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England Cricket 2021

littlebabyjesus said:
Most of all, though, props to New Zealand. They're a proper test team, solid all the way through, a mix of old and new all coming in and performing to a very high level, and always but always in exactly the right spirit. They show how sport should be played, and it is a pleasure to see it. :cool: to them.
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They're like the anti-Australia. It would have been an aberration and an injustice if they'd lost this series tbh.
 
There's something to be said for having a few pantomime villains in the opposition though. And the Aussies certainly aren't lacking in that department. They just seem like a nasty bunch of bullies, and everyone likes seeing a bully taken down. Sadly I can't see England doing that next time round. Imagine the gloating if they'd just taken us apart as NZ have done.
 
The T20 squad for comparison: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Experience and ability. A proper solid looking team.
 
RileyOBlimey said:
Time to give Dawid Malan another chance? No. 3?
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Now there's desperation. But we are (desperate).

Not at number 3. He did better at 5. But the only thing you can really say about him is that he had a decent Ashes down under in 17/18. But I've no idea how he's doing in county 4 day games now. He's become very much a T20 thing.
 
planetgeli said:
Now there's desperation. But we are (desperate).

Not at number 3. He did better at 5. But the only thing you can really say about him is that he had a decent Ashes down under in 17/18. But I've no idea how he's doing in county 4 day games now. He's become very much a T20 thing.
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He has had a few really big innings recently I think. I don't follow the CC closely but it seems the players getting a lot of runs have tended to be those who've already had a crack for England and not done too well.

ETA: A double century and a 199 in consecutive games in the last couple of weeks so certainly in form at that level.
 
planetgeli said:
Now there's desperation. But we are (desperate).

Not at number 3. He did better at 5. But the only thing you can really say about him is that he had a decent Ashes down under in 17/18. But I've no idea how he's doing in county 4 day games now. He's become very much a T20 thing.
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He's been in decent for for Yorks. I don't think it would be absolutely crazy for him to go to Aus.
 
planetgeli said:
Now there's desperation. But we are (desperate).

Not at number 3. He did better at 5. But the only thing you can really say about him is that he had a decent Ashes down under in 17/18. But I've no idea how he's doing in county 4 day games now. He's become very much a T20 thing.
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Shortly after I posted that Agnew agreed…

www.bbc.co.uk

England v New Zealand: 'Joe Root's side need change of mentality'

Watching England's eight-wicket hammering by New Zealand at Edgbaston was like being back in the 1990s, says Jonathan Agnew.
www.bbc.co.uk

Even though Dom Sibley battled away on that final day of the first Test, it should be a consideration to move him aside and bring in someone else to bat at number three. Dawid Malan is a name that has been mentioned.
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Another call for Bairstow and Malan…
www.theguardian.com

Five things for England to fix before the Test series against India | Tanya Aldred

Joe Root’s side are in desperate need of a spinner and the rotation policy means some players are not getting enough Test cricket, but there is plenty of talent to come in
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
Hiding in that Headingley dressing room are two batsmen to bring gumption and experience. In his one championship innings of the year, Dawid Malan looked the real deal while scoring 199 against Sussex, rescuing what has been a collapse-happy batting lineup with what one journalist called a “triumph of technique”. Malan says he’s learned from his failures at Test level and “still has a hell of a lot to give”. The other – don’t all shout at once – is Bairstow, who has six Test centuries to his name. Since 2018, Bairstow has changed batting positions 14 times in 18 Tests. Time for a bit of consistency – and a bit of love.
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How does Bairstow make things robust then?

Since the start of 2019 he has played 14 tests. He scored 498 runs at 19.9.

He scored 2 fifties, with a high of 52. He scored 5 ducks in this time, including two pairs.

In the Ashes he played every game and scored 214 runs at 23.7. Top score 52.

What is it about people thinking Bairstow will be the answer...this time?
 
planetgeli said:
How does Bairstow make things robust then?

Since the start of 2019 he has played 14 tests. He scored 498 runs at 19.9.

He scored 2 fifties, with a high of 52. He scored 5 ducks in this time, including two pairs.

In the Ashes he played every game and scored 214 runs at 23.7. Top score 52.

