The Cricket Thread

Mudball

Assistant Pro
Joined
Sep 21, 2017
Messages
4,343
Visit site
What a week in Test cricket..

Bangladesh beat Kiwis
SA beat India..

… must be the week when minnows take down the big boys…

Come on England… It’s coming home
 

backwoodsman

Tour Winner
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Messages
6,768
Location
sarf Lunnon
Visit site
Well, woke up and what did i find ...:rolleyes:

Bairstow having a good knock and Stokes did well, but the rest a shambles. Wood scored a few but played like an idiot to get them .

Is there not scope within the rules for us to concede the series as 5-0 and come home. That way we'd stop wasting everyone's time.
 

Billysboots

Falling apart at the seams
Moderator
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
5,786
Visit site
Great to see someone achieving individual success for England at last but, collectively, another utter shambles, the scorecard littered with failure. But for Bairstow and Stokes we would not have made three figures.
 

Lord Tyrion

Money List Winner
Moderator
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
26,702
Location
Northumberland
Visit site
Well, woke up and what did i find ...:rolleyes:

Bairstow having a good knock and Stokes did well, but the rest a shambles. Wood scored a few but played like an idiot to get them .
I'm okay with Wood having the licence to do that. Broad has had the same for a while as well. If he comes off then he scores quickly and swings momentum. If he doesn't, he is a tailender and we shouldn't be relying on him. He can smash it, his boycott defence is not quite up there ?. You can't have the last 4 doing that but 1 at least should have free reign.
 

Wilson

Head Pro
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
1,074
Visit site
I hope Buttler enjoys his last 3 innings as a Test player, I'm gutted for him as I really wanted him in the side for his batting, but he looks like he's so confused about how to play this format, so Foakes needs to come in after this series.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
534
www.hiltonpark.net
Butter has suffered, as have a few others from the fragile top 3. Until we get a mentally and technically proficient opening partnership we will always be on the back foot. Root, Stokes, Pope, Buttler should be a powerful middle order but they are always in too early with fresh bowlers, a newer ball who have the momentum. Confidence is shot now and it all stems from that opening pair.
What gets my goat is Burns, Sibley, Hameed are all technically flawed which gets exposed at test level. It's interesting to watch the Fletcher interview where he talks about how he spotted the likes of Tres, Jones, Harmison who weren't on the selectors radar. We need someone like that to identify talent and mentality.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
534
www.hiltonpark.net
Also to pick up on a point earlier I think the state schools cricket is a red herring. We need more kids from state school background playing but there is a mechanism already there which needs to exploited. Primary schools are crying out for kids sports coaching. The ECB should be in there offering short 6 week fun courses to those kids then linking them to the extensive club cricket network. Then they need to ensure the club coaches are supported and not just sent on a 2 day course and left to it.

The hardest thing we found was recruiting non cricket background kids, that to me is the job of the ECB, and then it's about ensuring they stay in the game which comes down to good coaching. Fuel on the fire is what the ECB needs, kids love cricket when made fun.
 

HomerJSimpson

Hall of Famer
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
70,408
Location
Bracknell - Berkshire
Visit site
Also to pick up on a point earlier I think the state schools cricket is a red herring. We need more kids from state school background playing but there is a mechanism already there which needs to exploited. Primary schools are crying out for kids sports coaching. The ECB should be in there offering short 6 week fun courses to those kids then linking them to the extensive club cricket network. Then they need to ensure the club coaches are supported and not just sent on a 2 day course and left to it.

The hardest thing we found was recruiting non cricket background kids, that to me is the job of the ECB, and then it's about ensuring they stay in the game which comes down to good coaching. Fuel on the fire is what the ECB needs, kids love cricket when made fun.

Surely this only reinforces the shorter formats (which at school level I get) but kids will start being coached white ball techniques so once they progress they won't have the tehnique to stay in and build an innings
 

Lord Tyrion

Money List Winner
Moderator
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
26,702
Location
Northumberland
Visit site
Also to pick up on a point earlier I think the state schools cricket is a red herring. We need more kids from state school background playing but there is a mechanism already there which needs to exploited. Primary schools are crying out for kids sports coaching. The ECB should be in there offering short 6 week fun courses to those kids then linking them to the extensive club cricket network. Then they need to ensure the club coaches are supported and not just sent on a 2 day course and left to it.

The hardest thing we found was recruiting non cricket background kids, that to me is the job of the ECB, and then it's about ensuring they stay in the game which comes down to good coaching. Fuel on the fire is what the ECB needs, kids love cricket when made fun.
The ECB do this through the club network. They offer week long summer courses at primary aged level, all fun style of the game, not left elbow up, forward defensive of the past. They also employ full time county co-ordinators to push these, organise, promote etc. Clubs are keen as it brings in potential new members. Lots of money is thrown at this.

Unless things have dropped off a cliff in the last 3-4 years, the time I have been out of junior cricket, then the ECB already do a pretty decent job on this front, certainly in Northumberland.
 

Hobbit

Mordorator
Moderator
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
18,615
Location
Espana
Visit site
As Funky says, an abysmal top order at Test level isn’t going to see many Tests won. Just 1 in 12 now. Middle order being expected to play like openers. At least the run rate of the England bowlers looks reasonable even if they’re not taking wickets quickly enough. For me, 3 new batters at the top of the order. Sort that and I might be tempted to give Buttler another chance.

