Alex 34954 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Well Billings is next in line. Obviously a fit Foakes would be my preferred option but an untried one seems like a better idea than persisting with a serial failure because he’s mates with the captain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21869 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 billings has a pretty unimpressive FC average but we may as well give him a go. i would go with foakes as wicket keeper too and try buttler a specialist number 6 again but he's another one who often doesn't know whether to stick or twist during a test innings. it feels like the test team has been "in transition" for fucking ages, still searching for new openers to replace strauss and cook, a number 3 to replace trott, a spinner to replace swann and the seam bowlers who can do it overseas. we needed archer to be fit for the ashes tour. i'm not exactly clear what jack leach has done to piss off the selectors this summer. moeen has had plenty of chances too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Think Vince ahead of Buttler personally if the latter isn’t wicket keeper. Buttler has never found the right balance in his batting in tests. He’s only looked good in a run chase really, effectively an ODI situation. Leach has been unlucky. Moeen fills the Stokes role / balances the batting. Not saying I agree but that’s the rationale at least. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Happy to see Leach back in, the four seamers works well at times but can also be canny limited when India’s middle order start ticking 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonpack 9321 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 2 hours ago, Sonatine said: Wasn't he the bad guy from the Thundercats? No that was his mother 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1224 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 We are missing a lot of key players in this series (Broad, Archer, Stokes) but really we just don't have the batting quality. At the moment there's only Root and Stokes who would get into the teams of any of the other top test sides. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21869 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Alex said: Think Vince ahead of Buttler personally if the latter isn’t wicket keeper. Buttler has never found the right balance in his batting in tests. He’s only looked good in a run chase really, effectively an ODI situation. Leach has been unlucky. Moeen fills the Stokes role / balances the batting. Not saying I agree but that’s the rationale at least. vince hasn't had loads of chances - a dozen or so tests, was it? but he's another in a long list of impressive ODI players who just didn't look cut out for tests when given the chance. i'd love to see buttler come good but you can see he's overthinking it - trying so hard to be a test batsman and curbing his natural game. it isn't easy to be a effective across all formats of the game, but he is one that could be so valuable to the test side were he able to find a way to get the balance right between attack and defence. he hasthe ability to take the game away from the opposition quickly, like how flintoff and gilchrist both used to do, but he hasn't done it enough in tests. i still think he's worth persevering with a bit longer. bairstow averages 27.41 as a specialist test bat, which is piss poor, but 37.83 when keeping wicket. buttler averages 31.65 with the gloves, and 35.68 without. interestingly, he averages 47 in the few games he's played at number 6. foakes averages over 40 at 7. based on those stats, i'd be tempted to bin bairstow, give foakes the gloves and give buttler a go at 6 down under. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 I would be happy enough with that. The thing is about that argument for Bairstow as a wkt v specialist batsman average is it’s completely skewed by that freak spell when he got 1400+ runs in a calendar year in that position. Either side of that he has a poor record as a specialist batsman and as a wicketkeeper. It’s a classic case of a purple patch misrepresenting the true picture. It’s 5 years ago now too 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21869 Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 17 hours ago, Alex said: I would be happy enough with that. The thing is about that argument for Bairstow as a wkt v specialist batsman average is it’s completely skewed by that freak spell when he got 1400+ runs in a calendar year in that position. Either side of that he has a poor record as a specialist batsman and as a wicketkeeper. It’s a classic case of a purple patch misrepresenting the true picture. It’s 5 years ago now too Yeah, it’s a shame as he clearly has talent but the evidence suggests he should focus on the shorter formats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) So, whose move was the move cynical today? The BCCI’s or YCCC’s? Edited September 10, 2021 by Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddockLad 17167 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/10/england-india-cricket-test-blame-game?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawb 4194 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I’m off to my first ever cricket match today. Semi professional end of season game/do, champagne breakfast on arrival, free drinks all day. The actual cricket will be an irrelevance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 5 hours ago, PaddockLad said: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/10/england-india-cricket-test-blame-game?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other It was a very cynical move. He’s kind of right about India being great for test cricket but that’s largely because it’s important to Kohli and he’s incredibly influential. Doesn’t mean the importance of test cricket in India will remain as it is if that ceases to be the case. Scheduling the IPL to start right after the England tour finished wasn’t exactly a great idea either. The ECB are only arsed about the money too like so it’s difficult for them to be too critical, both from the POV of the hypocrisy and not wanting to vex the BCCI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddockLad 17167 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Yeah... can't help.but think this is just the logical conclusion of where the game has been going for the last 15 years. Authorities have literally made it all about money, then they suddenly want players to think differently when it's a bad look for them game? ... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21869 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Fairly uninspiring Ashes squad. No Foakes, which I think is a mistake. I would have taken Mahmood as a wild card with his extra pace too. There’s only Wood in the squad who can bowl at 90mph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21869 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Instead you’ve got Craig Overton, who looked unthreatening on Aussie wickets last tour, making the squad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1224 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 I can't see Overton making any impression at all if he has to play. Robinson might be more threatening with his size though. Absolute nightmare that Archer and probably Stokes aren't going to be available. Our eggs were firmly in those baskets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 I think Foakes and Mahmood are particularly unfortunate. I expect to see a few people from the Lions squad pulled in once were 3-0 down 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44561 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 West Indies gone for 55. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonpack 9321 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Stokes added to Ashes squad, we'll maybe avoid a couple of innings defeats in the 5-0 drubbing now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Lovely to see Pakistan absolutely thrash India 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1224 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 4 hours ago, Toonpack said: Stokes added to Ashes squad, we'll maybe avoid a couple of innings defeats in the 5-0 drubbing now. Hoping this can help us pull it back to a 3-0 now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 The pace bowling still looks too one dimensional (and lacking in pave) for Australian conditions but at least the balance of the side with Stokes in allows for a specialist spinner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonpack 9321 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 28 minutes ago, Alex said: The pace bowling still looks too one dimensional (and lacking in pave) for Australian conditions but at least the balance of the side with Stokes in allows for a specialist spinner Wood will likely do well, very quick and also skiddy, but can't stay fit !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 34954 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 33 minutes ago, Toonpack said: Wood will likely do well, very quick and also skiddy, but can't stay fit !!! Yeah. There’s only him though and you’d have to think 3 out of 5 tests would be as much as he can manage. There’s some others in the Lions squad like Mahmood but he obviously isn’t top of the list if he isn’t even in the test squad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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