The Cricket Thread 2016

[UK Redsox]

I think that the fielding plan is now just 'everybody scatter'

[UK Redsox]

the tail wagged and gave the bowlers something to work with. I just Hopw India don't go and knock 700+ now.

You were saying ......

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

Just checked the score. Good grief.

Edit: We've taken a wicket! Right back in this now. Er.

[UK Redsox]

Nair's 303 is only the third highest maiden century in tests

Top of the list is 365 by some bloke called Sobers

[PaulWinch again]

Well that's another embarrassing chapter to add to this series.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Can we change the thread to Cricket 2017 soon?  we've just got our tickets for South Africa at the Oval next July, the Saturday test. It's the 100th test at the Oval.

[Dave Cooper please]

This is humiliation. We should just refuse tour tour in India or Bangladesh until we develop some spinners and some batsmen who can play against them.
 But of course we will never do that while our first class game is slowly but surely geared towards the baseball format where the few slow bowlers we do have are taught to keep it tight rather than actually take wickets.

[paul_e]

This is humiliation. We should just refuse tour tour in India or Bangladesh until we develop some spinners and some batsmen who can play against them.
 But of course we will never do that while our first class game is slowly but surely geared towards the baseball format where the few slow bowlers we do have are taught to keep it tight rather than actually take wickets.

I think you're makingt an unfair link between t20 and 'keep it tight' bowlers.  The 2 guys who've destroyed us in this tour came through the IPL, the teenager in bangladesh who outclassed us was a t20 product.

[PaulWinch again]

I think we've shown real mental fragility in this series. That above everything has stopped us competing. With the bat everytime we've been in a position to really dominate the game we've let it slip. The same applies to the bowling. It's been mirrored in the field where our catching has been poor. They need to learn how to show grit. It shouldn't happen on this pitch, but it wouldn't shock me if we are about 100-5 at lunch.

[Dave Cooper please]

This is humiliation. We should just refuse tour tour in India or Bangladesh until we develop some spinners and some batsmen who can play against them.
 But of course we will never do that while our first class game is slowly but surely geared towards the baseball format where the few slow bowlers we do have are taught to keep it tight rather than actually take wickets.

I think you're makingt an unfair link between t20 and 'keep it tight' bowlers.  The 2 guys who've destroyed us in this tour came through the IPL, the teenager in bangladesh who outclassed us was a t20 product.

Well they are obviously doing something in their first class set up better than we are then, because we haven't bought a genuinely dangerous spinner through for years. Maybe they encourage their T20 spinners to try to take wickets rather than just hope to keep the scoring down to less than 6 an over, I don't know, I don't watch enough T20 to know.

All I do know is that if we want to have a genuine chance of ever getting near to being the number one Test nation again we have got to learn how to play in the subcontinent, a few years ago I thought we were getting there, we have gone massively backwards since.

[paul_e]

This is humiliation. We should just refuse tour tour in India or Bangladesh until we develop some spinners and some batsmen who can play against them.
 But of course we will never do that while our first class game is slowly but surely geared towards the baseball format where the few slow bowlers we do have are taught to keep it tight rather than actually take wickets.

I think you're makingt an unfair link between t20 and 'keep it tight' bowlers.  The 2 guys who've destroyed us in this tour came through the IPL, the teenager in bangladesh who outclassed us was a t20 product.

Well they are obviously doing something in their first class set up better than we are then, because we haven't bought a genuinely dangerous spinner through for years. Maybe they encourage their T20 spinners to try to take wickets rather than just hope to keep the scoring down to less than 6 an over, I don't know, I don't watch enough T20 to know.

All I do know is that if we want to have a genuine chance of ever getting near to being the number one Test nation again we have got to learn how to play in the subcontinent, a few years ago I thought we were getting there, we have gone massively backwards since.

Bingo.  Working out what that is and drilling it into our youngsters early is the only way we're going to find a world class spinner.  I can only think of 1 for the last 25 years (Swann) so it's probably worth looking into what he did differently as well.

[Meanwood Villa]

We'll lose tomorrow I reckon. Incredible effort to lose two tests having got over 400 batting first. Really poor. We'd beat them in England though. Twas ever thus.

[aev]

4 wickets for 26. Could be an interesting last few hours.

[PaulWinch again]

This is pathetic. Our top order is mentally so weak it is unbelievable, any pressure comes on and they fold.

[Dave Cooper please]

Some absolutely pathetic shots considering we ar supposed to be tryng to save a game.

England need to take a long hard look at themselves after this tour, they have been mostly awful.