the better of two iffy test teams.

There are two big differences in the sides really.

Steve Smith

The Aussies bowling attack were consistent through all pace bowlers (bar Stark a bit). Too often Broad and Archer made in roads then weren't backed up.

[fivepointer]

Yes, agree with that. Smith has made a massive difference. The Aussie bowlers have been more consistent. We've been hampered by not having our best bowler available.

[Stom]

Yeah. We don't need many tweaks to improve this team. But we need a few.

For starters, Roy does not have the technique for red ball cricket.

Buttler is incapable of playing with the tail.

Overton is a tryer... But not good enough.

There's no Jimmy still, so let's mix things up a bit...

Burns keeps his spot.
Denly has shown some ability and is actually a positive for sticking with a player, his play has improved.
Sibley - we need to pick a long term opener and expose him to test match cricket. If not Sibley, another young opener...
Root is our best Batsman across formats, needs to refined his red ball form.
Stokes
Bairstow without the gloves is a quality fielder.
Foakes is our best gloveman and an excellent no7 Batsman.
Woakes if fit deserves a chance to show what he can do when fully fit. Otherwise Curran.
Leach needs to bat above Broad and Archer on this evidence
Archer
Broad.

I think that is a balanced team.

[fivepointer]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... ia-potency

Good summing up here.

"In the end the nation with the best pace attack in the world, the best finger spinner outside India and the double insurance of Him at No 4 has just been too strong for a Test team with one fit bowler in the ICC top 25 (Australia have four).

And yet, not so fast. There are still debts to be paid here, wrong turns to be picked over. England have clung on in a series they might have lost by now. But they should still be better than this.

Selection has been muddled, and at times wilfully quirky, with too many empty holes and half‑filled roles. Jason Roy, Joe Denly, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler have walked out to bat 32 times and scored three fifties between them. Why have they all played four Tests, the entire active lifespan of this series?

The feeling of a lack of direction from the key centre of power, coach plus captain, has been tangible at times. England have picked 25 new players in the last three years. Plenty of good ones – Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Dawid Malan – have been discarded for reasons that are often unclear. With Joe Root yet to suggest any real vision or authority as a captain this Test team would perhaps benefit from more direction than has been evident under the light-touch style of Trevor Bayliss.

A new coach will be hired after the Oval. It might be a good first act in the job to tell Bairstow that if he wants to be a Test player he has to knuckle down to batting in the middle order; and Buttler that if he wants to be in this team it’s going to have to be on merit as a No 7 who keeps wicket. To his credit Root has led in this sense, moving up to No 3 and scrapping away through a rough patch of form"

[Banquo]

Denly perishes, at least he fought.

A big win beckons; those two sessions middle end of aussie innings did for us, but Aus are the better of two iffy test teams.

There are two big differences in the sides really.

Steve Smith

The Aussies bowling attack were consistent through all pace bowlers (bar Stark a bit). Too often Broad and Archer made in roads then weren't backed up.

See earlier comments for agreement.

[Banquo]

Yeah. We don't need many tweaks to improve this team. But we need a few.

For starters, Roy does not have the technique for red ball cricket.

Buttler is incapable of playing with the tail.

Overton is a tryer... But not good enough.

There's no Jimmy still, so let's mix things up a bit...

Burns keeps his spot.
Denly has shown some ability and is actually a positive for sticking with a player, his play has improved.
Sibley - we need to pick a long term opener and expose him to test match cricket. If not Sibley, another young opener...
Root is our best Batsman across formats, needs to refined his red ball form.
Stokes
Bairstow without the gloves is a quality fielder.
Foakes is our best gloveman and an excellent no7 Batsman.
Woakes if fit deserves a chance to show what he can do when fully fit. Otherwise Curran.
Leach needs to bat above Broad and Archer on this evidence
Archer
Broad.

I think that is a balanced team.

Pope and Sibley should be given a shot imo.

[Big D]

Denly perishes, at least he fought.

A big win beckons; those two sessions middle end of aussie innings did for us, but Aus are the better of two iffy test teams.

There are two big differences in the sides really.

Steve Smith

The Aussies bowling attack were consistent through all pace bowlers (bar Stark a bit). Too often Broad and Archer made in roads then weren't backed up.

See earlier comments for agreement.

