Sport Cricket - England in Pakistan

[Andy Stroud]

Pathetic! We had them on the ropes when Ahmed took three quick wickets, then allowed their tail end to take the game away from us.
Without wishing to sound too @dickwalton1964 about it, it proves my point that they have the better spin bowlers. They also had far better application with the bat once conditions got tricky.
At least we can get back to flat tracks for the next few series.

 

[Foley]

Pathetic! We had them on the ropes when Ahmed took three quick wickets, then allowed their tail end to take the game away from us.
Without wishing to sound too @dickwalton1964 about it, it proves my point that they have the better spin bowlers. They also had far better application with the bat once conditions got tricky.
At least we can get back to flat tracks for the next few series.

Rehan Ahmed did well.
Him and Bashir have potential to be very good. I just can't see us playing 2 spinners except in Pakistan, India and maybe Sri Lanka

 

[tonyw]

The first six months of Stokes/Baz was amazing.

Since then we’ve:
- Drawn a series in NZ that we had won until we made an insane decision to enforce the follow on because we ‘don’t do draws’
- Dominated Australia but failed to win the Ashes because of some bad over-aggressive decision-making (and a bit of bad weather luck)
- Been curb-stomped in India (a lot of teams are, but NZ just showed it’s not automatic)
- Beaten a couple of the weakest Test nations this summer
- Lost to Pakistan despite winning the toss in the deciding Test when everyone was saying Win Toss-Win Game

It’s a poor record over the past two years and much of it has been self-inflicted.

Stokes and Baz should be under serious scrutiny right now….I’m sure they’ll be given to the Ashes, but we better see an improvement from them or they should be on their way if we lose them

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Whilst the pitches were entirely bizarre on this tour, it really does show how deficient we are in some areas. Our spinners aren't bad - but our batsmen need to do a LOT of nets against them on a special wicket that has been prepared to take spin. They might learn that just sweeping everything is not necessarily the best idea! The decision making is just TOO gung-ho at times. It may make for exciting cricket at times - it also leads to putting yourself at a distinct un-needed disadvantage at others. And in test cricket, patience can very much be a virtue.

There are some batsmen who (if they are selected) will have to do a hell of a lot better in the next test series, because some of it is far below what is needed.

On the plus side, Jamie Smith looks like an excellent find (let's ignore his last innings as a batsman!), and Atkinson hasn't done his reputation any harm. Duckett scored some decent runs (although his way of getting them sometimes gives me palpitations) and Root broke that run scoring record of course. Brook had one good innings and nothing more.

The report card would say 'Must do better'.

 

[yellowbow]

In this new ‘bush bash’ environment, Englands most technically gifted batsman Joe Root nearly lost his way completely until he realised that he needed to go back to his strengths rather than trying to hit every ball for 6. And what the hell has happened to Ben Stokes?! Where was the application and determination not to give the wicket away cheaply?? Surely international cricket is all about going to different types of environments with unique conditions and doing your utmost to overcome by way of plans and application. I’m not convinced this regime and mindset is bringing the best out of some undoubtedly talented players. There’s too much shrugging off these types of defeats with talk of ‘results don’t matter’. England’s results might not matter too much to a kiwi but they do to fans of English cricket. I want the team to at least look like it cares enough to show some fight, resilience and intelligence.

I’ve got Covid and feeling lousy so, along with the result in the football, I might not be in the best of moods today… on a positive note I’m now a fan of Sajid Khan. I love the intensity he brings with his handlebar moustache bristling. A great player with attitude and fire in his belly.