The Cricket Thread 2016

[Villafirst]

Why are England playing one day shots in a Test Match with over 3 days to go? Total careless batting!

[PaulWinch again]

We need to learn how to dig in, because you just can't bat like this.

[aj2k77]

It's confirmed anyway, Lyth is terrible, no where near up to scratch at the moment as a test opener.

[aj2k77]

Why are England playing one day shots in a Test Match with over 3 days to go? Total careless batting!

Playing as if they can't be arsed really. Lack of intensity in the field, lack of application at the crease. We were way behind in the game, won the series and no one looks up for another fight.

[paul_e]

We got the bowling wrong yesterday, was too short and too many no balls.  Once they got to 350-400 they had the momentum and runs on the board to really attack us, a beauty to get Cook just before the break just added to that and then a mix of good bowling and some awful shot selection has really turned the screw.

Really frustrating couple of days where it's hard not to think that they've maybe taken their eyes off the game a little.

Lyth I think has shown he's not cut out for this level just yet, he needs to go away and work on his concentration outside off stump.  Buttler I'd stick with for the winter but he really needs to score some runs, if he fails again then at least we have Bairstow in the squad already to go in behind the stumps.  I do like Buttler as a keeper though and I'm not sure about Bairstow.

[PaulWinch again]

I think there's no way Buttler gets in just as a keeper at the moment. Also Moeen should be coming in above him.

[Nelson Lodge]

Granted Cook made a very bad decision to put them in, but these first two days are a perfect example of how to turn a celebration into a disaster. Winning the toss and putting them in worked at Trent Bridsge but on most occasions it does not. The old adage still holds good on most occasions, "win the toss and thinking of putting the opposition in to bat, think again and bat".
Lyth is just not good enough at this level. Just because he is from Yorkshire is not a reason to pick him.
Then, there is the London factor. Straightforward answer do not play Test Matches in London. At least until the two venues stop preparing wickets that suit the Touring sides. Thank god the other 3 grounds prepared wickets that suited England, and showed some patriotism. In the meantime matches in London to be classed as "friendlies" and not count towards deciding the series.
 

[Proposition Joe]

I think there's no way Buttler gets in just as a keeper at the moment. Also Moeen should be coming in above him.

I don't know what's happend, I thought he batted really well in the India series last year. Right mixture of conservative and attacking.

[Proposition Joe]

And another thing: Mitchell Marsh? Mitchell fucking Marsh? Come off it England.

[paul_e]

I think there's no way Buttler gets in just as a keeper at the moment. Also Moeen should be coming in above him.

I don't know what's happend, I thought he batted really well in the India series last year. Right mixture of conservative and attacking.

He got put under too much pressure by being in too early too many times and started trying to play too conservative, it doesn't suit him and now he's not only not sticking around but he's also not scoring quick runs and providing a bit of impetus.  We really need someone to sit him down and convince him to just play his natural game, when he was doing that he was averaging nearly 60 and looking every bit the lower-middle-order counter-attacker we needed him to be.

His job, most of the time, should be to come in and turn a good score into a great one and the rest of the time to add a bit of respectability to a bad score.  30-40 runs from 25 deliveries from him today doesn't stop us being well behind and doesn't win us the series but it does put them on the back foot and make the follow on decision far less cut and dry.  Similarly I hope Moeen goes out tomorrow with that attitude and tries to push us on to 150-160 (or more), that's still leaves them with a huge lead but it puts a small dent in their confidence and might be enough to convince Clarke to come out and get another 150-200. You have to remember that this is a guy who has never forced the follow on so any hint that the follow on might not be the best idea will nudge him away from it and that's our only chance of stopping the series ending 3-2.

[Proposition Joe]

Or we follow on and call on Sir Ian Terence to lend us a hand, get a small lead and skittle 'em.

[adrenachrome]

Jonathan Agnew       
✔
@Aggerscricket

When the going has got tough, the batsmen from both sides have run for the hills. They say it is the modern way. It is the wrong way.

Nasser Hussain produced some amazing graphs demonstrating this phenomenon.  No draws or close results. Strange series.

[paul_e]

Jonathan Agnew       
✔
@Aggerscricket

When the going has got tough, the batsmen from both sides have run for the hills. They say it is the modern way. It is the wrong way.

Nasser Hussain produced some amazing graphs demonstrating this phenomenon.  No draws or close results. Strange series.

Is it that or is it that both sides have been ruthless when they've had a sniff of winning?  I don't know but I think slagging off the batsmen and ignoring the bowlers involvement is a dangerous idea, especially after most of the cricket world spent a big chunk of the winter moaning about batsmen dominating the game.  For example I think Australia bowled superbly today and only really Lyth, Buttler and Stokes gave their wickets away.

[Chris Jameson]

How about until London starts producing Test cricketers for the England team it loses any Test matches?

[OzVilla]

The reason it keeps happening is that the sides are basically mirror images of themselves.

The fact is that neither side is actually that good so when one team gets the ascendancy the other just rolls over.  England's batting line up in this series contains some players that are out of form and others that quite frankly arn't good enough.

Nothing wrong with the pitches, everything wrong with the application on both sides.

I expect players to be discarded from both sides before their next Test Matches.