England Pakistan 2018

[Warleybear]

(26-05-2018, 04:39 PM)Leicester Exile Wrote: WB It is not an 18 county championship - although it will be if they bring in the conference system. We have a top tier of 9 counties with relegation if underperforming. That is not the problem.
The problem is relegating the CC to April May and September instead of playing it throughout the summer to get the experience of all types of wickets. Add to this the top players playing too much International cricket throughout the year and then not being allowed to play for their county. Just when do the players get the chance to practice and work at problem areas in their play etc?
Finally, with so many games limited to 20 overs ( and for bowlers 4 overs) it is not surprising their skill set changes and adapts to a different playing method.

And PLEASE do not take that a criticism of T20 but rather a severe criticism of the game's administrators.

Okay LE... But something has to give. Personally I think there's NOT enough cricket of any description / format during the summer. Long periods go by without anything.

I don't think the England players get enough time out in the middle... Protected from playing domestic cricket. Those who comment on red ball cricket being played in April... well there has been plenty of opportunities for batting in the championship this season... yet England seem unprepared. Batsmen need to bat regularly in all format's and bowlers can be rotated. Our so called proffessional cricketers struggle to adapt their game from one day to 4/5 days, or indeed to suit playing conditions. Other countries seem to manage it. Pakistan etc. play ODI and T20 don't they? I don't believe in all this so called "one day specialist" rubbish. Blaming white ball cricket is far to easy. I also think that the structure of the red ball games needs changing and some counties would be better at concentrating on white ball cricket which would suit them competitively and commercially. The game needs to reward success and punish failure to bring the best forward.

[Lilly]

Woakes back in and with a wicket.

Could see from his first over he was a bit rusty with a red ball!

[coolerking]

Woakes for Wood is the right call; he should have played in the first Test too. Not sure about Curran S; very early days of course but he looks like a shortarse trundler to me.

[Lilly]

And a second!

Woakes should play in every test, particularly at home. No one covered themselves in glory over the winter so I felt it harsh that he was dropped.

[coolerking]

He was one of several candidates for dropping. As it goes, the axe fell on him but I don't think he was hard done by.

[Warleybear]

A much better performance from England in this Test.

[Terry]

(03-06-2018, 04:03 PM)Warleybear Wrote: A much better performance from England in this Test.

A few people (yes, that includes you, Michael Vaughan) should be eating humble pie tonight.

[Leicester Exile]

(03-06-2018, 09:22 PM)Terry Wrote:

(03-06-2018, 04:03 PM)Warleybear Wrote: A much better performance from England in this Test.

A few people (yes, that includes you, Michael Vaughan) should be eating humble pie tonight.

That will be a first

[The Good Mugabe]

Does Vaughan have a "financial interest" in Mark Woods &/or Sam Curran?

They seem to be his current favorites, and are receiving unrealistic levels of praise for their performances.

[GrizzlyBear]

I certainly prefer an emphatic victory to an emphatic defeat but put the two together and England have just drawn a home series with one of the weaker Test playing nations. I won't open the champagne yet.

Good to see Bess and Curran getting some success, they are both very talented. I think Bess is a better cricketer than Leach but then SLA tends to trump off breaks. Likewise Sam Curran is more gifted than his brother but he's short. He may do better as a batsman than as a bowler. Both Bess and Curran S. will need some luck if they are to kick on against India, as will England.

I'm still reserving judgment on Buttler. In his first innings at Lord's he was out at a bad time to a bad shot. In the second innings he batted quite well, I thought. At Headingley he should have been caught slogging when he had 4 but he wasn't and went on to play another decent innings. Fair enough to stick with him for now but I won't be surprised if he doesn't contribute too much against India.

[Terry]

(04-06-2018, 09:06 AM)GrizzlyBear Wrote: I certainly prefer an emphatic victory to an emphatic defeat but put the two together and England have just drawn a home series with one of the weaker Test playing nations. I won't open the champagne yet.

Good to see Bess and Curran getting some success, they are both very talented. I think Bess is a better cricketer than Leach but then SLA tends to trump off breaks. Likewise Sam Curran is more gifted than his brother but he's short. He may do better as a batsman than as a bowler. Both Bess and Curran S. will need some luck if they are to kick on against India, as will England.

I'm still reserving judgment on Buttler. In his first innings at Lord's he was out at a bad time to a bad shot. In the second innings he batted quite well, I thought. At Headingley he should have been caught slogging when he had 4 but he wasn't and went on to play another decent innings. Fair enough to stick with him for now but I won't be surprised if he doesn't contribute too much against India.

Thanks to coolerking, I shall always think of Sam Curran as a shortarse trundler.

[randombear]

I thought we bounced back well given our recent abject Test performances; I certainly didn't see it coming!

Just a shame there isn't a deciding Test; ah well who wants that anyway! Quick, start shoe-morning some more ODI and T20 into the international calendar!

[GrizzlyBear]

With reference to some comments in this thread, I see that the Australian one-day squad includes a gentleman called D'Arcy Short. Either his parents had a sense of humour or they were using the same kind of psychology as described in Johnny Cash's "Boy Named Sue".