I've gained more respect for Ashley Giles than I had back when he was playing
Yes he didn't spin the ball much, but he did give control and when you have a potent pace attack someone who can control the run rate is doing a job for the team. Next winter in Australia, a Giles type would probably work better than a more dangerous bowler who gives a pie an over.
I've gained more respect for Ashley Giles than I had back when he was playing
Yes he didn't spin the ball much, but he did give control and when you have a potent pace attack someone who can control the run rate is doing a job for the team. Next winter in Australia, a Giles type would probably work better than a more dangerous bowler who gives a pie an over.
Giles' role was always to just build pressure. Fletcher tried with various spinners and realised we couldnt produce a decent wrist spinner. Add to that Giles has/had a really good professional attitude.
I've gained more respect for Ashley Giles than I had back when he was playing
Yes he didn't spin the ball much, but he did give control and when you have a potent pace attack someone who can control the run rate is doing a job for the team. Next winter in Australia, a Giles type would probably work better than a more dangerous bowler who gives a pie an over.
Giles' role was always to just build pressure. Fletcher tried with various spinners and realised we couldnt produce a decent wrist spinner. Add to that Giles has/had a really good professional attitude.
Definitely more Surrey players and no Kent players in the England team.
I want to see Crawley, Denly, etc playing for Kent when ever I can get back to seeing my parents in the spring time and who live 300 yards away from the St Lawrence ground in Canterbury.
Why did they turn the Bat and Ball pub into a French restaurant ? A pint and pub grub not
Cheval Blanc and frogs legs before watching Darren Stevens produce his middle age magic. (Joined Kent in 2005 when 28 !) The Fulham supporting landlord of the Bat and Ball sold up at the right time back in 2017 ?
Definitely more Surrey players and no Kent players in the England team.
I want to see Crawley, Denly, etc playing for Kent when ever I can get back to seeing my parents in the spring time and who live 300 yards away from the St Lawrence ground in Canterbury.
Why did they turn the Bat and Ball pub into a French restaurant ? A pint and pub grub not
Cheval Blanc and frogs legs before watching Darren Stevens produce his middle age magic. (Joined Kent in 2005 when 28 !) The Fulham supporting landlord of the Bat and Ball sold up at the right time back in 2017 ?
While back now! I used to live in Old Dover Road, lost count of the messy nights I had playing pool in there or the Cross Keys.
The Phoenix is your best bet for a pre or post-cricket pint now.
I'm trying to remember what cricket watching was like 20/30 years ago at Canterbury, whether the amount of drinking inside the ground and length of time people spend inside has increased since then, or is the same.
The regular Sunday 40 over games must have been good for pubs, as leaving at 6:30 you have all evening to continue, whereas with evening T20s, a lot of people will be heading home straight away
We need to show lot more fight and determination then we did today even knowing we would lose make India work hard for it .. don’t just roll over
We have two real issues that we have 8 months to solve before the Ashes ... that’s openers and a class spinner
We aren’t going to find a spinner in that time . I actually wouldn’t pick one, unless Bess really comes on in the next year ; which of course he won’t because his bowling in England will be limited to a holding role.
I actually think Crawley will make runs in Australia. Burns has had a very long run at it now and is averaging only a trifle more than the much maligned Denly. I don’t believe Sibley, as much as I admire the grit, will make a run against Cummins and Hazlewood.
Why do most people chose either broad or Anderson and not both?
I get that they are aging and both can’t play 5 matches but why not play both, test one, rest the other and repeat.
We gan go into a match with broad and Anderson and over 1,100 wickets, or we can play olly stone!
The issue, as I see it, is this -
(1) we really do need pace which means that Archer (or Stone) has to play (2) I don't think we can go into any match without a frontline spinner even if he is being used in the first innings in a holding role (3) if that spinner is Leach then we end up with a tail of Leach, Archer, Broad and Anderson - compare that to the tail of old of Moeen, Woakes, Broad and Anderson. Effectively it means that once we are six down there is next to nothing to come
That's why I picked Curran because he can bat but also he is capable of breaking stubborn partnerships. Woakes is an alternative to him.
