2019 Cricket

I think theyll win form here too, but its asked a lot more questions than its given answers ahead of next week

The big pluses so far have been Stone with the ball and Leach with the bat, and I cant see either playing at Edgbaston!
 
fundy said:
as does Foakes v Pairstow but ill still take 1/10 Ali and Bairstow start the first test
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Exactly that - they will still go with Ali and Bairstow

First test team will be imo

Burns
Roy
Denly
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Ali
Woakes
Archer
Anderson if fit
 
Liverpoolphil said:
Exactly that - they will still go with Ali and Bairstow

First test team will be imo

Burns
Roy
Denly
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Ali
Woakes
Archer
Anderson if fit
Click to expand...

Seems right to me, Archers playing in the T20 tomorrow so sounds like he should be fit, pretty sure Andersen has only been resting as a precaution.

Means Curran, Leach, Stone, Broad miss out with Wood injured and Foakes forgotten about
 
Thank heavens for the Curran knock. Hoping Broad can nick a few more first things as I can't see us lasting once the new ball arrives. I am not sure how defendable 170-180 is but with rain forecast could it swing a bit if it gets humid and overcast? Not a great preparation for the Aussies however you look at it
 
fundy said:
180 should be enough against an inexperienced and pretty brittle Irish batting line up which will be under huge pressure on a very dry deck that offers a little still. That said it only takes one decent partnership to make that look a small total
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Balbirnie will be the key wicket for me. Has been in some excellent form for Ireland in recent times and looks to be improving as a batsman with each game he plays.
 
Bairstow going a little under the radar for having a dire record of late in Test cricket, probably getting away with it because of his ODi record. Averaging 36 overall, but in the last 18 months he's averaging 27 with 2 hundreds in 25 innings + 7 ducks. That's a record worse than Stoneman, Hales, Malan, Ballance, Morgan and Compton who were all dropped in quick time. He's also showing obvious gaps in his game and is getting out in the same ways consistently, if he was opening serious questions would be getting asked, but he seems to be flying under the radar a little as we've got so many other gaps. I think it's time we start to seriously consider Ben Foakes as our primary keeper. He's not only better with the gloves, but has a ton in his short career already and saved us from a dire situation against Sri Lanka. Think it's very unlikely we drop Bairstow, as he seems to be in good favour with the selectors, but I don't think he's proven anything in the last 18 months to suggest he's a solid option for The Ashes.

Personally, I think this game should be a wake-up call and make us realise we need to overhaul the batting. I'd be seriously considering for the 1st Test going:

Roy
Burns
Sibley
Root *
Ballance
Stokes
Foakes +
Woakes
Broad
Leach
Anderson

Sibley is playing well, is capable of grinding out an innings and is seemingly one of the few in County Cricket that values his wicket. I also think it's time for Ballance to be given another go. He looked all at sea last time he came in, but he has 5 hundreds this season and is averaging comfortably over 50, think he deserves another shot and he's the sort of player we need at 5, someone who can stick around and grind out an innings. That line-up to me looks way less likely to just collapse, there are 3 guys at 3-4-5 who value their wicket and aren't one-day players being shoe-horned into a Test team. Then with the bowling, I think we stick with Broad as Anderson's opening partner. Broad's not been quite as potent in recent months but his accuracy and containment has really improved and he has it in him to put together one of those Broad spells. I'd be going Woakes over Archer for the First Test. Gives Jof an extra game to get back to full fitness and Edgbaston isn't a wicket where pure pace typically does well (Starc has a poor record there for example). Don't think it'll happen - Pairstow will be there, as will probably Buttler and Ali, and imagine Archer will start, which I'm definitely not as against as the other 3.

