Bridgeman
Alfie Biggs
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Post by Bridgeman on Mar 26, 2016 22:43:17 GMT
What a great performance today, really impressed with Jos Butler's innings and the early wickets we took put all the pressure on their batsmen.
Brilliant bowling from Jordan and Stokes in the last two overs to secure the win.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Mar 28, 2016 17:18:35 GMT
Yes - I think it's pretty impressive. I've been on holiday so have missed most of the tournament. But I did see the ridiculous SA game and I caught highlight of this one too. I think this win is more significant because it represents a potential changing of the guard. Sri Lanka have been one of the best teams in World Cricket for 2 decades - this is often not reflected in the way they are talked about in England where they are often patronised as a small late comer to the party. But their international record over the last 20 years has been up there with everybody's apart from Australia - they've even done better than people realise in test cricket. This is exactly the type of game England would have been rolled over in. So it's a very good sign that we are capable of beating an SL team who look like they might be about to take a step or 2 down while we have a core group of exciting young players who should give us consistent success across all formats.
Good looking semi-final lineup. It's a toss up really from here with one off games often relying on a single inspiring performances. But we certainly have given ourselves a chance of having the batsman who delivers that dominant performance given how deep we bat and how powerful we are. New Zealand are a very similar team in many ways. India v Windies is a potentially mouth watering game though. Just look at the T20 talent in that match! An India v England final showdown in front of a fanatical 100k+ screaming crowd at Eden Gardens would be a fantastic experience for our players even if they lost. |
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Post by Nobbygas on Mar 30, 2016 7:26:03 GMT
I read a comment today that said the England batting depth was as deep as a Barry White, "oh yeah" ! It made I larf.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Mar 30, 2016 16:39:19 GMT
What a performance that was! Superb stuff from England. |
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warehamgas
Predictions League
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 27, 2016 11:49:19 GMT
What a great performance today, really impressed with Jos Butler's innings and the early wickets we took put all the pressure on their batsmen. Brilliant bowling from Jordan and Stokes in the last two overs to secure the win. Yes. Really like JB, very modest and likeable guy. Glad he is playing IPL but has been difficult for him to get going. Has played OK without setting the league alight. Shame that Mumbai Indians are not as strong this year, they may struggle to qualify for the semis. No doubt about it though on his day fantastic player. Think he needs to be a tad more arrogant, more selfish and concentrate on himself, he's far too modest! |
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warehamgas
Predictions League
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Post by warehamgas on May 31, 2016 16:54:33 GMT
Well this series been a bit of a mismatch. I think the problem is that the Sri Lankans come to us in April and May and the conditions are totally alien to them. First of all they stand around getting frozen like all cricketers at this time of year and must find it impossible to play anything like their best. It looked as if none of their best players were there or just prefer to play white ball cricket nowadays. Whatever, the crowds must be down and as counties have to guarantee gate money to get a test I bet Durham with all their financial problems must be regretting having one at this time of the year. But well done to Alistair Cook for such an achievement. That he has done this after his problems a few years ago is a testament to how tough he is. Comes over as a mild mannered and pleasant guy, but he must also be a hardened, tough competitor to have done what he has. Well done AC.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 1, 2016 0:49:32 GMT
Well this series been a bit of a mismatch. I think the problem is that the Sri Lankans come to us in April and May and the conditions are totally alien to them. First of all they stand around getting frozen like all cricketers at this time of year and must find it impossible to play anything like their best. It looked as if none of their best players were there or just prefer to play white ball cricket nowadays. Whatever, the crowds must be down and as counties have to guarantee gate money to get a test I bet Durham with all their financial problems must be regretting having one at this time of the year. But well done to Alistair Cook for such an achievement. That he has done this after his problems a few years ago is a testament to how tough he is. Comes over as a mild mannered and pleasant guy, but he must also be a hardened, tough competitor to have done what he has. Well done AC. Yes - I think that's basically it really although worth pointing out the Sri Lankans beat us last time they came over 2 years ago in similar circumstances. Since then their phenomenally impressive batting lineup has been demolished though. We spent the best part of 20 years criminally underrating Sri Lanka and then being surprised when they beat us on a fairly consistent basis in all formats. But, this team is clearly one in transition and asking them to go to Northern Test Grounds in May was always going to be a big ask for their woefully inexperienced batsmen. Their bowlers have generally done the usual decent job in English conditions though - something else we tend to underrated, Sri Lanka often produces very English style seamers that are very suited to early English summer conditions. Chaminda Vaas being the A1 example.
