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

[Alan Harper's Tash]

England should not be in this sort of mess at test cricket, the ECB have truly left England in a place of NO re-turn.
First thing I would do is get hold of county cricket and review every player that is available to play for England ?
Then scrap central contracts and make every single player earn their call-up to the test team.

Also, something is majorly wrong in the coaching of fast ballers, we need to bring in the best medical scientist and fitness coaches physical coaches and have the best training academy complex in cricket, We need major investment into county and test cricket ? Bring it back to free view on the BBC or ITV ? Get as much air time as possible and get schools and kids involved for free and bring it back to the public,


this latest England squad is a load of crap in my book

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey, wk), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire).

They focussed on white ball cricket as we had never won tournaments with it. It’s also where the money is.

Fast ball coaches? Maybe we need to look to the US baseball scene…

Without central contracts, players would be flogged to death by their counties.

How can you get significant investment into cricket, whilst going back to terrestrial television? You lose the biggest cash cow by doing that.

 

[The Stockport Iniesta]

Rob Key, basically named the batting line up yesterday and its very underwhelming. Crawley and Lees to open, Pope at 3 (never batted at 3 before), Root 4, Bairstow 5, ( hasn't played any first class cricket because he's playing ipl) Stokes 6. So Brook either bats 7 or doesn't get a game, should bat 5 imo.

 

[domalino]

Archer injured again. I wonder if he’ll ever play test cricket again.

Said last few months back that Archer will retire from test cricket and just be a one day 20/20 player! Seems he is injury prone been out for so so long.

He's played 9 test matches since being put on a 900k max central contract 4 years ago. £3.6m.

That's a fairly large incentive for him to keep almost playing.

 

[waspish]

He's played 9 test matches since being put on a 900k max central contract 4 years ago. £3.6m.

That's a fairly large incentive for him to keep almost playing.

Yep true and why it was wise of him to become an England cricketer.

 

[RandomJ]

Another absolute road of a wicket. Nothing in it for the bowlers but Essex aren't exactly batting with urgency. Another draw I think.

 

[ancoats]

They focussed on white ball cricket as we had never won tournaments with it. It’s also where the money is.

Fast ball coaches? Maybe we need to look to the US baseball scene…

Without central contracts, players would be flogged to death by their counties.

How can you get significant investment into cricket, whilst going back to terrestrial television? You lose the biggest cash cow by doing that.

I don't think you do if cricket was on freeview and sponsorship the right way ? County cricket clubs needs the ECB to help and invest more into clubs and players. Central contracts blocks progress from county cricket to test cricket
and need to be sorted and stop singling out others that are on form and playing well,

subscription tv has always been running at a loss for cricket and test cricket ? that's why Skysports are farming out some of the deals with test cricket in the next round of deals ?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

I don't think you do if cricket was on freeview and sponsorship the right way ? County cricket clubs needs the ECB to help and invest more into clubs and players. Central contracts blocks progress from county cricket to test cricket
and need to be sorted and stop singling out others that are on form and playing well,

subscription tv has always been running at a loss for cricket and test cricket ? that's why Skysports are farming out some of the deals with test cricket in the next round of deals ?

Who would televise 4 day games? YouTube streams do it for free now.

International cricket will always by subscription only now.

Do you remember how bad the England team was before central contracts?

 

[ancoats]

Who would televise 4 day games? YouTube streams do it for free now.

International cricket will always by subscription only now.

Do you remember how bad the England team was before central contracts?

Do you remember how bad the England team was before central contracts ? It's even worst now ?
Far too many average players are sitting on central contracts that offer nothing to test cricket, but are picked because of the white ball game ?

I said before the west Indies tour we are shocking and heads should roll ? But I don't think we have hit rock bottom yet and England and the ECB are still not learning,

I wanted a fresh start ? ECB have said we are starting again ? But the squad is still made up of the same old shit,
give stokes a new line-up with youth and new players to test cricket that are not best mates with the captain ?
What have we to lose and when we lose again people we say well it's progress, give us time

Ben Stokes (Durham, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey, wk), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire)

that's the squad for the first test ? You know who plays

Zak Crawley
1

Alex Lees
2

Joe Root
3

Jonny Bairstow
4

Ollie Pope
5

Ben Stokes
6

Ben Foakes
7

Stuart Broad
8

Jack Leach
9

Craig Overton
10

James Anderson

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Do you remember how bad the England team was before central contracts ? It's even worst now ?
Far too many average players are sitting on central contracts that offer nothing to test cricket, but are picked because of the white ball game ?

I said before the west Indies tour we are shocking and heads should roll ? But I don't think we have hit rock bottom yet and England and the ECB are still not learning,

I wanted a fresh start ? ECB have said we are starting again ? But the squad is still made up of the same old shit,
give stokes a new line-up with youth and new players to test cricket that are not best mates with the captain ?
What have we to lose and when we lose again people we say well it's progress, give us time

Ben Stokes (Durham, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey, wk), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire)

that's the squad for the first test ? You know who plays

Zak Crawley
1

Alex Lees
2

Joe Root
3

Jonny Bairstow
4

Ollie Pope
5

Ben Stokes
6

Ben Foakes
7

Stuart Broad
8

Jack Leach
9

Craig Overton
10

James Anderson

What you are proposing would set the team back another 10 years, not improve it.

We pick a bad team because there is nobody to replace them.

Playing the under 19s would destroy most of them and we’d get hammered in every game.

I hope Overton has better mugshots available for his media photos.

 

[Corky]

The ECB will pick players without central or pre-awarded incremental contracts, but it doesn't help the Counties if they can't plan.

Stokes is picking his 2nd Division mates, Jennings next, then Mustard and Onions.