The Cricket Thread

[Alex 35079]

Bowled too short tbh

 

[Dr Gloom 21922]

yeah, we had a real chance to get into the tail in that last session but anderson in particular was way too short. how did we let that handscomb get into the 30s? he looked like a walking wicket batting so deep in his crease. got to pitch it up with the new ball in the morning. 

[Ken 119]

Yeah, wasted the first new ball with short rubbish. Anderson in particular was disappointing, has looked very uncomfortable, and t never looked like threatening the openers. Australia firmly with the upper hand, well on the way to scoring 300. Root has copped a fair amount of stick for choosing to bowl first and I think it is well deserved.

[Dr Gloom 21922]

Let down by his bowlers tbf 

[Ken 119]

8 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

Let down by his bowlers tbf 

Well, yes, but you don't gamble everything on the fact you have two decent pace bowlers, as decent as they are, you have no decisive strike capability that can change a game in Australian conditions against us atm. It was a massive gamble and no thought was put into protecting your weakness which is your batting. I also think Root and management looked at the stats on the last two tests in Adelaide and seen the team bowling first won, but the wickets were different those two times. This wicket is as dry as a bone. Did Root think he'd bowl us out for less than 200? You batting second plays into our hands on this pitch.

[Alex 35079]

37 minutes ago, Ken said:

Well, yes, but you don't gamble everything on the fact you have two decent pace bowlers, as decent as they are, you have no decisive strike capability that can change a game in Australian conditions against us atm. It was a massive gamble and no thought was put into protecting your weakness which is your batting. I also think Root and management looked at the stats on the last two tests in Adelaide and seen the team bowling first won, but the wickets were different those two times. This wicket is as dry as a bone. Did Root think he'd bowl us out for less than 200? You batting second plays into our hands on this pitch.

Yep. Spot on

[Dr Gloom 21922]

1 hour ago, Ken said:

Well, yes, but you don't gamble everything on the fact you have two decent pace bowlers, as decent as they are, you have no decisive strike capability that can change a game in Australian conditions against us atm. It was a massive gamble and no thought was put into protecting your weakness which is your batting. I also think Root and management looked at the stats on the last two tests in Adelaide and seen the team bowling first won, but the wickets were different those two times. This wicket is as dry as a bone. Did Root think he'd bowl us out for less than 200? You batting second plays into our hands on this pitch.

 

I already said it was a brave decision. Tbf, if you elect to have a bowl and only take 4 wickets in a day, it’s fair to say he’s got it wrong. 

 

The one crumb of comfort is Smith is gone and we have a new cherry. Pitch it up tomorrow morning and who knows what will happen. If we can skittle you out for less than 300, game on. 

 

(I fully expect to wake up to Aussies batting towards a 550+ deceleration)

[Ken 119]

Vince and Cook almost giving each other the Liverpool kiss just about sums up England's day today. Foot is firmly on throat, we should declare with about an hour's play to go and take a couple of wickets.

[Dr Gloom 21922]

Not the score I was hoping to wake up to but not unpredictable.  

 

If there’s little movement through the air of off the seam, the least you’d hope for from a bowling attack that lacks extra pace, and a spinner capable of tying up an end, is putting the ball in the right area. 

 

Root will regret the decision to bowl but his senior bowlers let him downs 

 

 

[RobinRobin 11269]

It is the same thinking again and again.  Bouncy Australian wickets, so bowl short.  Of course, not what the locals do, but that is what it says in the manual.  

 

Given that our bowlers are 10kph slower (at their fastest) than the Aussies, line and length must be paramount.  Why do they keep making the same mistakes?

[Gemmill 44872]

Fucked. 5 nowt coming up. 

[Ken 119]

England putting up a bit of fight now. Where was this in the first innings?

[Alex 35079]

They could bowl them out for another 50 runs and they'd still lose tbh

[Ken 119]

Just now, Alex said:

They could bowl them out for another 50 runs and they'd still lose tbh

Agreed, but this game was fizzing out badly. This little fightback at least makes it interesting again.

[Ken 119]

Our first mistake of this series was to not enforce a follow on there. England need to bowl us out in the first session or soon after that just so you can wear the ball out a bit before the night session and negate swing. Thta's your only chance, but a bit of fight from the Pommys, I like it.

[Dr Gloom 21922]

when there's movement through the air, our bowling attack is transformed. good little fight back there by england. shame it's too little too late. 

[Dr Gloom 21922]

35 minutes ago, Alex said:

They could bowl them out for another 50 runs and they'd still lose tbh

 

the aussies have already probably got enough runs tbf. we could only manage 227 in our first innings and we've barely had to bat when the lights have been on and the ball has been moving around. 

 

all the pundits said this was our best chance of getting a win too. any rain forecast? 

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Dr Gloom

[Dr Gloom 21922]

14 minutes ago, Ken said:

Our first mistake of this series was to not enforce a follow on there. England need to bowl us out in the first session or soon after that just so you can wear the ball out a bit before the night session and negate swing. Thta's your only chance, but a bit of fight from the Pommys, I like it.

 

our batting isn't good enough to chase down a commanding lead, especially with cook out of nick

[Ken 119]

6 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

 

our batting isn't good enough to chase down a commanding lead, especially with cook out of nick

I wouldn't even consider Cook your leading opener anymore. He has only averaged 30 here and he's toured a number of times. I would be relying/setting my hopes on Stoneman to get a ton or close to. He'll be key.

 

And again, we come down to Root's decision to field first. Shambolic.

[Dr Gloom 21922]

14 minutes ago, Ken said:

I wouldn't even consider Cook your leading opener anymore. He has only averaged 30 here and he's toured a number of times. I would be relying/setting my hopes on Stoneman to get a ton or close to. He'll be key.

 

And again, we come down to Root's decision to field first. Shambolic.

 

form is temporary....

 

cook, when he gets in, is still world class and has a habit of converting 50s into big scores. 

 

but yes, he's only really had that one great tour of australia

[Alex 35079]

I might be wrong but Cook's conversion rate doesn't seem that good in recent years. Not be the previous standards anyway. He's clearly still a good player but I don't think he's the player he was

[Dr Gloom 21922]

time catches up with everyone. i wonder if he'll retire if he goes through the series without making a score. still think he's got a lot to offer, particularly when you consider we've spent about 6 or 7 years trying to find him an opening partner. that won't have helped him and it's not like there's a queue of highly rated openers knocking on the door to replace him. averaging 46 as an opener over a long career is impressive. 

 

[Dr Gloom 21922]

If ever a captains innings was required. At least there’s a game on but England don’t do record run chases. We’ll go for less than 200

Edited December 5, 2017 by Dr Gloom

[Ken 119]

4 hours ago, Dr Gloom said:

If ever a captains innings was required. At least there’s a game on but England don’t do record run chases. We’ll go for less than 200

Another gloomy prediction.

 

You won't win but you have put up a fight which is a good sign, and Root is fighting hard to redeem himself, he has copped it tonight but is still there fighting away.

[Dr Gloom 21922]

i'm inclined to agree that we don't have the discipline to chase these runs down, with a new ball not a million miles away. but.....

 

we've bairstow, moeen and overton to come. they can all bat. root needs to make a ton and someone needs to dig in and make a chunky 50 to support him. if they can get through the first session only giving away one wicket, who knows? i remember edgbaston 2005 was similarly poised at the end of day 4. i almost didn't get the train up, it looked like it was over, but we ended up  with a whole session of nail biting drama, which was so painfully close for you lot. it's highly unlikely, but it'd be brilliant for the series if we were to pull it off. 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Dr Gloom