Not sure we've learnt an awful though other than England are pretty much close to unbeatable in English conditions with the ball moving around a bit and so they bloody should be! Broadly speaking though Test Cricket has a big problem - away sides are finding it harder and harder to win. I fully expect us to comfortably beat Pakistan but don't forget we lost to them equally handily in the winter in Dubai. Same thing with India 2 years ago. We even failed to beat an absolutely decimated Windies team last winter. England winning in South Africa was a far bigger achievement than last summer's Ashes in that context.
Hales and Bairstow are the 2 players who have cemented their place in the England side for the summer and beyond with this series. Question marks still over Compton and Vince. Think Lords is Compton's very last chance - dismissal at Durham (though a brilliant catch) was the shot of a man desperately feeling the pressure. I have some sympathy - part of it seems media concocted because they have decided they don't like him. I remain convinced that if Moeen has a future as an England player it is as a middle order batsmen who bowls spin - and I worry that's a pretty longshot to be honest. Jury still very much out there, as glorious as his 150 was. I love watching Moeen but in the long run I'm not sure there will be a place for him although versatility, great attitude and pure talent could yet prove me wrong (I certainly hope so - no better batsman to watch in the country). Cook's 10K is a fantastic achievement - good point made in an article I saw about how lucky we are to have Anderson and Cook having played together for 100 tests. Still think their contributions are quite underrated and won't realise their full value until they are gone. Woakes has done a decent job deputising Stokes just when it looked like he was probably destined to be forever the odd man out. Unless Compton delivers at 3, I'd stick with Vince and give someone else a crack. There are a ton of openers scoring runs in the Championship this season - wouldn't be the worst idea to give one of them a crack at 3.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 1, 2016 10:41:22 GMT
Well this series been a bit of a mismatch. I think the problem is that the Sri Lankans come to us in April and May and the conditions are totally alien to them. First of all they stand around getting frozen like all cricketers at this time of year and must find it impossible to play anything like their best. It looked as if none of their best players were there or just prefer to play white ball cricket nowadays. Whatever, the crowds must be down and as counties have to guarantee gate money to get a test I bet Durham with all their financial problems must be regretting having one at this time of the year. But well done to Alistair Cook for such an achievement. That he has done this after his problems a few years ago is a testament to how tough he is. Comes over as a mild mannered and pleasant guy, but he must also be a hardened, tough competitor to have done what he has. Well done AC. Yes - I think that's basically it really although worth pointing out the Sri Lankans beat us last time they came over 2 years ago in similar circumstances. Since then their phenomenally impressive batting lineup has been demolished though. We spent the best part of 20 years criminally underrating Sri Lanka and then being surprised when they beat us on a fairly consistent basis in all formats. But, this team is clearly one in transition and asking them to go to Northern Test Grounds in May was always going to be a big ask for their woefully inexperienced batsmen. Their bowlers have generally done the usual decent job in English conditions though - something else we tend to underrated, Sri Lanka often produces very English style seamers that are very suited to early English summer conditions. Chaminda Vaas being the A1 example.
Not sure we've learnt an awful though other than England are pretty much close to unbeatable in English conditions with the ball moving around a bit and so they bloody should be! Broadly speaking though Test Cricket has a big problem - away sides are finding it harder and harder to win. I fully expect us to comfortably beat Pakistan but don't forget we lost to them equally handily in the winter in Dubai. Same thing with India 2 years ago. We even failed to beat an absolutely decimated Windies team last winter. England winning in South Africa was a far bigger achievement than last summer's Ashes in that context.
