The Cricket Thread 2016

[pooligan]

Sorry Ali is a average bowler,look at his average in the county championship if you dont believe me. He takes three wickets of tail enders and i suppose he is world class. When he takes wickets against the likes of the Aussies and the South Africans i will change my opinion

[PaulWinch again]

Yep you're right India are notorious for their inability to play spin...

[PaulWinch again]

Excellent win in the end. Jimmy was brilliant and Cook was finally looking like the old Cook again.

[paul_e]

Sorry Ali is a average bowler,look at his average in the county championship if you dont believe me. He takes three wickets of tail enders and i suppose he is world class. When he takes wickets against the likes of the Aussies and the South Africans i will change my opinion

What a bizarre post, no one has said he's world class, people have said that he looks good enough to stick with and see how he develops.  This match is difficult to judge him on because he doesn't look 'ready' after his injury but he still took 4 for 98, yes they were tail enders but that only diminishes the value of the wickets if you're going out of your way to pick faults.

Aside from any of that who do you bring in as the frontline spinner to replace him?  Tredwell who can't get a game in 4 day cricket so if Moeen's county record is one of the arguments against him then surely that makes Tredwell a non-starter.  So you're left looking at Rashid who I agree should get a chance, but I'd have him in ahead of one of the seamers (probably Stokes right now who showed his immaturity in this test).  Longer term I still think Kerrigan is a better bet than any of them (I don't watch a massive amount of county cricket but he's looked quality every time I've seen him) but he looked lost when he played for England last time (but then so did Woakes who has since come back and shown he deserves to play).

The bigger concern for me is breaking up the 4 medium-fast right arm bowlers that, at times, make us very predictable.  Anderson put in an inspired spell to win us this game (to follow on from a nearly as good spell by Broad in the first innings) but we need to have a plan beyond expecting one of the 2 senior bowlers to have a purple patch.

[pooligan]

Why a bizarre post paul_e ? You have your opinion i have mine. Go on to the BBC cricket website and you will see Boycott and Agnew discussing the inclusion of both Jorden and Ali. Both these guys agree with me over Ali , they know far more about cricket than you ever will with all due respect. I suspect your opinion has a lot to do with you probably being a Pears follower

[pooligan]

In reply to your post Paulwinch again,nowhere did i say India can not play spin. Anyone who follows cricket closely however,will know they do not travel to well and the India team who were here last summer were in their own fans words bloody awful and a disgrace.

[paul_e]

Why a bizarre post paul_e ? You have your opinion i have mine. Go on to the BBC cricket website and you will see Boycott and Agnew discussing the inclusion of both Jorden and Ali. Both these guys agree with me over Ali , they know far more about cricket than you ever will with all due respect. I suspect your opinion has a lot to do with you probably being a Pears follower

No I'm not a pears fan.

It's bizarre for the very reason I said.  No one called him world class on the back of those 3 wickets

You say if he takes wickets in the summer you'll change your opinion but you clearly believe he shouldn't be given the opportunity.  Personally I think he improved so much between SL and India last summer that he deserves a chance to see how far he can go.  I'd certainly prefer that to relying on Tredwell who is the only credible alternative.  Rashid should come in but for a seamer not to replace Moeen.

[PaulWinch again]

Agreed Moeen's development last summer was incredible. I think everyone said he looked undercooked in this Test, but he still took 4-98. That's pretty good.

[Chris Jameson]

I enjoyed Boycott's little rant about Yorkshire putting a lot of money into their Academy and providing players for the England team meaning they are weakend considerably at the moment, whilst some counties would rather fill their side with Kolpac players than give an opportunity to any young players.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

IPL.

I love cricket. I'll watch almost everything on TV. But the IPL has all the allure of a month-old dead fish stuffed with mouldy cheese. I can't even fake an allegiance to a team - they all seem to be called the Royal King's Wallopers XI and play in red (with gold trim) or be called the King's XI Royal Wallopers (and play in yellow). Every year they seem to swap players, and increasingly populate their sides with anonymous Aussies or South Africans, who even in their anonymity are better than our lame would-be Wallopers.

If I do catch a match and plump randomly for a side, I find myself switching as soon as I find it contains Mitchell Johnson (who I'd never tire of poking with a red hot poker, and even if I did I'd hire someone to carry on while I had a nap) only to find the other side has David Warner (who I'd never tire of punching in the face with a glove painted with a likeness of Joe Root, and could probably maintain this whilst napping).

And in between switching sides and working out why I was bothering, I'd be confronted with a close up of some wildly demented supporter's fancy dental work while fireworks and a disco try and distract me from turning over to Homes Under The Hammer.

And then I'd write a letter to The Times. Or H&V.

[Villan For Life]

T20 is not my favourite form of Cricket but I do enjoy it. I like watching the best players in the world in different teams.

If I had to pick a side, it would be Chennai Super Kings who have a wonderful squad:

http://www.iplt20.com/teams/chennai-super-kings/squad

It's a pity that there aren't more English players playing in the IPL, but I guess it's about timing and quality.

[tomd2103]

Why a bizarre post paul_e ? You have your opinion i have mine. Go on to the BBC cricket website and you will see Boycott and Agnew discussing the inclusion of both Jorden and Ali. Both these guys agree with me over Ali , they know far more about cricket than you ever will with all due respect. I suspect your opinion has a lot to do with you probably being a Pears follower

I doubt it will happen, as we all know that the England set up favour the conservative approach, but the general consensus on TMS over the weekend was that Plunkett and Rashid should come in for the next test.  That would mean Jordan and one of Ali or Stokes dropping out.   

[tomd2103]

Why a bizarre post paul_e ? You have your opinion i have mine. Go on to the BBC cricket website and you will see Boycott and Agnew discussing the inclusion of both Jorden and Ali. Both these guys agree with me over Ali , they know far more about cricket than you ever will with all due respect. I suspect your opinion has a lot to do with you probably being a Pears follower

No I'm not a pears fan.

It's bizarre for the very reason I said.  No one called him world class on the back of those 3 wickets

You say if he takes wickets in the summer you'll change your opinion but you clearly believe he shouldn't be given the opportunity.  Personally I think he improved so much between SL and India last summer that he deserves a chance to see how far he can go.  I'd certainly prefer that to relying on Tredwell who is the only credible alternative.  Rashid should come in but for a seamer not to replace Moeen.

Rashid would have to come in for Ali, as Root offers a spinning option as well so there would be no need for all three. 

[Dave Cooper please]

I love Trott but he's not yet in the groove, so I'd like to see Lyth given a chance to open the batting.

[pooligan]

I agree with what you say tom,plus on current form Root is the better batsman.