English cricket thread

[JohnnyKills]

Best player bats at 4 - Smith and Kohli do it, AB did too.

Think the main conclusion is that the best player bats where they want to bat. The rest of the order has to fit around them.

 

[KM]

Can't believe Australia will play Pattinson. What a story!

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Cummins, Hazlewood and Pattinson, if fit are a great pace bowling attack. Although it's very risky too.

Aussie team seems to be
Warner
Bancroft
Khwaja
Smith
Travis Head
Paine
Marsh
Cummins
Pattinson
Hazlewood
Lyon

 

[Fiskey]

This! Bayliss is clearly a great ODI coach but test cricket doesn't seem to be his bag.

Surely the idea behind picking Denly was that he's a top-order specialist?

The idea behind picking Denly is he's Ed Smith's best mate.

 

[Fiskey]

We've already fecked Root the batsman up by making him captain and now we're making him play in a position he doesn't want to.

I'd seriously consider after this ashes having him step down as Captain and just concentrate on scoring runs. Buttler seems like he'd make an excellent skipper.

Root is our best batsman. We should do everything we can to make sure he's scoring a shit ton of runs for as long as possible.

Completely agree. I think Anderson should've taken over when Cook stepped down and then they could've rotated Root and Butler, maybe Bairstow and Stokes as well as VCs to see who should take the next step. Buttler would've gotten my vote as well.

 

[TheGame]

Not sure you can compare Ballance with Ramprakash. Ballance is a decent player for whom test cricket is a step too far; Ramprakash was a brilliant player who should have bossed the test scene, but was let down by the current managerial mess and his own frailties.

Haven't seen enough of county cricket to have any opinion on the players you mention. Guess that Crawley's a bit too young for this series and there'll be some reason they don't pick Northeast - after all they've had plenty of opportunity to do so already and they never have. Sibley will surely get in if either Burns or Denly fails. He might even be in for Lords.

I have to disagree about Ballance, his test average is till around 37 with his crap form. I think there is a player there. When he came on the scene, I thought he would be England's long term number 3 however his poor form put paid to that. I'm surprised no one has spoken to him about hios technique and coached him on it. I am concerned at the lack of batting steel in the team and flooding the team will allrounders will not solve that problem.

 

[Offsideagain]

Too many of these batsmen cannot make the leap from County to Test cricket unfortunately. The mental side I mean by that. Like Golf, all the top 100 professionals are technically capable of winning the Open etc but only the mentally tough do it. Come on England.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Think the main conclusion is that the best player bats where they want to bat. The rest of the order has to fit around them.

I think anyone side looking to be the best needs a solid top 4. We've been lucky in that we had Dravid at 3 for so long and now we've Pujara - that around 30 years of four top class batsmen at 3 and 4.

Its weird because you could say we have had Dravid and Pujara at 3 because they're better suited to playing in tough conditions but our "best" test batsmen have batted at 4 - to some extent, it doesnt make sense.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Think Stokes is the man for England in this series, need huge runs from him this Ashes or Australia will win

 

[JohnnyKills]

Think Stokes is the man for England in this series, need huge runs from him this Ashes or Australia will win

Definitely. This is his year.

 

[Fiskey]

Incredibly honest article from Moeen Ali, don't normally get sportsmen being that candid.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/jul/30/england-australia-ashes-cricket-moeen-ali-batting

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Moeen might actually be batting at 9 which is pretty awesome

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Incredibly honest article from Moeen Ali, don't normally get sportsmen being that candid.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/jul/30/england-australia-ashes-cricket-moeen-ali-batting

It's such a shame his batting has deteriorated so badly.

When he's in form and confident his batting is beautiful to watch, so elegant.

 

[JohnnyKills]

I think anyone side looking to be the best needs a solid top 4. We've been lucky in that we had Dravid at 3 for so long and now we've Pujara - that around 30 years of four top class batsmen at 3 and 4.

Its weird because you could say we have had Dravid and Pujara at 3 because they're better suited to playing in tough conditions but our "best" test batsmen have batted at 4 - to some extent, it doesnt make sense.

