The Cricket Thread 2014

[PaulWinch again]

Thing is it's not just the coach it's the whole culture that needs changing. There seems to be a core of senior players and if you're not in with them, then you're out. That is completely counter productive as has been highlighted by KP's dismissal. Carberry's revelations back that up, that if you're not in that select group then you're effectively on your own. That culture is completely unacceptable, England need a culture of performance being rewarded regardless of your personality. We should be able to manage different personalities, not just try and mould everyone into clones. There is something very wrong with the team at the moment.

[Villan For Life]

There is something very wrong with the team at the moment.

I agree. There appear to be deep-seated problems. It's funny how the issues never surfaced when we were beating all and sundry in our march to the summit of world cricket. We beat India at Edbaston in August 2011 to claim the test "mace". Perversely we were rated the number one ODI side around the same time. We've gone backwards since then and the problems have surfaced.

[spangley1812]

Thing is it's not just the coach it's the whole culture that needs changing. There seems to be a core of senior players and if you're not in with them, then you're out. That is completely counter productive as has been highlighted by KP's dismissal. Carberry's revelations back that up, that if you're not in that select group then you're effectively on your own. That culture is completely unacceptable, England need a culture of performance being rewarded regardless of your personality. We should be able to manage different personalities, not just try and mould everyone into clones. There is something very wrong with the team at the moment.

Who are you saying this core/select group of players is Paul..........you can only mean Cook, Bell, Broad and Jimmy is that right ?

[Villan For Life]

82 runs of the last 5 overs by the Windies. That was some violent hitting.

[PaulWinch again]

Thing is it's not just the coach it's the whole culture that needs changing. There seems to be a core of senior players and if you're not in with them, then you're out. That is completely counter productive as has been highlighted by KP's dismissal. Carberry's revelations back that up, that if you're not in that select group then you're effectively on your own. That culture is completely unacceptable, England need a culture of performance being rewarded regardless of your personality. We should be able to manage different personalities, not just try and mould everyone into clones. There is something very wrong with the team at the moment.

Who are you saying this core/select group of players is Paul..........you can only mean Cook, Bell, Broad and Jimmy is that right ?

I think Prior is in there as well, I know he was dropped but it was suggested he dropped himself as much as anything.

[PaulWinch again]

Darren Sammy really is brilliant.

[PaulWinch again]

There is something very wrong with the team at the moment.

I agree. There appear to be deep-seated problems. It's funny how the issues never surfaced when we were beating all and sundry in our march to the summit of world cricket. We beat India at Edbaston in August 2011 to claim the test "mace". Perversely we were rated the number one ODI side around the same time. We've gone backwards since then and the problems have surfaced.

I know you can't highlight one moment when it all started to go wrong, but I remember when we slipped from number 1 spot and Flower was asked is there the desire to get back and he said something along the lines of, 'not really we've achieved that now.' That symbolised the beginning of the end, because you should always want to be and remain at number 1.

[Villan For Life]

There is something very wrong with the team at the moment.

I agree. There appear to be deep-seated problems. It's funny how the issues never surfaced when we were beating all and sundry in our march to the summit of world cricket. We beat India at Edbaston in August 2011 to claim the test "mace". Perversely we were rated the number one ODI side around the same time. We've gone backwards since then and the problems have surfaced.

I know you can't highlight one moment when it all started to go wrong, but I remember when we slipped from number 1 spot and Flower was asked is there the desire to get back and he said something along the lines of, 'not really we've achieved that now.' That symbolised the beginning of the end, because you should always want to be and remain at number 1.

I think that's a fundamental issue with sport in this country. We saw it with the rugby guys after RWC 2003; the side that won the Ashes in 2005 and now this current crop of players.

They work hard with the desired aim of reaching a shared goal. Sir Clive was obsessed with winning the RWC and Vaughan/Fletcher were planning for the 2005 Ashes for about two years beforehand. Strauss and Flower both stated a desire to be the number one test nation. They achieve it and sit back, safe in the knowledge that they're made for life on the after dinner speech circuit.

Contrast that with the Aussies who don't seem to rest on their laurels and want to build a sporting legacy of success. This is a winning mentality that comes from a positive sporting culture.

[PaulWinch again]

Yes I agree there does seem to be something about our sporting culture, but it's up to those sports teams to change that. The England cricket team has hit absolute rock bottom and now need to rebuild with a fresh start. That means no more cliques, it needs to be a positive and supportive team environment.

[taylorsworkrate]

Yes I agree there does seem to be something about our sporting culture, but it's up to those sports teams to change that. The England cricket team has hit absolute rock bottom and now need to rebuild with a fresh start. That means no more cliques, it needs to be a positive and supportive team environment.

Like what the English rugby team now appears to be.

[paul_e]

The rugby comparison isn't really fair, there was a lot more to the 'fall' than simply resting on their laurels, half the squad retired within 2 years, a couple spent a few years struggling with injuries and it was on the backdrop of a shift from amateur to professional clubs and all the upheaval from that.  We lost a generation due to the change but implemented a very solid academy structure which has taken 9-10years to show the rewards but we're now an incredibly strong squad with a genuine chance for the world cup next year and every year we're getting stronger, with 4-5 world class players appearing each season.  If cricket can learn from that and develop a similar structure then this current drop in form will prove to be well worth it.

[PaulWinch again]

It annoyed me to see Cook say that getting rid of KP 'took guts'. Not really Alastair, creating a scapegoat rather than confronting the real issues doesn't take guts at all, it's pretty cowardly.

