English & Irish Cricket Summer 2018

zing said:
A very good result. I would like to see England play against Pakistan and India away with this side. India was only recently, but it is starting to feel like England have a more settled side.

Still don't rate Rashid or Leach. The batting is loads better now, barring 3. Wonder if Buttler is the solution.
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Rashid still does that bad ball an over however has started bowling more standard leg breaks and less variation which is good. Leach will give you consistent line and length and is probably the second spinner. Ali will still be the sole spinner in home games though.

This side is picked for these conditions. I expect Broad to come back for seaming conditions. What I enjoyed was England being aggressive rather than just defending and getting out which is what they normally do in these conditions.
 
TheGame said:
Rashid still does that bad ball an over however has started bowling more standard leg breaks and less variation which is good. Leach will give you consistent line and length and is probably the second spinner. Ali will still be the sole spinner in home games though.

This side is picked for these conditions. I expect Broad to come back for seaming conditions. What I enjoyed was England being aggressive rather than just defending and getting out which is what they normally do in these conditions.
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I am not sure that'll work as well against anyone else.
 
zing said:
A very good result. I would like to see England play against Pakistan and India away with this side. India was only recently, but it is starting to feel like England have a more settled side.

Still don't rate Rashid or Leach. The batting is loads better now, barring 3. Wonder if Buttler is the solution.
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Don't think the batting was the only problem last time in India, England IIRC got 400 a few times, the problem was India got 600/700 in reply and then England folded. Not sure the current spin attack would change much in that regard.
 
England Sri Lanka is one of my favourite series to watch. Shame it's over before the 3rd test.
 
Good knock by Bairstow so far, the pressure knowing your gloves may well be gone for the time being and you need a good score must be immense.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Wahey Jonny, woke up and decided to put his big boy pants on today. Good knock.
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Or not, based on the interviews he's currently giving.

Fair fecks to him using what people said about him as motivation, it clearly worked, but that was a Pieterseen rant. And like Pietersen, I do wonder the effect on a new player like Foakes when Bairstow is sounding off about how unfairly he's been treated in having the gloves taken off him.

Besides, Bairstow has averaged 30 over the last two years and whilst his keeping is decent, if not good now, it's hardly exceptional. Has the criticism that he has more ability than that really been that unfair?
 
Why does Bairstow have such little faith in his ability to play as a specialist batsman? It comes across poorly.

I don't think he's a #3 but he's good enough to hold his place as a specialist batsman, as opposed to crying about it every few months.
 
Bairstow needs to have a good long chat with Sangakarra. You can bat and keep to high standard but there are several players who have shown focusing purely on batting is beneficial. It's good that competition is actually driving players to perform and it's exactly what Bairstow needed. Foakes is the more natural keeper and Bairstow has more upside with the bat in theory.

I suppose the next natural development for England's brand of cricket is to have a different keeper for different types of bowlers. Foakes for the spinners, Bairstow for the quicks. All bases covered :wenger:.
 
Why does Rashid not bowl more? He's only bowled six overs of the 50 that have been completed.

Root clearly doesn't trust him. It's English cricket in microcosm - captains aren't imaginative enough to invest in any variety or unorthodoxy.

Yes Rashid bowls some rubbish but he bowls magic balls. Surely we should have tried him earlier.
 
Rashid again, Jennings with another catch, can’t have been many better short leg fillers then him. James Taylor does run him close though
 
8 down now. Sri Lanka are disintegrating, losing 3 wickets whilst on 222. England heading for a series white wash, their first ever on the sub continent if I'm not mistaken.
 
JohnnyKills said:
Why does Rashid not bowl more? He's only bowled six overs of the 50 that have been completed.

Root clearly doesn't trust him. It's English cricket in microcosm - captains aren't imaginative enough to invest in any variety or unorthodoxy.

Yes Rashid bowls some rubbish but he bowls magic balls. Surely we should have tried him earlier.
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Who would want to be a captain eh? Every single decision and action overanalyzed and scrutinised.

If Root didn't trust him he wouldn't play him and if Root keeps bowling Rashid at a specific period of the game it's likely because it's part of a wider plan. It's almost as if Root and Rashid have played for aeons at the same county and Root has a good idea of how and when to bowl Rashid.
 
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I like Bairstow but I thought his interview yesterday was pretty terrible to be honest. Came across very KP, feeling sorry for himself and moaning about how hard it is being him. Foakes is by all accounts the better keeper and up until this test Bairstow had been having a very poor run of form with the bat so it wasn't like he was completely hard done by anyway.

Still though, England are in a great position to whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0 which would be a fantastic achievement.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
Who would want to be a captain eh? Every single decision and action overanalyzed and scrutinised.

If Root didn't trust him he wouldn't play him and if Root keeps bowling Rashid at a specific period of the game it's likely because it's part of a wider plan. It's almost as if Root and Rashid have played for aeons at the same county and Root has a good idea of how and when to bowl Rashid.
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Root's hardly played for Yorkshire since 2011 and he earned the name 'craptain' for his efforts at county level.

Anyway, today's figures speak for themselves.
 
