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

Status
Not open for further replies.
EastMidlandsBlue said:
Yeah it obviously didn't feel like a risk at the time, but I think it was naive to think that NZ would rollover in the way West Indies or SL would.

I also don't wanna criticise the mindset right now, but I'd argue it would've also been the "positive option" to smash 300 in 50 overs and give NZ 2 days to chase 550. No one would've viewed that as negative or anti-bazball
Click to expand...

I don't think it was naive. We would have expected them to bat slightly better with the pitch improving, but would have hoped to get them out for around 300-350 giving ourselves a much easier chase whilst still on a pitch that was difficult for the bowlers. NZ just happened to drastically improve with the bat, but it's still a score we can and should chase. It also stops NZ from being able to just slowly bat for a draw and gives us more ability to be the attacking team.
 
supercity88 said:
I don't think it was naive. We would have expected them to bat slightly better with the pitch improving, but would have hoped to get them out for around 300-350 giving ourselves a much easier chase whilst still on a pitch that was difficult for the bowlers. NZ just happened to drastically improve with the bat, but it's still a score we can and should chase. It also stops NZ from being able to just slowly bat for a draw and gives us more ability to be the attacking team.
Click to expand...
I would expect us to win whether we enforced the follow on or not. I personally don't believe enforcing the follow on in this instance necessarily improved our chances of winning due to there still being 2.5 days left.

I'm all for taking risks to win, that's what's got this England side to where it is, but I saw it as taking an unnecessary risk when we're already on course to win.

Anyway we're favorites for this one now, if you'd told me 18 months ago we'd win a series away in new zealand I'd probably have laughed. Come on England!
 
trueblue1972 said:
And its worked out fine
Click to expand...
That's the main thing, although there was a point yesterday when NZ were favorites on WinViz. If it hadn't worked out, all the blame would've been directed at the decision to enforce the follow on.

I will admit I thought Williamson and Blundell were going to bat all night, they were fantastic
 
EastMidlandsBlue said:
I would expect us to win whether we enforced the follow on or not. I personally don't believe enforcing the follow on in this instance necessarily improved our chances of winning due to there still being 2.5 days left.

I'm all for taking risks to win, that's what's got this England side to where it is, but I saw it as taking an unnecessary risk when we're already on course to win.

Anyway we're favorites for this one now, if you'd told me 18 months ago we'd win a series away in new zealand I'd probably have laughed. Come on England!
Click to expand...

The second paragraph has been a theme through nearly all of the tests so far. We've had plenty of wobbles with the aggressive style which has seen the game swing slightly at times, but we've then mustered some unbelievable/ridiculous run chases to win games despite having a lot to do. We've risked losing games in order to chase huge totals quickly. That's a lot of the reason Root has struggled, based on his comments. He's not someone who attacks with boundaries so fluently, but he doesn't need to because he can score at just under a run a ball anyway with his ability to rotate the strike, and let the person at the other end do the damage. It's still a 5 day game after all.

I think in nearly every England test there's been a debate on certain calls/decisions. Poor choice of batting, calls for a more pragmatic approach at times. Calculated risks and all that. But this team just abandons any idea of losing, because with it comes pressure and it's pressure that saw many of these same players completely fall apart in the test format.
 
It's a measure of just how far England have come that 210 to me doesn't look particularly daunting. It can certainly be done by this particular England team.
Must say, if Bairstow had been available I'd have said we were odds on to win it. Could have easily seen Jonny and Stokes clobbering us merrily to victory. As it is, I think it's on a knife edge. If we were to lose a couple more wickets early in tomorrow's play (tonight) we'd have to dig in. And this team simply doesn't do “dig in”.
 
EastMidlandsBlue said:
That's the main thing, although there was a point yesterday when NZ were favorites on WinViz. If it hadn't worked out, all the blame would've been directed at the decision to enforce the follow on.

I will admit I thought Williamson and Blundell were going to bat all night, they were fantastic
Click to expand...
Ha very true but the funny thing about this England team is winviz doesn't know what's happening next like the rest of us , it's truly brilliant lol
 
I'd prefer it without the Invent-a-Record story being peddled.
I mean "highest 4th innings chase by a side enforcing the follow-on" - what drivel that is!
 
This is a must watch tonight. I'm hoping to see 200+ rapid runs before lunch at midnight.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.