Cricket thread (Summer edition)

[Gary Baldi]

It's raining, so it must mean the new test match summer is upon us.

New selector, new players, same old frailties? Winning the toss could have a massive impact on who wins the game.

 

[SteMerritt]

Still too many unanswered questions at the top of the order, Broad and Anderson another year older with few replacement options, 3rd new spinner in 4 test matches...

Going to be a tough summer.

 

[Sarge]

Hoping that there's no tampering with the Dukes balls

 

[Gary Baldi]

Hoping that there's no tampering with the Dukes balls

The Aussies are coming later in the summer aren't they?

Their team is really inexperienced while ours is prone to collapses. Big hour for the openers...

 

[Gary Baldi]

Oh well. Different line up, same old collapse.

 

[Sarge]

Oh well. Different line up, same old collapse.

Hey ho

 

[ZeroTheHero]

What a crap start to the cricketing summer.

 

[Sarge]

What a crap start to the cricketing summer.

and presumably, not just the weather

 

[Paul Cannell]

No. Quite a few from these parts were wandering around Wembley in their egg'n bacon ties after the train due in Marylebone at 10.30 collapsed in a puff of smoke and deposited them at Wembley station. Few of them seemed to have made it to Wembley Central when I hiked there.

 

[makv]

It's raining, so it must mean the new test match summer is upon us.

New selector, new players, same old frailties? Winning the toss could have a massive impact on who wins the game.

Apparently so. But not in the expected way.

 

[Foley]

Oh dear.
Will have to bowl very well to get back into this game.
Going Saturday so hopefully England can get back in the game today.

 

[Berliner]

They like to throw their hands at everything, don't they? White ball cricket has addled their brains. Only Cook (who plays only red ball cricket) with the skills and balls to stem the bloodletting. Virtually all the other wickets were avoidable, though the Pakistanis did bowl well to be fair...bringing swing bowlers to England is rather unfair, isn't it?

 

[Gary Baldi]

I can understand Stokes and Buttler being 1 day mode after just getting back from the IPL. The rest have no excuse though. Abbas bowled wonderfully at Stoneman, absolutely top class.

I worry for the India series

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Oh -ffs

 

[SteMerritt]

FFS indeed. Its like a reoccurring nightmare isn't it.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Only to be expected - kill the roots and the plant dies.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

We've got a team with some excellent players who are past their best (Broad, Cook, Anderson) some who are excellent one day players but not patient enough for long form cricket (Stokes, Bairstow, Buttler), one excellent young player forced into captaincy too early (Root) and a whole load of very average (being kind) journeyman cricketers who are simply not good enough to play test cricket.

I'm not a great county cricket expert (to say the least) but surely we must have someone better than Stoneman, who is a walking wicket, or Malan who is a bit better, but no match winner, some fiery young bowler who can steam in and give it a go.

Being beaten by a team of youngsters, possibly within three days and being totally outplayed with no fight, no discipline and glaring technical and coaching faults is disgraceful.

 

[Oufcrealist]

We've got a team with some excellent players who are past their best (Broad, Cook, Anderson) some who are excellent one day players but not patient enough for long form cricket (Stokes, Bairstow, Buttler), one excellent young player forced into captaincy too early (Root) and a whole load of very average (being kind) journeyman cricketers who are simply not good enough to play test cricket.

I'm not a great county cricket expert (to say the least) but surely we must have someone better than Stoneman, who is a walking wicket, or Malan who is a bit better, but no match winner, some fiery young bowler who can steam in and give it a go.

Being beaten by a team of youngsters, possibly within three days and being totally outplayed with no fight, no discipline and glaring technical and coaching faults is disgraceful.

I honestly don't know why Stoneman and Malan were picked. They are not Test standard. I think bringing Buttler back as a no 7 will backfire. Root has his place in the team nailed on but he's no captain. He doesn't have control of Broad and Anderson. And he constantly makes the wrong decisions.We should have bowled first 100%. I think we need to have a shake up and maybe prepared to lose a few tests along the way.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I agree. We are losing badly and consistently anyway, so why not grasp the nettle and build for the future?

