David Kelly 1245 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Woke up early for the train. Rashid and woakes seem to have been superb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Two quick wickets turn the game back after Bangladesh made a solid start. I have to say, it's great to see Bangladesh looking so competitive. I'm interested to see how much of it is down to the pitch, their improvement or England's incompetence, and how other touring teams get on here from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Great afternoon session from cook and particularly Duckett. Bit of a mini collapse since tea and this is anyone's game again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Fucking Ballance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Make that a major collapse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I can't see us chasing this down, unfortunately. This is massive for Bangladeshi cricket. Ballance hasn't done enough at test level. I'd send him home instead of letting him get on the plane to India Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Ballance has been a complete failure this year. Assuming Hales comes back in against India, I'd maybe give Duckett his position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 (edited) Yes, I think Duckett deserves a chance lower down the order. The search for an opening partner for Cook continues. Edited October 30, 2016 by Dr Gloom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Really they should have played Hameed. He's an actual opener isn't he? Much more likely to play there long term than Duckett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Can't see anything but an absolute thrashing in India. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I don't know. The pitches there in recent times have been pretty lifeless compared to the two tracks we've just played on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 We'd better hope so. I'm sure if they've paid any attention to these two matches they'll be looking to make them as spin friendly as possible though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35083 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 If they think Duckett can open then surely he can bat at 3. Root hasn't been as good there as at 4 or 5 (and he's been significantly worse but for that 254 flattering his figures at 3). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 i think duckett is another square peg in round hole as an opener. just as root was when he was asked to play there, and moeen etc etc. the problem is that even the so called specialist openers they've tried to partner cook have failed to convince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35083 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 It was fucking ridiculous taking Hameed and not playing him. I can see why they played Duckett, after the ODIs but in that case he should've played instead of Ballance who'd arguably already had too many chances. Hameed will probably now get thrown in at the deep end against India which seems unfair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) agreed. they should have used the bangladesh games to try hameed with cook at the top of the order and bring in duckett for ballance, who has been in terrible form since he was recalled. now we have to give a 19 year old his debut, opening away at india. it could destroy his confidence, though that tactic was that making of alistair cook, so who knows? i don't know what ballance has done to justify the selector's faith in him. other than that initial burst of runs when he first came into the side, he's rarely looked a test batsmen, definitely not at 3, and he's even struggled since being given a tun at his preferred number 5. i don't think he's got the technique to cut it at the highest level, unfortunately. Edited October 31, 2016 by Dr Gloom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Balance has never impressed me even when I've seen him in county games. Obviously he does score runs at that level but he never looks comfortable at whatever level or format I've seen him in. It's always amazed me that he's been considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35083 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 i think moeen is a better batter than he is spinner tbh Here's a quirky little fact: he's currently ranked higher (25th as opposed to 29th) as a bowler than he is as a batsman in the ICC Test rankings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 a glitch in the matrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35083 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I wasn't disagreeing with you but maybe he's a bit underrated as a bowler and recent performances suggest he's getting better. He strikes me as the sort of lad who would work at his craft too. And he's not that old, especially for a spinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I don't think Ali is our main problem as a spinner tbf. He's not great but he does a decent job on most occasions and quite often picks up a few wickets when the opposition targets him recklessly. The bigger problem is that our next in line (Rashid) is far too inconsistent for test cricket. Cook can't set an attacking field for him because he knows he bowls far too many poor balls that go the boundary. He's fine in the shorter formats where his wicket taking makes up for it but that's not enough at test level. And then beyond him we have little to no experience or ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21924 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Moeen has done brilliantly with the ball given the circumstances. You can't fault his application. We are kind of hoping he turns into a feared frontline spinner by thrusting him at the deep end though. Rashid has a much more natural action, turns the ball more and is a leggy. Remains to be seen as to whether he can stop serving up at least one cafeteria delivery every over but we won't know unless he's given a sustained run. I think our batting is deep enough and our seam attack strong enough to warrant giving Rashid a proper chance. No reason why rashid and Moeen can't both play in the same side in a home series either as they can both bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Well as long as we're wasting batting positions on the likes of Ballance and Vince, we'd certainly be no worse off with Rashid in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35083 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 It's a shame about Panesar because he'd easily be the best bowler out of the current spin options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35083 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Moeen has done brilliantly with the ball given the circumstances. You can't fault his application. We are kind of hoping he turns into a feared frontline spinner by thrusting him at the deep end though. Rashid has a much more natural action, turns the ball more and is a leggy. Remains to be seen as to whether he can stop serving up at least one cafeteria delivery every over but we won't know unless he's given a sustained run. I think our batting is deep enough and our seam attack strong enough to warrant giving Rashid a proper chance. No reason why rashid and Moeen can't both play in the same side in a home series either as they can both bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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