2019 Cricket

saving_par said:
I think that swipe/slog/surrender/don't have a clue from Roy is about the worst shot I have ever seen a test opener play.

Not his fault as he is been asked to do a job he is not equiped to do.
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I can remember a certain G Boycott getting out to the last ball of a day when England were following on and he was needed to play a survival innings. He hooked a short ball down deep square leg's throat. Not that he would ever claim it happened of course.
 
That must be Ali’s last appearance in the test team - time for Leach to be given the nod. Added nothing this test with bat or ball.

England aren’t going to do wholesale changes but with Anderson out I expect three changes

Burns
Roy
Root
?????
Stokes
Buttler
Bairstow
Woakes
Broad
Archer
Leach

Would like to see Bairstow dropped as well but not sure if they will
 
Fantastic result after the way the first day was going. What a cricketer Smith is, and so bloody awkward and fidgety. Like a much better Jack Russell.
 
From an England point of view, I think it's clear the game was lost the moment Anderson was unable to bowl.

Not so much that he was necessarily going to be a lot better than the other quick bowlers, but it just means so much extra work for the other bowlers over a 5 day match.

It seems certain England will put Archer in and possibly replace Ali (not up enough on my domestic cricket to know if there is someone else suitable and in form). Probably at that point they will have a better team than Australia and should give themselves at least a chance to win the game, going into the final innings.
 
Dan2501 said:
Since the last Ashes Ali has averaged 13 with the bat. 2 fifties in 23 innings. He's a tailender.
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For balance, he's also the leading wicket taker in the world in test cricket over the last 12 months, including top wicket taker in both Sri Lanka and WI series when he outbowled Leach.

He was exposed in a 4man attack as he lacks control but that won't be the case going forward.

I suspect Leach will come in as England will want to try a left armer against Smith

Archer for Anderson too.
 
TheDiablo said:
For balance, he's also the leading wicket taker in the world in test cricket over the last 12 months, including top wicket taker in both Sri Lanka and WI series when he outbowled Leach.

He was exposed in a 4man attack as he lacks control but that won't be the case going forward.

I suspect Leach will come in as England will want to try a left armer against Smith

Archer for Anderson too.
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I might be wrong here but I’m sure they were joint wicket taker in Sri Lanka and then Leach didn’t play a test in West Indies ?
 
Liverpoolphil said:
I might be wrong here but I’m sure they were joint wicket taker in Sri Lanka and then Leach didn’t play a test in West Indies ?
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Leach bowled with good control in Sri Lanka but often struggled against the top order and picked up many wickets at the back end of an innings, other than Mendis who turned into a bunny. He also bowls pretty poorly to LHB which is definitely a concern.

Ali bowls more wicket taking deliveries, seems out of nick at the moment but to suggest he has played his final test is hyperbole at its finest - once again he is the leading wicket taker in test matches over the last year.
 
TheDiablo said:
Leach bowled with good control in Sri Lanka but often struggled against the top order and picked up many wickets at the back end of an innings, other than Mendis who turned into a bunny. He also bowls pretty poorly to LHB which is definitely a concern.

Ali bowls more wicket taking deliveries, seems out of nick at the moment but to suggest he has played his final test is hyperbole at its finest - once again he is the leading wicket taker in test matches over the last year.
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Out of Leachs 18 wickets he took against Sri Lanka , 10 of them were against at top 5 batsmen - had Mendis three times as well as De Silva twice and Silva twice - yep he also conceded less runs and took his wickets at a better rate.

If Leach had played the same amount of Tests as Ali imo he would have taken more wickets because he is imo a better bowler - yes he needs to take more advantage of the foot marks against LHB but he has earned an extended run in the side in place of Ali who was poor with the ball and has been even worse with the bat - but he is there for his bowling and they really needed him to step up and he didn’t , Lyon showed that the pitch was a spinners dream - even Dom Bess would have been a bigger threat than Ali was in this test.
 