It really is the wrong way to look a the side in this way because the batsmen should get the runs and bowlers take the wickets. But only Root is actually consistently getting runs and Test matches are now much closer than they have ever been in the sense that 600 runs for two innings very often wins you the Test. Which is why a meaningful contribution from 8-11 is so important
Meanwhile away from the international scene, it's the IPL auction today where all those players who needed resting from the England bubbles will accept large amounts of dosh to join the IPL bubble
Meanwhile away from the international scene, it's the IPL auction today where all those players who needed resting from the England bubbles will accept large amounts of dosh to join the IPL bubble
Moeen's hometime justified by the CSK pickup. Good to see the England management apologise to him. I don't doubt he wanted to play in the last two Tests but he has a young family.
Moeen's hometime justified by the CSK pickup. Good to see the England management apologise to him. I don't doubt he wanted to play in the last two Tests but he has a young family.
Still think Virdi should be added to the squad.
700k for bowling 50 overs and smashing a few 6s. The dream .
All-rounder Sam Curran will not rejoin England's Test squad for the fourth test against India as planned because of the "logistical challenge" in getting him to Ahmedabad.
The 22-year-old was rested after January's tour of Sri Lanka.
He was meant to fly to India in time for the final match of the Test series and the limited-overs leg of the tour.
But that decision has been reversed in order to limit his possible exposure to coronavirus on commercial flights.
He will now travel on the private charter flight arranged to take the white-ball squad to India on 26 February.
It's difficult to understand how a 22 year old playing at Test level has been hit on the head 9 or 10 times let alone suffered that many instances of concussion. The reality has to be, therefore, that he has actually been hit a lot more than that in his short career.
Watching the last time he was hit, it is clear that in that particular instance he tried to duck it and then made a late decision to play it. Those decisions should, actually, be the other way round - prepare to hit it but if it's not there then duck or weave - because it is very hard to catch up with a 90mph ball when you haven't set yourself to hook it.
You don't have to be a "happy hooker", especially at Test level, but if you can demonstrate that the bouncer holds no fear then the opposition are far less likely to target you. Archer would be licking his lips at the prospect at bowling at him especially as he is one of those bowlers who doesn't give you an early "tell" when he bowls the bouncer.
It doesn't get any better for Will Puckovski. He's got to have shoulder re-construction which will put him out of action for up to six months but he should be back in time for the beginning of the Australian domestic season and the Ashes of course.
It's difficult to understand how a 22 year old playing at Test level has been hit on the head 9 or 10 times let alone suffered that many instances of concussion. The reality has to be, therefore, that he has actually been hit a lot more than that in his short career.
Watching the last time he was hit, it is clear that in that particular instance he tried to duck it and then made a late decision to play it. Those decisions should, actually, be the other way round - prepare to hit it but if it's not there then duck or weave - because it is very hard to catch up with a 90mph ball when you haven't set yourself to hook it.
You don't have to be a "happy hooker", especially at Test level, but if you can demonstrate that the bouncer holds no fear then the opposition are far less likely to target you. Archer would be licking his lips at the prospect at bowling at him especially as he is one of those bowlers who doesn't give you an early "tell" when he bowls the bouncer.
It doesn't get any better for Will Puckovski. He's got to have shoulder re-construction which will put him out of action for up to six months but he should be back in time for the beginning of the Australian domestic season and the Ashes of course.
Got to wonder if he'll end up as an unfulfilled talent given his injury issues and missing games due to mental health concerns.
700k for Ali and yet only 150k for Malan, the best T20 batsman in the world. Punjab could have themselves a bargain (relatively speaking) there.
And Hales not picked up at all. Wasn't anyone watching the Big Bash, or did Morgan bad mouth him to all the IPL franchise owners!
Strange one. Rashid, Billings and Roy also unsold. I know Ali is an all rounder who are always going to attract more interest but surprised at that.
rashid especially is mind blowing - he's, next to archer, our best white ball bowler.
