Cricket thread (Summer edition)

[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??

 

[SteMerritt]

Gubbins has been in good form so may get a chance, he caught the eye with 2 centuries in 3 matches in the North v South series.

 

[Gary Baldi]

Bayliss' interview on Sky hardly filled me with much joy. He came across like he didn't give a toss.

 

[holdsteady]

We just don’t have enough good batsmen to be regularly win tests, it’s a bit like the nineties all over again in that we collapse all to regularly. Just got to hope that there is a decent batch coming along soon and accept that wins are going to be rare in the meantime.

 

[nige01ox]

We've got to tear it up and start again. It's just so embarrassing. Bayliss has got us playing the best one day cricket we've ever played but in tests we have regressed so far that we're only very slightly above West Indies/Bangladesh level. Ok we beat SA last year but they've since found a couple of real good players and I'd wager if we played them now they'd stuff us. What does Bayliss actually do? Is Ramprakash the worst batting coach of all time? How can professional cricketers drop so many catches? Can we sack the tea lady?

 

[Foley]

Bayliss' interview on Sky hardly filled me with much joy. He came across like he didn't give a toss.

Michael Vaughan suggested that England looked poorly coached.

I reckon that after the Pakistan series England should look to relieve Bayliss of the Test job and keep him just for the one day games.

The main problem is that the players aren't good enough but we still should be batting far better than we are.

 

[Foley]

Jennings for Stoneman is the only change.

Will have to play a whole lot better.

Incidentally did anybody see any of yesterdays play? Bess must have bowled 5-6 fi full tosses.

 

[Gary Baldi]

Michael Vaughan suggested that England looked poorly coached.

I reckon that after the Pakistan series England should look to relieve Bayliss of the Test job and keep him just for the one day games.

The main problem is that the players aren't good enough but we still should be batting far better than we are.

You can make up for some talent issue with a strong mindset and a willingness to not give your wicket away. Be hard to beat. The default mindset is to go hard and clearly Bayliss version of it and what the players believe it is are very different.

Even Anderson's answer to why he didn't pitch up like the Pakistan bowlers did smacked of ignorance and arrogance.

 

[Oufcrealist]

We've got to tear it up and start again. It's just so embarrassing. Bayliss has got us playing the best one day cricket we've ever played but in tests we have regressed so far that we're only very slightly above West Indies/Bangladesh level. Ok we beat SA last year but they've since found a couple of real good players and I'd wager if we played them now they'd stuff us. What does Bayliss actually do? Is Ramprakash the worst batting coach of all time? How can professional cricketers drop so many catches? Can we sack the tea lady?

Thats just it, finding those couple of really good players. We have lost some very good batsmen in a short space of time. The same will happen with the bowlers soon.
All teams go through these periods at times. India and Pakistan have more faith in youth than we do so seam to turn it around quicker. I would have dropped Malan as well. He plays back to nearly everything and will be found out again by their left armers, especially the young spinner.

 

[Sarge]

At Test level, potential opening batsmen should be forced to watch (literally) days of Geoff Boycott in his prime.... taking a day and a half to score ten runs, protecting his wicket and playing defensive strokes, in the process wearing the opposition bowlers down and wearing them out...THEN start knocking them all over the park

One day game...and more so T20 .... require a different approach and a different mindset....... 5 day Test matches are cricket in its purest form

ODI's and T20 internationals are to attract television money..... and spectators with the attention span of a goldfish

IMO we have the talent in England,& I think the problems lay equally with the England coaching and the England selectors.Which is, in the main the old boys networks that run English cricket akin to those funny hand shake societys..... change has been needed for some time... persist with the same old infastructure & the same old inevitable collapses will continue.

Test match host venues should prepare the wicket to suit English cricket too!

 

[Gary Baldi]

Strauss has recently introduced scouts into the ECB system to get a more standardised approach to reviewing players rather than relying on the old days. James Taylor is one of those. The pitches are a big issue over here, with the lack of 4 day cricket coming up in the schedule. Haseeb has been on a tear in 2nd XI cricket recently, but the schedule doesn't get him much First XI 4 day cricket.

At the moment the team is a cake with good ingredients, but there is something missing to bring it together.