The International Cricket Thread

[PaulWinch again]

Smith has had an inconceivably bad tour.

[PaulWinch again]

He has a real problem with game sense. The way he consistently gets out at terrible times, to terrible shots. He’s at a real crossroads - he’s gone from nailed on for years to fighting for his short-term future.

[LeeB]

Never mind Smith, the absolutely dog shit bowling that followed is more of a concern.

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah I’ve kind of got used to that.

[PaulWinch again]

It is weird though, as a general rule throughout this series our lack of control with the ball is something else.

[Gareth]

I’m gonna go out on a limb and predict a decent bowling effort in this first session


I will be wrong won’t I? :-)

[Gareth]

Ffs Jacks….catch the damn ball

[taylorsworkrate]

It is weird though, as a general rule throughout this series our lack of control with the ball is something else.

It was highly similar in the summer series against India.

[PaulWinch again]

I’m gonna go out on a limb and predict a decent bowling effort in this first session


I will be wrong won’t I? :-)

Very.

The bowling levels across this series have been appalling.

[PaulWinch again]

I keep coming back to the fact this team hasn’t evolved from the first 18 months. The “vibes” stuff was necessary to reset the team and really worked, but they had some experienced quality cricketers. In the last 18 months when they’ve tried to bed in new players it’s not worked and become increasingly erratic. They're back to under par batting and inconsistent bowling being the norm.

[LeeB]

I keep coming back to the fact this team hasn’t evolved from the first 18 months. The “vibes” stuff was necessary to reset the team and really worked, but they had some experienced quality cricketers. In the last 18 months when they’ve tried to bed in new players it’s not worked and become increasingly erratic. They're back to under par batting and inconsistent bowling being the norm.

It's all a bit 'Tim Sherwood' isn't it?

[PaulWinch again]

Feels it. The fielding is a red flag, you just get the impression Aus practice and drill and conversely we don’t have a specialist fielding coach.

[paul_e]

Our bowling issues are mostly due to losing Broad, Anderson and Woakes in the space of 18months. We were always going to have a period where our level dropped.

[Villan For Life]

Our bowling issues are mostly due to losing Broad, Anderson and Woakes in the space of 18months. We were always going to have a period where our level dropped.

Agreed although there do appear to be deeper issues around squad discipline, lack of preparation, a general theme of arrogance around the squad. The preparation issues sit with Key, although how he can control a packed international schedule? Somehow I doubt the Aussies and India would not have entered into a key series without adequate preparation.

The discipline and arrogance come down to the culture that the coach has allowed to develop. If you consider Andy Flower, he was a successful coach and won an Ashes series in Oz, yet ultimately the players wilted under his controlling leadership. McCullum is too far the other way, he’s too relaxed and the player’s performance reflect this laid back approach. A new coach is needed so proper test match values can be reinstated.

So for me, Key and McCullum should go.

[LeeB]

The Bazball stuff is great for experienced players who have already done the hard yards but have hit a bit of collective funk, applying it to youngsters with little experience who are simultaneously cosseted from reality with central contracts is just a dereliction of duty.