I'd love to have seen Smith bat, that sort of talent is once in a lifetime. And Archer looks like he could be up there too.
wouldn't say dreadful teams, some players very average and some just didn't perform, warner must be the biggest flop which will be masked seeing they retained the ashes, roy must get games against weaker teams to become a test player, don't think he will, paine & root aren't world class captains but they are both still learning hazelwood cummings archer broad can hold their heads up high, burns got potential & denly too but his age? stokes goes without saying, smith can bat a little bit! and if archer didn't clobber him that faberge bloke wouldn't have got in and we may have won not the greatest series technical wise but very entertaining, 2 games could have gone either way, 3rd we stole it, old trafford we bottled it, the oval was only us in it, perhaps job done for them
Australia had no intensity at all at the oval. If entertaining is watching 2 dreadful teams be inadequate for long periods, that it was. I’d stick with the bowling attack, burns and strip root of the captaincy, no room for the rest. Sadly I doubt we’ve many proper batsmen who could replace the woeful batting pretenders.
I said I was worried before this test that a win would paper over the cracks. In my opinion we were second best for most of this series. A once in a lifetime individual effort and a virtually dead rubber victory have given us a drawn series. The bowling atrack is good, I like the variety the left armer gives us. Batting wise we're a shambles. There's no clear plan and a lack of people willing to scrap it out. We try to counter attack and that has a limited probability of success. I think we need to plan for the next 5 years, that involves getting the counties to produce wickets that will help develop batting technique.
agreed, i thought we were always behind the game. we've played well in this last test however and i dont think the aussies were totally on the beach as they still had a series win to play for. what to do about the batting? Burns, Root, Stokes are all up to the standards required, i don't think many of the others are, Bairstow might be best to give up the gloves even though he is loath to, the first test in new Zealand might see a couple of changes but too not many long term we need batters who are prepared to battle and score the hard runs. T20 has been a detriment to test cricket across the world though its not just our problem, ive said it many times and it worth repeating.. kids dont want to play country cricket and block all day for 50p when you can whack it around and play T20 for millions. possible line up in New Zealand Burns, ok at this level Sibley , Deserves a chance, next cab of the rank and allows Root to move to 4 Denly, not good enough, think they will give him another go however after his 90 this week Root, should stop playing T20 and concentrate on tests and 50 over game, better at 4 and should tell the selectors thats where he is batting Stokes, Our next best batsman Ollie Pope, the next middle order batsman , should bat at 6 not 4 where they picked him last time Bairstow, should play as a batsman only however they wont, move him to 7 and allow him to play his natural game Archer, keep him fit, look after him and he will get 500 test wickets Leech, the best available spinner at the moment Broad, still going strong, Anderson, will need careful management and we need to identify a replacement soon notables Sam Curran, trying to become a batsman, has talent and a bowls well in swinging conditions, will he troulbe the aussies on a flat deck with a kookaburra ball at 80mph..i doubt it folkes, the best wicket keeper in the county game Butler, a strange enigma, doesn't score runs when the chips are down often enough, a luxury play if you like, we cant afford one as the rest of the batters are so fragile Wood, 90mph but a body made of balsa wood