Very poor two days for England. Agreed the bowling attack was compromised by losing Anderson, but the attack and especially Ali were not on it at all yesterday. Fair play to Australia for coming back from 122-8 and to Smith for his two centuries but losing at "Fortress Edgbaston" after 11 tests doesn't send positive vibes. We need a big bounce back in the next game
 
Liverpoolphil said:
Out of Leachs 18 wickets he took against Sri Lanka , 10 of them were against at top 5 batsmen - had Mendis three times as well as De Silva twice and Silva twice - yep he also conceded less runs and took his wickets at a better rate.

If Leach had played the same amount of Tests as Ali imo he would have taken more wickets because he is imo a better bowler - yes he needs to take more advantage of the foot marks against LHB but he has earned an extended run in the side in place of Ali who was poor with the ball and has been even worse with the bat - but he is there for his bowling and they really needed him to step up and he didn’t , Lyon showed that the pitch was a spinners dream - even Dom Bess would have been a bigger threat than Ali was in this test.
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Ali didn't step up this game. That's not up for debate. I think his lack of form with the bat has bled to his bowling. As such, I think he should be replaced with Leach next test. I also think it will happen.

However, Leach is a defensive, control, stock bowler. He doesn't get set batsmen out and he struggles in the area he should excel - left handers. To suggest he would take more wickets than Ali is conjecture at best.

I've a feeling that I'd love to be wrong that Leach is the sort of player that improves in the mind of the public simply by not being in the team.

Leach gets milked by set batsmen, he doesn't bowl enough wicket taking deliveries and relies on wickets at the start of a batsmens innings, something England don't really struggle with at all anyway. England struggle with plans to set batsmen, Leach offers little if anything in this area.

In a 5 man attack the control shouldn't matter so much as you're not struggling to rotate the others. Spinners should therefore be aggressive, wicket takers.

In a 5 man attack Ali should be our spinner. He's just woefully out of nick at the moment. In a 4 man you would pump for Leach, but with Stokes in the side for the foreseeable that's highly unlikely any time soon.
 
I agree with lots that has been written already. Just to throw a spanner in, England have been reliant on a off spinner turning it away from the left handlers. With so many LH in the Aussie team, will they play someone else instead of Leach ? I don’t think so, but you never know.
I also think they will play Curran as again, for variety in the attack and agin an obsession with bowlers who can hold a bat!. They need to play Archer or Stone as genuine strike bowlers who can get it up to 90mph consistently!
I feel sorry for Ali. He has been immense in England over the last few years, but like The Diablo said, he looks so out of touch atm!
For me, Anderson was undoubtedly a big miss, but the fault lies with frailties in the batting. Bar Root, there is no real proven pedigree there. Exciting players who can on occasions win you a game (stokes, Buttler etc etc), but who has the technique and application to consistently score in this ashes series? I think this could get messy for England. I hope I am wrong!
 
Ali's batting is not what it was. It's not a coincidence that since his lack of matches for Worcester, his time in the middle for long periods of time has reduced and it's showing. Whilst he was milked in this match, I though at times when he was bowling the fields were extremely defensive, gifting too many singles. Don't forget he's the leading wicket taker in test cricket in the past 12 months, so imo, they should stick with him. I wouldn't have that much of an issue if they brought Leach in though.

Archer for Anderson will be the call, but is he fit ? Don't be surprised if Curran steps in. I think this could be a smart move and with a swinging ball back into the right hander, may catch smith LBW.

All in , I thought it was a great test match, 120-8, then they get to 280, Eng 280-5 then 370 ao, Oz then 16-3 then manage to set 380. It ebbed and flowed superbly. I thought a key moment was when the umpires changed the ball in our first innings just after we'd gone through the hard yards. All of a sudden, at 60 overs, the ball started hooping again and Buttler, Bairstowe and Denly got done. England tried to do the same in the first innings but the requests fell on deaf ears.
 
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