The Cricket Thread 2013

[TheTimVilla]

VFL - I think it could be applied to any batsman! Scoring big against Bangladesh but not South Africa, Australia, etc wouldn't keep an opener in the side for long. As you say, his bowling is not in question and some pitches will suit him. Seven is too high for him and Siddle, should he bat 8, will probably score more runs than Bres.

[eastie]

Bring it on - lets win the toss , take advantage of a bit of cloud and blow those Aussies away !

[eastie]

Got the whole Ashes booked off work. I'm ridiculously excited about this. Like a kid at Christmas or Eastie on Transfer Deadline Day.

You lucky toad, i am off till Monday but am touring York , scarborough and Whitby at the weekend - when I return to work i will be on 6-2 so will be home by 2-20 in my chair watching proceedings.

[eastie]

@BeefyBotham: Very overcast at Trent Bridge this morning ! The light is a worry at the moment !  Don't need any delays...it's the Ashes ! #comeonengland

Interesting - hearing Aussies are going with 2 spinners.

[paul_e]

I wouldn't pick Bresnan for his Test batting anyway.

No neither would I, but it's the reason England will pick him if we do. We should really pick Finn. In a four man attack you need four strike bowlers.

Bresnan averages over 30 with the bat which is easily enough to bat at 7 or 8.  He also offers good economy, can bowl long spells and takes enough wickets to be the 4th seamer.  As I said earlier in the thread, the discussion should be around starting him or bairstow and is entirely based on whether we want the extra bowling option or not.

His figures are skewed by his top score being 91 against Bangladesh. Take that one score out and his average is 20.

Take out the top score of any player and their average would be lower though.  Add to that he's only been at the crease 17 times in 18 matches but has 3 50s in that time and 3 not outs.

His record with the bat is pretty similar to Bairstow so does Bairstow offer enough in the field (given he's technically a wicketkeeper) to outdo the fielding and bowling Bresnan provides.  As I've said earlier I personally believe Prior is too good to bat at 7, picking bresnan allows you to move Prior up to 6, gives you more options with the ball and doesn't significantly weaken the batting line up.  It also takes some pressure off Root/Trott/KP having to come on and bowl a few overs when we're struggling.

Of course if Prior doesn't want to move up you probably have to pick Bairstow at 6

[TheTimVilla]

I wasn't taking out his top score because it was his top score. I was ignoring it because of the quality of the opposition.

[Bernie]

Interesting- the Aussies have picked a 19 year old left-arm spinner to make his Test Debut- Ashton Agar

[Villan For Life]

Interesting- the Aussies have picked an left-arm spinner to make his Test Debut- Ashton Agar

19 years old and has played 10 first class matches.

If you listen closely you will hear the sound of the bottom of a barrel being scraped.

[PaulWinch again]

Interesting they've picked Agar.

[paul_e]

I wasn't taking out his top score because it was his top score. I was ignoring it because of the quality of the opposition.

but you can't do that, Bangladesh have official test match status so scores against them count.

I like Finn and Bresnan and I think Bresnan has enough potential with the bat that we can consider him at 7 so both can play, it may backfire but I think it's worth a look after 2 and half years of struggling to replace Collingwood and seeing lots of middle order batsmen fail.

[PaulWinch again]

Bairstow hasn't been given a fair crack yet and he deserves that.

[UK Redsox]

Interesting they've picked Agar.

How quick will he gel with the rest of the team ?

[UK Redsox]

TMS on the air

[eastie]

Here we go - a good first session would be nice.

[eastie]

TMS on the air

Might watch sky and listen to tms - i like boycott.

Bit overcast but England win the toss and choose to bat - the advantage of the Aussies facing swann batting last is a big one- bit worried about cloud cover - lets hope the Aussies dont swing it .