It is sad we need to agree on reasons why the team lost rather than won

Tough tests ahead for batsmen too in SA and NZ.

[Big D]

Yeah. We don't need many tweaks to improve this team. But we need a few.

For starters, Roy does not have the technique for red ball cricket.

Buttler is incapable of playing with the tail.

Overton is a tryer... But not good enough.

There's no Jimmy still, so let's mix things up a bit...

Burns keeps his spot.
Denly has shown some ability and is actually a positive for sticking with a player, his play has improved.
Sibley - we need to pick a long term opener and expose him to test match cricket. If not Sibley, another young opener...
Root is our best Batsman across formats, needs to refined his red ball form.
Stokes
Bairstow without the gloves is a quality fielder.
Foakes is our best gloveman and an excellent no7 Batsman.
Woakes if fit deserves a chance to show what he can do when fully fit. Otherwise Curran.
Leach needs to bat above Broad and Archer on this evidence
Archer
Broad.

I think that is a balanced team.

Pope and Sibley should be given a shot imo.

i agree, would add that Woakes is generally crap away from home so it may be worth trying someone else. Not sure who, maybe Curran but tempted to try someone a bit quicker (not sure who).

[Banquo]

There are two big differences in the sides really.

Steve Smith

The Aussies bowling attack were consistent through all pace bowlers (bar Stark a bit). Too often Broad and Archer made in roads then weren't backed up.

See earlier comments for agreement.

It is sad we need to agree on reasons why the team lost rather than won

Tough tests ahead for batsmen too in SA and NZ.

You could argue we have actually got a more respectable result so far than we deserve, and would have likely won at Lords with more time. I suppose you have to give credit where due, Smith, Cummins and Hazlewood have been great. From our point of view, Burns can hold his head up, Stokes has batted very well mostly, and Archer and Broad have been very good. Root has had a poor series with the bat by his standards, and isn't a very good captain- and its harming his batting, and we can't afford that.

On Curran, I can't see him being effective abroad either, he's a dobbler unless it swings. Hopefully Wood and Stone will get fit. We need to bat players in the right positions, and Bairstow has to be under pressure, along with Roy and Buttler (who keeps or isnt in the side). Lots of issues.

[Stom]

Yeah. We don't need many tweaks to improve this team. But we need a few.

For starters, Roy does not have the technique for red ball cricket.

Buttler is incapable of playing with the tail.

Overton is a tryer... But not good enough.

There's no Jimmy still, so let's mix things up a bit...

Burns keeps his spot.
Denly has shown some ability and is actually a positive for sticking with a player, his play has improved.
Sibley - we need to pick a long term opener and expose him to test match cricket. If not Sibley, another young opener...
Root is our best Batsman across formats, needs to refined his red ball form.
Stokes
Bairstow without the gloves is a quality fielder.
Foakes is our best gloveman and an excellent no7 Batsman.
Woakes if fit deserves a chance to show what he can do when fully fit. Otherwise Curran.
Leach needs to bat above Broad and Archer on this evidence
Archer
Broad.

I think that is a balanced team.

Pope and Sibley should be given a shot imo.

i agree, would add that Woakes is generally crap away from home so it may be worth trying someone else. Not sure who, maybe Curran but tempted to try someone a bit quicker (not sure who).

I also agree. Do you drop Denly and put Sibley up top, or drop Bairstow completely?

I think it's great to start future openers at 3, something we've not done much of in recent years.

Wood surely is the other bowler, though that considerably weakens the batting.

Otherwise, there's Toby Roland-Jones, he did well in his brief spell and is a very consistent bowler - something that might be useful considering the lack of Anderson.

He's no spring chicken, either, mind.

[Banquo]

On the money, and I say that despite being a Buttler fan; objectively, he shouldn't be any where near the test side (though he was terrific last summer). Ditto the others.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... -think-are

[Big D]

Pope and Sibley should be given a shot imo.

i agree, would add that Woakes is generally crap away from home so it may be worth trying someone else. Not sure who, maybe Curran but tempted to try someone a bit quicker (not sure who).

I also agree. Do you drop Denly and put Sibley up top, or drop Bairstow completely?

I think it's great to start future openers at 3, something we've not done much of in recent years.

Wood surely is the other bowler, though that considerably weakens the batting.

Otherwise, there's Toby Roland-Jones, he did well in his brief spell and is a very consistent bowler - something that might be useful considering the lack of Anderson.

