What is your team for the third test? If you believe this 11 are not capable of playing test cricket properly?
That wasn’t my question. You stated they don’t want to make hard decisions and shouldn’t persist with players that aren’t good enough for test cricket. Assuming you don’t want to play with only 5 players what’s your 11 for the next test?
I'd go with the spirit of 2005..... and still expect them to outbat this lot ;-) I'd drop Roy, Denly and Buttler for sure. I'd have Foakes keeping wicket allowing Bairstow to focus on batting and then see what the next cab on the rank is for opening and 3. Move Root to 4. Strip him of the captaincy and kick out the dreadful coach seeing as he's only got 3 games left. There is no balance or structure to the team, which has repeatedly led to us shoehorning players in to try and accommodate them and some of those players just keep making the same mistake over and over. So it would likely look like Burns (c) Sibley Bell-Drummond Root Bairstow Foakes Curran S/ Stokes Woakes Archer Broad Leach It's still a crap batting line up. But we've not got much ticker any more. I'd hope that the next coach is more proactive, formulate a plan with the necessary components and start to develop it out in the counties. There has to be some players who have some mental capacity to learn and not just slog their way out of trouble. We've got back massively under this coach. So it may well be a better head coach with better supporting coaches can teach these players how to bat... but seeing as this is the lowest averaging team since the mediocre days of 2003 (if memory serves me right), I'd say statistics suggest its not a good enough batting line up either. Seriously, do you rate this batting team?
It depends on what your priorities are, we have been trying to win the 50 over World Cup for the last 4 years and test cricket has unfortunately got in the way. We’ve got sone good batsmen, some out of form. As I said in the week why block all day for 10 pence in county cricket when you can have a whack for 20 overs and earn millions. Test cricket should be the be all and end all but it isn’t right now, that saddens me no end But teams things tend to go in cycles, there’s no point throwing the toys out when there’s nothing in reserve...we simply haven’t got a Bell, Trott, Vaughan, KP or even an Atherton and Hussain right now . don’t you think the selectors have looked in the counties and at bell Drummond et al (whom I assume you’ve plucked out of thin air) Sibley may get a go in the next 2 years and Ollie pope will come again My 11 right now, in this order, with who is fit would be Denly Burns Roy Root Stokes Bairstow Butler Woakes Archer Broad Leech Anderson for Woakes when fit. There’s no doubting we need to do better, all teams are averaging less across the world. Poor pitches? Better bowlers? 20/20 cricket? I know what I’m blaming.
I've always been impressed with Bell Drummond when I've seen him. Seems to have a bit of flair and a bit of grit with it. I saw Sibley start his career with Surrey and was very surprised they let him go. Decent tweaker too, but he seemed to have very good technique on the half dozen games I saw and he seems to be consistent. I blame poor players, which comes from coaching and focus, with a hint of flat decks. When a pitch does something (and this goes for India, Convicts and Us) they seems to be frightened to death. Has to be said, you can be a very average player and earn a fortune from t20 just by getting a few 6's off the no-edge bats and be a fantastic batsmen and be overlooked. Hopefully the age of show pony will be over soon and we can get back to some proper cricket. As for the pyjama world cup. It was just a hinderance that's disrupted a whole summers cricket focus. Ashes in mid September, frankly... that's just not cricket! ;-)
That's what I thought with the thread I started. Must fancy the ball moving today. Root knows this wicket !
Broad and Archer opening bowlers? Surely you should be using Woakes for a few first while the ball is new and will swing more?
Funny old game. Broad bowled multiple fantastic deliveries and doesn't get a wicket. Archer bowling all over the shop and then gets one good ball and a wicket.
That was a superb Broad second over. Up there with the best and deserving of a wicket. Elsewhere in Leeds, guess who is in the bad books for telling his daughter she won't need wellies at LeedsFest ?
Weather gunna pick up and if Australia weather this it will favour batting. This rain is buggering things up. It's only good for Geoff Boycott's rhubarb. This afternoon Australia will be able to bat with it too. Root's bottled it because his own form with the bat is toilet.
It was meant light hearted. My point was it doesn't matter about the overhead conditions as the rain negates this. You can't play in rain can you?
