English cricket thread

Why are there so many teams in the county championship anyway? The crowd is non-existent and the quality of play isn't all that because of the sheer amount of average players. England should be looking towards the Shield, that model is so much more sustainable in the long run.
 
Samid said:
Why are there so many teams in the county championship anyway? The crowd is non-existent and the quality of play isn't all that because of the sheer amount of average players. England should be looking towards the Shield, that model is so much more sustainable in the long run.
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Agree.
 
I reckon the team for the first test will be:

Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Lawrence
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Bess
Wood
Broad
Anderson
 
ArmchairCritic said:
I reckon the team for the first test will be:

Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Lawrence
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Bess
Wood
Broad
Anderson
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Looks that way. Can't help but think it's a negative move playing Broad AND Anderson.

I'd rotate them and play two of the quicker bowlers alongside them - we need to start looking to the future now IMHO.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
Worked out Sibley pretty quickly, needs to work on how he plays those short ones in at the hip.
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Was going to say before: when we're playing these games, is it wise for the bowlers to target the batsmen's weaknesses? It's just giving free tips to the teams we're going to play surely.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
I reckon the team for the first test will be:

Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Lawrence
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Bess
Wood
Broad
Anderson
Click to expand...


Would be surprised if they didn't pick Ali at 8 as the spinner tbh. I'd similarly be unsurprised to see Stokes move up to four (as he's captain I doubt he'll bowl as much) as an excuse to shoe horn Bairstow back in. Those two shouldn't happen, but I fear they will.

I'm also not sure they leave Archer out, but I don't know who he plays instead of. Lawrence bowls some offies so if he does get the nod maybe over Bess.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
I reckon the team for the first test will be:

Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Lawrence
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Bess
Wood
Broad
Anderson
Click to expand...
Why Bess over Ali?
Why Wood over Archer?

My team
Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Denly
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Ali
Archer
Broad
Anderson

(tempted to put in Wood for Pope)
 
NinjaFletch said:
Would be surprised if they didn't pick Ali at 8 as the spinner tbh. I'd similarly be unsurprised to see Stokes move up to four (as he's captain I doubt he'll bowl as much) as an excuse to shoe horn Bairstow back in. Those two shouldn't happen, but I fear they will.

I'm also not sure they leave Archer out, but I don't know who he plays instead of. Lawrence bowls some offies so if he does get the nod maybe over Bess.
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Not sure Ali has done enough to press a claim but I understand that line of thought. Stokes was bowling first change in this game, I fancy he'll bowl more as a captain. Bess and Wood are the guys in possession and I don't think they will be dropped. It would also be sensible to rotate Wood and Archer.
 
sammsky1 said:
Why Bess over Ali?
Why Wood over Archer?

My team
Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Denly
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Ali
Archer
Broad
Anderson

(tempted to put in Wood for Pope)
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They are the guys in possession, I don't think they or the players competing for their spots have done anything to change that. Dropping Pope for Wood and leaving Denly in does not make any sense.
 
Lawrence hasn't come into bat so far today, so I think it's likely Denly is keeping his place. I do like the idea of Stokes @ 4 and an extra bowler instead however.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
Not sure Ali has done enough to press a claim but I understand that line of thought. Stokes was bowling first change in this game, I fancy he'll bowl more as a captain. Bess and Wood are the guys in possession and I don't think they will be dropped. It would also be sensible to rotate Wood and Archer I feel.
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I absolutely agree, but I just feel that Ali's reputation and courting by the England team when he was out suggests that he's in the inner ring of 'mates' who will get more chances and be given longer rope than others.

Rotation is a fair enough point, and will happen, but I do think they'll love the idea of blowing away the Windies with pace in the first test (even though we've already seen that backfire).
 
Pleasantly surprised to be wrong on all counts with the team, and even more pleasantly surprised to see Ali and Bairstow not even make the reserve list. Hopefully with county restarting they can go away and make their cases in the proper way.

I think it's a nice team, and hopefully more signs of Silverwood turning the test side back into a meritocracy.
 
sammsky1 said:
Why Bess over Ali?
Why Wood over Archer?

My team
Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Denly
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Ali
Archer
Broad
Anderson

(tempted to put in Wood for Pope)
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Really you wouldn't have Pope? He's our best hope of another Root.
 
Crawley's big chance. I imagine the worse performer between him and Denly will be replaced upon Root's return. He's got to score some runs.
 
Michael Holding is incredible. As is Ebony Rainford-Brent.
 
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ArmchairCritic said:
Michael Holding is incredible. As is Ebony Rainford-Brent.
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Not heard of him before (don't really follow cricket) but just saw this on twitter. He is absolutely correct and it saddened me to hear him tear up at the end.
 
Solius said:
Not heard of him before (don't really follow cricket) but just saw this on twitter. He is absolutely correct and it saddened me to hear him tear up at the end.
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Every single person of colour has endured this at some point of their British life experience. Do some white people not know how prevalent this kind of racist abuse is?
 
sammsky1 said:
Every single person of colour has endured this at some point of their British life experience. Do some white people not know how prevalent this kind of racist abuse is?
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I think people do but just don't care, which is the problem.
 
For anyone who missed it.

Black Lives Matter piece in the build-up:


Michael Holding's post-piece comments:


Nasser Hussain's post-piece comments:


Ebony Rainford-Brent's post-piece comments:
 
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Solius said:
I think people do but just don't care, which is the problem.
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Thats a good observation.

Holding's abuse was at a time when people like him were rare, so one could 'understand' racism was because he was different.

But Rainford-Brent's abuse is from very recent, after several generations of people from Caribbean and Asia have lived, mingled, and thrived in UK - which is much harder to tolerate accept. Hopefully BLM means that fans guilty of such behaviour will now immediately be challenged and reported by other fans and they are immediately evicted and prosecuted. Else, we wont have any test cricket anymore, given majority of test nations come from countries with predominately brown or black people.
 
Great to see sport back on air. That was a funny moment in the toss with Ben Stokes.
 
Great to see everyone take a knee as well. No cnuts.

@NinjaFletch think you got your pace battering ram with both Wood and Archer starting
 
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