He's no spring chicken, either, mind.

Wood is injured sadly.

Is Stone injured?

I think Sibley at 3 is a good idea.

[Banquo]

Same squad meh

[Digby]

On the money, and I say that despite being a Buttler fan; objectively, he shouldn't be any where near the test side (though he was terrific last summer). Ditto the others.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... -think-are

He's there to be captain in the event Root needs to take a step back. And Ed Smith is a big fan so it'll take some new thinking to shift selection priorities. Not saying any of that is right/wrong, just it's how it comes across to me

[Big D]

On the money, and I say that despite being a Buttler fan; objectively, he shouldn't be any where near the test side (though he was terrific last summer). Ditto the others.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... -think-are

He's there to be captain in the event Root needs to take a step back. And Ed Smith is a big fan so it'll take some new thinking to shift selection priorities. Not saying any of that is right/wrong, just it's how it comes across to me

Stokes is VC now but I think Smith is a big fan and will be reluctant to drop him.

[Stom]

On the money, and I say that despite being a Buttler fan; objectively, he shouldn't be any where near the test side (though he was terrific last summer). Ditto the others.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... -think-are

It's a good article and I agree completely on Buttler.

It is important to note that, while Cummins and Hazlewood have been excellent, they've been ably backed up by Siddle, Patterson and Starc.

Broad and Archer have done really well in the opening 10-15 overs.

But then Woakes was poor, Overton isn't up to international standard, and Stokes has been mainly meh.

Leach is also a good cricketer but nothing more.

We need better bowlers, yet again, but we've gouged our summer for a pointless tournament that does nothing to promote red ball cricket.

Our bowlers are being pushed to the spring and autumn, where dibbly dobblers will prosper.

We need to start producing quick, accurate bowlers. We can only do that if we produce pitches that promote quick, accurate bowling, rather than medium pacers who move the ball in the air.

And it's the same for the batsmen.

BTW, it's super hard to pick an XI of the series here. You pick the 4 mentioned bowlers and probably Lyon, then you pick Smith and Labuschagne and probably Root deserves a spot (just) and Stokes.

Then you have some nice holes...

This is the best, but it's so unbalanced.

Burns
Labuschagne
Smith
Root
Stokes
Paine
Cummins
Archer
Lyon
Hazlewood
Broad

[Big D]

Same squad meh

Stokes may not be fit to bat. Only question would be who would drop out so he can play as a specialist batsman. Would guess Roy.

[Banquo]

On the money, and I say that despite being a Buttler fan; objectively, he shouldn't be any where near the test side (though he was terrific last summer). Ditto the others.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... -think-are

It's a good article and I agree completely on Buttler.

It is important to note that, while Cummins and Hazlewood have been excellent, they've been ably backed up by Siddle, Patterson and Starc.

Broad and Archer have done really well in the opening 10-15 overs.

But then Woakes was poor, Overton isn't up to international standard, and Stokes has been mainly meh.

Leach is also a good cricketer but nothing more.

We need better bowlers, yet again, but we've gouged our summer for a pointless tournament that does nothing to promote red ball cricket.

Our bowlers are being pushed to the spring and autumn, where dibbly dobblers will prosper.

We need to start producing quick, accurate bowlers. We can only do that if we produce pitches that promote quick, accurate bowling, rather than medium pacers who move the ball in the air.

And it's the same for the batsmen.

BTW, it's super hard to pick an XI of the series here. You pick the 4 mentioned bowlers and probably Lyon, then you pick Smith and Labuschagne and probably Root deserves a spot (just) and Stokes.

Then you have some nice holes...

This is the best, but it's so unbalanced.

Burns
Labuschagne
Smith
Root
Stokes
Paine
Cummins
Archer
Lyon
Hazlewood
Broad

As you say unbalanced and would never be picked- its a stats team. Though even then Paine is a questionable pick over YJB, esp at 6.

Think Woakes has generally been getting some unfair flak tbh, more reflecting his shyte batting since the first ashes test. He bowled more than decently in the first two tests, is still third in our averages, and averaging better than Starc, Siddle and Pattinson. He was poor at Leeds, its true, and at this level gets punished for the odd bad ball. The Aussies economy rates are worth noting however, they really squeezed us, and their planning and execution all round was better (bar reviews and Lyon misfields).

