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Post by BB Warrior on Nov 22, 2013 8:02:19 GMT
An appalling day for England in the first test, after bowling the Aussies out for 295 the England batting line-up collapsing to 136 all out with the Aussie pace bowlers simply blowing them away.... full credit to the bowlers, but so many England batsmen simply threw their wickets away, it was like watching a re-run of Ashes matches 10-20 years ago.  If Australia can bat through the third day they will end up with a lead of more than 500 with two days left to bowl England out to win the first test.... it will need a miracle now for England to get anything out of this game.  |
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Post by BigPhilMac on Nov 24, 2013 22:06:46 GMT
I dont think weve batted that bad since the 06/07 series!!
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Post by BB Warrior on Dec 17, 2013 16:23:41 GMT
Have to say it has been pretty depressing being an England fan for the last few weeks, with the Aussies completely outplaying us in all three tests and thoroughly deserving their victories. Unfortunately, many of the signes were already there in the summer and I remember the comments that I made at the end of that series.... A fascinating series draws towards the end, fortunately the weather seems to have come to England's rescue in the two tests that they have been in trouble or the series could have been closer. Although England have won the series 3-0, they have not played at their best and will need to improve when they go down under where the Aussies will certainly provide a tougher series than they have here, the England selectors do have some decisions to make and there are question marks over some of the England players.... The simple facts are that Australia are a better team than they showed in the summer while England have got worse rather than improving.... the only hope that they have now is to try to restore some pride by (at least) being competitive in the last two games, something they have failed to do so far in the series.  Clearly confidence must be very low now, but with the series lost perhaps they should use this chance to bring in some of the players that have not played in the series so far to replace the ones that have not been playing well.... Prior, Swann, Carberry, Pieterson and Anderson have all been below their normal standards, as has Cook the Captain. With Broad potentially out through injury, the chances of avoiding a whitewash could rest with taking a risk with the team selection (for once) and bringing in some new faces that are keen to make an impression. Will England be brave enough to do that though..... |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 17:28:21 GMT
Nothing to disagree with there, but playing a Test Series abroad is an altogether different prospect to a home series.
Trott did not last very long in the hotpot, seen off by some mild Australian sledging !
Yesterday Pietersen yet again gave away his wicket cheaply - a quick 40-odd with some stylish stroke play and he seems happy with that. If he was in competition for his place we might see a different side to him.
I was cheered yesterday by how Bell and Stokes batted together: one kept racing away and the other caught up and overtook. Apparently At 22y and 196d, Ben Stokes is the second-youngest Englishman to score a Test century - after Denis Compton (20y-19d) v Australia in Nottingham June 1938.
A great find by all accounts.
Time for Monty Panesar ? And will they dare to announce his introduction with an accent over the tannoy again ?
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Post by BigPhilMac on Dec 17, 2013 18:03:35 GMT
The thing about the most recent series in the summer is the fact that it was a series between two poor teams with one team slightly more poor than the other. This series is a series between two poor teams but one with an excessive amount more hunger than the other.
Compared to this atrocity, the 2006/7 series seems like a world cup win!
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Post by BB Warrior on Jan 19, 2014 9:49:31 GMT
England heading for another heavy defeat in Sydney today.... whitewashed in the Test Series and will now be 3-0 down in the One Day Series and they are getting exactly what they deserve - nothing!  I still can't believe that they lost the last one day game, after setting a target of 300 they had their opponents they reduced Australia to 120 for 5 and then 244 for 9 and still managed to lose the match.... if they can't win that it makes you wonder how they will ever manage to win against the Aussies in any format of the game this winter? At least the England Ladies Team are doing a much better job and look likely to retain the Women's Ashes after wins in the Test Match and the First One Day game.... perhaps they should swap places and play against the Men's Team, they couldn't do any worse although the men would probably lose to the Aussie Ladies at the moment as well!  |
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Post by BigPhilMac on Feb 2, 2014 11:56:53 GMT
Well all i can say is thsnk the good lord that its finally all over, probably the only positive to be had from this entire tour!
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Post by BB Warrior on Feb 2, 2014 12:18:59 GMT
Well all i can say is thsnk the good lord that its finally all over, probably the only positive to be had from this entire tour! It's very hard to argue with that Phil....  Had the scoring been done in the same way as the Women's Ashes Tournament (which England Ladies won), the fnal score would have been 44-2 to Australia which simply shows that England were outplayed in every format of the game. Positives.... Ben Stokes from the Test team, Eion Morgan and Chris Jordan from the shorter variants of the games, Stokes and Jordan are possibly ones to watch for the future test team while there will be number of senior players who will perhaps be wondering whether they have a future in the team after this series. I personally hope that the ECB will decide that the time has come to make some big changes, obviously Andy Flower has stood down as Coach and Ashley Giles is one of the favorites to take over.... but I think that a new face (perhaps Gary Kirsten) would be better to move things forward with a fresh view on both the players that are selected and also the tactics that the team use to play. It's hard to see an alternative to Cook as captain and players like Pieterson, Bell, Broad and Anderson are probably still automatic choices for the team but that still leaves spaces for new players to be given a chance to see if they can take over the places that some of the other players perhaps no longer should have. |
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Post by BigPhilMac on Feb 2, 2014 12:30:48 GMT
I dont think Giles should be an automatic selection that people seem to think he is, Kirsten would be a fantastic choice i think, old school cracking fielder and South Africas Mr. Reliable for many years.
