The International Cricket Thread

[PaulWinch again]

Brook is the most frustrating - he keeps making basically the same mistake. He is too talented not to be smarter.

[KevinGage]

Bazball hasn't won a series of note home or away (Australia and India being the true barometer of where you are as a side).   But why change the method this late into the project.

Forget fanciful notions of winning this series.  But a 3-1 defeat would be better than most of the recent horror shows down under and may still be attainable. Rob Key, McCullum and co might even try and sell that as a win.

Still more annoyed that they couldn't beat an Indian team in transition, in home conditions.

[cdbearsfan]

It was just a typical England in Australia performance. Shitebags. I'll stick with my 5-0 prediction.

[tony scott]

I don’t think it can get worse than thismost of this team must know they gave it away. The bowlers don’t get off Scot free in the second innings the bouncers where just a waste of time and energy. Can’t they bowl line and length. Management on field is dreadful.

[PaulWinch again]

I think not winning a series of note is a bit harsh - winning in NZ and Pakistan is pretty significant, but 5 matches they haven’t won because they make bad decisions at key moments too often. Now they’re really behind the 8 ball.

If they don’t play the pink ball game that’s been put on as prep they better win in Brisbane or they’re rightly going to get slaughtered. You’ve got a pink ball game, you’ve got batsmen who have blown it twice - you need to prepare and show some humility.

[PaulWinch again]

I don’t think it can get worse than thismost of this team must know they gave it away. The bowlers don’t get off Scot free in the second innings the bouncers where just a waste of time and energy. Can’t they bowl line and length. Management on field is dreadful.

I think the bowlers have plenty of mitigation. They weren’t great, but they had been fantastic and the batsmen have stuffed them twice. I am so frustrated, that there was the absolute golden opportunity and we gifted Australia the win. As good as Starc was, they were done if we’d just used our brains, but 3 experienced players played like they were brain dead.

[ventnorVillain]

Shocking from England but that was one of the great Test match innings from the ex Pears man.

Travis was Ventnor CC overseas player in 2013 as a 19 year old. It was clear to everyone that he was someone who was destined to play at the very highest level, certainly the only teenager I have ever seen with such potential. Also a top bloke, too.    Anytime he has been in England since then, he has always tried to pop down to the IOW to come and see some old friends.

[Beard82]

This is the most frustrated I think I have ever been with England.  We had a golden opportunity to win this and should have and get a led in the series which would have been massive. Instead we ended up completely embarassed and its going to be very hard to bounce back from. 

I think our bowlers were amazing in the first innings - to expect them to be world class again without any real break would probably have been unrealistic.

The bazball batting just drives me insane - we just gift wickets so easily.  Travis Head showed how you can play aggresively but in a control manner.  We just never seem to learn - time and time again we just gift big wickets by a complete unwillingness to play the situation.   

[ventnorVillain]

This is the most frustrated I think I have ever been with England.  We had a golden opportunity to win this and should have and get a led in the series which would have been massive. Instead we ended up completely embarassed and its going to be very hard to bounce back from. 

I think our bowlers were amazing in the first innings - to expect them to be world class again without any real break would probably have been unrealistic.

The bazball batting just drives me insane - we just gift wickets so easily.  Travis Head showed how you can play aggresively but in a control manner.  We just never seem to learn - time and time again we just gift big wickets by a complete unwillingness to play the situation.   

This.

[tomd2103]

I don’t think it can get worse than thismost of this team must know they gave it away. The bowlers don’t get off Scot free in the second innings the bouncers where just a waste of time and energy. Can’t they bowl line and length. Management on field is dreadful.

The one thing about this group is that they have been able to shake off defeats pretty quickly and bounce back.  No mistake though, this was an embarrassing and humiliating defeat.  I got that sinking feeling when Crawley nicked off going for a booming drive in the very first over of the series and feared then that it could set the tone just like Harmison's wide and Burns getting bowled round his legs. 

[PaulWinch again]

Driving on the up in Australia, particularly Perth, is so risky. That’s not a secret. It’s not about attacking mentality - Head did that, but with the right shots. To make the mistake once is bad, to do it three times in 10 mins is inexcusable. Have they not talked about where they’re playing? I really hope this is the thing that finally flips the switch in their collective brains. At the moment they’re entertaining losers when it matters, they won’t be winners unless they become ruthless (sorry Ben, you might not like the word - you need to be it though).

[PaulWinch again]

It’s not ideal that after three amazing years Root is so out of form. It started in the NZ ODI’s. The ways he’s got out aren’t the issues he’s had in Aus before, we badly need him back in nick basically immediately.

[Beard82]

I think with Root, it might be a psychological thing - its the one blot on his copy book and he feels it. 

I wonder if he is over thinking - I felt that at the start of bazball he struggled a bit - the game at Lords in the last ashes was a case in point - it felt like he was trying to adjust his game to the new mindset.  I feel his excellent form since has just been down to him playing his game. I wonder if he is a similar mind funk now - over thinking about what he should be doing differently rather than just doing what he does.

Of course - theres a very good chance Im speaking bollocks.   Have spent most of today in a bad mood and thinking about the test and probably over thinking too.  This one really hurts, its like the Man Utd game at the end of last season - just so fucking predictable it would be funny if it was someone else.

[taylorsworkrate]

Only Potts, Bethel and Tongue playing in the day night warm up match. 3 players who have practically zero chance of playing in the next test match.

England deserve to lose this series 5-0

[aev]

Shocking from England but that was one of the great Test match innings from the ex Pears man.

Travis was Ventnor CC overseas player in 2013 as a 19 year old. It was clear to everyone that he was someone who was destined to play at the very highest level, certainly the only teenager I have ever seen with such potential. Also a top bloke, too.    Anytime he has been in England since then, he has always tried to pop down to the IOW to come and see some old friends.

That is good to hear.

The only positive that I could take from the shambles of a 2 day loss was that it wasn't the cheat that scored the runs....