English cricket thread

phelans shorts said:
As this game has gone on I’m leaning towards him staying with the side too to be honest. He’s having a superb debut.
Click to expand...
I think he's ending a couple of test careers here tbh.

He offers the same level of control as Leach (or Bess) and bowls with more threat. Plus apparently he can bat too.

If England are smart they'll ask Rashid to mentor him. They're similar bowlers (googly-dominant wrist-spinners) so hopefully Rashid can help him disguise his variations and work on his control.
 
JohnnyKills said:
I think he's ending a couple of test careers here tbh.

He offers the same level of control as Leach (or Bess) and bowls with more threat. Plus apparently he can bat too.

If England are smart they'll ask Rashid to mentor him. They're similar bowlers (googly-dominant wrist-spinners) so hopefully Rashid can help him disguise his variations and work on his control.
Click to expand...

Already netted with Rashid before the South Africa ODI at Old Trafford. Mushtaq Ahmed was an England coach for a good while, reckon he’d be a great mentor too.

I think immediately they’ll focus on trying to get Ahmed to develop his confidence at international level in the white ball stuff with an IPL gig throw in. The 2023 World Cup is in India and it would be great to have another proper spin threat next to Rashid. After that there’s 5 tests in India too.

The beauty of a leggie is you can always find a way to get them in really, a good googly is great value for knocking over the tail where ever you are in the World.
 
Pakistan could / should have made 350 at least. I said it from the first test - these Pakistani batsmen get a start but never push on. You can’t be getting 30s or 40s in test cricket, or even 50s and 60s. You need century hitters.
 
I don't know if anyone has ever been given more undeserved chances for England than Crawley.

Crawley opening at home to the Aussies next summer will be brutal.
 
Last edited:
ArmchairCritic said:
Already netted with Rashid before the South Africa ODI at Old Trafford. Mushtaq Ahmed was an England coach for a good while, reckon he’d be a great mentor too.

I think immediately they’ll focus on trying to get Ahmed to develop his confidence at international level in the white ball stuff with an IPL gig throw in. The 2023 World Cup is in India and it would be great to have another proper spin threat next to Rashid. After that there’s 5 tests in India too.

The beauty of a leggie is you can always find a way to get them in really, a good googly is great value for knocking over the tail where ever you are in the World.
Click to expand...
Agree with all of this.

Shame Warne isn't around to pass on a few tricks really.
 
Ayush_reddevil said:
What a player Brook is. His attitude to batting is so similar to KP
Click to expand...

He’s much better than KP was. Good solid technique, bats long, plays straight & late, great footwork, very quick hands, hits it as clean as a whistle and he’s got all the funky shots. Haven’t seen any weaknesses at all apart from that the bowlers don’t get him out, he gets himself out. It’s like watching batting on the PlayStation.
 
Rams said:
He’s much better than KP was. Good solid technique, bats long, plays straight & late, great footwork, very quick hands, hits it as clean as a whistle and he’s got all the funky shots. Haven’t seen any weaknesses at all apart from that the bowlers don’t get him out, he gets himself out. It’s like watching batting on the PlayStation.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t go that far yet . KP is one of the best batsmen in the modern era while Brook has only played on some very flat wickets in Pakistan
 
Ayush_reddevil said:
I wouldn’t go that far yet . KP is one of the best batsmen in the modern era while Brook has only played on some very flat wickets in Pakistan
Click to expand...

Yea - there is a few batters who averaged less than they should have, and KP was one of those. He was top tier and high class on any type of pitch.
 
Still a bit of a tricky position for England, despite recovering well. I fully expect them to be instructed to swing and have a bowl at Pakistan today.
 
Gavinb33 said:
Ben Fowkes is a really unfussy batsmen if he gets a good start there is a fair chance he'll go past 50 and take up time and balls a really good fit for this whack it and run England side
Click to expand...
He’s also one of the very best wicketkeepers around. A factor that a lot of people seem to discount when talking about who England should play as a keeper. Very classy player (albeit an annoyingly handsome one)
 
zing said:
Yea - there is a few batters who averaged less than they should have, and KP was one of those. He was top tier and high class on any type of pitch.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it should have been higher but it still ended up above the likes of Cook, Gower, Strauss etc. He was definitely right up there in terms of all-time great England batsmen.
 
phelans shorts said:
He’s also one of the very best wicketkeepers around. A factor that a lot of people seem to discount when talking about who England should play as a keeper. Very classy player (albeit an annoyingly handsome one)
Click to expand...

Agreed, combined with his batting means for me no one else should be keeping wicket if he’s fit
 
What do England do when Bairstow is back? Let him open? Give him the gloves? Bat down to 8 and play no spinner?
 
ArmchairCritic said:
What do England do when Bairstow is back? Let him open? Give him the gloves? Bat down to 8 and play no spinner?
Click to expand...
Absolutely no chance of him with the gloves. I wouldn’t expect him to open either, it’s a brilliant headache to have really.

It is worth mentioning with the severity of this injury combined with his age, it’s possible he’ll stick to white ball when he does return. I’ve not heard anything to suggest he will but who’s to say, we definitely won’t be seeing him for another 6 months plus
 
And once again, we let Wood take the game away due to Babar’s lack on attacking instinct.
 
phelans shorts said:
Absolutely no chance of him with the gloves. I wouldn’t expect him to open either, it’s a brilliant headache to have really.

It is worth mentioning with the severity of this injury combined with his age, it’s possible he’ll stick to white ball when he does return. I’ve not heard anything to suggest he will but who’s to say, we definitely won’t be seeing him for another 6 months plus
Click to expand...

Has Root gone past his best? Can we accommodate Stokes basically being Mike Brearley with 6 hitting ability? Tough choices.

In all seriousness though, the whole foundation of Bazball is Bairstow going absolutely batshit crazy for a few tests and England just running with it, I’d like to find a way back into the team for him but as you say they may not have to make that decision this summer anyway.
 
phelans shorts said:
He’s also one of the very best wicketkeepers around. A factor that a lot of people seem to discount when talking about who England should play as a keeper. Very classy player (albeit an annoyingly handsome one)
Click to expand...

Agreed, a friend of mine who played at a really good standard as a keeper says he is he is a very good keeper and we've seen how good he is also.

The combination of both is a good thing for this team and shouldn't be overlooked as he isn't as flashy a scorer as others
 
Doracle said:
Could we risk moving Root to open given that’s the obvious weakness in the batting?
Click to expand...

That’s an interesting shout considering his previous history there. It didn’t get the best out of him last time, mind you.
 
Was there a light problem late in that session? Wondering why England gave all those overs to spin.
 
The Corinthian said:
Really infuriating from Babar. 89 runs for 9, 10, 11 is weak captaincy.
Click to expand...

His captaincy is very strange where rather than go for the kill, he’ll play it safe, let the other team escape the pressure & rebuild. It’s an outdated, reactive approach where instead you need to be proactive. Faheem bowling 1 over in the entire innings was a remarkable decision.
 
ha_rooney said:
His captaincy is very strange where rather than go for the kill, he’ll play it safe, let the other team escape the pressure & rebuild. It’s an outdated, reactive approach where instead you need to be proactive. Faheem bowling 1 over in the entire innings was a remarkable decision.
Click to expand...
Yea I couldn’t understand that, especially when Wasim was swinging the ball so well late in the day. Instead he continued with Nauman who was leaking runs with the tailenders being so comfortable with spin.
 
Pakistan bat so slow meaning the opposition is always just one wicket away. 30 over partnership now and the lead isn’t even 100.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.