To be fair to Bethell, I would like to think that he's playing inside the line of most of these that are close to the bat. The pressure will build but the longer he's in the more chance he has of doing something meaningful and delaying Root's arrival at the crease.
To be fair to Bethell, I would like to think that he's playing inside the line of most of these that are close to the bat. The pressure will build but the longer he's in the more chance he has of doing something meaningful and delaying Root's arrival at the crease.
You'd expect a bowling change soon too which might provide a chance to score a bit
To be fair to Bethell, I would like to think that he's playing inside the line of most of these that are close to the bat. The pressure will build but the longer he's in the more chance he has of doing something meaningful and delaying Root's arrival at the crease.
You'd expect a bowling change soon too which might provide a chance to score a bit
As it just has with two lovely boundaries off Smith. What he has shown is that he has a good temperament and certainly hasn't looked like a rabbit in headlights in what are very difficult conditions. His and Duckett's job now is to get us to lunch just one down.
To be fair to Bethell, I would like to think that he's playing inside the line of most of these that are close to the bat. The pressure will build but the longer he's in the more chance he has of doing something meaningful and delaying Root's arrival at the crease.
You'd expect a bowling change soon too which might provide a chance to score a bit
As it just has with two lovely boundaries off Smith. What he has shown is that he has a good temperament and certainly hasn't looked like a rabbit in headlights in what are very difficult conditions. His and Duckett's job now is to get us to lunch just one down.
To be fair to Bethell, I would like to think that he's playing inside the line of most of these that are close to the bat. The pressure will build but the longer he's in the more chance he has of doing something meaningful and delaying Root's arrival at the crease.
You'd expect a bowling change soon too which might provide a chance to score a bit
As it just has with two lovely boundaries off Smith. What he has shown is that he has a good temperament and certainly hasn't looked like a rabbit in headlights in what are very difficult conditions. His and Duckett's job now is to get us to lunch just one down.
Jinxed!
But I wasn't wrong about Root not coming to the crease before lunch
To make thing's even worse TNT are doing a piece on Smith's girlfriend Amelia Kerr, player of the final and the tournament in the Women's T20 WC. Yesterday's lunchtime slot about Glenn Phillips and how he has had to cope with having ADHD was fascinating with footage of him and his wife climbing the highest peaks in NZ by way of escape from the pressures of cricket.
Funny how the 2 legal deliveries took wickets. Also funny that we don't get a reply of those "legal" deliveries.
And why dudnt they go off for lunch once Bethel was out......but did once Root was out. Same over. So either go off when Bethel was out (it was a minute to lunch) or carry on the over until all 6 (legal) deliveries have been bowled.
And if anyone says...."but there was still a minute of play until lunch" I will gently remind you that we lost 7 overs yesterday due to slow play. So 60 seconds isn't going to make a jot of difference.
But I’ve no confidence in Bashir, Stokes at 7 is mental but he’s been battling terribly anyway and you don’t know how many overs you’re getting, you’re swapping the gloves and order, you don’t know what you’re getting out of Wood and there’s a chance Archer is in the equation.
Crawley Duckett Smith Root Brook Pope (WK) Stokes (c) Atkinson Carse Wood Bashir
However balancing the side is so difficult with Stokes, the keepers etc etc.
We can't now qualify for the WTC Final and whatever Stokes says about not worrying about that competition, the fact is that it does reflect our overall performances in this cycle (we've won 9/19 with only Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh below us). Equally, we did have a good day today but that was largely helped by those six drops and had Phillips clung onto a less than difficult chance when Brook was on just 18 things would have looked a whole lot different.
There is no easy solution to the balance as you rightly point out but Pope with the gloves, in the long term, is asking for trouble - we've seen today how drops can harm a side (Blundell was one of the culprits). Pope's movement and glove work simply isn't up to international standard but I suspect that they will persevere with him at 3 until such time as he proves otherwise and then make room for Smith to move up if the case arises to drop Pope and bring in a proper keeper on a permanent basis be that Robinson (if he does well in the remaining two Tests) or someone else.
Stokes' bowling has been pretty innocuous in this match and with only 11 Test wickets in the last two years from 22 matches (12 in which he's bowled), he really is nothing more than a fifth bowling "filler" but there's no way he's going to be dropped/drop himself all the time he has that self-belief that he can do a job and because he is seen as a leader which Pope really isn't (Brook would be a far better option).