What is it about people thinking Bairstow will be the answer...this time?
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It’s reasonable to assign blame for the disparity of his recent performances in white vs red ball cricket being due to being dicked about. He was unjustifiably robbed of the gloves and shunted around the order. His record while batting lower down the order is good. There is the question of a specific technical vulnerability that exploited the gap between his bat a pad. Has this been addressed? His good show during the winter has not fully answered this. A major plus is his ability to come in the lower order when the situation is invariably shit and the previous batsmen are nervous and play his natural bristling cricket. He’s got the bollocks to face Australia. I can see the current crop of young hopefuls wilting in the sunny climes down under.
 
I'm not sure that is massively reasonable. A robust player would be able to function in more than one place in the order. Meanwhile, his strop on losing the gloves did him little credit.

And sadly his white ball success appears to have ruined his red ball technique. Not sure becoming a huge ipl star would have cured that. A player serious about regaining his test place would have turned down the ipl to play in the CC. He didn't do that. His choice.

I have no confidence that yjb would have been any better vs NZ. In fact my money would have been on him failing again against quality bowlers aiming for his stumps.
 
The last time Bairstow played in the Ashes in Australia he averaged 34. This was with the added burden of keeping in the Oz sun all day. Returning that average is not shameful for any batsmen, certainly not for a wicket keeper.
 
Why won't Joe Root bat at no.3? If he's afraid of the new ball that's not really an issue anyway as he's usually in inside 10 overs.
 
Or to really solidify the batting do the unspeakable…

Burns
Sibley
Malan
Root
Stokes
Bairstow
Buttler
Woakes
Curran
Rashid
Wood
 
RileyOBlimey said:
Like Root prospered at No. 3?

Or like Moeen did in all positions he was fucked around in?
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Root averages 38 at three - not as good as in other positions, but not terrible.

I agree with you that Moeen was fucked around, batting anything from 1 to 9. But I don't think Bairstow was fucked around with anywhere near as much. tbh it's been Root's refusal to bat at three that has caused a lot of Bairstow's problems.

I don't have a problem with Root insisting on 4, btw. He earns the right to choose by being the best batsman. Kohli bats 4, but with Pujara above him. Tendulkar batted 4, but with Dravid above him. Williamson bats 3, so did Ponting, Lara, Richards, Bradman and a whole host of other top batsmen. In England, for some reason, it's become a problem position rather than a coveted position. It's a bit odd.

(Reason Root gives to bat 4 is that he wants a mental break after captaining in the field.)
 
littlebabyjesus said:
Root averages 38 at three - not as good as in other positions, but not terrible.

I agree with you that Moeen was fucked around, batting anything from 1 to 9. But I don't think Bairstow was fucked around with anywhere near as much. tbh it's been Root's refusal to bat at three that has caused a lot of Bairstow's problems.

I don't have a problem with Root insisting on 4, btw. He earns the right to choose by being the best batsman. Kohli bats 4, but with Pujara above him. Tendulkar batted 4, but with Dravid above him. Williamson bats 3, so did Ponting, Lara, Richards, Bradman and a whole host of other top batsmen. In England, for some reason, it's become a problem position rather than a coveted position. It's a bit odd.

(Reason Root gives to bat 4 is that he wants a mental break after captaining in the field.)
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Then he's doing it wrong. A captain should lead from the front. In cricket, this is No. 3. He's not keeping, which is mentally and physically draining yes. He doesn't even field at mid-off like Williamson does in order to instruct his bowlers. He sits in the slips, dropping half the chances the come at him.
 
Dunno that he is doing it wrong tbh. If you have a solid no.3, you can put your best batsman at 4 no problem. England with Trott at 3 was another example of that to add to Pujara/Dravid. You might also pick three openers and have one of them drop to 3, as Vaughan did.

And it's not just the no.3 position that's the problem, of course. If only. A full-strength England also lacks solidity at 1, 2 and 5.
 
Oh that's nice. A shame it wasn't last night, when Sky cut away half an hour before the end of the world championshiptest to show pundits discussing cloud conditions in Cardiff before the ritual slaughter of Sri Lanka.
 
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