The Cricket Thread 2016

[pooligan]

Can we sink any lower,i doubt it. As for our captain Morgan,that is now 5 ducks in 11 innings which equals the record set by Mike Brearley years ago,just how many chances does this guy get

[PaulWinch again]

 'The reality is we are not overloaded with a lot of high-class one-day players back at home."

Oh dear Moores is turning on the players now.

[PaulWinch again]

"We prepared well. We covered the right stuff, but we haven't played well. We have to take that."

No Peter you clearly haven't prepared well and covered the right stuff. That's why we bombed massively. The bowling unit is completely wrong, the batting should be ok. You don't change your team on the eve of the tournament.

[aev]

Watching the better teams and watching England, it is like 2 different games are being played. We also look a little more competitive at home, but seem to massively struggle in one day stuff as soon as we are away. We need to let our players get some more exposure to overseas conditions - the problem is though, they are so lacking in form even if they get picked by an IPL franchise they aren't good enough to play.

I don't think Moores comes across as particularly inspiring - a little like PL perhaps. Maybe they need to take a look at the Aussie approach - pick some players and tell them to go and express themselves.

It is disappointing but I am not getting too razzed up over it.....being an old git (just turned 40) it is all about the Test matches for me.

[paul_e]

Watching the better teams and watching England, it is like 2 different games are being played. We also look a little more competitive at home, but seem to massively struggle in one day stuff as soon as we are away. We need to let our players get some more exposure to overseas conditions - the problem is though, they are so lacking in form even if they get picked by an IPL franchise they aren't good enough to play.

I don't think Moores comes across as particularly inspiring - a little like PL perhaps. Maybe they need to take a look at the Aussie approach - pick some players and tell them to go and express themselves.

It is disappointing but I am not getting too razzed up over it.....being an old git (just turned 40) it is all about the Test matches for me.

I prefer test cricket so I'm largely with you but the issues we've had in tests mirror those we have in ODIs, we're just too passive for long spells, everything is safety first, don't get over-confident, don't give things away trying to do something different and then as soon as the opposition mix it up and get something go their way we're instantly on the back foot scrambling to get the game back to the dull sedate nothing we're comfortable.  There's a time and a place for taking the heat out of the game and it's not every time we bat, in every format, until the required run rate gets too high.  When you see England players going out in T20 games or late in ODIs and trying to build an innings it's pretty clear that the mindset is so ingrained it's acting asa noose around the players.

[aev]

A Test match sometimes dictates a period of digging in, taking the heat out of the situation, and I have no issue with that - our issue is we seem to do it the shorter forms.

[paul_e]

A Test match sometimes dictates a period of digging in, taking the heat out of the situation, and I have no issue with that - our issue is we seem to do it the shorter forms.

Exactly my point on the shorter formats.

However tests also have periods where going after the bowlers for a session ca be the difference, and we rarely do that either.

As I say, separate coach for ODI and T20, separate central contracts, separate selectors.  Lets start treating it as the same difference as rugby and rugby 7's and pick players who are the best for that format.  By giving ODI/T20 central contracts we can put pressure on those players and their counties to get them exposure in the IPL, Big Bash, etc and try to develop players who have experience in those conditions rather than a team of identikit back foot batsmen and medium-fast swing bowlers.

The first thing to do is build the short format team around Buttler, he's a genuine world class talent in those formats and the game plan/setup should be about giving him the time and opportunity to break teams, like Maxwell did for Australia the other day.

[aev]

A Test match sometimes dictates a period of digging in, taking the heat out of the situation, and I have no issue with that - our issue is we seem to do it the shorter forms.

Exactly my point on the shorter formats.

However tests also have periods where going after the bowlers for a session ca be the difference, and we rarely do that either.

As I say, separate coach for ODI and T20, separate central contracts, separate selectors.  Lets start treating it as the same difference as rugby and rugby 7's and pick players who are the best for that format.  By giving ODI/T20 central contracts we can put pressure on those players and their counties to get them exposure in the IPL, Big Bash, etc and try to develop players who have experience in those conditions rather than a team of identikit back foot batsmen and medium-fast swing bowlers.