With the IPL one has to bear in mind that each team only has so many overseas slots - and they have to use those to balance their squads. Typically it is the all rounders and fast bowlers that are in demand plus, of course, the very top batsmen - India has enough batsmen and spinners hence the likes of Hales and Rashid not being picked up. Billings is an exception and he might not even get a game as they have Pant but he will be a decent back up if and when required.
Why do most people chose either broad or Anderson and not both?
I get that they are aging and both can’t play 5 matches but why not play both, test one, rest the other and repeat.
We gan go into a match with broad and Anderson and over 1,100 wickets, or we can play olly stone!
The issue, as I see it, is this -
(1) we really do need pace which means that Archer (or Stone) has to play (2) I don't think we can go into any match without a frontline spinner even if he is being used in the first innings in a holding role (3) if that spinner is Leach then we end up with a tail of Leach, Archer, Broad and Anderson - compare that to the tail of old of Moeen, Woakes, Broad and Anderson. Effectively it means that once we are six down there is next to nothing to come
That's why I picked Curran because he can bat but also he is capable of breaking stubborn partnerships. Woakes is an alternative to him.
It really is the wrong way to look a the side in this way because the batsmen should get the runs and bowlers take the wickets. But only Root is actually consistently getting runs and Test matches are now much closer than they have ever been in the sense that 600 runs for two innings very often wins you the Test. Which is why a meaningful contribution from 8-11 is so important
You should never be making team selections on the basis of can the tail wag.
If you are relying on no's 9, 10 & 11 getting you runs then there is something very wrong.
From what I've seen Burns should be nowhere near the team & neither Bess or Leach are good enough spinners. Not to actually take wickets at a reasonable run rate that is.
Why do most people chose either broad or Anderson and not both?
I get that they are aging and both can’t play 5 matches but why not play both, test one, rest the other and repeat.
We gan go into a match with broad and Anderson and over 1,100 wickets, or we can play olly stone!
The issue, as I see it, is this -
(1) we really do need pace which means that Archer (or Stone) has to play (2) I don't think we can go into any match without a frontline spinner even if he is being used in the first innings in a holding role (3) if that spinner is Leach then we end up with a tail of Leach, Archer, Broad and Anderson - compare that to the tail of old of Moeen, Woakes, Broad and Anderson. Effectively it means that once we are six down there is next to nothing to come
That's why I picked Curran because he can bat but also he is capable of breaking stubborn partnerships. Woakes is an alternative to him.
It really is the wrong way to look a the side in this way because the batsmen should get the runs and bowlers take the wickets. But only Root is actually consistently getting runs and Test matches are now much closer than they have ever been in the sense that 600 runs for two innings very often wins you the Test. Which is why a meaningful contribution from 8-11 is so important
You should never be making team selections on the basis of can the tail wag.
If you are relying on no's 9, 10 & 11 getting you runs then there is something very wrong.
From what I've seen Burns should be nowhere near the team & neither Bess or Leach are good enough spinners. Not to actually take wickets at a reasonable run rate that is.
I included no. 8 though. And you can't have a side that has Leach, Archer, Stone, Broad etc etc in that position because the top and middle order will be left stranded. Let's not forget that we went through a period where numbers 5-8 were scoring more runs than 1-4 primarily because we had Woakes or Moeen at 8.
At the moment it's all very academic anyway because we have a one man batting line up as evidenced by Root's 723 runs in the last four Tests with the next top being 184!
All-rounder Sam Curran will not rejoin England's Test squad for the fourth test against India as planned because of the "logistical challenge" in getting him to Ahmedabad.
The 22-year-old was rested after January's tour of Sri Lanka.
He was meant to fly to India in time for the final match of the Test series and the limited-overs leg of the tour.
But that decision has been reversed in order to limit his possible exposure to coronavirus on commercial flights.
He will now travel on the private charter flight arranged to take the white-ball squad to India on 26 February.
England haven't half made things complicated with the swapping of players in and out of the bubble!
I can understand the logic of doing the 1st 2 Tests then going home (Moeen) or missing the 1st 2 Tests and arriving for the last 2 Tests (Wood and Bairstow) especially as the series is split between 2 venues, with a gap between the 2nd and 3rd Tests.