Hales and Bairstow are the 2 players who have cemented their place in the England side for the summer and beyond with this series. Question marks still over Compton and Vince. Think Lords is Compton's very last chance - dismissal at Durham (though a brilliant catch) was the shot of a man desperately feeling the pressure. I have some sympathy - part of it seems media concocted because they have decided they don't like him. I remain convinced that if Moeen has a future as an England player it is as a middle order batsmen who bowls spin - and I worry that's a pretty longshot to be honest. Jury still very much out there, as glorious as his 150 was. I love watching Moeen but in the long run I'm not sure there will be a place for him although versatility, great attitude and pure talent could yet prove me wrong (I certainly hope so - no better batsman to watch in the country). Cook's 10K is a fantastic achievement - good point made in an article I saw about how lucky we are to have Anderson and Cook having played together for 100 tests. Still think their contributions are quite underrated and won't realise their full value until they are gone. Woakes has done a decent job deputising Stokes just when it looked like he was probably destined to be forever the odd man out. Unless Compton delivers at 3, I'd stick with Vince and give someone else a crack. There are a ton of openers scoring runs in the Championship this season - wouldn't be the worst idea to give one of them a crack at 3.
There aren't that many openers scoring runs in division one though. Stoneman and Robson are the two exceptions and I haven't seen much of Stoneman, nor have I seen Robson since his last test outing. The clamor at the moment seems to be for Borthwick but I can't really offer much insight there either as, since his test debut, I've only seen him bat in limited overs matches. I do agree that Lords is probably Compton's last chance. He seems to struggle to get off strike with a low risk push into the covers or nudge off the hip which is an imperative if you are going to make a success of it at the top level. It's a worry I have of Hales too, although I think he is developing that side of his game. He also has the ability to make good bowling look average once he's well set. If Vince doesn't work out at 5 I wonder if they'll give Hildrith a chance? He's got a damn fine record over a number of years and I've never quite worked out why England haven't given him a go. I agree regarding Moeen too. He's fine when we're playing in England with a 5 man attack but we need better in order to win on flat pitches abroad. Not many other options around at the moment but it looks like the change to giving the away side the option to bowl first in the Championship has helped. Pitches seem to be flatter giving spinners more opportunity. Look at Gloucestershire for example, rather than picking Benny Howells to bowl medium pace, they've picked Jack Taylor to play every game this season. He's bowled 150 overs which I would guess is close to the total overs of spin bowled by Gloucester in the entirety of last season. The likes of Kerrigan, Jack Leach, Ollie Rayner and even Samit Patel have all had really good starts to the season. Woakes is someone I have seen a lot of and I'm always really impressed. What I especially like is that he seems to have a good understanding of what he needs to do in order to improve. In recent years he's developed his inswinger and found an extra yard of pace. I don't think he'll ever replace Stokes in the side but he's a really good understudy. We're lucky to have a couple of good all-rounders. |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 1, 2016 13:14:07 GMT
Yes - I think that's basically it really although worth pointing out the Sri Lankans beat us last time they came over 2 years ago in similar circumstances. Since then their phenomenally impressive batting lineup has been demolished though. We spent the best part of 20 years criminally underrating Sri Lanka and then being surprised when they beat us on a fairly consistent basis in all formats. But, this team is clearly one in transition and asking them to go to Northern Test Grounds in May was always going to be a big ask for their woefully inexperienced batsmen. Their bowlers have generally done the usual decent job in English conditions though - something else we tend to underrated, Sri Lanka often produces very English style seamers that are very suited to early English summer conditions. Chaminda Vaas being the A1 example.
Not sure we've learnt an awful though other than England are pretty much close to unbeatable in English conditions with the ball moving around a bit and so they bloody should be! Broadly speaking though Test Cricket has a big problem - away sides are finding it harder and harder to win. I fully expect us to comfortably beat Pakistan but don't forget we lost to them equally handily in the winter in Dubai. Same thing with India 2 years ago. We even failed to beat an absolutely decimated Windies team last winter. England winning in South Africa was a far bigger achievement than last summer's Ashes in that context.
