The Cricket Thread 2016

[paul_e]

I think it's mostly that, at the very highest level, the quality of batsmen is so high that they make it look easy to smack good line and length deliveries into the crowd.  Look at Bell, and in particular his record for Warwickshire over the last few years between his time with England, he;s 2 or 3 steps above the average county player and the difference in quality is obvious.  Take that talent, give them a version of the game that pays them a fortune to be wreckless and the outcome is that you get what we're seeing at ODI level.

There are other issues, the white balls aren't as good as the red ones and should be replaced/improved and the wides for anything that goes down leg rule needs to be reconsidered, I'm also not sure if the powerplays have any value any more either.  That said I don't think changing those things will see it go back to ODIs where 250-270 is regularly a defended target, T20, for better or worse, has changed the attitudes of players and what we're now seeing is England realise as much and join the likes of NZ, Aus, SA and India who were already there.

[Chris Smith]

Recent England performances have been so refreshing. They have picked the right players, allowed them to play their natural game and seemingly created some genuine team spirit.  Kevin who?

[Villan For Life]

What a vibrant brand of cricket we're playing. It's been a joy to watch, particularly after a woeful World Cup.

It's been quite a turn around and I wonder if it's purely the Farbrace effect or if Trevor Bayliss has issued instructions to his trusted number 2?

I do think the game gives too much favour to batsmen and things do need to be equalled out a little. Maybe the powerplays should be adjusted to try and address the dominance of the bat and make things a little more balanced. That has to be for the good of the game in the long run.

[PaulWinch again]

With the form that Morgan is in he might be back in with a shout of pushing for the Test side, which I know he's stated he wants to do.

[Dave Cooper please]

Looks like we'll be chasing a score in excess of 350 again

This is rapidly becoming the norm, on a decent pitch the side batting first have got to be looking at 375+ every time now.

These New Zealanders can come over here to play anytime, they play the game in the right way and they have bought the best out of the "New" England in both Tests and ODIs.

[Dave Cooper please]

You do wonder though, with the pitches so run-friendly and the ball not swinging, we might as well just use bowling machines and see who can biff the ball further.

Not really, because the difference between the two teams today was the bowling of Finn and Wood. Their figures may not look great compared to games in the past but no NZ bowler could get close to the control those two had.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

You do wonder though, with the pitches so run-friendly and the ball not swinging, we might as well just use bowling machines and see who can biff the ball further.

Not really, because the difference between the two teams today was the bowling of Finn and Wood. Their figures may not look great compared to games in the past but no NZ bowler could get close to the control those two had.

That's a reasonable point, but for me a key part of the game is the input from the playing conditions - the variability contributed by pitch and ball. One day pitches are now seemingly tailored so that the batsman can count on a reliable bounce and no seaming so that they can clock up another notch on the six counter.

It's sort of fun, but it is hopelessly one-sided for me. And that's not cricket. Still, in the era of IPL et al. That's the way the world wags so I might as well suck it up.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

And further to this: even reverse swing has been eliminated almost entirely by the introduction of two balls.

[Villan For Life]

I think the white balls have something to do with it. They used to swing once the lacquer wore off, but a ball that is say 20 overs old that is being used in the 40th over should offer the bowler some assistance.

They've been experimenting with a pink ball in the MCC games. I wonder if it's time to extend that trial? Something has to be done to redress the balance.

[Chris Smith]

I heard the commentators chatting recently and they made the point that the one day game regularly goes through phases where batsmen seem to be having it all their own way only for bowlers and their coaches to figure out a way of countering it and then the cycle starts again. In another couple of years the debate will probably shift the other way. To me that constant evolution is one of the reasons the game is so fascinating.

[Villan For Life]

I hope that happens Chris and that England are for once innovators rather than continuing to play a version of the short game that is outdated. We've lagged behind the top nations for the best part of 25 years.

[paul_e]

Chris is probably partially right there, I still think the white balls nee to be reviewed though, 2 of them was supposed to help but really has the opposite effect of giving the batting side 2 balls that come of the bat well for and therefore doubling the early benefit.  That the main reason why I've long advocated the Hales approach at the top, come out and thrash at everything for 10-15 overs whilst the ball is new so the ones off the toe of the bat or outside edge still go flying to the rope.  Make no mistake we won the game yesterday because Hales put us totally in control after 12overs, from that point just batting sensibly and not losing wickets was going to be enough.  It meant Root could just play his natural game of picking the gaps and running singles and Morgan had a period where he could get used to the pitch and punish the bad deliveries and then once it all felt controlled he just opened up.

Back to a single ball, make it shinier and give it a more pronounced seam so things start to happen off the pitch and the gap closes as much as it needs to.  I still think 300-350 will be standard, that will always be the case from now on (unless they're playing on potato fields) because of the T20 mindset, if you get to 30-35 overs with wickets in hand you go big, that won't change, what might change is how many risks batsmen take in those 30-35 overs.

[Chris Jameson]

Glenn Maxwell who I believe is a very destructive twenty20 cricketer has only got into double figures once for Yorkshire this season playing proper cricket. Heard a commentary of a Yorkshire match earlier this season where they were having a little wobble and he was playing as if it was a twenty20 trying to belt each delivery out of the ground, he didn't last long.

[PaulWinch again]

There will be a shift back to the bowlers soon. I think the biggest problem is the fielding restrictions. But overall spectators are enjoying the games and that's the most important thing. Cricket needs to drive up interest and the Tests and ODIs against New Zealand have been brilliant for that. New Zealand are a quality team and I'd love to go and watch them play in New Zealand.

[PaulWinch again]

I see Finn has made the pre-Ashes training camp which is good to see.