England's batting options simply aren't good enough for this level. The fact that none of Root, Stokes or Bairstow have been able to develop into a top 3 batsman is pretty damning too.
English cricket thread
- Thread starter Samid
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Root should bat 3 to be honest.
Yeah, right. Ideal test wicket where toss probably decides the game.
No he shouldn’t he is clearly better at number 4. Root is not the problem.
Ollie Pope has been such a let down for England.
I thought he'd do really well but he just can't seem to make it work, bringing him to play at 3 where he's not used to playing anyway just feels like they were setting him to fail too.
I thought he'd do really well but he just can't seem to make it work, bringing him to play at 3 where he's not used to playing anyway just feels like they were setting him to fail too.
Batting at #3 for England is essentially being a glorified Opener
Tough to expect an all rounder like Stokes to also bat in the top 3.
3 should be Crawley for me. He’s not an opener.
Of course the problem then is that we also don’t have any openers.
Of course he’s not but he was basically batting 3 for the last year anyway. Best, most experienced bat, he needs to play first drop because we don’t have any other viable options there.
Bairstow bowled yet again, he's such a dope sometimes.
This lot are absolutely fecking useless. We had them 40-7 and were at one point 90-2 and look like we're going to lose heavily.
Root and Stokes are the only test quality batsmen we have.
This lot are absolutely fecking useless. We had them 40-7 and were at one point 90-2 and look like we're going to lose heavily.
Root and Stokes are the only test quality batsmen we have.
Soft from Bairstow, put pressure back on New Zealand and he just had to see out Jamieson, but couldn’t do it.
It obviously won't happen but I'd be tempted to go full knee-jerk.
Compton
Jennings
Bohannon
Root
Brook
Stokes
Compton
Jennings
Bohannon
Root
Brook
Stokes
I really enjoy watching Jamieson bowl.
Stokes and Root have got many runs so far against New Zealand??
Sorry, but both deserve criticism for the amount of runs they have got, they are not free from being criticised.
I saw footage of Compton’s hundred vs New Zealand, they started testing him with short stuff and he didn’t look comfortable. Definitely need to get Brook in the middle order and pick between Bairstow/Foakes for the gloves.
Wait, so because Root and Stokes haven't scored many runs in this test they aren't test quality? Are you insane?
Is Williamson not good enough either then?
I’m not sure Crawley is up to test cricket period to be honest. Really needs to work on his shot selection to have a viable long term future at this level.
I'm sick of seeing innings like that from Bairstow, I'd be dropping him for good.
He has a good innings every 20 or so and the rest of the time he just comes in and from ball one is trying to smash it for 6, he tries to play 20/20 cricket in test matches. He's supposed to be one of the senior players, made his test debut 10 years ago, and yet he still comes across like a newbie that doesn't understand his own game.
I agree based on the player he currently is, but he does have the temperament and patience to play higher up the order, it's just not a roll he's had to develop. He definitely could have.
I'd be tempted to just stick Burns in as a nailed on opener in the UK - he's not brilliant but he's probably the best option. Wouldn't mean having to work in 2 players into uncomfortable slots either.
Stokes hasn't taken too many wickets with the ball, nor scored too many runs recently, when was his last good game??
Root failed to get a 100 in Australia, and hasn't done much since.
Has he past his peak, that is the big question now.
It's really not.
Root scored two centuries in the last series.
Stokes scored a hundred in the last series.
Have you genuinely only got into cricket in the last week or two?
They both scored 100s in their last test series
Plus Root had his best season stat-wise for England last year. He's tripling down at the moment, even though this was all pointed out before
If there's a wicket in the next few minutes there's going to be somebody jumping up at being "proved right".
Stokes needs to settle down.
He's trying so hard to get out.
Colin TheBigMan having one of the worst days imaginable for a player
Crawley and Lees average 31 and 35 in FC cricket. At best they're going to be mediocre, I don't believe in making a silk purse out of a sows ear with batsman, it rarely works. But who do we have to come in? There just doesn't seem to be a top order talent pool.
Pope at 3 is baffling to me. He's not that type of player. Should be at 5.
Root is a 4, the stats say that.
So it's mainly the top 3 that needs candidates as I think we may as well go with Pope and hope he comes good, at least until there are more promising options.
Pope at 3 is baffling to me. He's not that type of player. Should be at 5.
Root is a 4, the stats say that.
So it's mainly the top 3 that needs candidates as I think we may as well go with Pope and hope he comes good, at least until there are more promising options.
How about Malan back at 3?
I'd stick with Crawley for now...
Compton
Crawley
Malan
Root
Brook
Stokes
Foakes/Bairstow
I’d bring back James Vince before Dawid Malan, and as I mentioned earlier Crawley to my eye just looks more like a number 3.
I’m firmly in the camp of ‘best player bats @ 3’ I don’t think it needs to be anymore complicated than that.
I’m firmly in the camp of ‘best batter bats where they’re at their best’, no need to complicate it further than that.
Well, enjoy the revolving door of the top 3 then. Also Root’s best average is @ 5.
It’s a bit daft to stick steadfastly to “best batter at 3” because there’s literally zero reasoning to it beyond it’s what has always been done (which even then it suddenly wasn’t important if the best batter was an opener), was Trott England’s best batter? Is Pujara India’s best batter now? Labushagne Australia?
The top 3 isn’t good enough, but after the year Joe Root’s just had can anybody really argue with keeping him at 4? What’s to gain moving him up again when his record at 3 is worse.
We know that, as soon as one of these 2 gets out, we'll crumble.
That's shocking.
Jeez he got in a pickle there. That’s the game I think.
That's a huge wicket, just when that flurry of runs moved it slightly in our favour. Root needs to hang around now, but probably game over.
That's that.
I reckon one more over of him vs Ajaz and England would have been in control. The rest need to just stick around with Root and see what happens.