The International Cricket Thread

[simboy]

The batting is shite, that’s well known, but I’m sticking a good deal of responsibility on the bowling this time. Australia got 120/130 more than they should have here and it’s largely down to the dross Wood and Woakes sent down in the second session yesterday.

I’m not saying you’re wrong about Woods an Woakes but this pitch should hold no terrors to a competent batting side. 303 isn’t a mammoth score, probably 80 too many. Trouble is we are not a competent batting side.

We should be getting 250/300. We won’t. We will get 165 if we are lucky. So minimum of 140 deficit before we bowl again.

[Monty]

Sake. Billings works so hard to get himself in, rides his luck, plays some fine shots, then - on day 2, with nothing between him and the tail - he flings the bat at a short one with no control, no technique, no feet, and gets duly snaffled on the boundary. This is so pitiful.

[Meanwood Villa]

Great tactic to put the Aussies in and apply some pressure. Shame we were 100 odd runs behind instead of ahead when it happened but you can't have everything.

[PaulWinch again]

I’ll be honest Billings looked more a Test batsmen than a good number of our recent top order batsmen.

[tomd2103]

Its such a familiar story, it's hardly worth commenting on.  England are like the Villa were those few years before we went down, able to have decent patches here and there, but can't do it anywhere consistently enough throughout a game. 

[Rory]

Our scores this series:

297
147
192
236
68
185
294
270
188

Two or three aside, they're not competitive in an ODI.

[PaulWinch again]

Let it slip again, but I’m pleased Wood got his six wickets. First innings here aside he’s bowled really well this series and hasn’t had the volume of wickets to reflect that.

[Villan For Life]

I was wondering if the series would have been different if we’d had Wood and Archer available. Then the reality of our brittle batting line up brought my imagination back down to earth.

I reckon this will end today with another crushing defeat.

[simboy]

I suspect a fit Stone and Archer would have made a difference to the series. However, it’s the batting that’s been the real problem. 271 in two days isn’t daunting score.  Very few will have any faith in them getting them.

[PaulWinch again]

There’s not a bloody chance we’re getting 271. Wouldn’t that be our second highest score of the series? I don’t think we’d get the runs if Australia gave us a 100 run head start.

[simboy]

Precisely Paul! Not a chance in hell

[Steve67]

England in solid start shock!!

[PaulWinch again]

Attacking is the right way to tackle this. Good start.

[Proposition Joe]

I have been watching in and out of sleep this morning. I think we let the Aussies off the hook again with the bowling. What was all that short stuff from Wood to Cummins? I was thinking bowl at the stumps, you're a 90mph fast bowler and he's a tailender ffs. We don't help ourselves with these funky "plans". And look how he got him out in the end.

Solid opening partnership, unlucky from Burns to get out, especially as it must be past Green's bedtime (he looks like a huge toddler, a bit like the baby in Toy Story 3). I don't feel confident we'll win, only a 250 run opening partnership would actually have made me feel confident tbh, but if all the batsen can apply themselves like these two have done so far, we have a shot.

[Proposition Joe]

Malan out, i suspect the procession of wickets is about to commence