Hales and Bairstow are the 2 players who have cemented their place in the England side for the summer and beyond with this series. Question marks still over Compton and Vince. Think Lords is Compton's very last chance - dismissal at Durham (though a brilliant catch) was the shot of a man desperately feeling the pressure. I have some sympathy - part of it seems media concocted because they have decided they don't like him. I remain convinced that if Moeen has a future as an England player it is as a middle order batsmen who bowls spin - and I worry that's a pretty longshot to be honest. Jury still very much out there, as glorious as his 150 was. I love watching Moeen but in the long run I'm not sure there will be a place for him although versatility, great attitude and pure talent could yet prove me wrong (I certainly hope so - no better batsman to watch in the country). Cook's 10K is a fantastic achievement - good point made in an article I saw about how lucky we are to have Anderson and Cook having played together for 100 tests. Still think their contributions are quite underrated and won't realise their full value until they are gone. Woakes has done a decent job deputising Stokes just when it looked like he was probably destined to be forever the odd man out. Unless Compton delivers at 3, I'd stick with Vince and give someone else a crack. There are a ton of openers scoring runs in the Championship this season - wouldn't be the worst idea to give one of them a crack at 3.
There aren't that many openers scoring runs in division one though. Stoneman and Robson are the two exceptions and I haven't seen much of Stoneman, nor have I seen Robson since his last test outing. The clamor at the moment seems to be for Borthwick but I can't really offer much insight there either as, since his test debut, I've only seen him bat in limited overs matches. I do agree that Lords is probably Compton's last chance. He seems to struggle to get off strike with a low risk push into the covers or nudge off the hip which is an imperative if you are going to make a success of it at the top level. It's a worry I have of Hales too, although I think he is developing that side of his game. He also has the ability to make good bowling look average once he's well set. If Vince doesn't work out at 5 I wonder if they'll give Hildrith a chance? He's got a damn fine record over a number of years and I've never quite worked out why England haven't given him a go. I agree regarding Moeen too. He's fine when we're playing in England with a 5 man attack but we need better in order to win on flat pitches abroad. Not many other options around at the moment but it looks like the change to giving the away side the option to bowl first in the Championship has helped. Pitches seem to be flatter giving spinners more opportunity. Look at Gloucestershire for example, rather than picking Benny Howells to bowl medium pace, they've picked Jack Taylor to play every game this season. He's bowled 150 overs which I would guess is close to the total overs of spin bowled by Gloucester in the entirety of last season. The likes of Kerrigan, Jack Leach, Ollie Rayner and even Samit Patel have all had really good starts to the season. Woakes is someone I have seen a lot of and I'm always really impressed. What I especially like is that he seems to have a good understanding of what he needs to do in order to improve. In recent years he's developed his inswinger and found an extra yard of pace. I don't think he'll ever replace Stokes in the side but he's a really good understudy. We're lucky to have a couple of good all-rounders. I wouldn't be averse to giving Division 2 batsmen a go. Bell-Drummond was always the anointed one coming up through England Juniors and he's gotten off to a good start this year that suggests he may have cracked it. What has impressed me about him is the number of runs he has been scoring in big situations - he has been getting scores that really matter. Knocking off tricky targets, recovering the side from dodgy starts, turning the game around etc. I always think that's an underrated aspect of assessing a batsmen. I think it's also why Hildreth has never been given a chance - the perception is that he's a flat track bully. For years his average at Taunton was about 10-15 runs higher than it was elsewhere. In other words he was considered a guy who looked a million dollars smacking double hundred on a dead track but didn't do the business when it really mattered or when it was doing a bit. Fair or not, that was his reputation for years. The last few years he has definitely answered that criticism but it may be too late - he's getting on a bit now and I'm not sure they'd want to take a chance with another older player after messing about with Compton.
Borthwick is a reasonable shout - they're all reasonable shouts really, it's just that no one is screaming out for selection. The media always has a thing about legspin though which probably boost Borthwick's profile a bit. Could certainly do worse than Stoneman - very solid opener. Again, I wouldn't object to giving Robson another go but it all depends on whether they think he's sorted out his technical flaws. Both he and Lyth had such obvious deficiencies that I can't see them being selected again unless selectors are convinced they've corrected them. The pressure may begin to build on Moeen ahead of India if one of those spinners emerges from the pack in high summer. I still like Kerrigan even though he's had a few down years.