JohnnyKills said:
Root's hardly played for Yorkshire since 2011 and he earned the name 'craptain' for his efforts at county level.

Anyway, today's figures speak for themselves.
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And this means he's never played cricket with him before and that he wouldn't pick Andrew Gale's brains on it? He captained a handful (as far as I can tell 2) games for Yorkshire and 'craptain' was just a in-joke amongst teammates, I'm not entirely sure why you seem so intent on discrediting his skills as a captain.

Mike Brearley had years of nothing at Middlesex to hone his craft before winning the county championship and becoming one of England's finest ever captains. Whatever you think of Root I think it is clear that he's learning very quickly on the job and he is shaping a team that plays cricket how he wants to play cricket. England have won 7 of their last 9 tests and are showing an increasing aptitude for winning tight games.

Anyway I'll let Adil speak for himself and Root:

"Definitely that is my role," Rashid told Sky Sports. "Since I came back, I've tried to come in and break partnerships, and make things happen. You've got Leachy and Mo who can contain and get wickets, but we have that understanding now that that's what Rooty [Joe Root] wants from me as a bowler.

"Sometimes, if it doesn't work within five or six overs, I can have a break and come back in again, but at this moment in time it's going okay."
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The most important thing about captaining spinners is to listen to what they want.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
And this means he's never played cricket with him before and that he wouldn't pick Andrew Gale's brains on it? He captained a handful (as far as I can tell 2) games for Yorkshire and 'craptain' was just a in-joke amongst teammates, I'm not entirely sure why you seem so intent on discrediting his skills as a captain.

Mike Brearley had years of nothing at Middlesex to hone his craft before winning the county championship and becoming one of England's finest ever captains. Whatever you think of Root I think it is clear that he's learning very quickly on the job and he is shaping a team that plays cricket how he wants to play cricket. England have won 7 of their last 9 tests and are showing an increasing aptitude for winning tight games.

Anyway I'll let Adil speak for himself and Root:



The most important thing about captaining spinners is to listen to what they want.
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Yeah Rashid and Gale get on great don't they? In fact, given Rashid's record for Yorkshire I'm not sure anyone there knows how to manage him.

Root rates Rashid so much he picked Liam Fecking Dawson ahead of him. Today he'd given Leach 17 overs before Rashid got his second ffs!

I agree with you that spinners need to be given what they want, but having bowled spin myself, I would suggest the really important thing is backing from the captain. And if you hold the spinner back until 45-50 overs, you're not showing that trust.
 
JohnnyKills said:
Yeah Rashid and Gale get on great don't they? In fact, given Rashid's record for Yorkshire I'm not sure anyone there knows how to manage him.

Root rates Rashid so much he picked Liam Fecking Dawson ahead of him. Today he'd given Leach 17 overs before Rashid got his second ffs!

I agree with you that spinners need to be given what they want, but having bowled spin myself, I would suggest the really important thing is backing from the captain. And if you hold the spinner back until 45-50 overs, you're not showing that trust.
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Whatever the state of Rashid and Gale's relationship there will be few better placed to understand what Rashid can provide than those who have played the most cricket with him. Rashid seems none too fussed by his role and there's no bigger vote of confidence than choosing someone who doesn't even play 4-day cricket to come and play test cricket. He's in the team for a specific role, he is doing his job well and as he gains more experience he will feel more comfortable at test level. As he feels more comfortable he may transition into a different role over time.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
Whatever the state of Rashid and Gale's relationship there will be few better placed to understand what Rashid can provide than those who have played the most cricket with him. Rashid seems none too fussed by his role and there's no bigger vote of confidence than choosing someone who doesn't even play 4-day cricket to come and play test cricket. He's in the team for a specific role, he is doing his job well and as he gains more experience he will feel more comfortable at test level. As he feels more comfortable he may transition into a different role over time.
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We agree at last!
 
England should swap Foakes and Mo around in the batting line up, 8 is too low for Foakes to come out
 
JohnnyKills said:
Nah Mo is the better player and has earned the right to come out earlier.
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He’s averaging 19 with the bat this year and 27 last year, Foakes is more of a classic batsman where Moeen can come in at 8 and be more aggressive, also sucks for Curran who when he comes back in he bats at 9
 
paulscholes18 said:
He’s averaging 19 with the bat this year and 27 last year, Foakes is more of a classic batsman where Moeen can come in at 8 and be more aggressive, also sucks for Curran who when he comes back in he bats at 9
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Harsh as it is, can see Curran being left out. He's basically in the side for his batting at the moment so he could be a passenger against the better teams.

After West Indies we've got to play Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the last two away. We'll need four specialist quick bowlers to beat them so if Curran's going to play, it'll have to be as a batsman.

I'd like to have seen us give him a go at No.6 in this game tbh. If we get another dead rubber in WI we should try it.
 
Really enjoyed watching this young England side this series. Not perfect by any means but a fantastic 3-0 whitewash, the 1st ever on the Indian sub continent i believe.
 
Excellent series victory. Still lots to improve on. Some of the recent tests have been unnecessarily close and Root won't keep winning the toss forever.

Will be an interesting series in the West Indies, don't think England have won there since 2004!
 
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