The first thing to do is build the short format team around Buttler, he's a genuine world class talent in those formats and the game plan/setup should be about giving him the time and opportunity to break teams, like Maxwell did for Australia the other day.

You might possibly get the players to an IPL franchise, but they would struggle at present to get any of them game time. From memory Morgan didn't play that much recently.

It is also worth noting that Maxwell didn't do that much when he was over here recently.

I think we are a little bit hampered by our structure - if you started from scratch you wouldn't have this number of first class counties. Many of them are also redeveloping grounds, and bidding for tests. I think we spread ourselves too thinly to be honest.  The 2 division structure has helped, but only in so much that the first division is a lot more competitive than the second. Those that get promoted tend to go straight back down again. I genuinely think we should have gone down the franchise route for T20 stuff, but again counties would be reluctant to go for this.

[UK Redsox]

"We prepared well. We covered the right stuff, but we haven't played well. We have to take that."

No Peter you clearly haven't prepared well and covered the right stuff. That's why we bombed massively. The bowling unit is completely wrong, the batting should be ok. You don't change your team on the eve of the tournament.

He might as well have said "we go again"

[olaftab]

Disappointing as I expected better.

[paul_e]

A Test match sometimes dictates a period of digging in, taking the heat out of the situation, and I have no issue with that - our issue is we seem to do it the shorter forms.

Exactly my point on the shorter formats.

However tests also have periods where going after the bowlers for a session ca be the difference, and we rarely do that either.

As I say, separate coach for ODI and T20, separate central contracts, separate selectors.  Lets start treating it as the same difference as rugby and rugby 7's and pick players who are the best for that format.  By giving ODI/T20 central contracts we can put pressure on those players and their counties to get them exposure in the IPL, Big Bash, etc and try to develop players who have experience in those conditions rather than a team of identikit back foot batsmen and medium-fast swing bowlers.

The first thing to do is build the short format team around Buttler, he's a genuine world class talent in those formats and the game plan/setup should be about giving him the time and opportunity to break teams, like Maxwell did for Australia the other day.

You might possibly get the players to an IPL franchise, but they would struggle at present to get any of them game time. From memory Morgan didn't play that much recently.

It is also worth noting that Maxwell didn't do that much when he was over here recently.

I think we are a little bit hampered by our structure - if you started from scratch you wouldn't have this number of first class counties. Many of them are also redeveloping grounds, and bidding for tests. I think we spread ourselves too thinly to be honest.  The 2 division structure has helped, but only in so much that the first division is a lot more competitive than the second. Those that get promoted tend to go straight back down again. I genuinely think we should have gone down the franchise route for T20 stuff, but again counties would be reluctant to go for this.

I agree that a franchise model would've been much better.

[PaulWinch again]

As said above our issues in ODI cricket are the same as we have in Tests. Let's not assume we're a good Test side, because we beat India last summer. I can see us getting hammered by NZ and Australia this summer. We have some good players but the culture is all wrong.

[Villan For Life]

As said above our issues in ODI cricket are the same as we have in Tests. Let's not assume we're a good Test side, because we beat India last summer. I can see us getting hammered by NZ and Australia this summer. We have some good players but the culture is all wrong.

That's pretty much as I see it. Moores is a poor coach. We need a no-nonsense disciplinarian coach before we suffer even greater humiliation

[tomd2103]

As said above our issues in ODI cricket are the same as we have in Tests. Let's not assume we're a good Test side, because we beat India last summer. I can see us getting hammered by NZ and Australia this summer. We have some good players but the culture is all wrong.

Not so sure Paul.  I think we are OK in tests,  particularly at home and if the ball is moving around.  Whether OK will be good enough against Australia, we'll have to wait and see. 

I thought Rob Key made a very good point after the game.  He said that had Hales been facing an attack of that quality playing for Notts at Trent Bridge, he would have been hitting them to all parts of the ground.  For some reason, when they come into the England set up, they go into their shell and don't play their natural game. 

[JD]

There are calls in this part of the world (mainly across the ditch) for England to join the minor nations and have to qualify for future World Cups. With the same set up and attitude I doubt England would even qualify.

I did point out to the NZers who laughed today that they lost their last one say series v Bangladesh 4-0.

Anyway, congratulations to Bangladesh, who outplayed England in a winner takes all match.