The Cricket Thread 2014

[taylorsworkrate]

Really should have bowled them out for under 200 with the conditions yesterday. Bowled poorly in the first session, ok in the second and horrendously in the third.

Pundit's have been saying that Plunkett is the quickest bowler in England. Well if that's true then we are in trouble. Rarely seen him bowl a ball above 86/87 mph so far this summer.

[Villan For Life]

When the batsmen continually fail and go many innings without reaching 400 then the batting coach gets stick. Gooch paid the price for this after the winter Ashes series. Yet no-one seems to blame David Saker the bowling coach when his attack cannot finish teams off.

Either the players are too stubborn or stupid to follow team plans or the bowling coach is at fault. I read somewhere earlier this week - it could have been on here - that Simon Jones talks sensibly about fast bowling and even Boycott sat and listened whch isn't like him at all. Time for a change.

[PaulWinch again]

It's not so much the pace of Plunkett that bothers me, it's that the way we use him is completely ineffective. If you bowl short balls all the time the batsmen get used to it and it's easy to deal with. Also he's massively inconsistent and I think there are better options.

It's a big day today, we need to bowl at both batsmen to get them out. Trying to keep Shami off strike was one of the most ridiculous tactics I've ever seen. It's annoying when they have a tailender one end and a proper batsman the other and they only try to get the tailender out. But to use that tactic when you have the number 10 and 11 in is absolutely crazy. Also all the balls that got the proper batsmen out yesterday were a good length to full, so why do they think bowling short is the way to go at the tail? Genuinely clueless.

Once the last wicket goes we have to bat and bat well, because Cook's reign should really depend on it.

[PaulWinch again]

I see Cook and Warne have settled their differences with an hour long phone call.

[UK Redsox]

Stephen Fry ringing the bell at Lord's

Hopefully he'll be a guest on TMS later

[PaulWinch again]

Shami gone, right at least they got it right this morning. Now it's time for Cook to step up.

[UK Redsox]

Well, at least he made it to double figures

[PGW]

The knives will be out once again.....Cook out for 10

[PaulWinch again]

He simply can't keep failing like this, I can't remember an England player be on this bad a run of form for this long who's not been dropped.

[Villan For Life]

I think that for the sake of Cook's long term value as an England batsman let alone captain, he needs time away from the side.

[PaulWinch again]

Oh dear as expected Kumar is showing us how to bowl.

[paul_e]

It's not knives out, I like Cook, he's clearly a talented batsman when he has form, you don't get the amount of career runs he has without that, but right now his head is a mess, for a year he's been awful.  His last 24 innings have an average of 23 - that's not good enough to be an international opener, and he's getting worse, in australia he at least got a few 50s, this summer his best was a very streaky 28.

[Ads]

Cook has to go. His form is affecting the entire side with his woeful batting and his poor tactics in the field.

Really poor from Robson too. We could be on for a sub 200 score if we keep playing poor shots like that.

[OzVilla]

He simply can't keep failing like this, I can't remember an England player be on this bad a run of form for this long who's not been dropped.

I seem to recall Vaughan having a couple of really poor runs, one of which ended with 150+ at Old Trafford against Australia in 05.

[Chris Jameson]

All those saying Cook has to go, who is there to replace him?