******Cricket Thread******

[MillionMilesAway]

I think England are 100 for 8 now, I wouldn’t say the Windies are a poor team, imo there an inexperienced team with a few rough diamonds and a good captain in Holder. England are the better team absolutely, but it’s sport and anything can happen on the day or over 3/4 days, City losing to Palace prime example.

Holder isn't the captain this series, but I'm sure he has input.

Not sure why he isn't though, maybe he just does if for one day cricket.

 

[Protein Junkie]

Nail on head here great summary

Holder excellent. I don't think we are better than them. More talent maybe, but very poorly captained and somewhat disorganized. Batting collapses appalling, they don't adhere to test match principles such as crease occupation, so their shot selection is random at best or simply irresponsible.
PS See @waspish post. Nailed it.

 

[balotellishaircut]

Holder isn't the captain this series, but I'm sure he has input.

Not sure why he isn't though, maybe he just does if for one day cricket.

Cheers, whoever the captain is then is doing a great job with his bowlers, do you know how many test matches are to be played ?

 

[MillionMilesAway]

Cheers, whoever the captain is then is doing a great job with his bowlers, do you know how many test matches are to be played ?

I agree, the bowlers seem to being handled excellently .

Not sure what you mean about how many matches are to be played, this is the last of the series though.

 

[John Wayne]

Holder excellent. I don't think we are better than them. More talent maybe, but very poorly captained and somewhat disorganized. Batting collapses appalling, they don't adhere to test match principles such as crease occupation, so their shot selection is random at best or simply irresponsible.
PS See @waspish post. Nailed it.

Very good summary. The Windies aren't a great side but they have guys with guts and character, like Da Silva and Brathwaite, who dug very deep to keep their side in the match at different times in this series. True cricket fans of any nation appreciate good cricket and you couldn't help but be pleased for Da Silva when he got his century. It was a great example of how to apply yourself.

England now need someone in the team as a specialist captain. It largely doesn't matter how good the new captain is as a batsman, the first thing to repair is the leadership void in the field. Root looks a broken man. Brearley was complete bollocks as a player but he knew how to get the best out of a disparate group of characters like Geoffrey, Botham, Willis and Gatting. When Australian cricket hit rock bottom under Kim Hughes, the appointment of Allan Border as captain brought about a change in mentality as heart-and-soul players like Merv Hughes, Dean Jones and David Boon got a chance. For England to improve, they badly need a change of captain.

 

[KS55]

Very good summary. The Windies aren't a great side but they have guys with guts and character, like Da Silva and Brathwaite, who dug very deep to keep their side in the match at different times in this series. True cricket fans of any nation appreciate good cricket and you couldn't help but be pleased for Da Silva when he got his century. It was a great example of how to apply yourself.

England now need someone in the team as a specialist captain. It largely doesn't matter how good the new captain is as a batsman, the first thing to repair is the leadership void in the field. Root looks a broken man. Brearley was complete bollocks as a player but he knew how to get the best out of a disparate group of characters like Geoffrey, Botham, Willis and Gatting. When Australian cricket hit rock bottom under Kim Hughes, the appointment of Allan Border as captain brought about a change in mentality as heart-and-soul players like Merv Hughes, Dean Jones and David Boon got a chance. For England to improve, they badly need a change of captain.

I think we have a potentially very good captain available. Step back into the squad Roy Burns. Opening bat, captain of Surrey, averages 30 in tests.

 

[BlueAnorak]

These days England go out and try and play one day cricket in every match they play.
Yes scoring at 4 an over puts games beyond the opposition but you need to protect your wicket and get in before playing shots.
For the last year England have been shocking at test match batting.

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

These days England go out and try and play one day cricket in every match they play.
Yes scoring at 4 an over puts games beyond the opposition but you need to protect your wicket and get in before playing shots.
For the last year England have been shocking at test match batting.

Great players can do both. If England are serious then the county game needs a revamp.

Sadly I think it will be killed off in all but appearances and within 10 years the Ashes will be maybe 1 or 2 "tests" with the rest one dayers, T20s and Hundred games, with a points system like the women's version.

No appetite to fix a dying variant that doesn't make money.

 

[John Wayne]

Great players can do both. If England are serious then the county game needs a revamp.

Sadly I think it will be killed off in all but appearances and within 10 years the Ashes will be maybe 1 or 2 "tests" with the rest one dayers, T20s and Hundred games, with a points system like the women's version.

No appetite to fix a dying variant that doesn't make money.

Alas I think you will be right. The start of the demise in this country was when home test matches went behind the Sky paywall. There are a generation of kids now who simply don't know anything about the sport and couldn't identify Joe Root if shown a picture of him. What will it be like in 20 years' time when many of the test cricket aficionados have passed away? I reckon we're only a few years away from one of the major 8 nations announcing that they will no longer have a test team.

 

[Gabriel]

I think we have a potentially very good captain available. Step back into the squad Roy Burns. Opening bat, captain of Surrey, averages 30 in tests.

Just scored a pleasing 56 down at Hove in the drawn pre-season match. However, there would be too many question marks over his inclusion as an opening bat, too unorthodox, before he’d faced a delivery.