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Jun 1, 2016 18:50:39 GMT
Regarding Division 1 openers, Marcus Trescothick is having a great season!! I feel a bit sorry for Compton. It seems that wherever he goes he's not fully appreciated. At Somerset he was never really loved or appreciated and for England, listening to him before this last test match he was really trying to talk himself up and say about teams needing different sort of players. Whilst I don't disagree, the one thing all batsmen need is runs and unfortunately Compton hasn't got them. I suspect that he will get this series and maybe the Pakistani tests and if he doesn't score heavily will be discarded. You're right Irish about Bell-Drummond he should be given a chance in one format or other this summer. He appears to be able to do it in all formats and is scoring heavily at the moment. Regarding Hildreth, listening to Michael Vaughan last week talk about number 5s, he mentioned almost every no.5 in the country but not Hildreth. Having watched him for over 10 years I have the highest regard for him but feel that the selectors think he's just below true test standard. His age is against him now and although Mr. reliable for Somerset I think he was seen as not quite good enough for England. Like many players had he been of a different character, more brash and extrovert he might have had a test run but he is a quiet and reserved character and I think those characters find it hard to be assimilated into the England team. Either way I think England have a free hit this summer and can experiment with various players and will still win. Sri Lanka were far better in their second innings and made more of a fight of it. I suspect that they will benefit from what they have done this Summer and be a stronger team for it.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 9, 2016 22:33:16 GMT
Well England's top order showed it's fragility again today. First time I've watch a full day this year and I thought it was an day's cricket. I was so impressed with how Sri Lanka battled back. They really do have a superb attitude - 2-0 down in the series and a pretty flat pitch and dispiriting first hour, I think a lot of teams might mail it in at that point. But, they really battled like crazy to get back in the game and at times genuinely had England wobbling. If Bairstow hadn't been dropped I think we'd have been in deep trouble. It was just really disciplined defensive bowling and it built pressure up. Genuinely not a bad way to go against a side that has so many players that are not 100% sure of their medium term future in the team. There's a lot of England players who are probably feeling like they need a score or 2 to really cement their place and if they're getting tied down you could see that playing on them a bit. Hales played a terrible shot but it was a product of having failed to score for 20 minutes, Compton I think is finished - he just looks like a beaten man at the moment. Vince got a very good ball to be fair. But it was a very competitive days cricket. England are still in a pretty strong position thanks to Bairstow and Cook but it was a much closer day than it was looking like at one stage. Should get to 400+ tomorrow but you never know - if they sneak one out early with the new ball we might not get to 350 and then this Test Match is nicely set up.
The failure of Vince gives the selectors a bit of headache I think. I'd be inclined to drop Compton but keep Vince for the Pakistan series but there's definitely a debate to be had there. Stokes is presumably coming back in and so accounts for 1 spot. I have to say I'm genuinely a bit worried about our batting - the Pakistan bowling attack is a whole other step up from this. |
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strung out
Paul Hardyman
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Post by strung out on Jun 10, 2016 6:23:09 GMT
Sri Lanka are actually 8-0 down in the series, with 16 left to play for.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 10, 2016 11:10:30 GMT
Sri Lanka are actually 8-0 down in the series, with 16 left to play for. Oh yes - that pile of nonsense. Andrew Strauss surveyed the current state of English cricket and then attempted to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist. |
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 10, 2016 11:25:47 GMT
Well England's top order showed it's fragility again today. First time I've watch a full day this year and I thought it was an day's cricket. I was so impressed with how Sri Lanka battled back. They really do have a superb attitude - 2-0 down in the series and a pretty flat pitch and dispiriting first hour, I think a lot of teams might mail it in at that point. But, they really battled like crazy to get back in the game and at times genuinely had England wobbling. If Bairstow hadn't been dropped I think we'd have been in deep trouble. It was just really disciplined defensive bowling and it built pressure up. Genuinely not a bad way to go against a side that has so many players that are not 100% sure of their medium term future in the team. There's a lot of England players who are probably feeling like they need a score or 2 to really cement their place and if they're getting tied down you could see that playing on them a bit. Hales played a terrible shot but it was a product of having failed to score for 20 minutes, Compton I think is finished - he just looks like a beaten man at the moment. Vince got a very good ball to be fair. But it was a very competitive days cricket. England are still in a pretty strong position thanks to Bairstow and Cook but it was a much closer day than it was looking like at one stage. Should get to 400+ tomorrow but you never know - if they sneak one out early with the new ball we might not get to 350 and then this Test Match is nicely set up.
