Great 100 from Jonny Bairstow. Makes you wonder how he wasn't selected for the first 2 tests doesn't it...
Tbf he can give his wicket away cheaply , great to get a century though, though we'd forgotten how to!
England still have a lot of work to do in this Test and it’s feels somewhat hollow to celebrate getting 250 odd, They are still 158 runs behind and will have to battle very hard to avoid defeat but it’s a small step! 36-4 feels a long time ago now
i had tms comm on for a while and ian chappell got on about a boycott innings at perth in the 70's, obviously he can't stand him and was slating him for only scoring 60odd in a full day without hitting a boundary oh for a player like that now
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/cricket/59904193 and paul reifell had an howler last test but this decision takes the pi55! this guy needs dropping asap, it's not even close for either caught or lbw
Bizarre decision - He shouldered arms so it clearly wasnt caught - his pad was at least 2 inches away. The fact the Aussies were massing with the stump whilst it was being reviewed shows that at least some of them knew - - Ironically had it hit his pad he would have been given out due to one of thiose marginal umpires calls we have had a few of where the ball was just touching the stump For once luck was with us though
Its all well and good saying replace the openers and I agree they arent good enough - but who do you repleace them with - I have no idea as I dont think we have a test class opener in English cricket at the moment
We probably don't mate, but honestly I think the problem is the players play too much 20/20 cricket nowadays. There is nobody prepared to grind it out and bat for a day or more. It's too easy just to play some shots
Bairstow, Stokes and Wood deserve immense credit for fighting back from another horrible position. Butler should not represent England at test level again. Don't know what we do about the current openers!! We're struggling to get to double figures without losing the first wicket.
Spot on. It's all boundaries and not alternating the strike. That's why Root rarely fails to get starts. He's content just to milk the strike as is Stokes and Bairstow. The batsman who get bogged down or allow themselves to get bogged down. Get out cheaply. Nudge it about and before long you're in the twenties without hitting a boundary and the confidence comes from there when the bowling attack changes it's length or opposition captain tries to stem the flow gaps will appear. Then the boundaries come. However, you still have to treat every ball like it could be your last. I've seen batsman getting out when they're set trying to play pre-meditated strokes just because the boundaries dry up. Pope is the biggest culprit for getting set and scoring with ease then slashing at the ball because he's missed out on a couple of perceived boundaries. I've never seen a player so in an out of touch in one innings. Usually when a batsman is set, they're set.
Gardner and Williams were biggest c ock blocks I've ever seen in central midfield. They could sure things up. They might not score any runs but they'd sure it up.
It shows that we now need to look at the test team from afresh. New selector and good coaches. It’s just wrong when good ex batsmen like Alastair Cook say the new additions don’t seem to know how to adjust when bowlers try different angles. Their other shortcomings ( and others like Butler) have been more obvious. New captain with genuine nous and let Joe Root concentrate on batting. A spinner who can actually offer attacking options in different conditions. Replace the aging quicks with genuine pace, good grief the list just goes on!
There's an argument for sacrificing results in the short term and picking batsman and bowlers in form with their counties and giving them chance to adapt into test players. At the minute we're picking from centrally contracted players that fail at test level and get to slum it in the 50 over or T twenty sides. Being dropped isn't being dropped at all. I know central contracts were supposed to bring in continuity for players but they also rewards failing players for too long. Lose that fear of being dropped and you lose a bit of that edge. Cricket isn't an arm around the shoulder sport like football or rugby. It is insular and all about what you do.