2019 Cricket - World Cup, Ashes, Pakistan ODI series etc

[Paul6754]

1 hour ago, Jacko51 said:

I thought heading the ball was a technique used in football, not cricket!

Well you know the Aussies, anything to get a 4 or 6.....sorry AR.

Tremendous effort and character by Labuschangne. The Aussies rode their luck but Archer will have a big influence on this series and future games if he can stay fit and the selectors don't get in the way. Engand have a strike bowler at last to fight fire with fire.

[The Kalamazoo Kid]

10 hours ago, Jacko51 said:

They call England "whingeing Poms" yet they've spent nearly 90 years whingeing about the 32-33 series!!  (Sorry Barry!)

The spirit of Harold Larwood is alive in Jofra!

[Jacko51]

Caught on the stump mic!!

https://mobile.twitter.com/maxgermain52/status/1163089301795684352?s=12

[TheSage]

The next test soon comes around.

Smith won't play so that might give us a bit of a boost.

And I guess, like Johnson a few years ago, Archer will be putting the fear of god into their batsmen. We can but hope.

Unchanged?

[robf]

12 hours ago, TheSage said:

The next test soon comes around.

Smith won't play so that might give us a bit of a boost.

And I guess, like Johnson a few years ago, Archer will be putting the fear of god into their batsmen. We can but hope.

Unchanged?

I do think that despite being 1-0 down the pendulum has swung England's way.

If there hadn't been that hour's delay on Sunday there was a decent chance the Aussies would have lost. Without Smith their batting is even more brittle than England's (and that is saying something).

Weather permitting, England have a more than decent chance of winning the next Test match.

I didn't buy into the Archer hype before the Lord's Test but seeing those spells he put in, you can't believe anything other than he's put the fear of God into the Aussie batsmen. I don't think I've seen fast bowling like that since that Devon Malcolm spell against South Africa or the great Windies sides.

Not only that but Leach has made a massive difference by providing a reliable and potent spin option so the fast bowlers can be rotated. He's also an invaluable nightwatchman too (which judging by the top order may be more than useful).

For me, much as I don't like him, I can't understand why the Aussies are leaving Starc out. I would have played him and Hazlewood through the whole series. 

[TheSage]

I agree.

I think Starc has had a side strain or something like that and they are perhaps wisely rotating their bowlers. But Siddle is decent in England and can hold a bat. I worry that we over bowl Archer and really need to keep him fresh.

IF we can get Anderson back for Old Trafford, alongside Archer.... But will that be too much of a risk?

I still like Curran but I can't see us fitting him in, sadly.

You are spot on about Leach. Still a lot to learn but he does seem more able to tie down an end than Moeen, though the latter had the knack of picking up a few wickets.

The Aussies surely can't play Smith. If he's had concussion he should not be allowed anywhere near a cricket pitch for at least a week, I would have thought. For his own health and safety. Have the ICC not got a rule on this? They should have. He'll want to play but he categorically shouldn't. I'd love to see him v Archer again but his health comes first.

[The_godfather]

Hazelwood seems to have dropped down the pecking order a little as he is out of favour with the ODI team; it's him vs Siddle nominally for 1 spot although they just played together in the last test. Cummins is the strike bowler and the Australians rate Pattinson extremely highly - he's always taken wickets when fit, but just hasn't been able to string a consistent injury free run together.  I get the impression that Starc's middling record in England counts against him although that hasn't been said.

I was very surprised at the Australian approach to Leach at Lords - they've historically always tried to go after the spinner regardless, to hit them out of the attack, but they were very passive and defensive which allowed him to bowl very economically. I can't see that continuing though so he will need to maintain his composure as and when they come for him.  Archer is clearly the X-factor for England, and not only will a quicker pitch help at Headingley, his inclusion takes a bit of the pressure off Broad to carry the attack which I think will help him too. I'm all in favour of being aggressive to the Aussie batsmen - I think it's clear they don't like it up em Mr Mainwaring, they do not like it up em. I still think Woakes bowls generally too short, although he's an excellent all round cricketer to have in the side. On the batting front, sure the selectors will stick with Roy, although he desperately needs runs, and we could do with Buttler getting into nick - he's another that could turn the tide of a game with a cameo innings, but he's trying to feel his way into form.

All in all it's finely poised, but I wouldn't read too much into momentum to be honest - that's the beauty of cricket, it really doesn't take much for things to swing round 180 degrees - before this match we were mostly, myself included, pretty concerned. I do think a win is important though as the weather will likely increasingly play a role given the late nature of the matches in the season.

[bycars rob]

I`m not sure Headingley is a quick pitch, it normally suits medium pacers not bang it in pace merchants.

I would keep the same personnel but put Bairstow as opener, Roy in middle order and Stokes at 3 to protect Root from new ball a bit.

[Paul6754]

Archer should be the first name on the team sheet if he's fit, a bowler with genuine pace will usually extract more life from a pitch than a seamer who bowls slower, we've seen it around the world countless times. Have to take 20 wickets to win a Test match, no better way than having a strike bowler with genuine pace in the team.

 

[robf]

Here we go... I'm hoping that the Aussies without Smith will collapse like a house of cards. 

[robf]

So Australia, how did changing your opener go?

[TheSage]

About as well as we've done chopping and changing ours in the last couple of years! A disaster, I'm pleased to say. It's got to be really difficult for anyone to come in from the cold and get quickly up to speed against a moving ball. That's why their lad whose name I can't pronounce has done so brilliantly well in his two innings to date.

As ever, it's about footwork and technique at the crease. That said, jumping around and playing a lot of onside shots doesn't seem to bother Smith, nor Richards, but they must have extraordinary eye-hand coordination.

A huge day today.

[tommytunstall]

England need a Root and Branch clear out, or should it be Root and Baylis.

Time after time they are making basic schoolboy errors. If it's wide of the wicket leave it.

[hamilboy]

What a shambles of batting at test match level England are the truth is we have one day cricketers who cannot play a test match innings.The amount of wide balls they should leave is unbelievable what on earth was Stokes doing trying to hit that he would have needed a fishing rod to hit that in the middle.To many one day cricketers in the England side not enough what i call proper batsmen if the ball is wide of your off stump let the thing go when you first get in.I was always taught make the bowler work for his wickets do not give it away we have lost the art of batting end of.

 

[robf]

16 minutes ago, hamilboy said:

What a shambles of batting at test match level England are the truth is we have one day cricketers who cannot play a test match innings.The amount of wide balls they should leave is unbelievable what on earth was Stokes doing trying to hit that he would have needed a fishing rod to hit that in the middle.To many one day cricketers in the England side not enough what i call proper batsmen if the ball is wide of your off stump let the thing go when you first get in.I was always taught make the bowler work for his wickets do not give it away we have lost the art of batting end of.

 

I didn't buy into the wholesale changes thing till today but I can only agree. 

I'm sorry to say that I think the likes of Roy, Buttler and even Bairstow have no Test mentality.

I hesitate to go back to the bad old days of wholesale changes but I can't see how the likes of Pope (Ollie, not Tom) can help either. He was dropped for a ridiculous attacking shot.

For me, I would immediately restore Foakes who is the best wicketkeeper and can bat sensibly, we then need a new opener, a number three (presuming Root moves to four) and a middle-order batsmen who doesn't play in ODI mode all the time.