Also very close on the horizon is Anderson’s 40th birthday, and Broad’s 36th. Just who looks like coming through as main attack bowlers?
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
534
www.hiltonpark.net
Surely this only reinforces the shorter formats (which at school level I get) but kids will start being coached white ball techniques so once they progress they won't have the tehnique to stay in and build an innings
Kids have always been taught in the shorter format at school or club cricket. When they are identified as talented and go to a county, that's where what they're being coached needs to be looked at.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
534
www.hiltonpark.net
The ECB do this through the club network. They offer week long summer courses at primary aged level, all fun style of the game, not left elbow up, forward defensive of the past. They also employ full time county co-ordinators to push these, organise, promote etc. Clubs are keen as it brings in potential new members. Lots of money is thrown at this.

Unless things have dropped off a cliff in the last 3-4 years, the time I have been out of junior cricket, then the ECB already do a pretty decent job on this front, certainly in Northumberland.
I've been out of coaching for a few years now so good to know it's going on. Engagement in most non football sports is an issue and it would be interesting to know why the talent pool seems to be reducing. I know at my county Yorkshire we used to have a conveyor belt of exciting young talent and that seems to have dried up in recent years.
 

Hobbit

Mordorator
Moderator
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
18,615
Location
Espana
Visit site
Surely this only reinforces the shorter formats (which at school level I get) but kids will start being coached white ball techniques so once they progress they won't have the tehnique to stay in and build an innings

In the first instance, it’s about getting them excited enough to want to come back for more. I’m not sure what age you have in mind for more formal (defensive) coaching but I wouldn’t start it too early either.
 

Lord Tyrion

Money List Winner
Moderator
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
26,702
Location
Northumberland
Visit site
In the first instance, it’s about getting them excited enough to want to come back for more. I’m not sure what age you have in mind for more formal (defensive) coaching but I wouldn’t start it too early either.
They take the same approach that golf does now. Get them hitting big and hard, get them engaged. They will resolve the technical details later but for now let them whack it.
 

Junior

Tour Winner
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
5,024
Visit site
I just watched some of the 4th day. I'm afraid we are papering over the cracks. Bairstowe, Stokes and Wood got a few which is great but they play with such hard hands. Stokes appears to want to get from 25 to a 100 in 20 balls. I'm sure the "that's the way he plays" brigade will shoot me down but imagine if he was coached to play it late, hit it when it's under your eyes type of style. He could be a Jaque Kallis with all his natural ability. He just needs to be selfish and not appear to want to tee off all the time thus giving his wicket away.

Buttler, Crawley are the same. Hard hands going at the ball. I think Graham Thorpe needs to take a look at his coaching for test team. Whatever he's doing, it isn't working.

With regards to junior cricket. I can only speak from personal experience but I've never seen it as vibrant and engaging as it has been these past 2 years. The "All Stars" program gets kids involved at a very early age and the 3 clubs closest to me, (2 what I would say are village and one a local Prem team) are all over subscribed. I've never seen so many young girls playing the game. You then get some fall out through the age groups but clubs now have so may age group teams (from u10s to u18s) and this can only be a good thing but we won't see the rewards for quite some time yet.
 

Lord Tyrion

Money List Winner
Moderator
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
26,702
Location
Northumberland
Visit site
I've been out of coaching for a few years now so good to know it's going on. Engagement in most non football sports is an issue and it would be interesting to know why the talent pool seems to be reducing. I know at my county Yorkshire we used to have a conveyor belt of exciting young talent and that seems to have dried up in recent years.
I played for Cheshire for a number of years at schools county level. The trip to Yorkshire to get our annual anihilation was always a pleasure o_O. Any other county we might have a chance against, including Lancashire, but Yorkshire was always one way. Their talent pool was immense and if it has dried up then they need to have a long hard look at themselves, looks like it is happening of course.

The club my son was at up here, Blagdon Park, was a brilliant place that fully bought into the junior side of the game. They were not big and so had to earn each member. It was through being on the junior committee that I saw what was happening. There were / are bigger and sexier clubs that could sit back and didn't have to worry but his club really worked hard with the ECB, local schools, head teachers etc. The help is there, the money is there, it's all about having someone, or multiple people, prepared to put the time in. I appreciate different counties may have less enthusiastic regional development officers but we were well served here.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
534
www.hiltonpark.net
I just watched some of the 4th day. I'm afraid we are papering over the cracks. Bairstowe, Stokes and Wood got a few which is great but they play with such hard hands. Stokes appears to want to get from 25 to a 100 in 20 balls. I'm sure the "that's the way he plays" brigade will shoot me down but imagine if he was coached to play it late, hit it when it's under your eyes type of style. He could be a Jaque Kallis with all his natural ability. He just needs to be selfish and not appear to want to tee off all the time thus giving his wicket away.

Buttler, Crawley are the same. Hard hands going at the ball. I think Graham Thorpe needs to take a look at his coaching for test team. Whatever he's doing, it isn't working.

With regards to junior cricket. I can only speak from personal experience but I've never seen it as vibrant and engaging as it has been these past 2 years. The "All Stars" program gets kids involved at a very early age and the 3 clubs closest to me, (2 what I would say are village and one a local Prem team) are all over subscribed. I've never seen so many young girls playing the game. You then get some fall out through the age groups but clubs now have so may age group teams (from u10s to u18s) and this can only be a good thing but we won't see the rewards for quite some time yet.
That last paragraph is great to hear and gives hope for the future. If there's plenty of engagement then the talent will be there and it's just the higher level coaching and fixture structure that needs sorting.
 
Top