It makes perfect sense. You want your best player, such as Kohli, to come in when the ball's lost some of its hardness and the opening bowlers have finished their first spells. When it's slightly easier for batting and the class player can impose himself.

Putting your star player - a Richards or a Ponting - makes sense if you've got two quality openers who will see off the new ball most of the time. But there are very few top-class openers around today, and there are plenty of top-class bowlers. So it makes sense to include a third opener at No.3, one who's happy to come in early and protect the star batsman at 4.

This is the issue with Root batting at 3. More likely than not, he'll be batting within the first 15 overs every time we bat in the Ashes. And he'll be exposed to the Aussie opening bowlers, with a new ball and a packed cordon. Given how much we rely on him for runs, it's a massive risk and one we don't have to take. Surely replacing Denly with Sibley would have been the more sensible option.

 

[Samid]

What people are missing is that Root comes in against the swinging ball at 4 anyway. Coming in at 10/1 is better than coming in at 15/2. The former is just a dent in the innings, the latter needs a proper rebuild.

 

[The Cat]

What people are missing is that Root comes in against the swinging ball at 4 anyway. Coming in at 10/1 is better than coming in at 15/2. The former is just a dent in the innings, the latter needs a proper rebuild.

The problem is that the top order is so weak it really doesn't make any difference if he comes in at 3 or 4 - he will need to get padded up as soon as he gets to the dressing room.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

My issue with Root at 3 is firstly that he himself is struggling for form and to put him in against the new ball is a massive challenge and then to do it to get Denly to bat at 4 is madness . Hope Denly proves us wrong now. Australia are making all the right decisions on the other hand

 

[TheGame]

My issue with Root at 3 is firstly that he himself is struggling for form and to put him in against the new ball is a massive challenge and then to do it to get Denly to bat at 4 is madness . Hope Denly proves us wrong now. Australia are making all the right decisions on the other hand

I have no idea what Denly is doing in the squad. I understand why he was picked for the SL tour but he not a proficient scorer at county level and plays in Division 2. I hope I am proved wrong but cannot seem him doing well.

 

[NinjaFletch]

I have no idea what Denly is doing in the squad. I understand why he was picked for the SL tour but he not a proficient scorer at county level and plays in Division 2. I hope I am proved wrong but cannot seem him doing well.

He plays in Div 1 (Kent were promoted last year) and averages 56 this season. Only Sibley, Northeast, Ballance and Bopara average more from a decent sample size of games.

I wouldn't have picked him either, I don't think he's international quality, but you can make a pretty decent argument that once he got into the side in the winter he's done well enough in first class cricket to retain his place.

 

[TheGame]

He plays in Div 1 (Kent were promoted last year) and averages 56 this season. Only Sibley, Northeast, Ballance and Bopara average more from a decent sample size of games.

I wouldn't have picked him either, I don't think he's international quality, but you can make a pretty decent argument that once he got into the side in the winter he's done well enough in first class cricket to retain his place.

Ah fair enough, my bad. I thought initially he was picked due to his part time leg spin for SL. I think they will end up playing him at 3 by the looks of it.

 

[NinjaFletch]

Ah fair enough, my bad. I thought initially he was picked due to his part time leg spin for SL. I think they will end up playing him at 3 by the looks of it.

Oh, yeah, he definitely was initially, but (insane as it seems to say given how much chopping and changing we see) the England management do place lip service to continuity of selection and he's given them reason to keep him in.

I don't think the set up really rate him, the change to the batting order would probably suggest that, and I'd question the logic of picking someone when that is the case, but there's not many other options putting their hand up. If Root's going to stick at 3 then perhaps Northeast could come in at 4.

 

[DOTA]

Aussie team seems to be
Warner
Bancroft
Khwaja
Smith
Travis Head
Paine
Marsh
Cummins
Pattinson
Hazlewood
Lyon

Suddenly wondering what the record for least runs scored in a match with four completed test innings is.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Suddenly wondering what the record for least runs scored in a match with four completed test innings is.

Yeah for all of England's issues with the bat, I don't think Australia are much better.

Our top order Is a mess but for them if you get 3 or 4 wickets you can be into their tail.

