Ashes Cricket 2019

[Kettmark]

England's bowlers are fine for test cricket, it's the batsmen that are the wrong fit. Pick the best first division 4 day championship batsmen and give them a test only contract, compensating for missing out on white ball cricket.
Look at how fresh the cricketers are on both sides that didn't play in the world cup. Fact.

[anonymous-user]

Kettmark said:

England's bowlers are fine for test cricket, it's the batsmen that are the wrong fit. Pick the best first division 4 day championship batsmen and give them a test only contract, compensating for missing out on white ball cricket.
Look at how fresh the cricketers are on both sides that didn't play in the world cup. Fact.

That's fair. Think we lack a quality spinner and we need more depth in pace bowling. The batting is shocking. Burns looks like he has the mentality but few others do and you need strong competition.

I agree on allowing people to be specialists. But the issue is I fear the county game is on its arse too

[RichB]

BBC is saying that if this is a draw Australia retain the ashes but that would make it Australia won 1 and two draws. With 2 more matches left England could win 2 so what am I missing? Or are the BBC wrong?

[ArnageWRC]

euphoricmess said:

Root is not the right captain.

When has Root ever shown any leadership/ captaincy material? I rarely understand how England cricket captains are chosen. Being the best batsman means nothing. Both Cook and Strauss weren't really what I'd call leaders, and were extremely conservative tactically, but happened to have players under them who produced the goods despite their leadership shortcomings.

At the end of the series, pick a new captain, and let Root get his form back..........

[anonymous-user]

ArnageWRC said:

When has Root ever shown any leadership/ captaincy material? I rarely understand how England cricket captains are chosen. Being the best batsman means nothing. Both Cook and Strauss weren't really what I'd call leaders, and were extremely conservative tactically, but happened to have players under them who produced the goods despite their leadership shortcomings.

At the end of the series, pick a new captain, and let Root get his form back..........

Seems to be picked based on who is on form and least likely to be dropped. So root was the only option at the time. Rather than through being the right person. I imagine marketing wise it was a good move too

[Kettmark]

Strauss was the last acceptable skipper we had. Cook was never captaincy material let alone Root.
Put Vaughan & Boycott on the spot & ask them who is the best person to lead England on the fi eld.
As Tories they would no doubt back Root.
I d ask the best current cricket commentator for his honest opinion....
Mark Nicholas.

[RichB]

Kettmark said:

Strauss was the last acceptable skipper we had. Cook was never captaincy material let alone Root.
Put Vaughan & Boycott on the spot & ask them who is the best person to lead England on the fi eld.
As Tories they would no doubt back Root.
I d ask the best current cricket commentator for his honest opinion....
Mark Nicholas.

How the fk did you manage to get politics into this thread, no stopping some people!

[Kettmark]

Predictive text sorry.
Yorkies not tories.

[Murph7355]

Kettmark said:

Predictive text sorry.
Yorkies not tories.

Both were far from backing Root today.

Neither offered up an alternative though (tbf they weren't asked to).

[suthol]

pavarotti1980 said:

suthol said:

Sheffield Shield is 4 days of 3x2hr sessions each the peak of our interstate comp and where all the international players play and get selected from.

The same place are where our short form players must perform to make those top sides

Yep I know and not what I was on about. The poster was referencing weekend grade cricket

It seemed to me he was referencing both in a confused way, test players don't get down to grade games very often ( unless they are suspended from 1st class cricket )

[GloverMart]

RichB said:

BBC is saying that if this is a draw Australia retain the ashes but that would make it Australia won 1 and two draws. With 2 more matches left England could win 2 so what am I missing? Or are the BBC wrong?

Think they said (or at least should have said), if it's an Aussie win then they retain the Ashes. They'd be two up with two to play hence they couldn't be beaten.

[Kettmark]

Murph7355 said:

Both were far from backing Root today.

Neither offered up an alternative though (tbf they weren't asked to).

Boycott has been asked numerous times in the past as to whom should play/ captain et c for England and he sits on the fence & says he's not paid to make the calls.
Get him or Nicholas in an after dinner speakers roll with a couple of chardonnay in them & it would be rather interesting.

[suthol]

We might have a decent lead but with the amount of time left in the game it's nowhere near enough with what should be the best of the batting conditions yet to come.

The other great unknown is the mental damage inflicted by being rolled for such a low score, test cricket is a battle of physical and mental stamina and I suspect the scars will be deep

Roll on the intrigue of day 3

[Gargamel]

suthol said:

We might have a decent lead but with the amount of time left in the game it's nowhere near enough with what should be the best of the batting conditions yet to come.

The other great unknown is the mental damage inflicted by being rolled for such a low score, test cricket is a battle of physical and mental stamina and I suspect the scars will be deep

Roll on the intrigue of day 3

Equally the reaction to such an underperformance could be big too. I am ever the optimist, and Root must come good at some point, he is a class act. I wonder thought whether the ODI criticism of him to score quicker has affected he test play ?

[smack]

England’s batting is in crisis:
https://www.wisden.com/stories/stats-analysis/cric...

Something I heard, or read today, was the lack of English Batsmen with an average over 40, compared to the players of the last decade who won the ashes.

[FredericRobinson]

Test cricket is the most commercialy successful form of cricket in England, the team has just won the 50 over world cup, in county cricket the 20/20 blast has crowds increasing every year.
The masterplan of the ECB has been to margianilise the county championship, which they've been doing for several years, the effects of this are now being seen in the performance of the Test team. The next stage, straight after winning the 50 over world cup, is to do away with 50 over county cricket at 1st team level, and to downgrade the 2020 blast. Everything that is successful in English cricket they damage, there can't ever have been a sports governing body which has caused such deliberate wanton destruction to their own game.

[SydneyBridge]

It seems to be the done thing to make the best player captain which i completely disagree with.

[Leithen]

I suspect Root will resign.

But I do wonder who the alternative was?

[warch]

suthol said:

We might have a decent lead but with the amount of time left in the game it's nowhere near enough with what should be the best of the batting conditions yet to come.

The other great unknown is the mental damage inflicted by being rolled for such a low score, test cricket is a battle of physical and mental stamina and I suspect the scars will be deep

Roll on the intrigue of day 3

Kind of you to say but I can't see England getting much past 150, unless someone plays a blinder.

England's bowlers have actually done pretty well in this innings, and don't deserve any criticism. Especially as they've been called into action so soon after the first innings.

[suthol]

Leithen said:

I suspect Root will resign.

But I do wonder who the alternative was?

I guess there's no Alan Border sitting in the wings for you as we had when Kim Hughes resigned in a flood of tears.

Mike Brearley wasn't the best player but he was the best captain back then