Although after those who do you go for? Tom Moody? Ottis Gibson with his England bowling coach experience? Or god help us Mickey Arthur!
Id like to see a bit of a test overhaul, i think Stoles after how he has played should be a shoo in at 6, Root and Cook at the top again. The problem comes with finding a new 3 and a spinner. Maybe give Ballance ago agter his county performaces? In terms of the spinner i would like to see Borthwick and Briggs in the mix.
The issue is where else do we go in terms of the pool of players? There isnt a huge deal at this time out there.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2014 12:50:34 GMT
Id like to see a bit of a test overhaul, i think Stoles after how he has played should be a shoo in at 6, Root and Cook at the top again. The problem comes with finding a new 3 and a spinner. I agree that Ben Stokes has done enough for a run in the team at No.6. I rather like the look of young Alex Lees for a No.3.......as a fellow Yorkshireman to Root they could build a good understanding. He can also bowl left-arm spin. He hit a mammoth 275 n.o. for Yorks in the County Championships back in July. A better prospect IMO than either Michael Carberry or Nick Compton, both now in their thirties. |
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Post by BigPhilMac on Feb 2, 2014 13:14:58 GMT
Id like to see a bit of a test overhaul, i think Stoles after how he has played should be a shoo in at 6, Root and Cook at the top again. The problem comes with finding a new 3 and a spinner. I agree that Ben Stokes has done enough for a run in the team at No.6. I rather like the look of young Alex Lees for a No.3.......as a fellow Yorkshireman to Root they could build a good understanding. He can also bowl left-arm spin. He hit a mammoth 275 n.o. for Yorks in the County Championships back in July. A better prospect IMO than either Michael Carberry or Nick Compton, both now in their thirties. Lees is a good shout, with the Lions during the Ashes so the powers that be clearly have earmarked him as a future prospect. I say if the talents there get them in now. Youll never know if you dont get them in. Im looking forward to the prospect of 18 year old Dominic Sibley, 200+ After only a few games for Surrey. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2014 13:37:29 GMT
There could be another contender in 25y.o. Alex Hales from Notts: www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/mar/27/alex-hales-england-sri-lanka-world-t20Yes, he's been a bit hit and miss in his career so far by which I mean 'lacking in consistency'. But he could turn out to be another Pietersen, not afraid of getting after the bowling with a few choice sixes.....once hit 55 in a single over (containing a few no balls of course). |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2014 13:10:16 GMT
Carrying on with this thread as it is pertinent to new players for the England cricket team...........
Yes we lost the 2nd test and the 2-match series to Sri Lanka, but what a brave performance for the massively-bearded Moeen Ali in scoring an unbeaten maiden test century. A useful player to bat at number 6.
He almost single-handedly saved England but tragically it was number 11 Anderson who was on strike for the last over:
Ball 1 - nice block. Ball 2 - nice block. Ball 3 - nice block. Ball 4 - nice block. Just two balls to be bowled.
Ball 5 - dollied catch, cue wild shrieking and celebrations from the Sri Lankans. A dejected Anderson was left hunched over his bat in disbelief, and he blubbed at the post-match interview.
Bring on the Indians for the next Test. Can England's sporting performances get any worse this summer ?
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Post by BigPhilMac on Jun 25, 2014 13:29:25 GMT
Not only was Moeen phenominal on the last day, but his beard is inspirational!!! I aspire to grow one of those! It puts Mr Ingrams moo-starche to shame  % |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2014 13:45:14 GMT
Agreed ! Me old mate John Slee had a trademark straggly fungus growth and reckoned it was useful for hoarding stuff like crisp fragments, takeaway residue and stray guinness droplets for retrieval at a later stage !
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 18:59:38 GMT
Well, Wimbledon tennis has finished, and the World Cup football has less than a week to go......what are we armchair sportsmen going to do with ourselves ? Well there's always Cricket for the summer, and the series with Sri Lanka went by virtually unnoticed (we lost it 0-1). And today we're being hammered all around the ground by India !
Amazing Test going on, with both teams recording a record 10th wicket stand..........Jimmy Anderson being hailed as the "Burnley Lara"  |
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