In Carse, Atkinson, Wood, Archer, Potts, Stone and even Saqib, we do seem to have the basis of a quick seam bowling attack and as a unit that's probably as fast a unit as we've ever had. Though replacing the guile of Anderson and Broad is a more long term challenge altogether as will keeping those six or seven fit.
I too worry about Bashir and the Aussies getting after him with his limited experience and with the prospect that he's going to be sitting in the stands watching Leach bowl for Somerset. It's easy to say that England will find another county for him but where, especially when all bar four of the round of fixtures are in April, May and September.
The positives in the batting are Duckett (now averaging 41.07) and the match winners we have in Root and Brook. Today, however, was another example of how Crawley struggles in countering the moving ball. Four Test hundreds from 92 innings with none of those specifically match winning ones does raise doubts especially with his record in Australia/NZ now standing at 235 runs from 12 innings at an average of 19.58. Unless he has a continued run of low scores, I very much doubt that they will drop him, however he does, because this regime has always believed that he will come good at some point and always assuming no one else "comes from the clouds" to put pressure on him. Strange as it may seem, I did actually like the way Bethell batted today by comparison, in terms of his "leaves" and not allowing scoreboard pressure to get the better of him (he got a very good ball to get him out) and if McCullum thinks he can do a job at 3, having never batted there before, I'm sure that he will believe that he can open too.
In the immortal words of Jonny Nash "There Are More Questions Than Answers".
Comments
29-1 (10) with Duckett on 28 (33) and the other end compiling just 1 (27)
43-2
45-3 (14.3) at lunch
Duckett 32* (40)
And why dudnt they go off for lunch once Bethel was out......but did once Root was out. Same over. So either go off when Bethel was out (it was a minute to lunch) or carry on the over until all 6 (legal) deliveries have been bowled.
And if anyone says...."but there was still a minute of play until lunch" I will gently remind you that we lost 7 overs yesterday due to slow play. So 60 seconds isn't going to make a jot of difference.
71-4 (21.2)
Duckett
Smith
Root
Brook
Pope (WK)
Stokes (c)
Atkinson
Carse
Wood
Bashir
Pope got 77
Brook not out 91
Stokes not out 9
259-5
Brook 132* (163)
Stokes 37* (75)
There is no easy solution to the balance as you rightly point out but Pope with the gloves, in the long term, is asking for trouble - we've seen today how drops can harm a side (Blundell was one of the culprits). Pope's movement and glove work simply isn't up to international standard but I suspect that they will persevere with him at 3 until such time as he proves otherwise and then make room for Smith to move up if the case arises to drop Pope and bring in a proper keeper on a permanent basis be that Robinson (if he does well in the remaining two Tests) or someone else.
Stokes' bowling has been pretty innocuous in this match and with only 11 Test wickets in the last two years from 22 matches (12 in which he's bowled), he really is nothing more than a fifth bowling "filler" but there's no way he's going to be dropped/drop himself all the time he has that self-belief that he can do a job and because he is seen as a leader which Pope really isn't (Brook would be a far better option).
In Carse, Atkinson, Wood, Archer, Potts, Stone and even Saqib, we do seem to have the basis of a quick seam bowling attack and as a unit that's probably as fast a unit as we've ever had. Though replacing the guile of Anderson and Broad is a more long term challenge altogether as will keeping those six or seven fit.
I too worry about Bashir and the Aussies getting after him with his limited experience and with the prospect that he's going to be sitting in the stands watching Leach bowl for Somerset. It's easy to say that England will find another county for him but where, especially when all bar four of the round of fixtures are in April, May and September.
The positives in the batting are Duckett (now averaging 41.07) and the match winners we have in Root and Brook. Today, however, was another example of how Crawley struggles in countering the moving ball. Four Test hundreds from 92 innings with none of those specifically match winning ones does raise doubts especially with his record in Australia/NZ now standing at 235 runs from 12 innings at an average of 19.58. Unless he has a continued run of low scores, I very much doubt that they will drop him, however he does, because this regime has always believed that he will come good at some point and always assuming no one else "comes from the clouds" to put pressure on him. Strange as it may seem, I did actually like the way Bethell batted today by comparison, in terms of his "leaves" and not allowing scoreboard pressure to get the better of him (he got a very good ball to get him out) and if McCullum thinks he can do a job at 3, having never batted there before, I'm sure that he will believe that he can open too.
In the immortal words of Jonny Nash "There Are More Questions Than Answers".