 

[Foley]

I honestly don't know why Stoneman and Malan were picked. They are not Test standard. I think bringing Buttler back as a no 7 will backfire. Root has his place in the team nailed on but he's no captain. He doesn't have control of Broad and Anderson. And he constantly makes the wrong decisions.We should have bowled first 100%. I think we need to have a shake up and maybe prepared to lose a few tests along the way.

To be fair Butler has been one of the only players to buckle down.
Overall not good enough. We need a decent.opener or two and will need some bowlers ...

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Buttler has curbed his crash-bang-wallop tendencies to good effect - and well done to him. And of course to Bess. But the truth is that even if we somehow freakishly get a lead if 120 and skittle the Pakistanis out (we won't) - it still won't have been good enough from the vast majority of the England players.

 

[Foley]

Agree. But at least Butler has shown that he could be a very good Test Batsman?
Agree though that the whole team is questioned and should Root no longer be Captain?

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Buttler has indeed shown that he has the ability to be a good test batsman. He was put in the team to get quick runs down the order, but has shown that he can bat properly in a test match situation. His test match average is about 31 (actually about the same as Stoneman and Malan) - is that OK for a number 7? I suspect sometimes he may have been dismissed trying to push things along?

As for Root - I don't think giving him the captaincy was the right thing to do. To young, too new to test cricket - and I think that has shown this match. Not only that, but I think it has had an effect on his batting. Batsmen are normally pretty selfish creatures (c.f. Mr G Boycott!), but I think making him captain has added pressure he didn't need. Whether it would be a good idea to 'demote' him now though is another matter, but the record under him is poor.

 

[Banbury2018]

Buttler has indeed shown that he has the ability to be a good test batsman. He was put in the team to get quick runs down the order, but has shown that he can bat properly in a test match situation. His test match average is about 31 (actually about the same as Stoneman and Malan) - is that OK for a number 7? I suspect sometimes he may have been dismissed trying to push things along?

As for Root - I don't think giving him the captaincy was the right thing to do. To young, too new to test cricket - and I think that has shown this match. Not only that, but I think it has had an effect on his batting. Batsmen are normally pretty selfish creatures (c.f. Mr G Boycott!), but I think making him captain has added pressure he didn't need. Whether it would be a good idea to 'demote' him now though is another matter, but the record under him is poor.

Root is 27 and played 50 odd tests. I think there was very little other choice regarding captain although Root has only ever captained Yorkshire 6 or so times. As far as batsmen being good captains I quote Brearley(only ever in the side for that) Vaughan, Strauss andCook. Also agree regarding his record as captain but there are so many question marks around the team at present and so many changes it doesn’t lead to a recipe for winning

 

[Gary Baldi]

Buttler was the only batsmen today who changed his approach and didn't let their bowlers just bowl to him. The lack of game smarts when batting is getting embarrassing now. Are the batsmen asked to value their wicket as it looks like they aren't.

Sadly, Bayliss is a good one day coach but an increasingly terrible and disinterested test coach.

 

[Sarge]

Buttler was the only batsmen today who changed his approach and didn't let their bowlers just bowl to him. The lack of game smarts when batting is getting embarrassing now. Are the batsmen asked to value their wicket as it looks like they aren't.

Sadly, Bayliss is a good one day coach but an increasingly terrible and disinterested test coach.

Young Dom Bess was impressive in his maiden test.... notched up his 50...heres hoping Buttler & Bess continue their stand today

 

[Gary Baldi]

Another batting collapse. The Sky pundits are going in on the team in a polite way.

 

[Sarge]

Another batting collapse. The Sky pundits are going in on the team in a polite way.

b****r! ..... collapse not unexpected, but nonetheless b****r!

 

[Banbury2018]

b****r! ..... collapse not unexpected, but nonetheless b****r!

As my previous post said sadly too many changes and question marks regarding the team at present

 

[Foley]

It's difficulty to see where England will go from here. Presumably Stoneman will be left out now and hopefully there will be a young hungry opener out there somewhere??