The failure of Vince gives the selectors a bit of headache I think. I'd be inclined to drop Compton but keep Vince for the Pakistan series but there's definitely a debate to be had there. Stokes is presumably coming back in and so accounts for 1 spot. I have to say I'm genuinely a bit worried about our batting - the Pakistan bowling attack is a whole other step up from this. I think Hales has shown enough in this series to suggest he could adapt to test cricket but Compton has had it and I've seen Vince get bowled after defending with a less than straight bat before. That said it would be really unfair to drop him after 4 (or possibly even 3) innings. How long before England decide that Bairstow's runs are too important for him to continue with the gloves? He is one of the top 3 batsmen in the country at the moment and his keeping isn't that good. If Buttler was playing more red ball cricket, Buttler for Compton with Vince moving up to 3 and Bairstow to 5 would be an obvious switch I think. As it is it sounds like Borthwick will come into the side as a top order batsman. I just hope that if the selectors go down that route they pick him purely based on his batting ability rather than with half an eye on this winter. His isn't in the top 10 spin bowlers in this country in my opinion and given how bare the cupboard is that really is saying something! |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 10, 2016 11:53:59 GMT
Well England's top order showed it's fragility again today. First time I've watch a full day this year and I thought it was an day's cricket. I was so impressed with how Sri Lanka battled back. They really do have a superb attitude - 2-0 down in the series and a pretty flat pitch and dispiriting first hour, I think a lot of teams might mail it in at that point. But, they really battled like crazy to get back in the game and at times genuinely had England wobbling. If Bairstow hadn't been dropped I think we'd have been in deep trouble. It was just really disciplined defensive bowling and it built pressure up. Genuinely not a bad way to go against a side that has so many players that are not 100% sure of their medium term future in the team. There's a lot of England players who are probably feeling like they need a score or 2 to really cement their place and if they're getting tied down you could see that playing on them a bit. Hales played a terrible shot but it was a product of having failed to score for 20 minutes, Compton I think is finished - he just looks like a beaten man at the moment. Vince got a very good ball to be fair. But it was a very competitive days cricket. England are still in a pretty strong position thanks to Bairstow and Cook but it was a much closer day than it was looking like at one stage. Should get to 400+ tomorrow but you never know - if they sneak one out early with the new ball we might not get to 350 and then this Test Match is nicely set up.
