Cricket

[birchesgreen]

Saw an interesting suggestion elsewhere online that Woakes should be promoted to open.

 

[Mikey C]

Michael Vaughan is out in Australia now, perhaps he can open the batting

 

[Whistler40145]

Seriously, how can England improve it's batting and fielding?

IMHO the Openers aren't doing their job

 

[birchesgreen]

Seriously, how can England improve it's batting and fielding?

IMHO the Openers aren't doing their job

Well thats where you start, you need openers who can stick around and blunt the attack so the likes of Root and Stokes can come in and make hay and not have to save the sinking ship time after time. Now the difficult question: where do they come from?

 

[Whistler40145]

Well thats where you start, you need openers who can stick around and blunt the attack so the likes of Root and Stokes can come in and make hay and not have to save the sinking ship time after time. Now the difficult question: where do they come from?

Have England taken any other opening batters in the squad?

 

[birchesgreen]

Have England taken any other opening batters in the squad?

I don't think so, which may be a sign of the problem.

 

[Busaholic]

Have England taken any other opening batters in the squad?

Zak Crawley has opened for England and is in the squad - he's also a good fielder, which is usually the case with Kent players, We also have proof he can make a good score in test cricket! England seem to be obsessed with at least one opener batting left handed, which is all very well with a Cook or a Strauss. Don't recollect either Greenidge or Haynes batting lefthanded, and they had the best record, nor currently do India (or Pakistan?)

 

[01d-and]

Did not the "experts" predict that our quick bowlers would revel in the conditions during this day / nighter ??

 

[DarloRich]

Did not the "experts" predict that our quick bowlers would revel in the conditions during this day / nighter ??

they clearly missed the fact that Australia don't lose day/nighters!

 

[Mikey C]

they clearly missed the fact that Australia don't lose day/nighters!

Yes, while the lights might help our bowlers, Mitchell Starc is lethal under the lights!

 

[Whistler40145]

Yes, while the lights might help our bowlers, Mitchell Starc is lethal under the lights!

Can't say that England have any lethal bowlers

 

[backontrack]

Saw an interesting suggestion elsewhere online that Woakes should be promoted to open.

The litmus test for England openers should be whether or not they're better than Chris Woakes.

 

[Whistler40145]

The litmus test for England openers should be whether or not they're better than Chris Woakes.

How about trying Jos Butler as opener, dropping Ollie Pope, recalling Jonny Bairstow as Keeper?

 

[3rd rail land]

Would it be worth recalling Foakes? He's a decent bat and could replace the rather out of form Pope.

 

[Mikey C]

Would it be worth recalling Foakes? He's a decent bat and could replace the rather out of form Pope.

He's gone home now, along with most of the A squad

 

[backontrack]

Would it be worth recalling Foakes? He's a decent bat and could replace the rather out of form Pope.

He's a better wicketkeeper than our present lot too. He's never been given the chances; it's a sorry state of affairs.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Merry Boxing Day Test eve to you all.

The final XIs for both sides:

AUSTRALIA:
Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon

ENGLAND:
Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson

No Broad for England but the Victorian in Scott Boland will be playing for Australia which will please the locals!

 

[backontrack]

Merry Boxing Day Test eve to you all.

The final XIs for both sides:

AUSTRALIA:
Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon

ENGLAND:
Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson

No Broad for England but the Victorian in Scott Boland will be playing for Australia which will please the locals!

Dropping Broad is just moronic. He was the only one bowling remotely full last time out - I'd conjecturise that he's out because he might well have stood up to Root's pathetic pillorying of the bowling attack (that he himself misuses as captain). Anderson should be dispensed with instead.

Hoping your boys absolutely destroy us over the next six days. It's what we deserve.

 

[3rd rail land]

With the team that's been announced England have absolutely no chance of anything but losing by a huge margin. Might as well just concede the match now before it's even started.

 

[Peterthegreat]

With the team that's been announced England have absolutely no chance of anything but losing by a huge margin. Might as well just concede the match bow before it's even started.

Agreed. But who do replace them with?

 

[backontrack]

Would it be worth recalling Foakes? He's a decent bat and could replace the rather out of form Pope.

It'd be worth recalling Foakes.

It'd also have been worth investing any kind of focus on Test cricket and not The Hundred, having a stable and coherent selection policy, a decent coach, a capable captain, not breaking Jofra Archer with injury...

 

[3rd rail land]

Agreed. But who do replace them with?

Might as well give a load of the better county players their debuts and see if any might have some potential at the top level. We're going to lose big time anyway.

 

[Darandio]

Might as well give a load of the better county players their debuts and see if any might have some potential at the top level. We're going to lose big time anyway.

Like who? Isn't everyone in the squad over there already capped anyway?

 

[Class800]

Merry Boxing Day Test eve to you all.

The final XIs for both sides:

AUSTRALIA:
Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon

ENGLAND:
Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson

No Broad for England but the Victorian in Scott Boland will be playing for Australia which will please the locals!

Why haven't England tried some Australian level mind games and named it instead as

Leach, Stokes, Crawley, Buttler, Bairstow, Root (c), Malan, Hameed (wk), Robinson, Wood, Anderson

or a couple of names wrong and claim they were last minute injuries

Of course intending them to bat
Hameed, Crawley, Malan, Root (c), Stokes, Bairstow, Buttler (wk), Wood, Robinson, Leach, Anderson

And why are England management not using a diversionary tactic of claiming for example in the press that Buttler has been working on his secret leg spin and is looking forward to unleashing it - and that in Hameed we have found the best keeper since Alan Knott - of course knowing he won't keep but claiming he will

 

[3rd rail land]

Like who? Isn't everyone in the squad over there already capped anyway?

How difficult would it be to get some players over from England in time for the 4th test? Admittedly we are going to have to go with what we've got in Australia for the Boxing Day match.

 

[Darandio]

How difficult would be to get some players over from England in time for the 4th test? Admittedly we are going to have to go with what we've got in Australia for the Boxing Day match.

Considering it was near impossible to get the Ashes on in the first place with so many ridiculous demands and protocols, probably very difficult indeed. Even if they landed tomorrow there would be a two week isolation without exemption.

 

[3rd rail land]

Considering it was near impossible to get the Ashes on in the first place with so many ridiculous demands and protocols, probably very difficult indeed. Even if they landed tomorrow there would be a two week isolation without exemption.

An option for the 5th test perhaps?

 

[SuspectUsual]

That's one heck of a lightweight batting lineup - Wood & Robinson at 8 & 9 hardly gives one confidence in the tail's ability to support a misfiring top order

 

[Class800]

That's one heck of a lightweight batting lineup - Wood & Robinson at 8 & 9 hardly gives one confidence in the tail's ability to support a misfiring top order

I agree - but handing over a team sheet designed to confuse with maybe Wood at 4 on it might help a bit. And when he does come out at 8, we may have the ascendancy

 

[backontrack]

That's one heck of a lightweight batting lineup - Wood & Robinson at 8 & 9 hardly gives one confidence in the tail's ability to support a misfiring top order

I imagine they'll be the other way round.