The Cricket Thread

[Saddlerrad]

I'd wager that the current top 3, won't look the same as we head into 2016. With perhaps both Cook and Trott missing. Hope Stokes and Buttler push us on towards 550 at 5 an over today. Get them in for the final session and have Anderson hoop it in the cross breeze.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Shite again this morning.

341-5 to 361-8 with Stokes, Tredwell and Buttler all back in the hut. Need Broad to come in and smash a few with Jordan now.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Broad's a joke.

 

[Super_horns]

Its the hope of some consistent form which hurts when we collapse like this!

 

[TomPNE94]

lololololol

 

[JonBCFC]

Broads batting has been terrible since he got a whack in the face, may aswell promote Anderson up the order and put broad down the bottom!

 

[Saddlerrad]

Today has been awful from England. Ball is doing nothing now either, I'd have Anderson swinging it back towards the stumps, not constantly away.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Nice timing. Anderson strikes.

 

[Aber gas]

Thank fuck that gayle , pollard ect are messing about in the ipl because " tredders " would have gone all over the park . The selectors in their great wisdom have picked a spin bowler that can't turn a ball off the straight .

 

[Skinner]

DRAW

 

[Skinner]

Spoke too soon. If we can come out and hit 70+ tonight and then bat all day tomorrow, declare in front of around 350 then we'll take this.

On the plus side, no chance are we losing.

 

[Saddlerrad]

20-2 and both the openers gone again. In fairness, Taylor has been excellent and had it hooping around corners, but poor shots again.

 

[Bobbin']

Pathetic.

Fantastic contribution from the captain again.

 

[Super_horns]

Shall we just start with 3 wickets down?

 

[Saddlerrad]

Taylor is bowling well, but they just need to see off the new ball. Once Roach and particularly Taylor are off the radar, Benn and Holder are easier to milk runs off.

 

[josephb88]

I've not been able to watch much of this so far because of the time difference, but from previous showings and what I've seen from this match, I think England could probably do with some different batsmen near the top of the order. Being expectant of early wickets isn't great, but that's exactly what I've been over the last six months at the very least. Does anyone here have a sort of wish list for a team at the moment? It's hard for me to make any judgements since county cricket isn't very easy to watch here.

 

[Saddlerrad]

The top 3 is too tentative and negative, they have low confidence and look like the new ball will get them out. They try and stifle opening attacks, but don't take the game to them and ultimately, we end up 40-3 after 30 overs because they eventually get a good ball or play a bad shot whilst failing to keep the run rate moving sufficiently. Root, Bell, Stokes etc are the ones then expected to rebuild. Fortunately against lesser attacks like the Windies, they are able to do that as they have a lack of back up bowlers but when we come against a better attack, we look like sitting ducks through our entire line up.

Lyth should have opened with Cook, perhaps having Trott at 3, but he shouldn't have come back in for me. Lyth is younger, had a great county season and scored runs in the warm up games. Tredwell shouldn't have played and I stick by that decision, despite his 4 wickets, Rashid would have spun the ball further and it would have been a good experience for him IMO. Taylor and Hales should be around the test side and it was extremely harsh to drop Carberry after he was one of the few who showed some bollocks down under 18 months ago.

Cook is woefully out of form and as strange as it sounds for a player with 25 test hundreds and over 100 test matches, he has been found out. Bowl offside, pitch it up and nibble it and you will either catch him on the crease or have him caught tentatively pushing the bat away from his body. Luckily for him he's out of the ODI heat now, but he's really only going on the goodwill he earned turning it round for us against India last summer. He needs at least a ton in the remainder of this series and a couple of good knocks in the NZ home series, or else he will be crucified by the public and media if (more like when) we get smashed by the Aussies in the summer.

England have a good setup and some good players, but the entire mindset of the side and people off the field is archaic, stereotypical, traditional test cricket and frankly, times are moving on. We need the likes of Taylor, Hales, Lyth, Vince, Roy adding to the squad alongside the likes of Root, Bell, Stokes, Buttler, Anderson, Broad.

Lyth (Providing Cook continues his run of turd)
Hales
Ballance
Bell (Eventually replaced by Vince or Taylor)
Root
Stokes
Buttler
Ali
Jordan
Broad (Eventually I'd replace him, depends how Tymal Mills develops)
Anderson

I'd be heading towards that side slowly by the end of 2015.

 

[josephb88]

That looks like a reasonable team. I'd like to see them find the best selection and mentality pretty soon, but I think July will be too soon to get it working if they even decide what they want to be doing by then, so I'm going to avoid being competitive with friends here until England are at least 3-0 up. I've liked the way Taylor, Stokes and Buttler have batted when I've seen them (not necessarily liking their scores all the time) and I didn't mind Carberry and thought it was a bit odd that I've not seen him since. I'm certain England have the potential to win the ashes, but I am far from confident that they will pull it off. I've seen all of those eleven play apart from Lyth. What is he like?

 

[Bobbin']

343 lead for England.

When should we start thinking about declaring? Get past 400? Bat until tea?

 

[Skinner]

Ballance has reached his ton (much needed), I'd declare now. WI aren't reaching 350.

 

[Bobbin']

Perfect opportunity to with that wicket.

 

[Skinner]

We haven't we declared!

 

[Bobbin']

Waiting for Buttler to get 50?

I have no idea.

 

[Munkiki]

Waiting for Buttler to get 50?

I thought that but apparently not.

Don't understand why they're still going.

 

[Skinner]

What a catch man

 

[Pyeman]

I was happy to see Trott come in to open alongside Cook. He scored runs in the warm-up match and I think he's a good player to have in and around the team, and I certainly didn't want Ballance to be dropped.

My logic was that Trott opening allowed all three of Cook, Trott and Ballance to be incorporated, but it looks like that isn't necessarily a good thing. I think all three are good players, and on their own merits I think each of them has a future with the England team, but it's hard to argue with the criticism that they're far too static as an opening unit.

I don't get to see as much county cricket as I'd like, and so I haven't seen much of Lyth, but from the comments here it sounds like he might be a better long-term solution, and you can't really argue with his form throughout last season. They just need to decide quickly, because if that's the way they're going to go then they need to get him in ASAP.

 

[Super_horns]

Where will Jimmy Anderson rank in terms of the best English bowlers - given he's set to become the record wicket taker?

 

[Bobbin']

Looking good for England, if we can get Blackwood early in the afternoon it should be fairly smooth running from there.

438 is well, well beyond West Indies, hope we didn't leave it too late to declare yesterday.

 

[Super_horns]

4 wickets to win.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Not going to happen IMO. Pitch is very flat and the batsmen at the crease currently look set.