[Banquo]

Same squad meh

Stokes may not be fit to bat. Only question would be who would drop out so he can play as a specialist batsman. Would guess Roy.

bowl, I assume. Massive tail beckons.

[fivepointer]

The Dobell article is tough on Buttler especially but its hard to argue with any of it.
The averages dont lie and this is an England team well short of the consistent run scorers you need to be competitive.
With a 3 day turnaround, its not surprising the same squad has been selected for the final test.
SA in the winter isnt going to be easy, but surely the time has come to shake things up starting with the captaincy. If our best batsman loses form then someone else needs to take up the position. We badly need Root to be scoring big runs.

[Banquo]

The Dobell article is tough on Buttler especially but its hard to argue with any of it.
The averages dont lie and this is an England team well short of the consistent run scorers you need to be competitive.
With a 3 day turnaround, its not surprising the same squad has been selected for the final test.
SA in the winter isnt going to be easy, but surely the time has come to shake things up starting with the captaincy. If our best batsman loses form then someone else needs to take up the position. We badly need Root to be scoring big runs.

He can't bat at three either for that to happen.

[fivepointer]

The Dobell article is tough on Buttler especially but its hard to argue with any of it.
The averages dont lie and this is an England team well short of the consistent run scorers you need to be competitive.
With a 3 day turnaround, its not surprising the same squad has been selected for the final test.
SA in the winter isnt going to be easy, but surely the time has come to shake things up starting with the captaincy. If our best batsman loses form then someone else needs to take up the position. We badly need Root to be scoring big runs.

He can't bat at three either for that to happen.

Agreed. Play him where he is most effective.

Just looked at the winter schedule. We are in NZ Nov-Dec for 5 - yes 5 - 20/20 games followed by 2 tests. SA in Dec-Feb has 4 tests, followed by 3 ODI's and 3 20/20s.

Cant we have 3 20/20s and 3 tests in NZ and a proper 5 test series (cutting out 2 20/20 games) in SA?

Who agrees to these schedules?

[Banquo]

The Dobell article is tough on Buttler especially but its hard to argue with any of it.
The averages dont lie and this is an England team well short of the consistent run scorers you need to be competitive.
With a 3 day turnaround, its not surprising the same squad has been selected for the final test.
SA in the winter isnt going to be easy, but surely the time has come to shake things up starting with the captaincy. If our best batsman loses form then someone else needs to take up the position. We badly need Root to be scoring big runs.

He can't bat at three either for that to happen.

Agreed. Play him where he is most effective.

Just looked at the winter schedule. We are in NZ Nov-Dec for 5 - yes 5 - 20/20 games followed by 2 tests. SA in Dec-Feb has 4 tests, followed by 3 ODI's and 3 20/20s.

Cant we have 3 20/20s and 3 tests in NZ and a proper 5 test series (cutting out 2 20/20 games) in SA?

Who agrees to these schedules?

Money has to come from somewhere. The crowds for the tests will be tiny in both NZ and SA I'd think. I don't say that with any feeling of pleasure, to be clear.

[Big D]

Same squad meh

Stokes may not be fit to bat. Only question would be who would drop out so he can play as a specialist batsman. Would guess Roy.

bowl, I assume. Massive tail beckons.

Yes sorry. Bowl.

[Big D]

The Dobell article is tough on Buttler especially but its hard to argue with any of it.
The averages dont lie and this is an England team well short of the consistent run scorers you need to be competitive.
With a 3 day turnaround, its not surprising the same squad has been selected for the final test.
SA in the winter isnt going to be easy, but surely the time has come to shake things up starting with the captaincy. If our best batsman loses form then someone else needs to take up the position. We badly need Root to be scoring big runs.

He can't bat at three either for that to happen.

Agreed. Play him where he is most effective.

Just looked at the winter schedule. We are in NZ Nov-Dec for 5 - yes 5 - 20/20 games followed by 2 tests. SA in Dec-Feb has 4 tests, followed by 3 ODI's and 3 20/20s.

Cant we have 3 20/20s and 3 tests in NZ and a proper 5 test series (cutting out 2 20/20 games) in SA?

Who agrees to these schedules?

IIRC NZ play very little test cricket compared to others. Not sure if that is through choice and they see T20 and one dayers as better for business.