The Cricket Thread 2016

[DaveD]

Well, that was certainly a heavy kick in the bollocks, but it was only just over twelve months ago that we were being outclassed in the 50 over world cup playing hopelessly outdated cricket. To come so far so fast is very encouraging.

Stokes last over was a shocker, but if you've ever tried to bowl yorker at the death you'll know the difference between perfection and a half volley is very small under that pressure. Stuart Broad had a similar experience early in his career and he came back better for it. If we'd scored 20 more runs and not dropped Samuel, it might have been a different result, you can't pin it all on Stokes.

[taylorsworkrate]

It is very frustrating seeing people say he Got his length wrong. It was the LINE that cost him.

[taylorsworkrate]

Outside the off stump, we win. Regardless of length

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

We get it, you blame Stokes. It's a team game, it wasn't him who dropped a fairly straight forward catch off his own bowling though.

I'm sorry, I'll think of something else...

...we go again...😀

[West Derby Villan]

Anyway it was a fantastic final....but not a fantastic result

[Chris Jameson]

With cricket being a team game I think it's unfair to point the finger at one player, the openers, Morgan and Ali barely contributed with the bat, the dropped catch was costly, only playing four Yorkshire players (!) were all factors. For all I'm really not a fan of the format I really enjoyed the game and the tournament.

It's not proper cricket though.

[PaulWinch again]

With cricket being a team game I think it's unfair to point the finger at one player, the openers, Morgan and Ali barely contributed with the bat, the dropped catch was costly, only playing four Yorkshire players (!) were all factors. For all I'm really not a fan of the format I really enjoyed the game and the tournament.

It's not proper cricket though.

I'd agree there were numerous errors that contributed to defeat and Stoke's over was just part of it. However they've had a great tournament and will get better.

[taylorsworkrate]

On reflection, I didnt see Morgan stepping in, telling Stokes he was bowling completely the wrong line.

[taylorsworkrate]

Still, fair play to WI. They beat us twice and beat India in their pen back yard. Cant argue they deserve the trophy

[john e]

Poor old Stokes he will now forever be remembered for that shit sandwich of a last over

[Villan For Life]

Poor old Stokes he will now forever be remembered for that shit sandwich of a last over

Stokes is the type of player who will produce more breathtaking feats that will undoubtedly counter the memory of those 4 balls. His innings against the Saffers, 258 off 198 balls; fastest century at Lords etc. Two things he's archived in the last year and today he was the youngest player out there.

No one remembers Botham's bad games. Everyone remembers Gareth Southgate's penalty miss. Stokes will win many more games for England in the future & will be a stronger player having lived through the heartbreak of today.

[tomd2103]

Right well done to the Windies if this success can translate into some young players wanting to play in all formats of the game that'll be good for cricket.

In terms of England, the positives -

- a young team showed great character in numerous situations to be competitive when it seemed unlikely.
- Root was fantastic and should have been named player of the tournament rather than Kohli.
- Jordan has become a reliable and excellent death bowler.
- Roy is developing well, although clearly needs to work out how to play spin.
- Buttler is beginning to make more consistent key contributions.
- Bayliss has clearly got us going in the right direction and there is huge potential for growth.

Negatives/Areas of improvement -

- Stokes really needs to work out how to bat in the subcontinent, because he hasn't made anywhere near enough runs when coming in at 6.
- Morgan has to work out how to get runs when he's in poor form, because at the moment as a batsman he's a passenger.
- We still need to assess situations better at times today. When we lost Root, Buttler, Stokes and Moeen so closely together it all seemed a but wreckless. Had we thought a bit more calmly we probably would have got 170-180 and won the game.

Overall though a really positive tournament, just a shame we lost in the manner we did.

I would add that it is high time we caught up with T20 and have a proper domestic tournament independent of the counties.  Championship and 50 overs for the counties, new T20 competition involving city based franchises.

[DaveD]

I would add that it is high time we caught up with T20 and have a proper domestic tournament independent of the counties.  Championship and 50 overs for the counties, new T20 competition involving city based franchises.

Trouble with that is, you're just going to end up with London (twice), Birmingham,  Nottingham,  Manchester and Leeds ie the traditional test grounds and the big wealthy counties.

Meanwhile the likes of Chelmsford and Taunton, who have invested a lot of money in lights and parking and get great crowds, lose out.

You may see larger crowds per game, but overall attendance is likely to go down.

So you have to decide what you're aiming for - something to engage the kids at grass roots, or another elite global competition. Do we really have to play keeping up with the Patels ?

[Chris Jameson]

If that were to happen I could see 'Leeds' struggling to fill Headingley as an awful lot of the Yorkshire support comes from the rest of the county.

[cdbearsfan]

Just have the top eight Twenty20 teams go into the top league, and invest so that each top league team has four foreign stars to attract publicity and sponsorship.

The rest can go in Division Two and only have one foreigner each. Top league clubs can also loan players to Division Two teams.

Whether the teams want to keep their county names or change to a city name should be up to them. I suspect Yorkshire and Surrey, for instance, carries more cachet than "Leeds" or "South London", but Nottingham and Derby probably sound better than the lengthier county names.