Fortunately, the Australian's aren't in a much better spot themselves. They've obviously got Warner and Smith, but the rest of their batting line-up is really up in the air. The warm-up at Southampton was pretty much a disaster, the 2nd string bowlers got the wickets in the first innings, no-one got any runs apart from Warner and then Bancroft in the 2nd innings, but doesn't help them pick their team. Tim Paine the skipper is also in dreadful form with the bat, so is basically playing as a specialist captain as they can't put the cheats in charge, so they've got a lot of the same problems as us. So will be a series of bowlers vs bowlers, whoever bowls better wins. Pretty scared of Cummins and Pattinson though, they're going to be a real handful, and then the talk after yesterdays game is Siddle will start over Starc who apparently bowled awfully in the warm-up game, and has a very poor record at Edgbaston. Hopefully Pattinson, who is supposedly in very good order bowling quickly, picks up another knock. He's so fragile so fingers crossed he can't make it through the series, he'd be a huge loss for them. Looks like they'll line-up:

Warner
Harris
Khawaja
Smith
Head
Bancroft
Paine * +
Cummins
Pattinson
Siddle
Lyon

Think the sides will be pretty evenly matched, but think their batting will hold up to our bowlers better than ours, particularly if we go in with Denly, Bairstow, Buttler and Moeen who I have pretty much zero confidene in.
 
Dan2501 said:
Bairstow going a little under the radar for having a dire record of late in Test cricket, probably getting away with it because of his ODi record. Averaging 36 overall, but in the last 18 months he's averaging 27 with 2 hundreds in 25 innings + 7 ducks. That's a record worse than Stoneman, Hales, Malan, Ballance, Morgan and Compton who were all dropped in quick time. He's also showing obvious gaps in his game and is getting out in the same ways consistently, if he was opening serious questions would be getting asked, but he seems to be flying under the radar a little as we've got so many other gaps. I think it's time we start to seriously consider Ben Foakes as our primary keeper. He's not only better with the gloves, but has a ton in his short career already and saved us from a dire situation against Sri Lanka. Think it's very unlikely we drop Bairstow, as he seems to be in good favour with the selectors, but I don't think he's proven anything in the last 18 months to suggest he's a solid option for The Ashes.

Personally, I think this game should be a wake-up call and make us realise we need to overhaul the batting. I'd be seriously considering for the 1st Test going:

Roy
Burns
Sibley
Root *
Ballance
Stokes
Foakes +
Woakes
Broad
Leach
Anderson

Sibley is playing well, is capable of grinding out an innings and is seemingly one of the few in County Cricket that values his wicket. I also think it's time for Ballance to be given another go. He looked all at sea last time he came in, but he has 5 hundreds this season and is averaging comfortably over 50, think he deserves another shot and he's the sort of player we need at 5, someone who can stick around and grind out an innings. That line-up to me looks way less likely to just collapse, there are 3 guys at 3-4-5 who value their wicket and aren't one-day players being shoe-horned into a Test team. Then with the bowling, I think we stick with Broad as Anderson's opening partner. Broad's not been quite as potent in recent months but his accuracy and containment has really improved and he has it in him to put together one of those Broad spells. I'd be going Woakes over Archer for the First Test. Gives Jof an extra game to get back to full fitness and Edgbaston isn't a wicket where pure pace typically does well (Starc has a poor record there for example). Don't think it'll happen - Pairstow will be there, as will probably Buttler and Ali, and imagine Archer will start, which I'm definitely not as against as the other 3.

Fortunately, the Australian's aren't in a much better spot themselves. They've obviously got Warner and Smith, but the rest of their batting line-up is really up in the air. The warm-up at Southampton was pretty much a disaster, the 2nd string bowlers got the wickets in the first innings, no-one got any runs apart from Warner and then Bancroft in the 2nd innings, but doesn't help them pick their team. Tim Paine the skipper is also in dreadful form with the bat, so is basically playing as a specialist captain as they can't put the cheats in charge, so they've got a lot of the same problems as us. So will be a series of bowlers vs bowlers, whoever bowls better wins. Pretty scared of Cummins and Pattinson though, they're going to be a real handful, and then the talk after yesterdays game is Siddle will start over Starc who apparently bowled awfully in the warm-up game, and has a very poor record at Edgbaston. Hopefully Pattinson, who is supposedly in very good order bowling quickly, picks up another knock. He's so fragile so fingers crossed he can't make it through the series, he'd be a huge loss for them. Looks like they'll line-up:

Warner
Harris
Khawaja
Smith
Head
Bancroft
Paine * +
Cummins
Pattinson
Siddle
Lyon

Think the sides will be pretty evenly matched, but think their batting will hold up to our bowlers better than ours, particularly if we go in with Denly, Bairstow, Buttler and Moeen who I have pretty much zero confidene in.
Click to expand...

Foakes is a better batsman and keeper than Bairstow but Bairstowis Root's mate and seemingly one of the untouchables regardless of form. And he throws his toys out of the pram and gets given what he wants. Despite having played 50+ tests Bairstow never gives the impression of being a senior player.

The fact that Foakes and Leach arent regulars in the test team says everything about England's poor selections. Leach could do the same job as Lyon does for the Aussies but the obsession with Moeen's supposed ability to bat has meant he misses out. Which is ridiculous as Ali's batting has nosedived to tail ender status. His dismissal yesterday was a joke. Just where did he expect theball to go playing a shot like that?
 
Totally agree re Bairstow, bored of arguing the stuff on twitter haha, averages less than 30 since the start of 2017 in red ball cricket and his keeping gets flatter footed and flatter footed

Why open with Roy and bat Sibley at 3? (Roys a number 5 or 6 at test match level if anything, where he has batted for Surrey in CC). Not seen any of Ballance, know hes got some runs but has he sorted out the massive deficiency against quick short bowling? If not wouldnt be bringing him back to get battered by the Aussies again!

Lets be honest whilst we dont think were picking the best side, the batting cupboard isnt exactly flooded with options
 
fundy said:
Totally agree re Bairstow, bored of arguing the stuff on twitter haha, averages less than 30 since the start of 2017 in red ball cricket and his keeping gets flatter footed and flatter footed

Why open with Roy and bat Sibley at 3? (Roys a number 5 or 6 at test match level if anything, where he has batted for Surrey in CC). Not seen any of Ballance, know hes got some runs but has he sorted out the massive deficiency against quick short bowling? If not wouldnt be bringing him back to get battered by the Aussies again!

Lets be honest whilst we dont think were picking the best side, the batting cupboard isnt exactly flooded with options
Click to expand...

It isn't but Root's pathetic truculence about not batting at 3, the selection of Roy (not a red ball opener) instead of Sibley (red ball opener in cracking form) and the consistent non-selection of James Hildreth over the years have all contributed to the paucity.
 
fundy said:
No Carey in the Aussies squad, hes off to Sussex to play in the blast
Click to expand...

Not really a surprise is it? Paine's captain and Wade is in good nick. Carey's never really been a very good FC player, and even though he is a better keeper than Wade they need the batting depth as much as we do.
 
Tongo said:
It isn't but Root's pathetic truculence about not batting at 3, the selection of Roy (not a red ball opener) instead of Sibley (red ball opener in cracking form) and the consistent non-selection of James Hildreth over the years have all contributed to the paucity.
Click to expand...

The attitudes of Root and Bairstow over their situations demonstrate an inherent problem for me. Sports men / women will regularly say that they would give their right arm / leg etc to play for their country and would play anywhere if required. Root and Bairstow seem to be able to dictate what they do and, largely, where they bat. (less so with Bairstow but the acquiescing to his tantrums over the gloves says plenty) Do they have a sense of entitlement over their place in the team? Why aren't the management being more robust and telling them that they bat / play where their asked? i.e batting / playing for the team rather than themselves. Smacks of weak management to me.
 
Gary Nilson to go with Johnny Pairstow lol neither keeper scored a run all game

England been fortunate with the conditions here but Woakes been excellent once they realised to pitch it up!
 
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