The Cricket Thread 2016

[PaulWinch again]

It's a bit worrying about how slow our pace bowlers are bowling, but it's probably because the batsmen gave them very little rest. We're going to lose this game short of a miracle batting performance in the second innings, so we need to try and take some positives into the third Test. That means Lyth, Ballance, Bell and Buttler doing a lot better with the bat.

[aj2k77]

Rogers dropped on 0
Smith on 50
Warner on 4

Over 400 runs from 3 drops.

[Chris Jameson]

If the Rogers 'drop' was the Root chance I think that's stretching it a bit to describe it as such!

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah the Root one was a half chance at best, but Smith and Warmer should have been caught. The bowlers really need to hit the pitch harder, not that it matters now. We've just got to bat a lot better in the second innings.

[PaulWinch again]

We need the top order to do a lot better. We've been finding ourselves 3/4 down for less than 50 on a regular basis. It's not good enough.

[PaulWinch again]

We need to stop producing flat slow wickets. They don't benefit us at all, all they do is make medium fast bowlers ineffective. It's bloody stupid. You can't set up wickets because you fear the opposition. You back your team to perform.

[adrenachrome]

We need to stop producing flat slow wickets. They don't benefit us at all, all they do is make medium fast bowlers ineffective. It's bloody stupid. You can't set up wickets because you fear the opposition. You back your team to perform.

They are coming under fire from all quarters for this policy, and it will be interesting to see if they persist with it. If they do, then I predict that the Edgbaston pitch will make this Lords strip seem like Trent Bridge when they had Richard Hadlee.

[OzVilla]

I really haven't seen much of Lyth but based on what I have this Summer he looks no where near good enough.

[PaulWinch again]

He looks a bit flaky to me, but I think he should be given until the end of the series.

[Chris Jameson]

They ballsed up massively by not playing Lyth in the West Indies, he would either have scored a load of runs and gone into the summer full of confidence or struggled and they'd be trying somebody out against New Zealand.

He's had a poor couple of innings and the dropped catch won't have helped but I've seen a lot of him at Yorkshire where he's a class batsman and a superb slip fielder, hope he comes good, it's not that long ago he scored a century against New Zealand.

[PaulWinch again]

Yep let's hope so. But I always thought Robson looked class for Middlesex and he got a good hundred too. Hopefully Lyth won't fall away like he has.

[taylorsworkrate]

This pitch is still desperately dead. Being out for 300 on it is pretty awful

[paul_e]

This pitch is still desperately dead. Being out for 300 on it is pretty awful

That's all about the scoreboard pressure though chasing 500+ does funny things to people and when you've got a few struggling for form in there as well it's always going to be a problem

[taylorsworkrate]

Our top order tends to struggle even without scoreboard pressure in fairness.

[OzVilla]

We can inflict a little mental damage on Clarke if we can knock him over cheaply.

I just hope we make them work hard in our 2nd innings, no confidence sapping capitulations please. A draw would feel like a win so although it's a huge long shot this Test could work out for us.  If you recall we were in a far worse position in Brisbane in 2010 and this pitch is better than that one was.

Massive innings ahead for Lyth in particular.