 

[DOTA]

Yeah for all of England's issues with the bat, I don't think Australia are much better.

Our top order Is a mess but for them if you get 3 or 4 wickets you can be into their tail.

Smith's gonna finish the series with an average of 250 having been dismissed once...

They'll probably be 350-2 at the end of play tomorrow, now I've gone in this hard.

 

[ha_rooney]

After the WC I’m not as excited for an Ashes series as usual.

Hopefully we have a competitive series without much weather interference. England to win 3-1.

 

[The Cat]

Archer left out.

 

[TheGame]

Archer left out.

Always difficult to leave out Woakes and Archer is still working his way back to fitness.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Won't be able to watch much but looking forward to this series.

 

[Rooney1987]

Watching SSN the ashes presser, Root mentioned why they decided to go with Woakes over Archer. Injury still not fit but bit I didn't like was why is it out of Woakes or Archer, surely Broad should be the one dropped when Archer is fit.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Archer left out.

As predicted. Guess it's going to be a bowler-friendly wicket and they don't want to risk him. He'll play at Lords.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

After the WC I’m not as excited for an Ashes series as usual.

Hopefully we have a competitive series without much weather interference. England to win 3-1.

I'm more excited if anything! Really looking forward to it.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Watching SSN the ashes presser, Root mentioned why they decided to go with Woakes over Archer. Injury still not fit but bit I didn't like was why is it out of Woakes or Archer, surely Broad should be the one dropped when Archer is fit.

Not sure.

In each of the Ashes series he's played at home he's almost single handedly won us a match, Oval 2009, Durham 2013, Trent Bridge 2015 where he's completely ran through their lineup.

Even more than Anderson, Broad seems to relish playing the Australians and he really raises his game.

Don't think it'd be an easy choice to drop him.

 

[The Cat]

Not sure.

In each of the Ashes series he's played at home he's almost single handedly won us a match, Oval 2009, Durham 2013, Trent Bridge 2015 where he's completely ran through their lineup.

Even more than Anderson, Broad seems to relish playing the Australians and he really raises his game.

Don't think it'd be an easy choice to drop him.

Broad is streaky, can win games when the other pace bowlers can't do anything. He's earned his spot till he loses his ability for me.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Broad is streaky, can win games when the other pace bowlers can't do anything. He's earned his spot till he loses his ability for me.

Could in the past, not sure now.

 

[The Cat]

Could in the past, not sure now.

I don't think anyone is sure, he seems to go into hibernation in some series but I'd have him against the Aussies this time around. Think it will be his last though.

 

[ChrisNelson]

England over the last 10-12 years have had a lot of players who for some reason have been deemed undroppable.

Broad is a classic example of this. In numerous series' he has gone totally missing, just taking the odd wicket at 40 apiece and the team has been screaming out to be freshened up, give a decent county bowler a chance and see what they can do. Rest Broad and make him earn his place back in the team.

But the ECB, coaching staff and captains have been too afraid to make changes. As I've said Broad is not the only example of this however he is probably the most blatant.

I really hope he plays at his top level during the Ashes because we've seen him put in some unbelievable performances against the Aussies here in England before.

On a general note I think it's going to be a very close series and the recent trend of test matches not even going close to needing a 5th day may continue. Only the weather will say otherwise.

Our top order is obviously a concern but we have some good strength in the middle order and with potentially Woakes/ Moeen to come in at number 9 I think that's great strength in depth. If only Broad hadn't taken that whack on the head a few years ago, the old Broad coming in at 10 would have been even better!

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Lost the toss for feck sake.

Still though, if we tear into them and get early wickets could be good.

 

[paulscholes18]

Might not have been a bad toss to lose. Hopefully broad and Anderson get it right with the new ball

 

[KM]

Siddle ahead of Starc and Hazlewood? Seems strange to me, but maybe he's been in excellent form.

 

[NinjaFletch]

Siddle ahead of Starc and Hazlewood? Seems strange to me, but maybe he's been in excellent form.

Done a fair bit of damage for Essex.

 

[NinjaFletch]

fecking Botham's back.