English cricket thread

[LDUred]

Spinners will never get into the squad with the current county game if we did that. There needs to be changes to entice counties to play spinners,

The key is having a decent number of spin-friendly tracks in county cricket like at Somerset/Ciderabad. Teams won't be able to be successful without spinners or being able to play spin.

 

[Utd heap]

I can't believe they didn't try Tom Hartley after India more. He can bat, is a better fielder and would be able to offer more control.

I was quite vocal on here at the time that Hartley is bang average. Watched loads of him with Lancs, can't even get in our side now.

 

[TheGame]

I was quite vocal on here at the time that Hartley is bang average. Watched loads of him with Lancs, can't even get in our side now.

To be fair didn't they Lyon for some of the season. I mean Bashir doesn't seem to get into the Somerset team however as others have said its a common theme amongst spinners at County level.

 

[Utd heap]

To be fair didn't they Lyon for some of the season. I mean Bashir doesn't seem to get into the Somerset team however as others have said its a common theme amongst spinners at County level.

Obviously Lyon got picked in the first half of the summer as overseas but he struggles as second choice behind our part timers to.

I do like him as a white ball option though

 

[IRN-BRUno]

Hartley and Bashir both selected for the Lions tour of Australia next month, good opportunity for them to show what they're capable of in those conditions ahead of next winter.

 

[Utd heap]

Hartley and Bashir both selected for the Lions tour of Australia next month, good opportunity for them to show what they're capable of in those conditions ahead of next winter.

Good picks. Big tour for Bashir.

 

[Utd heap]

Im bored on a train so NZ reflections...

Bowlers:

- Carse best of a very average bunch. Impossible not to like his temperament and approach, but the speeds are 'good' rather than great and he doesn't do a great deal with the ball. Goes down as a definite option for the Ashes regardless. Batting helps.

- The rest of them. Woakes went ok, we didn't learn much. Likewise Potts with his two tests. Atkinson continues to look great on paper figures wise, but he doesn't pass the eye test for me yet - really underwhelming speeds. But again the batting is a big plus as we phase Waokes out. Bashir had a poor winter, big Lions tour for him.

Batting:

- Brook the stand out, despite low scores in the midst of it made more than two match winning contributions. Root consistent as ever.

- Strange winter for Duckett. Continues to look good but didn't get the stats his form deserved this year, will need a solid summer to stave off murmurings of this opening partnership needing a change. Which brings us to....

- Crawley. Famously allowed to be inconsistent by the management, but looked like he'd turned a corner post home Ashes and India away. Now back to a shambles. He will go to Aus unless Bumrah destroys him like Henry did (not impossible is it).

Other areas of intrigue:

- Bethell. Clearly a player, could he force an opener spot by the summer?
- Stokes. Broken again, but the bowling showed signs of promise. Can't bat until we need 380 from 120/7, then he will knock it off.
- Pope/Smith. Can you get both in? Plus the Bethell 'good problem to have'. Pope looked far more comfortable at 6 but I get the feeling England will plump for Smith and have Pope as a very able John OShea backup for keeper, 3, and 6.

Overall winter score, much like the year as a whole - 7/10.

 

[Trequarista10]

Im bored on a train so NZ reflections...

Bowlers:

- Carse best of a very average bunch. Impossible not to like his temperament and approach, but the speeds are 'good' rather than great and he doesn't do a great deal with the ball. Goes down as a definite option for the Ashes regardless. Batting helps.

- The rest of them. Woakes went ok, we didn't learn much. Likewise Potts with his two tests. Atkinson continues to look great on paper figures wise, but he doesn't pass the eye test for me yet - really underwhelming speeds. But again the batting is a big plus as we phase Waokes out. Bashir had a poor winter, big Lions tour for him.

Batting:

- Brook the stand out, despite low scores in the midst of it made more than two match winning contributions. Root consistent as ever.

- Strange winter for Duckett. Continues to look good but didn't get the stats his form deserved this year, will need a solid summer to stave off murmurings of this opening partnership needing a change. Which brings us to....

- Crawley. Famously allowed to be inconsistent by the management, but looked like he'd turned a corner post home Ashes and India away. Now back to a shambles. He will go to Aus unless Bumrah destroys him like Henry did (not impossible is it).

Other areas of intrigue:

- Bethell. Clearly a player, could he force an opener spot by the summer?
- Stokes. Broken again, but the bowling showed signs of promise. Can't bat until we need 380 from 120/7, then he will knock it off.
- Pope/Smith. Can you get both in? Plus the Bethell 'good problem to have'. Pope looked far more comfortable at 6 but I get the feeling England will plump for Smith and have Pope as a very able John OShea backup for keeper, 3, and 6.

Overall winter score, much like the year as a whole - 7/10.

Spot on.

Essentially, top 3 is the issue still (as it has been for years). Too many options for 4-7 to fit them all in their preferred positions (as it has been for years).

Bowling was looking great initially. I agree Atkinson and Carse's figures currently seem to be overperforming the eye test. Atkinson's drop in pace towards the tail of the tour was worrying but presumably it was just fatigue or a niggling injury. Definitely space for one of the many other bowling options to break into the team - Archer is the standout on paper if fit. Wood will likely get a few games and guarantees express pace. Numerous others will be chomping at the bit and a good summer could put them in contention for the Ashes. I really like Woakes and I think he made a good account of himself, but surely he can't be in consideration for Australia. Carse/Atkinson's batting negates the need for Woakes at #8, and pace/bounce is more desired there. I wonder if England will play Woakes in seaming English conditions this summer - he's possibly still the best we've got in those conditions, but it could potentially make future selection tricky.

