England 2012 Cricket Thread

[olaftab]

Sorry Aftab but your wrong Hafeez has played 25 tests and got 26 wickets so thats an ave of 1 per test and Monty has played 40 tests and got 133 wickets so thats 3.25(ish) per test match

Can't argue on stats however Hafeez has  another main job in the team  but for bowling is always used in under pressure situations either to breakthrough or create conditions where other bowlers can  come in and take wickets.  I have studied him and rate him very highly as a bowler. so just a personal opinion.

[olaftab]

Can any one explain why it went so bad, they were spinning it but it wasnt moving all over the place, there was some variation but so called world class batsmen should be able to cope a lot better, was it because they were under prepared? Or is it a real technique problem? Surely they know that you have to ply to the pitch of the ball.

Yes they know that you have to play every ball on it's merit but Cricket players, and it does not matter what level as world class batsman play world class bowlers and park's batsman  face park's bowlers, find demons where there are none. Yes the Pakistan bowlers were accurate and tricky but not 72 allout tricky for a team that includes Cooke, Straus, Trott , Bell etc. They lost their heads and the bodies follwed  by freezing up resulting in poor decisions.
Other reasons have been discussed on here such as under prep and a level of arrogance.

[PaulWinch again]

Can any one explain why it went so bad, they were spinning it but it wasnt moving all over the place, there was some variation but so called world class batsmen should be able to cope a lot better, was it because they were under prepared? Or is it a real technique problem? Surely they know that you have to ply to the pitch of the ball.

I think it was a combination of being under prepared, poor technique and buckling under pressure. They clearly have underestimated Pakistan's bowling unit and there's a lot of arrogance in that, they thought they could turn up and just win. Technically they look all over the place and don't move their feet at all. Under pressure they didn't try and be aggressive which they needed to do, they blocked continuously and obviously that was never going to get them anywhere. The batting performance has been absolutely dreadful on 3 out of 4 innings and frankly even in the 4th it was two batsmen who did well and the bowlers who got us to a decent score. The bowlers have been great, the batsmen as a unit have been nothing short of a disgrace.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

Why does Kevin Pieterson play for England?

Can he not get into the South African team?

[Dave Cooper please]

Far from it, the South Africans were very annoyed that he decided to play for England, he would have been playing Test cricket probably three years before his England debut as he had to sit out the qualifying period. He apparently decided on the move because he disagreed with the racial quota system in South Africa.
His mother is English by the way.

[PaulWinch again]

A man with KP's average would get in any side in the world. I've been critical of him at times, but I am still a fan. He has the ability to take a game away from the opposition, he's just got to get mentally in the right place.

[TheTimVilla]

And whilst we wait for him to get mentally right, Morgan will get dropped.

[PaulWinch again]

And whilst we wait for him to get mentally right, Morgan will get dropped.

To be fair at least KP has a good record, I wouldn't say Morgan looks mentally great at the moment. He needs to make runs in domestic first class cricket to try and improve his technique.

[TheTimVilla]

Perhaps after this series, I'd agree, but Morgan plays spin better than KP. Also, perhaps we should afford Morgan the same number of second chances that KP has had.

[spangley1812]

And whilst we wait for him to get mentally right, Morgan will get dropped.

To be fair at least KP has a good record, I wouldn't say Morgan looks mentally great at the moment. He needs to make runs in domestic first class cricket to try and improve his technique.

Not against spin bowling he hasnt Paul his record is very poor

[PaulWinch again]

I don't think Morgan has the same ability as Pietersen, also KP came in and largely did well. Morgan has a couple of centuries and one other score of note, he's scratched around most of the time. I think at the moment Morgan is very much more the candidate out of the team. I think for his long term development and for the England team, he needs to go and work on his game.

[spangley1812]

I don't think Morgan has the same ability as Pietersen, also KP came in and largely did well. Morgan has a couple of centuries and one other score of note, he's scratched around most of the time. I think at the moment Morgan is very much more the candidate out of the team. I think for his long term development and for the England team, he needs to go and work on his game.

Morgan will be sacrificied and he will be the scapegoat, they cant drop anyone else as they have no other batting reserves

[Dave Cooper please]

Morgan will be sacrificied and he will be the scapegoat, they cant drop anyone else as they have no other batting reserves

But he's not a scapegoat though is he? Scapegoat would suggest he is being unfairly picked on. Yes other batsmen have been equally rubbish so far on this tour, but they all have many previous excellent performances to fall back on, Morgan does not, he has a couple of good innings and a lot of mediocre ones.
Great player to have in your one day team but just isn't cutting it as a test player yet.

[PaulWinch again]

Morgan will be sacrificied and he will be the scapegoat, they cant drop anyone else as they have no other batting reserves

But he's not a scapegoat though is he? Scapegoat would suggest he is being unfairly picked on. Yes other batsmen have been equally rubbish so far on this tour, but they all have many previous excellent performances to fall back on, Morgan does not, he has a couple of good innings and a lot of mediocre ones.
Great player to have in your one day team but just isn't cutting it as a test player yet.

Exactly my view on it, I'm not giving up on him in the long term but he has a lot of work to do to be a Test player.

[taylorsworkrate]

Pietersen's had 2 bad test matches, as have the vast majority of the batsmen.

He had an excellent 2011.

England used to chop and change loads in the nineties, and it got them the sum total of fuck all.