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The Cricket Thread

Well it was their turn to throw it away. Once Bairstow was out they just bottled it a little by allowing Brook and Woakes to build a partnership
 
So ten days until the next test

This is what I think the team should be

Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Ali
Foakes
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Tongue

What I think they will go with is


Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Bairstow
Ali
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Anderson
 
So ten days until the next test

This is what I think the team should be

Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Ali
Foakes
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Tongue

What I think they will go with is


Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Bairstow
Ali
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Anderson

I hope for the former but suspect, like you, we'll get the latter. Bairstow has to go surely but he seems bombproof. I think his mistakes behind the stumps are also affecting his batting ability so time to give him a rest methinks. Would love to see Wood and Tongue steaming in - not sure about the surface at Old Trafford?
 
So ten days until the next test

This is what I think the team should be

Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Ali
Foakes
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Tongue

What I think they will go with is


Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Bairstow
Ali
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Anderson

Agree on both counts, Phil.
 
So ten days until the next test

This is what I think the team should be

Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Ali
Foakes
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Tongue

What I think they will go with is


Crawley
Duckett
Root
Brook
Stokes
Bairstow
Ali
Woakes
Broad
Wood
Anderson
A couple of changes for me from what you've suggested. I think Stokes at 5 and Ali at 6 leaves us short on the batting. I'd go....

Crawley
Duckett
Lawrence
Root
Brook
Stokes
Ali
Foakes
Woakes/Tongue
Broad
Wood

Ali/Foakes could easily be swapped in the order. With the option to use Root as the spinner and bring in Woakes/Tongue for Ali depending on the wicket and weather conditions. But I do think that they won't drop Bairstow (unfortunately)
 
Is there room for sentimentality. Anderson was showing his age in the earlier tests but does anyone think he will not be given a swansong at Old Trafford.
 
A couple of changes for me from what you've suggested. I think Stokes at 5 and Ali at 6 leaves us short on the batting. I'd go....

Crawley
Duckett
Lawrence
Root
Brook
Stokes
Ali
Foakes
Woakes/Tongue
Broad
Wood

Ali/Foakes could easily be swapped in the order. With the option to use Root as the spinner and bring in Woakes/Tongue for Ali depending on the wicket and weather conditions. But I do think that they won't drop Bairstow (unfortunately)

That team is a bowler short. We need to take 20 wickets so 4 seamers needed plus a spinner.

If we were winning or if Stokes was fully fit that team would be ok because it offers a very deep batting line up.
 
If they believe Ali can bat at 3, maybe try Woakes, who consistently chips in with runs and has a better test batting average than Ali. I think he’s an underrated batter. Also his average is comparable with Crawley and Lawrence.

I know this is unlikely, but it would certainly surprise the Aussies!
 
Bairstow is short on confidence. That's crucial. When a keeper is in form, they don't even know what the are doing differently. The ball just sticks.

Of course the mechanics need to be right and he doesn't seem to moving well and anticipating effectively. That impacts his batting too.

I wonder if he'll get a rest.

No chance. They will back him for all 5 tests.
 
No chance. They will back him for all 5 tests.

You might be right. The tenancy to "keep the faith " with the core group does help take some of the pressure off. One good take and confidence comes back. 😉

That said. I'm old school. Wicketkeepers are there to keep Wicket and will show their worth on dismissals and runs saved. Any runs they make are a bonus!

Or at least that was my excuse!🤣🤣
 
You might be right. The tenancy to "keep the faith " with the core group does help take some of the pressure off. One good take and confidence comes back. 😉

That said. I'm old school. Wicketkeepers are there to keep Wicket and will show their worth on dismissals and runs saved. Any runs they make are a bonus!

Or at least that was my excuse!🤣🤣

They only rotate the bowlers. Batters get a whole series (at least) to find some form. Seems to have been the policy for a while now.

Keeping seems to be irrelevant, it’s runs scored that matters. To be fair Bairstow did score 4 centuries last summer.

Shame Jos Butler couldn’t find any batting form. His keeping was not spectacular but much more tidy than Bairstow.
 
That team is a bowler short. We need to take 20 wickets so 4 seamers needed plus a spinner.

If we were winning or if Stokes was fully fit that team would be ok because it offers a very deep batting line up.

I don't necessarily disagree, but we also need to score enough runs to win the match and LP's team seemed a little light on the batting side of things. Four seamers plus Root on a decent wicket or three seamers plus Ali and Root (and hopefully Stokes for a few overs if fit enough) on a wicket that might turn later in the game was the reason I went for that selection.

Edit - Although having thought about it a bit more is Stokes at 5, Ali at 6, Foakes at 7, Woakes at 8 that much worse than what we've currently got? I'm thinking that it's probably not.
 
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