The International Cricket Thread 2018

[paul_e]

I think this pitch is a bit on the small side, add a quick outfield and I suspect 400+ is par on here for a full international side.  We were poor with the ball but I did think the comments about how poor were a bit over the top. We might still collapse here but I think it will be a batting failure if we don't win this.

[PaulWinch again]

I think Hales always makes poor decisions. He runs out Root and then plays a dumb shot immediately after Morgan gets out. His decision making has potentially completely changed the game.

[Villan For Life]

I think Hales always makes poor decisions. He runs out Root and then plays a dumb shot immediately after Morgan gets out. His decision making has potentially completely changed the game.

If Ali plays the kind of innings that he played against the Bears on Thursday then we should get close.

[UK Redsox]

I think this pitch is a bit on the small side, add a quick outfield and I suspect 400+ is par on here for a full international side.  We were poor with the ball but I did think the comments about how poor were a bit over the top. We might still collapse here but I think it will be a batting failure if we don't win this.

Boundaries brought in the accommodate the TV cameras

[manic-road]

England losing wickets to poor shot execution.

[manic-road]

A lot rests on Ali now to get England close.

[paul_e]

I think Hales always makes poor decisions. He runs out Root and then plays a dumb shot immediately after Morgan gets out. His decision making has potentially completely changed the game.

If Ali plays the kind of innings that he played against the Bears on Thursday then we should get close.

Only if people can stay with him. On a slightly related subject, how was Billings deemed worthy of a place in this match? he's not got a great record anyway but when you add to that the fact that he's barely troubled the scorers for months it just looks like a shocking decision.

[Villan For Life]

I think Hales always makes poor decisions. He runs out Root and then plays a dumb shot immediately after Morgan gets out. His decision making has potentially completely changed the game.

If Ali plays the kind of innings that he played against the Bears on Thursday then we should get close.

Only if people can stay with him. On a slightly related subject, how was Billings deemed worthy of a place in this match? he's not got a great record anyway but when you add to that the fact that he's barely troubled the scorers for months it just looks like a shocking decision.

According to Sky & TMS it’s a decision made around resting Buttler and giving Bairstow a break from behind the stumps. Billings is a back up keeper and this is the game to look at his capabilities.

[taylorsworkrate]

I think Hales always makes poor decisions. He runs out Root and then plays a dumb shot immediately after Morgan gets out. His decision making has potentially completely changed the game.

If Ali plays the kind of innings that he played against the Bears on Thursday then we should get close.

Only if people can stay with him. On a slightly related subject, how was Billings deemed worthy of a place in this match? he's not got a great record anyway but when you add to that the fact that he's barely troubled the scorers for months it just looks like a shocking decision.

According to Sky & TMS it’s a decision made around resting Buttler and giving Bairstow a break from behind the stumps. Billings is a back up keeper and this is the game to look at his capabilities.

He's had a lot of chances over the last two years to show his capabilities, and has for the vast majority of it been found completely wanting.

[taylorsworkrate]

What an utterly ridiculous risk to go for the 2nd run there

[taylorsworkrate]

Well done to Scotland on an absolutely sensational victory. Kept their heads and fully deserved.

As good as England's 50 over side has become, I just cannot see them winning the world cup, even in England. They still have massive brain fades in games, and in a knockout situation that will ultimately prove fatal.

[UK Redsox]

Disappointed that I missed the Scotland innings

What a great game

[TopDeck113]

As good as England's 50 over side has become, I just cannot see them winning the world cup, even in England. They still have massive brain fades in games, and in a knockout situation that will ultimately prove fatal.

Exactly that.  The game was there for the winning at less than a run a ball, so Moeen decides to do it in sixes.

[paul_e]

Hales and Billings were the problem today (for me).

Hales makes lots of silly mistakes but gets away with it if he's scoring at 150% and taking the game away from people but he's not that player right now. He's one of the senior players in this squad but he's made 2 terrible decisions today.

Billings is just poor, I just can't see how anyone can have watched him this season and thought he was anywhere near the ODI team, he's averaging about 5 for 2018, it's just bizarre that he's still involved.

With the ball ( don't think we were terrible but, Willey just doesn't offer enough threat if he doesn't get early wickets, Plunkett has no variation so once a batsman picks him he gets very expensive and Wood, in my opinion, flatters to deceive, he's got something about him but it just doesn't translate into match winning performances.

What the day as a whole shows is that were number one on the back of a core group of about 12-13 players.  Once we start having to pick outside that we look a lot weaker.

[taylorsworkrate]

It was a total, that given the pitch conditions, size of the ground and quality of the bowling we faced, we really should have cruised to with a lot of overs to spare. I thought that Scotland were about 50/60 short during the interval, and with the ease we played the first 30 overs that was true. Some really weird decisions from some of the batsmen down the order changed that.

There is still a lot more good than bad within this ODI side, and obviously Woakes, Stokes and Buttler are massive players to come back into it.

As I've said, I can see us being tremendous in the group stage in a world cup, but then suffering a silly collapse in a knockout game.