The International Cricket Thread

[paul_e]

I think commentary teams are moving away from the banter-fuelled old boys set up in general.

Whatever they're doing if it takes Vaughan away then I'm all for it. No one stepping down/being kicked/jumping before they're pushed matters much to me because this year we've lost the best with Holding stepping down and no one was going to be a decent replacement for him.

[tomd2103]

Back to on the field issues, we're in sh!t or bust territory as far as the series goes now.  Big decisions for me are:

Does Crawley come in for either Burns or Hameed?

Do Bairstow or Lawrence come in for Pope?

Does Buttler keep his place in the side?

Bowling attack for me should be Robinson, Wood, Leach and Anderson.  We've got to win really so will have to go with a longer tail and hope the top seven can finally produce. 

[paul_e]

Back to on the field issues, we're in sh!t or bust territory as far as the series goes now.  Big decisions for me are:

Does Crawley come in for either Burns or Hameed?

Do Bairstow or Lawrence come in for Pope?

Does Buttler keep his place in the side?

Bowling attack for me should be Robinson, Wood, Leach and Anderson.  We've got to win really so will have to go with a longer tail and hope the top seven can finally produce. 

I think does he keep the gloves is a more likely question, his digging in to try to get a result in the 2nd test will have removed any doubts about him being in the batting lineup given how many others are looking lost right now.

[PaulWinch again]

I think the only question mark is probably Pope.

[Gareth]

I think Pope is only one of that top 7 who will be dropped, coin flip whether it’s Crawley, Bairstow or Lawrence who will be recalled from a previous string of failures.  Not sure any of those will open so Burns & Hameed will get another chance.

Imagine if Moeen hadn’t retired, he’d have batted 8 in first test, 6 in the second and proposed to open in the 3rd

[Dr Butler]

I think commentary teams are moving away from the banter-fuelled old boys set up in general.

Whatever they're doing if it takes Vaughan away then I'm all for it. No one stepping down/being kicked/jumping before they're pushed matters much to me because this year we've lost the best with Holding stepping down and no one was going to be a decent replacement for him.

agreed, I love listening to Michael talk about all things.

a top fella

UTV
The Doc

[tomd2103]

I think Pope is only one of that top 7 who will be dropped, coin flip whether it’s Crawley, Bairstow or Lawrence who will be recalled from a previous string of failures.  Not sure any of those will open so Burns & Hameed will get another chance.

Imagine if Moeen hadn’t retired, he’d have batted 8 in first test, 6 in the second and proposed to open in the 3rd

I suppose that the main issues with making changes to is that those potentially coming in have had their own struggles at test level in the past and have hardly played any cricket since arriving in Australia.  I would maybe give the openers one last chance, but bring Bairstow in for Pope (mainly because he is the most experienced option) and go with:

Hameed, Burns, Malan, Root, Stokes, Bairstow, Buttler (wk), Robinson, Wood, Leach, Anderson

[Gareth]

Times are saying Crawley & Bairstow for Burns & Pope.  Case of rearranging the deckchairs but can’t do a worse job. 

[PaulWinch again]

Good news a batsman who averages 11 this year and one who has been really poor for 3 years in Tests. That said at least Bairstow is a good fielder.

[LeeB]

Good news a batsman who averages 11 this year and one who has been really poor for 3 years in Tests. That said at least Bairstow is a good fielder.

You've cursed him now Paul

[PaulWinch again]

Well I hope I’ve jinxed both of them in respect of their batting records and they come up with hundreds - I somehow doubt it.

[PaulWinch again]

So four changes. It’s a long tail without Woakes’ batting, but much as I rate him he can’t really have any complaints from what he’s contributed with the ball.

I like bowling attack much more for this game, it’s got a better balance and some variety. I really hope Leach performs, but I think he’s a better bowler than he’s given credit for. But you can tell he’s an “arm round the shoulder” type, so he needs support from his captain and team.

Crawley and Bairstow - I get why they’ve made the changes but I hold out little hope for them. I’d have gone for Lawrence instead of Bairstow and all the talk since the last Test has been about leaving the ball better. Well Crawley’s main problem is always trying to play booming drives, so not sure leaving is really a strength of his. Still fingers crossed he replicates his innings against Pakistan from 2020!

[KevinGage]

I think commentary teams are moving away from the banter-fuelled old boys set up in general.

Whatever they're doing if it takes Vaughan away then I'm all for it. No one stepping down/being kicked/jumping before they're pushed matters much to me because this year we've lost the best with Holding stepping down and no one was going to be a decent replacement for him.

agreed, I love listening to Michael talk about all things.

a top fella

UTV
The Doc

They've now lost Bumble, Holding, Botham, Gower and Willis for various reasons over the last few years.

I was never blown away by Gower as a presenter/ linkman. 

But the replacements for all that lot are anodyne and dull AF.

[olaftab]

I was never blown away by Gower as a presenter/ linkman. 

But he managed to edge it quite often.

[UK Redsox]

I think commentary teams are moving away from the banter-fuelled old boys set up in general.

Whatever they're doing if it takes Vaughan away then I'm all for it. No one stepping down/being kicked/jumping before they're pushed matters much to me because this year we've lost the best with Holding stepping down and no one was going to be a decent replacement for him.

agreed, I love listening to Michael talk about all things.

a top fella

UTV
The Doc

They've now lost Bumble, Holding, Botham, Gower and Willis for various reasons over the last few years.

I was never blown away by Gower as a presenter/ linkman. 

But the replacements for all that lot are anodyne and dull AF.

Willis was bumped off commentary years ago. He was far better in his later miserable bugger analyst role.

Athers, Nas, Isa,  Ebony, Key etc are far better than Botham and Gower. However, Holding will be missed, as will Bumble for ODI and T20.