Interesting that Bashir is in the Lions squad despite playing every test this winter. Sensible IMO given his lack of FC experience. But if he doesn't perform well - do England keep picking? Throw Hartley or Ahmed in? Pick 4 seamers and Root+Bethall as part time spin options?

 

[TheGame]

Spot on.

Essentially, top 3 is the issue still (as it has been for years). Too many options for 4-7 to fit them all in their preferred positions (as it has been for years).

Bowling was looking great initially. I agree Atkinson and Carse's figures currently seem to be overperforming the eye test. Atkinson's drop in pace towards the tail of the tour was worrying but presumably it was just fatigue or a niggling injury. Definitely space for one of the many other bowling options to break into the team - Archer is the standout on paper if fit. Wood will likely get a few games and guarantees express pace. Numerous others will be chomping at the bit and a good summer could put them in contention for the Ashes. I really like Woakes and I think he made a good account of himself, but surely he can't be in consideration for Australia. Carse/Atkinson's batting negates the need for Woakes at #8, and pace/bounce is more desired there. I wonder if England will play Woakes in seaming English conditions this summer - he's possibly still the best we've got in those conditions, but it could potentially make future selection tricky.

Interesting that Bashir is in the Lions squad despite playing every test this winter. Sensible IMO given his lack of FC experience. But if he doesn't perform well - do England keep picking? Throw Hartley or Ahmed in? Pick 4 seamers and Root+Bethall as part time spin options?

If Stokes's isn't fit, this will need to be serious option.

 

[IRN-BRUno]

England ODI squad for Champions Trophy and tour of India: Jos Buttler (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood

Rehan Ahmed replaces Root for the T20s in India. First McCullum squad for these formats and it seems clear that he's looking for pace more than anything when it comes to the seamers.

 

[Trequarista10]

For the ODIs I would pick:

1. Buttler (c)
2. Duckett (Salt backup)
3. Root
4. Brook
5. Smith (wk)
6.  Bethell
7. Livingstone
8. Carse / Overton
9. Wood / Atkinson
10. Archer / Mahmood
11. Rashid

The seamers rotating a bit. Would have preferred Hartley or Ahmed in the squad for another spin option, as it is Livingstone, Bethell and Root will probably get a fair amount of overs. I suspect we might play 4 seamers at times, which would make the tail too long imo.

Dont think Buttler has opened much in ODIs but with Smith taking the gloves, Root and Brook in the middle order, I think it's the best option. Salt too often gets a quick 20-30 and out.

 

[dpansheth]

Stokes out for 3 months.

 

[FlawlessThaw]

Stokes out for 3 months.

White ball career officially over. Imagine his focus is just getting ready for the test series in the summer.

 

[TheGame]

For the ODIs I would pick:

1. Buttler (c)
2. Duckett (Salt backup)
3. Root
4. Brook
5. Smith (wk)
6.  Bethell
7. Livingstone
8. Carse / Overton
9. Wood / Atkinson
10. Archer / Mahmood
11. Rashid

The seamers rotating a bit. Would have preferred Hartley or Ahmed in the squad for another spin option, as it is Livingstone, Bethell and Root will probably get a fair amount of overs. I suspect we might play 4 seamers at times, which would make the tail too long imo.

Dont think Buttler has opened much in ODIs but with Smith taking the gloves, Root and Brook in the middle order, I think it's the best option. Salt too often gets a quick 20-30 and out.

I would probably go with something like this but there is a struggle for the 5/6 bowler really. There doesn't seem to be another decent pace all rounder to come in as you could have Buttler keeping and another all rounder if you wanted.

 

[dpansheth]

White ball career officially over. Imagine his focus is just getting ready for the test series in the summer.

This injury happened in a test series, he's not part of ODI set up any more. Concern is can he be just a captain and a batsman? and can he do that for next 2 years WTC cycle?

 

[FlawlessThaw]

This injury happened in a test series, he's not part of ODI set up any more. Concern is can he be just a captain and a batsman? and can he do that for next 2 years WTC cycle?

There was a lot of talk of him rejoining the white ball team for the Champions Trophy pre injury especially with McCullum taking over. And yeah he can pretty much be captain & batsman only if he decides he wants to. England also don’t really care about the WTC cycle.

 

[IRN-BRUno]

Seems to be growing calls for England to boycott the Afghanistan game in the Champions Trophy.

I get the concerns but it's not going to achieve anything except disadvantage yourself in the competition. The likes of Rashid Khan, Nabi and Gurbaz have spoken out about the issues facing women as well.

 

[TheGame]

Seems to be growing calls for England to boycott the Afghanistan game in the Champions Trophy.

I get the concerns but it's not going to achieve anything except disadvantage yourself in the competition. The likes of Rashid Khan, Nabi and Gurbaz have spoken out about the issues facing women as well.

Exactly, it would just be a silly move and make no difference whatsoever. If the team are in the competition then we need to play them.

 

[IRN-BRUno]

Big opportunity missed for England Women to level the series in Australia.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

The women's team honestly is pretty bad, they keep playing mostly the same players and their game intelligence is abysmal. What Amy Jones did today is something I have never seen in 2 decades of watching cricket and she has been an England international for a decade

 

[ChrisNelson]

Yes that defeat having restricted Australia below 200 does feel like the series is already a massive uphill struggle. Very bad result.

 

[Utd heap]

The women's team honestly is pretty bad, they keep playing mostly the same players and their game intelligence is abysmal. What Amy Jones did today is something I have never seen in 2 decades of watching cricket and she has been an England international for a decade

They have a mental block in the big moments and have done for a long while now. Real amateur cricket at times, and a few of the players are not at the fitness/dedication level they should play be for the Pro game.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Sums up the state of this team. They live in their own bubble and ECB has allowed them to do so by letting it go on for so long.