2nd Test - Aus v Eng - official thread!

Nathan Lyon is also exactly what we've not done. Picked a spinner and allowed him to develop and learn until he's got a world class game. We keep taking spinners in and out and messing about with them. A game here and there.

He's one of my favourite cricketers cos he's not born a genius, he's just clever and uses what he has to the maximum.
 
We are an embarrassment. At least the bowlers won’t have to go out and bowl again less than a day after 2 days toiling in the heat, we’ll be batting for the second time in half an hour and will be 5 down by the end of the day.

The selectors got the bowling attack wrong last time and wrong again this time. The Aussies spinner is causing havoc and we haven’t got one. Mind you, we haven’t got one worth playing anyway.

Burns, Butler, Hameed need to be dropped, you need Woods in for Broad or Anderson, Foakes has to get called in from the Lions tour and I have no idea who they should bring in for the 2 openers.

And, Silverwood has to go at the end of this tour, he has been terrible.
 
hertfordseasider said:
We are an embarrassment. At least the bowlers won’t have to go out and bowl again less than a day after 2 days toiling in the heat, we’ll be batting for the second time in half an hour and will be 5 down by the end of the day.

The selectors got the bowling attack wrong last time and wrong again this time. The Aussies spinner is causing havoc and we haven’t got one. Mind you, we haven’t got one worth playing anyway.

Burns, Butler, Hameed need to be dropped, you need Woods in for Broad or Anderson, Foakes has to get called in from the Lions tour and I have no idea who they should bring in for the 2 openers.

And, Silverwood has to go at the end of this tour, he has been terrible.
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Who do you replace Burns and Hameed with though?

Please. Please. Please don't say Bairstow!
 
hertfordseasider said:
That’s the problem I have no idea. They are the best of a useless lot.
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Which leaves me to think, leave them there to learn (or not)

Burns is a streaky player who either fails or gets a hundred. He's earned his shirt on the back of lots of runs in county cricket and Hameed needs time to develop. His strengths aren't really the sort of bounce in Australia though.

This tour reminds me very much of the one where KP got ceremonially sacrificed at the end of it, when they ended up playing Borthwick and anyone else who was hanging around.

I don't really see the point of Root as captain. He's a nice fella but he's hopelessly nice. It's all this 'brains trust' business - he doesn't seem to actually have his own vision.
 
Have central contracts produced a better outcome? They are detrimental to the county game, but the contracts available abroad mean they are a necessity.

We need three divisions of county championship where the top division is allowed to field the top players with central contracts. A real English Premier League for the four day game.
 
A few comments:

1. Root has been our best test batsman for many years but I have never rated him as a captain and tactician. Just compare him with the captaincy skills of Morgan. This needs to he addressed.
2. Burns flawed technique has been highlighted by commentators for ages, has been picked up the opposition and he seems incapable of changing it or our coaches are too incompetent to do it. He needs acbreak from Test matches until he changes.
3. Buttler has had good and bad games with the gloves and this has been a bad one. He probably does need a break from the gloves, but there is a much wider problem with the catching. We used to be so strong in this area but our performance in the last couple of years has been abysmal. That suggests both a lack of preparation (rigorous training and coaching) and selecting the right players in the right positions on the field (that suggests poor captaincy decisionscon some occasions).
4. I agree that Anderson and Broad together now only works in English conditions. They should be rotated on foreign tours. I am also not sure that Woakes can operate out of English conditions. His bowling length andcmovement has been poor. We are missing Archer and Wood should have definitely played this match.
5. Where we do need a spinner, Leach is not good enough to be a match winner. Bess is a bit better but is really only included in the squad because he can bat as well. Moeen, Rashid, Parkinson and others offer much as specialist spinners who can win matches. We consistently look for 'all rounders' to create a long batting tail, because of the fragility of our batting over the last 4 or 5 years. Batting and catching are our fundamental problems and the performance of the bowlers have often papered over these cracks.
6. I accept that Covid has disrupted tours and preparation over the last couple of years but we had a problem for years now in terms of foreign tours. Our preparation has been poor. There is too much cricket and we don't go out early enough to play enough warm up matches to allow players to get match fit, find form in the local conditions (particularly the batters) and try different combinations. And some of our tour squad selections just don't seem to fit the local conditions.
 
Big argument for Parkinson to mix up the bowling options. Butler is not a wicket keeper for me full stop especially with a world class keeper being kept out. Just so predictable and frustrating.

If we are Aussie captains are we all enforcing to seek an utter embarrassment or batting again? How many will they be ahead before declaring? Deary me.
 
clappers said:
We need three divisions of county championship where the top division is allowed to field the top players with central contracts. A real English Premier League for the four day game.
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That is a really good idea. 5 or 6 teams made up of the best players playing each other. Also played in June/July, but then we cram the test so close together to fit in 50 over and T20 games would it be feasible?
 
Pauls_Boutique said:
That is a really good idea. 5 or 6 teams made up of the best players playing each other. Also played in June/July, but then we cram the test so close together to fit in 50 over and T20 games would it be feasible?
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Exactly what I would try and do. Obviously won’t be popular with the majority of counties so won’t happen but would go a massive way to restoring the four day game generally and sharpen our test prospects. A rebalancing of cricket.
 
hampshire_exile said:
Cant agree that the Aussies are a very good all round side. Like most international teams, they are good at beating underprepared opposition at home. All that makes you is a top 4 international team in a league of only 9. They were still beaten by India at home at the start of this year, because India had better strength in depth than they did.

What I would agree with you on, is the lack of basic common sense in much of the decision making.
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I think you underestimate them a bit. They have some class players and an effective spinner, but they are not as strong as they have been for sure.
 
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We need old Bob Willis back, god rest his soul.
They should send them all home...Economy Class...In fact you can strap some of them to the wings.
 
Watching the England attack against the Aussie openers is becoming very hard to watch these days.
You just know knowing is going to happen.
A 277 lead with with all 10 wickets in hand I suppose a win for England is asking too much now. 🙃
 
Going back to points earlier in the thread, just pick a decent captain for the team, doesn't matter if they can't bat or bowl because none of this lot can anyway.
 
Joe Root is a decent bat But as a captain. A dear with no eyes. This isn't about Australia not forcing the follow on. This is about the rest of the series. No way back for England now in the series
 
I think they may have batted again at dusk rather than enforcing the follow on just to show that they can do it. They know we are already gone.
 
Not read any previous post. Watched the first and second test so far in thier entirtity England have been utter shit.
Thanks
Bye
 
They don't usually enforce the follow on anyway. They'll bat us into oblivion and leave themselves 4 and a half sessions to bowl us out, which they will do with embarrassing ease, possibly by the close of play.
 
I wouldn’t have confidence in this line up chasing 200 to win at the moment.
They’ll do alright, get to 100-1 or so, then lose 5 wickets for 20 runs, 2-0 and series done.
 
Been a few test matches since Cook and Jennings put on 103 against India. Three figure opening stands may never been seen again.
 
The difference i hate to say is Australia have mostly players you would like to have in your side, whereas we are the exact opposite.
 
Root gone now and with it any last remaining glimmer of hope of saving the 2nd test.
Be all out before lunch tomorrow yet another capitulation.
 
We're probably more rubbish in last few years than we were in the 90s. How poor we are is disguised by an occasional genius performance by Stokes, Root or Jimmy.

Root has Mike Atherton vibes. Stuck in a hopeless position carrying a side that is crap.
 
I have to ask what was he doing batting in the nets with no protection? Unprofessional and cost us in the end. I thought the Silverwood and Thorpe regime was all about the details? We've been rolled over by the Aussie second string.
 
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