Tongo
Journeyman Pro
Fair play to Angelo Matthews. A proper captain's innings and it may have been a different result had he not tweaked a hamstring.
Think just need to sort out the spinners - everything else today was pretty solid - good start and then accelerated when needed and the seamers did well - 42 from two different overs of spin shows the issue
Dont be fooled, different parts of England game functions in different games. Most of the side is hit and miss, just a case of hoping enough parts come together on the day. Nice to see the seamers deliver but they are a long way from doing so consistently!
NZ in the semi will be a very tough game, but on the day anything can and probably will happen!
Dont be fooled, different parts of England game functions in different games. Most of the side is hit and miss, just a case of hoping enough parts come together on the day. Nice to see the seamers deliver but they are a long way from doing so consistently!
NZ in the semi will be a very tough game, but on the day anything can and probably will happen!
Good to see the positivity still shining through![]()
The England side is a world away from 12 months ago now
I agree, was always going to be when they changed coach, clear as anything! More realistic, the seamers have been poor in some games, good today, same the spinners, same the batters. Its a side thats still learning and still got room to improve greatly. Still think the composition of the attack is wrong, but a big achievement to get the semis in these conditions, anything else a bonus but can definitely beat anyone in a one off game which gives them a chance to win it all!
What would you do to change the composition?
I agree, was always going to be when they changed coach, clear as anything! More realistic, the seamers have been poor in some games, good today, same the spinners, same the batters. Its a side thats still learning and still got room to improve greatly. Still think the composition of the attack is wrong, but a big achievement to get the semis in these conditions, anything else a bonus but can definitely beat anyone in a one off game which gives them a chance to win it all!
Proper seamers not medium pacers, Plunkett been a decent introduction compared to the likes of Topley etc
Not sure what change can be made with the players they have got out there at the moment - maybe Dawson should have been given a go. Jordan has come back a bit , Willey just needs to think more , Stokes is superb , Plunkett certainly was an improvement on Topley. Shame they didn't take Gregory and maybe Broad should have gone but rather let him rest.
What about the spin element though? We need to have one (Ali?) so would you add another seamer?
Proper seamers not medium pacers, Plunkett been a decent introduction compared to the likes of Topley etc
didnt mean with the players out there, the fact that Finns bowling in county warm up games not out there a very bad call!
very hard for a coach to pick a player (Dawson) hes never seen play in a competitive game! For a guy who rarely bowls for his county in T20 it was an amazing selection and I expect he was only ever going to get a go if there was an injury
currently have to pick rashid and ali, have no choice whatsoever in the conditions
Plunkett is nice and aggresive, decent pace, and gives the attack something different. Jordan seems to bowl poorly up front but good at the end. Perhaps have Willey and Plunkett open the attack, and have Jordan come on when the fielding restrictions are lifted ? Stokes bowls well at the end, but in the first six overs you need wicket takers bowling, especially on the pitch we played on today.
still not convinced with Stokes in white ball cricket, today was a massive improvement but generally hes struggled in the white ball game compared to with the red ball, probably due to his natural length, especially in southern hemisphere conditions
It was the number of wides Jordan seemed to bowl today that I thought was a concern
Doesn't look like he is going to take a lot of wickets, but his yorkers at the end are decent. He also bowls at a fair pace. When he experiments he can go teh distance, so needs to be kept to a simple game plan.still not convinced with Stokes in white ball cricket, today was a massive improvement but generally hes struggled in the white ball game compared to with the red ball, probably due to his natural length, especially in southern hemisphere conditions