The Cricket Thread

[fundy]

how many playing slots are there per series?

Spinners in England, 1 or 2

How many of your list do you think are test level spinners in English conditions? The best thing that could happen is we actually get a plethora of decent spin bowlers in county cricket who push each other hard and also give our batsmen decent practise against top class spin on pitches that are condusive to spin bowling (who am i kidding lol, none of the batters will be playing county cricket)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Spinners in England, 1 or 2

How many of your list do you think are test level spinners in English conditions? The best thing that could happen is we actually get a plethora of decent spin bowlers in county cricket who push each other hard and also give our batsmen decent practise against top class spin on pitches that are condusive to spin bowling (who am i kidding lol, none of the batters will be playing county cricket)

Love the optimism though

 

[pokerjoke]

My daughter has just got a job with England cricket
She over the moon

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My daughter has just got a job with England cricket
She over the moon

Great news. What is she doing and I guess that means Ashes tickets for you then!

 

[pokerjoke]

Great news. What is she doing and I guess that means Ashes tickets for you then!

Marketing manager
Working at Lords as well
Unfortunately her boyfriend is cricket mad so I suspect if anything comes up he will go.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Marketing manager
Working at Lords as well
Unfortunately her boyfriend is cricket mad so I suspect if anything comes up he will go.

I'm sure she won't forget her dear grey haired father from time to time. Not a bad office though

 

[Mudball]

Interesting analysis of the Joe Root LBW..

https://x.com/theanalyst/status/1762480851592331513?s=20

of if you prefer the conspiracy theory

https://x.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1762522587551121647?s=20

 

[Neilds]

England doing England things
Reckless batting, reviewing when it is hitting middle stump - stupid, stupid stuff

 

[MACM85]

England doing England things
Reckless batting, reviewing when it is hitting middle stump - stupid, stupid stuff

But it is Bazball it is amazing to watch and play and get out scoring 30 from 20 balls. It is so exciting for the whole world.....

 

[Mudball]

England doing England things
Reckless batting, reviewing when it is hitting middle stump - stupid, stupid stuff

When I left home, Eng was a comfy 150 for 2 or something. I just checked and India is 100/0. Was not aware it was a T20 match today.
How is the pitch behaving?

But it is Bazball it is amazing to watch and play and get out scoring 30 from 20 balls. It is so exciting for the whole world.....

Love the idea that Pope thinks that Jaiswal has been inspired by Eng Bazball, and it is helping Jaiswall play proper Bazball..

 

[Mudball]

When I left home, Eng was a comfy 150 for 2 or something. I just checked and India is 100/0. Was not aware it was a T20 match today.
How is the pitch behaving?



Love the idea that Pope thinks that Jaiswal has been inspired by Eng Bazball, and it is helping Jaiswall play proper Bazball..

Looks like I jinxed Jaiswal..... but not before he scores another 50. Hopefully he opens the door to the weaker middle order (except a couple of young ones)

 

[Mudball]

Well tomorrow, India will be shot out under 500.. a mountain to climb after that, with a 2.5 days play left. only 2 ways about it... either bazball will go for it and try and chase the lead down by tomorrow evening (and perish in the cause), or they play classic test cricket and grind it out.

I believe nothing in the pitch after the Indian spinners were turning it square on the first day. Maybe it will wake up again tomorrow.. who knows.

 

[sunshine]

Well tomorrow, India will be shot out under 500.. a mountain to climb after that, with a 2.5 days play left. only 2 ways about it... either bazball will go for it and try and chase the lead down by tomorrow evening (and perish in the cause), or they play classic test cricket and grind it out.

I believe nothing in the pitch after the Indian spinners were turning it square on the first day. Maybe it will wake up again tomorrow.. who knows.

Every night, the Indian groundsmen change the pitch. It's on pallets and it can be lifted out to switch between a batting pitch and bowling pitch. It's happened all series, it's the only reason I can think of why England aren't winning 4-0.

 

[sunshine]

I remember Kevin Keegan's Newcastle side of the mid-90s. Hugely entertaining to watch as a neutral, they pulled off some famous victories including beating Barcelona in the Champions League. They famously held a 12 point lead at the top of the Premier League in 96. But they were a bit too reckless, threw away too many points and ultimately didn't win any trophies.

Is this what we can expect from the Bazball England cricket team?

Newcastle fans probably look back at that period as a golden era, but Newcastle isn't historically an elite club. Would Man U or Liverpool fans have been happy with the Keegan achievements? England cricket is surely second only to India in terms of resources available, fans have Liverpool-sized expectations that involve winning things. Is Bazball in its current form going to achieve this?

 

[Grizzly]

England cricket is surely second only to India in terms of resources available, fans have Liverpool-sized expectations that involve winning things. Is Bazball in its current form going to achieve this?

Maybe.

Splinters from the fence removed, let me explain. If we accept that Bazball is about making positive decisions and trying to move the game forward rather than indiscriminate slogging, then there is no reason why it cannot go on to achieve most of what you are hoping for - there are a couple of issues, which I will outline below, but beyond those, I don't think there is a lot wrong that a bit more match practice at the right times would not fix.