Buttler going home after 1 Test baffled me, similarly Curran arriving just for the 4th test. Especially when the most seam friendly match of the series is likely to be the 3rd as a day/night game. If they want him for the Tests, he should have come with Wood and Bairstow for the 3rd Test, if not then let him come with the white ball squad, which is what he's now doing
The stadium for the 3rd test looks amazing, but I can't help thinking that a half-full 55,000 people at one match is a little excessive in the current climate.
The stadium for the 3rd test looks amazing, but I can't help thinking that a half-full 55,000 people at one match is a little excessive in the current climate.
Comments
Yes he didn't spin the ball much, but he did give control and when you have a potent pace attack someone who can control the run rate is doing a job for the team. Next winter in Australia, a Giles type would probably work better than a more dangerous bowler who gives a pie an over.
I want to see Crawley, Denly, etc playing for Kent when ever I can get back to seeing my parents in the spring time and who live 300 yards away from the St Lawrence ground in Canterbury.
Why did they turn the Bat and Ball pub into a French restaurant ? A pint and pub grub not
The Fulham supporting landlord of the Bat and Ball sold up at the right time back in 2017 ?
The Phoenix is your best bet for a pre or post-cricket pint now.
The regular Sunday 40 over games must have been good for pubs, as leaving at 6:30 you have all evening to continue, whereas with evening T20s, a lot of people will be heading home straight away
I get that they are aging and both can’t play 5 matches but why not play both, test one, rest the other and repeat.
(1) we really do need pace which means that Archer (or Stone) has to play
(2) I don't think we can go into any match without a frontline spinner even if he is being used in the first innings in a holding role
(3) if that spinner is Leach then we end up with a tail of Leach, Archer, Broad and Anderson - compare that to the tail of old of Moeen, Woakes, Broad and Anderson. Effectively it means that once we are six down there is next to nothing to come
That's why I picked Curran because he can bat but also he is capable of breaking stubborn partnerships. Woakes is an alternative to him.
It really is the wrong way to look a the side in this way because the batsmen should get the runs and bowlers take the wickets. But only Root is actually consistently getting runs and Test matches are now much closer than they have ever been in the sense that 600 runs for two innings very often wins you the Test. Which is why a meaningful contribution from 8-11 is so important
Good luck to them
Still think Virdi should be added to the squad.
All-rounder Sam Curran will not rejoin England's Test squad for the fourth test against India as planned because of the "logistical challenge" in getting him to Ahmedabad.
The 22-year-old was rested after January's tour of Sri Lanka.
He was meant to fly to India in time for the final match of the Test series and the limited-overs leg of the tour.
But that decision has been reversed in order to limit his possible exposure to coronavirus on commercial flights.
He will now travel on the private charter flight arranged to take the white-ball squad to India on 26 February.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/56119003
If you are relying on no's 9, 10 & 11 getting you runs then there is something very wrong.
From what I've seen Burns should be nowhere near the team & neither Bess or Leach are good enough spinners. Not to actually take wickets at a reasonable run rate that is.
At the moment it's all very academic anyway because we have a one man batting line up as evidenced by Root's 723 runs in the last four Tests with the next top being 184!
I can understand the logic of doing the 1st 2 Tests then going home (Moeen) or missing the 1st 2 Tests and arriving for the last 2 Tests (Wood and Bairstow) especially as the series is split between 2 venues, with a gap between the 2nd and 3rd Tests.
Buttler going home after 1 Test baffled me, similarly Curran arriving just for the 4th test. Especially when the most seam friendly match of the series is likely to be the 3rd as a day/night game. If they want him for the Tests, he should have come with Wood and Bairstow for the 3rd Test, if not then let him come with the white ball squad, which is what he's now doing
https://www.insidesport.co/ind-vs-eng-3rd-test-impressed-stuart-broad-shares-first-look-of-worlds-largest-stadium-in-ahmedabad/
I wonder who the other three batsmen were.