The Cricket Thread 2013

[paul_e]

Another bad over, you can't bowl waist high on leg in international cricket.

Lovely first delivery of the next from Bres, more like that and we'll get some joy.  2nd was similar.

[PaulWinch again]

Bit harsh on Bres Paul, this is the best I've seen him bowl in about 2 years. He's got some nip back and is keeping it tight. Woakes has been really poor.

[PaulWinch again]

I see England have called up Boyd Rankin to the squad, obviously they've watched Dernbach and realised he's hopeless.

[PaulWinch again]

I just don't get the obsession with Dernbach, he's the most expensive bowler in ODI cricket. I just don't rate him, they bang on about his variations but he's all over the place.

[PaulWinch again]

Desperate wicketkeeping from Buttler.

[Villan For Life]

I just don't get the obsession with Dernbach, he's the most expensive bowler in ODI cricket. I just don't rate him, they bang on about his variations but he's all over the place.

Woakes isn't the answer and neither is Rankin. Woakes is not an international class bowler and Rankin is far too wayward. We will really miss Broad and Finn in the next couple of games.

[Villan For Life]

Fine innings from Guptil. Exactly what England needed and didn't get.

[PaulWinch again]

I just don't get the obsession with Dernbach, he's the most expensive bowler in ODI cricket. I just don't rate him, they bang on about his variations but he's all over the place.

Woakes isn't the answer and neither is Rankin. Woakes is not an international class bowler and Rankin is far too wayward. We will really miss Broad and Finn in the next couple of games.

Indeed I can't see Woakes ever being an international bowler.

[PaulWinch again]

I'm glad Guptill got his century he earned it and that was a bit of a hammering.

[paul_e]

Bit harsh on Bres Paul, this is the best I've seen him bowl in about 2 years. He's got some nip back and is keeping it tight. Woakes has been really poor.

The bad over comment was about woakes not bres.  I thought swann, jimmy and bres bowled really well today.

woakes really struggled but it's harsh to say he's not international class because of it, he needs a bit of time to see if he can step up.  I still think there is a special player in there, he's very intelligent with the ball and bats well enough to score big runs at the death.  He looked a bit out of his depth today, dropping him would ruin his confidence though so they need to give him the next game as the minimum.

Dernbach was the same as he always is, lots of poor deliveries which were punished and made him expensive but enough good deliveries for the selectors to still think there's something there to work with.  The LBW that was overturned was a peach for example, and he had a beauty of an inswinging yorker in the same spell that deserved something.  If he could stop drifting onto leg he'd be a good ODI bowler but that tendency for the ball to slip out the side just makes him expensive and frustrating.

[Dave Cooper please]

A lot of comments on the bowling here but if your batsmen can only score 227 0n a decent pitch then they are on a hiding to nothing really.
Woakes was poor though, and he hasn't yet shown anything in International cricket. One who will only ever be a good County player maybe? Time yet but he needs to do something soon or he will just get forgotten by the selectors.

[PaulWinch again]

A lot of comments on the bowling here but if your batsmen can only score 227 0n a decent pitch then they are on a hiding to nothing really.
Woakes was poor though, and he hasn't yet shown anything in International cricket. One who will only ever be a good County player maybe? Time yet but he needs to do something soon or he will just get forgotten by the selectors.

Yeah I'd agree with that and the principle problem was batsmen getting in and then out, we've been doing that quite a lot lately in ODIs.

[Steve R]

...

The turgid batting was a understandable to a degree, Cook personally wanted to push the score along, blocking up the other end to avoid losing early wickets wasn't such  bad idea.

...

Against a side who lost their best fast bowler after 2 overs and on a pitch that was as predictable as a car park at the time?

It's hardly a one man attack and in NZ they looked pretty useful on pitches far blander than Lords against a batting line-up that hasn't been that solid since the capitulation to Pakistan in the UAE.

[JD]

New Zealand aren't a bad One Day Team and on their day can beat anyone, so don't underestimate them. Guptill is a very classy one day and T20 batsmen. 
England just didn't score enough. You need 260+ to even be competitive in one-dayers nowadays. 

[The Left Side]

Looks like a nice day at Edgbaston