So, the issues. Firstly, the one that explains some of the problems England have had over the last 12 months - the fact that Stokes has not bowled. If he does not, selection becomes a series of compromises, not helped by the fact that none of our other bowlers are any great shakes with the willow, whereas when he is fit to bowl it is almost as simple as picking your next ten best players. The second is obvious - Jimmy is getting old, and it is not clear who will lead the attack when he goes. The third is more tricky - the fact that we have too many 5s and 6s and not enough number 3s.

 

[Mudball]

Maybe.

Splinters from the fence removed, let me explain. If we accept that Bazball is about making positive decisions and trying to move the game forward rather than indiscriminate slogging, then there is no reason why it cannot go on to achieve most of what you are hoping for - there are a couple of issues, which I will outline below, but beyond those, I don't think there is a lot wrong that a bit more match practice at the right times would not fix.

So, the issues. Firstly, the one that explains some of the problems England have had over the last 12 months - the fact that Stokes has not bowled. If he does not, selection becomes a series of compromises, not helped by the fact that none of our other bowlers are any great shakes with the willow, whereas when he is fit to bowl it is almost as simple as picking your next ten best players. The second is obvious - Jimmy is getting old, and it is not clear who will lead the attack when he goes. The third is more tricky - the fact that we have too many 5s and 6s and not enough number 3s.

It is all predictable procession at the moment ..

I agree.. I like Bazball.. in spirit but not so much in how it seeems to be executed. I will still pay to this team anyday. The mindset is to win first. This makes test cricket interesting. Stokes is not shy to declare and let the opposition try and chase 250 on the last day rather than aim for a draw.

Where it seems to fall down is when batsmen think it is free license to play T20 no matter who they are facing. You just can’t hoick Bhumrah or Ashwin every ball. But there are plenty of opportunities to wait for the poor ball. The 1st test showed that all it takes one or two guys to carry the bat and you can put pressure back. Pope’s 190+ was enough to bazball the opposition. Eng has done well with funky field placements to put pressure.

Back to your point, bazball is masking some real talent issues in the dressing room. We kind of have a good opening pair but the tail starts straightaway if Stokes is not bowling. If you take away Pope’s 190, his average is less than 20 this series. Bairstow is a lottery that will give you a 20-30. The bowling dept in the Post Anderson world is not looking great either with no one putting their hand up. The spinners are too young and hopefully this was a learning trip for them

India (at home) on the other hand has dominated with next generation. I heard this was the least experienced team they have ever put up. Lost count of the number of debuts. Jaiswal may have scored more than the whole English team put together. with Kohli out of the way, there is a glut of debuts in 3,4,5,6 and a fair few 50s from each of them. Their bowlers made look batting easy. Day 2 stats was ‘Bhumra and Yadav batted for 18 overs to score x runs; meanwhile the last 5 English wickets fell in less than 14 overs’

Not everyone likes IPL and masala cricket, but it is giving India a readymade conveyor belt of players who are stepping up to Test cricket.

Now let me go and put a kettle on before the rest of the English team decide to take the early flight home.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Saw a clip of Duckett running down the wicket after 5 balls, missing, getting bowled. Opening batsman, 5 balls. That isn't brave, it's brainless. No fear batting is great, playing 20-20 cricket in a test match isn't.

I don't have TNT so no idea how the others collapsed. Grim reading though.

 

[Mudball]

Saw a clip of Duckett running down the wicket after 5 balls, missing, getting bowled. Opening batsman, 5 balls. That isn't brave, it's brainless. No fear batting is great, playing 20-20 cricket in a test match isn't.

I don't have TNT so no idea how the others collapsed. Grim reading though.

Been watching Root-Bashir innings. They seem to be doing alright. Bashir is playing a great support role for Root. Scoring 5-6 runs an over. Root getting towards his ton while Bashir showing the top order how to bat.

This must be a massive learning curve for Bashir. Not much as a bowler but he must be watching the Indian bowlers going about their business. Hope he implements it.

Lastly, I hope the whole debate about pitch is consigned to the ashes. We have had turning one, dusty ones, flat ones, dead ones, spicy ones…. In every setting India has outplayed England. Blaming the pitch is a a national pass time .. and a good one

 

[3offTheTee]

Ah well, inevitable. At least Anderson got his 700th wicket

 

[Mudball]

Saw a clip of Duckett running down the wicket after 5 balls, missing, getting bowled. Opening batsman, 5 balls. That isn't brave, it's brainless. No fear batting is great, playing 20-20 cricket in a test match isn't.

I don't have TNT so no idea how the others collapsed. Grim reading though.

Mixed bag of good bowling and senseless batting … comedy gold with Bashir trying to review getting bowled. He thought he was given caught behind and had not seen that the stumps had been hit

Video >>

https://twitter.com/x/status/1766380967617614045