The failure of Vince gives the selectors a bit of headache I think. I'd be inclined to drop Compton but keep Vince for the Pakistan series but there's definitely a debate to be had there. Stokes is presumably coming back in and so accounts for 1 spot. I have to say I'm genuinely a bit worried about our batting - the Pakistan bowling attack is a whole other step up from this. I think Hales has shown enough in this series to suggest he could adapt to test cricket but Compton has had it and I've seen Vince get bowled after defending with a less than straight bat before. That said it would be really unfair to drop him after 4 (or possibly even 3) innings. How long before England decide that Bairstow's runs are too important for him to continue with the gloves? He is one of the top 3 batsmen in the country at the moment and his keeping isn't that good. If Buttler was playing more red ball cricket, Buttler for Compton with Vince moving up to 3 and Bairstow to 5 would be an obvious switch I think. As it is it sounds like Borthwick will come into the side as a top order batsman. I just hope that if the selectors go down that route they pick him purely based on his batting ability rather than with half an eye on this winter. His isn't in the top 10 spin bowlers in this country in my opinion and given how bare the cupboard is that really is saying something! Yeah - they seem very up on Borthwick. He's a decent player and probably as worthy of a chance as anyone else but I agree - I can't help but think that he's at the top of the pecking order largely because he offers something with the ball rather than being considered the superior batting option. England have done the business this morning - Woakes really grabbing the chance with both hands this time around. If he takes wickets in this game there will be pressure on Finn I think. |
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 10, 2016 12:06:55 GMT
I think Hales has shown enough in this series to suggest he could adapt to test cricket but Compton has had it and I've seen Vince get bowled after defending with a less than straight bat before. That said it would be really unfair to drop him after 4 (or possibly even 3) innings. How long before England decide that Bairstow's runs are too important for him to continue with the gloves? He is one of the top 3 batsmen in the country at the moment and his keeping isn't that good. If Buttler was playing more red ball cricket, Buttler for Compton with Vince moving up to 3 and Bairstow to 5 would be an obvious switch I think. As it is it sounds like Borthwick will come into the side as a top order batsman. I just hope that if the selectors go down that route they pick him purely based on his batting ability rather than with half an eye on this winter. His isn't in the top 10 spin bowlers in this country in my opinion and given how bare the cupboard is that really is saying something! Yeah - they seem very up on Borthwick. He's a decent player and probably as worthy of a chance as anyone else but I agree - I can't help but think that he's at the top of the pecking order largely because he offers something with the ball rather than being considered the superior batting option. England have done the business this morning - Woakes really grabbing the chance with both hands this time around. If he takes wickets in this game there will be pressure on Finn I think. Given how rubbish our top order has been you might as well have YJB, Stokes, Moeen, Woakes as 5-8 and pick 4 all-rounders! |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 10, 2016 12:53:29 GMT
Yeah - they seem very up on Borthwick. He's a decent player and probably as worthy of a chance as anyone else but I agree - I can't help but think that he's at the top of the pecking order largely because he offers something with the ball rather than being considered the superior batting option. England have done the business this morning - Woakes really grabbing the chance with both hands this time around. If he takes wickets in this game there will be pressure on Finn I think. Given how rubbish our top order has been you might as well have YJB, Stokes, Moeen, Woakes as 5-8 and pick 4 all-rounders! I think if you look at World Cricket it is how the world is going. 'Multi-dimensional cricketers' as ECB coaching jargon would have it. T20 means the more flexible a player, the better chance they have at a long career. When I was a kid if a player made the county squad then they would normally be told to focus their attention on one skill - so if they were a high quality batsmen they would be told to put all the effort into that and forget about bowling. The thing is most talented cricketers at a young age can do both - it's unusual to find someone who is excellent at one and utterly terrible at the other. Now they give the opposite advice - the more strings to your bow the better. |
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warehamgas
Predictions League
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Posts: 3,590
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Post by warehamgas on Jun 12, 2016 19:25:35 GMT
Have missed most of this match so can't say too much about it but I had thought Compton might be given the Pakistan series. I think that's unlikely now due more to his down beat manner, he looks like he knows he's about to get out and inspires no confidence whatsoever. I hope Vince gets the next series as he is a player who I think could get lots of runs and against Pakistan there will be players that will likely score. The middle order at the moment is under performing and is a bit of a worry. Cook has become incredibly important as a steadying character in the team and I think Ben Stokes has been missed.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jun 13, 2016 11:37:29 GMT
Have missed most of this match so can't say too much about it but I had thought Compton might be given the Pakistan series. I think that's unlikely now due more to his down beat manner, he looks like he knows he's about to get out and inspires no confidence whatsoever. I hope Vince gets the next series as he is a player who I think could get lots of runs and against Pakistan there will be players that will likely score. The middle order at the moment is under performing and is a bit of a worry. Cook has become incredibly important as a steadying character in the team and I think Ben Stokes has been missed. Yes - it's particularly concerning against Pakistan. Wahad Riaz and Mohammad Amir are probably second only to Broad and Anderson - and it's the Pakistani's that are quicker and will test our players against the short ball. I really think the Pakistan series could be a very low scoring one - their top order is dodgier than ours. |
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