Call me old fashioned, but I’d like to see Tony Greig and Alan Knott really take the game to the Indians now. A awash-buckling partnership of 250+ from them and we’re really back in it. Then there’ll be a massive storm before the ground staff can get the covers on. Underwood will bowl ‘em out on a sticky dog, job done. All down the pub to celebrate a famous win.
Ah bollocks, just nodded off for a few moments there. Meanwhile back in 2021...
So we are clearly mentally a broken team and the players and coaches will rightly cop plenty of flack. But at what point does Ed Smith start getting pelters? The whole rotation policy during a pandemic doesn't work, Bairstow was a disaster waiting to(and did) happen and the manage management of both Bess and Lawrence has been poor. All stems from the Chairman if selectors surely.
Am I the only one that can't stand this Channel 4 coverage? I really don't want to hear the glee in the commentators voices when the oppo are doing well.
Bairstow 3 ducks in 4 innings. If this doesn't confirm that he should stick to white ball cricket nothing will.
The problem is, it won’t.
Burns to open and Crawley at 3
and hopefully pope will develop a cricketing brain to complement his talent
As I keep saying Burns, Sibley and Crawley worries me because we keep losing two wickets for next to nothing. I've made my feelings known as to who I think should be batting at 3. The trouble is that Pope is now in danger of being dropped despite the fact that he is always fire fighting - his batting today was frenetic. Buttler will come back so will it be for Pope or Foakes if we revert to Burns/Sibley/Crawley?
Back to Sibley/Burns/Crawley:
Sibley averages 32.48 but in his last 3 series against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India respectively, in 16 innings, he has scored just 296 runs in total at an average of 19.73
Burns averages 30.73 but since 2019 he has played in 8 Tests and 13 innings against West Indies, Pakistan and India he scored just 311 runs in total at an average of 23.92
Crawley has an average of 34.15. But that is somewhat skewed by that one fantastic innings of 267. Take that out and his average drops somewhat dramatically to 21.89
To my mind Crawley has to play simply because he is the only one of the three to make a massive contribution to winning a Test match, It's also obvious that he is far more at home against pace than spin which is what, predominantly he will come across in the Ashes. But for the reasons given above it should be with Sibley or Burns but not both. Lawrence has impressed at times but he is no more ready to bat at 3 for England than Pope is. But, unlike Pope, has already been given the opportunity to do so
It was tongue in cheek obviously, but he is no worse than the current incumbents and proven to be far better in Indian conditions.
Horses for courses - which is why we picked Bairstow as evidenced by his 6 ducks in his last 9 innings against India. In fact, he has now scored 67 runs in 10 innings against them!
It was tongue in cheek obviously, but he is no worse than the current incumbents and proven to be far better in Indian conditions.
True. But the Indian tour is coming to an end. Against pace he is not very good
Yes, he had a problem against pace around 4th stump line. As I said, I believe he is as good an option as what we are using now. Perhaps he should have got his chance to prove himself again under these conditions.
Problem to be is at least twofold.....maybe 3 or 4-fold.
We cant play spin We dont have any good spinners Openers get out too cheaply Too many changes
I don't watch county cricket so have no idea what the selection pool is like, but going by what I've seen recently I would -
Drop Burns & Bess Keep Lawrence & Foakes Butler & Bairstow are middle order "run getters" & you dont build an innings around them.
Finally - the stat about 70+consecutive partnerships of below 50 is the "Golfie" stat of cricket. Awful. Like our "go 1-0 down & that's it" stat you just cant play Test cricket & have 7 innings where there is no meaningful partnerships.
The bottom line is that we aren't very good at batting in red ball cricket. Full stop. And if anyone doubts that I would challenge them to name one current English player who has a better average, bar Root, than any of India's top six in Test cricket.
Comments
and hopefully pope will develop a cricketing brain to complement his talent
Back to Sibley/Burns/Crawley:
Sibley averages 32.48 but in his last 3 series against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India respectively, in 16 innings, he has scored just 296 runs in total at an average of 19.73
Burns averages 30.73 but since 2019 he has played in 8 Tests and 13 innings against West Indies, Pakistan and India he scored just 311 runs in total at an average of 23.92
Crawley has an average of 34.15. But that is somewhat skewed by that one fantastic innings of 267. Take that out and his average drops somewhat dramatically to 21.89
To my mind Crawley has to play simply because he is the only one of the three to make a massive contribution to winning a Test match, It's also obvious that he is far more at home against pace than spin which is what, predominantly he will come across in the Ashes. But for the reasons given above it should be with Sibley or Burns but not both.
Lawrence has impressed at times but he is no more ready to bat at 3 for England than Pope is. But, unlike Pope, has already been given the opportunity to do so
Sums it up really.
> checks cricket score
>goes back to sleep
Watch the Test match
Clean the car
Clean the oven
Mop the floors
Clear out rubbish from the loft
But the Indian tour is coming to an end.
Against pace he is not very good
pick for this winter. Bumrah and Ishant have been largely irrelevant in this series
As I said, I believe he is as good an option as what we are using now. Perhaps he should have got his chance to prove himself again under these conditions.
How's stat?!
Andy Zaltzman
Test Match Special statistician on The Cricket Social
Moeen Ali played his first Test in 2014 and has five Test centuries.
No England batsman who has debuted since then has scored more than two centuries.
We cant play spin
We dont have any good spinners
Openers get out too cheaply
Too many changes
I don't watch county cricket so have no idea what the selection pool is like, but going by what I've seen recently I would -
Drop Burns & Bess
Keep Lawrence & Foakes
Butler & Bairstow are middle order "run getters" & you dont build an innings around them.
Finally - the stat about 70+consecutive partnerships of below 50 is the "Golfie" stat of cricket. Awful. Like our "go 1-0 down & that's it" stat you just cant play Test cricket & have 7 innings where there is no meaningful partnerships.