The Cricket Thread 2016

[Villan For Life]

The thing with Cook is that he's been in terrible form for 2 years. I don't know about Guptill, but I guarantee he wasn't playing that badly for that long. I hope he turns it round, but there comes a point where someone has to be dropped.

May 2013 was his last ton, against New Zealand at Headingley. I can't recall any English batsman lasting as long in the test side without contributing runs.

He's been found out and international sides know exactly where to bowl to him to (a) stop him scoring and (b) induce an edge to the slips, the keeper or for him to play on.

The Kiwis and the Aussies both have bowling attacks that will capitalise on this and bowl to plan. The Aussies are masters at it.

Time to go Mr Cook. Go back to county cricket, go out on loan to a first division side and work on your technique. There's little point in him staying at Essex; second division attacks are average at best. He need to be facing strong county attacks such as those from Warwickshire, Yorkshire and Durham.

[PaulWinch again]

The thing with Cook is that he's been in terrible form for 2 years. I don't know about Guptill, but I guarantee he wasn't playing that badly for that long. I hope he turns it round, but there comes a point where someone has to be dropped.

May 2013 was his last ton, against New Zealand at Headingley. I can't recall any English batsman lasting as long in the test side without contributing runs.

He's been found out and international sides know exactly where to bowl to him to (a) stop him scoring and (b) induce an edge to the slips, the keeper or for him to play on.

The Kiwis and the Aussies both have bowling attacks that will capitalise on this and bowl to plan. The Aussies are masters at it.

Time to go Mr Cook. Go back to county cricket, go out on loan to a first division side and work on your technique. There's little point in him staying at Essex; second division attacks are average at best. He need to be facing strong county attacks such as those from Warwickshire, Yorkshire and Durham.

I'm not sure how much of it is a technical issue, as much as a confidence thing. Being Captain doesn't help, because he's having to think about too much. Cook has never had a great technique, but what he used to be very good at was leaving the ball. He used to have great patience and the bowlers would eventually have to bowl at him and then he'd play his scoring strokes. Now though he's going after deliveries he never would have played. Regardless though the international arena is not the place to try and recover form. He needs to go back to county cricket to regain his confidence and remember how he was successful.

[Dave Cooper please]

If Cook was a brilliant proactive captain then you just might be able to forgive his form, but he isn't.

And Trott needs to go back to number three where is is more comfortable.
We have four more Tests to find a new opening pair before The Ashes and we need to start that procedure straight away.

[Villan For Life]

I think that technique and confidence the same thing. A batsman suffers with a technical issue outside off stump and in turn it affects his confidence.

It's a bit like team spirit. Sides who are sucessful would have you believe they have shedloads of team spirit. In reality they are just as much a band of guys who may or may not on just as you find in every shop, office, factory or struggling sports team.

[PaulWinch again]

If Cook was a brilliant proactive captain then you just might be able to forgive his form, but he isn't.

And Trott needs to go back to number three where is is more comfortable.
We have four more Tests to find a new opening pair before The Ashes and we need to start that procedure straight away.

See I don't think Trott has done enough to oust Ballance as number 3. Ballance had an excellent summer and yesterday was showing signs of getting back to his best. Dropping him for Trott would be basing it on Trott's past form, which isn't the way to go.

[paul_e]

If Cook was a brilliant proactive captain then you just might be able to forgive his form, but he isn't.

And Trott needs to go back to number three where is is more comfortable.
We have four more Tests to find a new opening pair before The Ashes and we need to start that procedure straight away.

See I don't think Trott has done enough to oust Ballance as number 3. Ballance had an excellent summer and yesterday was showing signs of getting back to his best. Dropping him for Trott would be basing it on Trott's past form, which isn't the way to go.

I agree.  After last summer we should be looking at 'undroppables' (for various reasons) of Ballance, Bell, Root, Anderson and Moeen and then the progressing set of Buttler, Woakes, Jordan and hopefully Stokes if he can keep scoring runs and getting a few wickets.  That leaves you looking for an opener and then either another opener or a 2nd spinner.  For the rest of this series I'd stick with Cook (I don't agree with dropping the captain mid tour) and go with the following:

Cook
Lyth
Ballance
Bell
Root
Moeen
Buttler
Stokes
Jordan
Broad
Anderson

Them into the summer Woakes comes in for Broad and if Cook hasn't managed to get runs you push Moeen to the top, Stokes to 6 and Rashid in at 8.  That gives you 6 front line bowlers meaning Rashid, Stokes and Jordan can be used as strike bowlers and go all out for wickets rather than the way the latter 2 have been used so far which has clipped their wings to an extent.  The other advantage is that, with only Anderson as an experienced bowler, if one of them has a bad day it's pretty easy to take them out of the attack for 30-40 overs and not overwork the others.

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah I'd be happy enough with that. I still have some concerns over Woakes ability as a front line bowler in Tests, but he's done fairly well.

[PaulWinch again]

Fine hundred from Ballance. Think that ends talk of Trott at 3.

[Dave Cooper please]

Fine hundred from Ballance. Think that ends talk of Trott at 3.

Not if Ballance opens it doesn't.
Drop Cook, Ballance and Lyth opening, Trott at 3.

[PaulWinch again]

Why move someone who is proving a real success to accommodate someone who hasn't proven he really deserves to be back? Trott was a quality player, but number 3 is Ballance's role now and he's proved very capable. We shouldn't be trying to shoe horn number 3's into being openers. Just play real openers.

[Chris Jameson]

Fine hundred from Ballance. Think that ends talk of Trott at 3.

Not if Ballance opens it doesn't.
Drop Cook, Ballance and Lyth opening, Trott at 3.

Woah! Had enough of England moving our players up and down the order! Ballance hasn't opened the batting for Yorkshire, leave him where he is and where he scores runs please!

[olaftab]

On Ballance he is well suited to one down.

[PaulWinch again]

Fine hundred from Ballance. Think that ends talk of Trott at 3.

Not if Ballance opens it doesn't.
Drop Cook, Ballance and Lyth opening, Trott at 3.

Woah! Had enough of England moving our players up and down the order! Ballance hasn't opened the batting for Yorkshire, leave him where he is and where he scores runs please!

Agree 100%. They've tried to shoehorn Trott in unsuccessfully in this Test let's not mess Ballance about. If Trott is good enough to get in the team he'll get in the team, but currently Ballance is better.

[PaulWinch again]

Jordan is such a good slip.

[Exeter 77]

Great

Jordan is such a good slip.

Great catch