[spangley1812]

Kevin Pietersen axing took a lot of guts, says Alastair Cook

Test captain Alastair Cook says it took "a lot of guts and consideration" to end Kevin Pietersen's England career.

Cook, 29, who was influential in the batsman's exit in February, said England's dressing room would be stronger without the batsman.

Speaking about Pietersen's axing for the first time, Cook told the BBC: "We all know how important team culture and team unity is.

"It was obviously a very big and important decision."

Pietersen, 33, England's all-time leading run-scorer across all formats, was told of the decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on 4 February.

The South African-born cricketer scored 8,181 runs at an average of 47.28 in 104 Tests, in addition to 4,440 runs in 136 one-day internationals and 1,176 runs in 37 Twenty20s.

Cook was part of a three-man panel who told him of their decision after England's disastrous 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia, and he expects the reasons to be made public soon.

"I know things will become clearer in a little bit of time," he said. "I know it is frustrating. It is frustrating for me because I have not totally been able to tell my side of the story. People just have to be a little bit patient."

Cook has pledged to work with the new head coach to restore England's fortunes after a disappointing winter, including Ashes defeat and an early World Twenty20 exit in Bangladesh.

Andy Flower resigned as team director in January after the Ashes defeat.

Flower split coaching duties with limited-overs coach Ashley Giles in 2012 and focused on the Test side, but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) want the new head coach to be responsible for the national team in all formats of the game.

Giles says he wants the job but Cook accepts the ECB may look beyond the former Warwickshire director of cricket, who this year has overseen a 4-1 one-day and 3-0 T20 series defeats in Australia and a group stage exit from the World Twenty20.

"Me, the new coach and the senior players have a responsibility to take this new England side forward," Cook said.

"The arguments are each and all. Someone from the domestic game knows the England side very well and that gives him an advantage. But if they have a totally fresh outlook from not being involved, you have that side of the coin as well. You are looking for the best candidate and best coach.

"Now the winter has gone and we are at the start of a new era. Clearly it has only just finished and the dust hasn't quite settled on the Twenty20 but we have to regroup."

Meanwhile, England batting coach Graham Gooch was also asked about the future of English cricket after a disappointing winter.

He told BBC Sport: "I don't know what will be going on until the new coach is appointed. I continue to work with the players and the England set-up and keep working until we find out what happened.

"Whoever is appointed as coach will have his own ideas, his vision of England cricket. The team that has performed for England did brilliantly in winning Ashes three times, reaching number one, but that team is being dismantled. Things move, you have to move on and rebuild."

Gooch, England's all-time leading run-scorer with 8,900 in 118 Tests, also backed captain Cook.

"He is the best man to captain England," he said. "He will come to be a lot stronger after what has happened. It is not that important if you get knocked down, it is how you get up that counts.

"He is a fighter, he is the best England player I have ever worked with. He has been a model professional, is disciplined and will put his body on the line for his country.

"If you wanted an ideal role model as a cricketer, Alastair Cook would be that man. He is certainly the future of English cricket."

[spangley1812]

Never heard of this bloke but he seems worth considering

New South Wales coach Trevor Bayliss has the man-management skills to lead England, says former Australia fast bowler Geoff Lawson.

Bayliss, 51, is among the leading contenders to land a new position as head of all senior England teams following Andy Flower's departure.

"England no doubt feel a new coach will need to manage a few people and that is his real strength," Lawson said.

"He's relaxed, calming and able to get the best out of players."

Trevor Bayliss
Born: Goulburn, New South Wales, 21 December 1962

First-class career: 58 matches, 3,060 runs, average 35.58, wickets 8, bowling average 26.50

Coaching highlights: Reached 2011 World Cup final with Sri Lanka, won inaugural Big Bash League in Australia in 2012 with Sydney Sixers and the Indian Premier League with Kolkata Knight Riders.

He added: "He never gets overly excited or overly depressed by the game or by performances and he's got great knowledge."

England batsman Michael Carberry, who played in all five Tests during last winter's Ashes whitewash in Australia, has criticised the man-management skills  of the England coaches.

Lawson, 56, was instrumental in New South Wales' appointment of fellow Australian Bayliss, who arrived as coach in 2013 after leading Sri Lanka to a narrow defeat in the 2011 World Cup final and winning the Indian Premier League title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012.

Bayliss also coaches the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, Australia's Twenty20 competition, winning the inaugural competition in 2012. 

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier and managing director Paul Downton will meet with candidates for the position of England head coach  in the week beginning 14 April, with a shortlist also understood to include Lancashire coach Peter Moores - the former England coach - and Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell.

England limited-overs coach Ashley Giles, who ended their failed World Twenty20 campaign on Monday with a shock defeat by the Netherlands, is also regarded as one of the favourites for the role.

New South Wales said there was an "initial approach" by the ECB, and that Bayliss was "willing to listen to them if they approach him again". 

Lawson, who played 48 Tests between 1980 and 1989, said Bayliss would want the option to recall former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who was sacked following the 5-0 Ashes whitewash by Australia, should he be appointed.

"That would be a big part of any equation," Lawson said in an interview carried by Cricket Australia's website.  "As any head coach in international cricket these days, you've got to have control in what happens around you.

"It's like being made the boss of a business. If they give you staff you're not happy with and they don't do the job, the business crashes, so all those things would need to be in place."

[cdbearsfan]

If West Indies Women had got themselves all out after ten overs, West Indies Men would still have a chance to win this!