England Cricket 2023

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Guess picking Broad was the right choice then.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Looks like NZ have fucked it.

 

[Petcha]

Just flicking through the scorecard from overnight. The strike rates of each batsman are crazy by test standards, again. Ironically the Nighthawk is the lowest.

Surprised this has gone to four days tbh.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Well I’ve totally screwed my sleep pattern to follow this match. NZ has let me down and not extended the game.

 

[planetgeli]

What's left to say? We've run out of superlatives. Still waiting for that Test where 'it all goes wrong'. For years we relied on Root to save us from embarrassment. Now he's a bit player because literally everyone (even Crawley) has stood up at some point, when required.

 

[Petcha]

Well that was a pretty piss poor NZ team. I know everyone keeps saying 'what happens when they fail' and they haven't really yet but looking at what just happened to the Aussies in India, well. I'll finally be sold if they can win a game there, or hell, even take it to five days.

It's amazing that they're doing this with pretty much the same group of players as played under Root though.

 

[Petcha]

Stokes/Baz are also incredibly lucky that Brook's arrival on the scene coincided with theirs

 

[Petcha]

I'm so very much imagining the Aussie dressing room versus the England dressing room today. A day to spare after another record win to enjoy more wine and golf with their partners in the sunshine on the beach.

England. Golf. Winning Test matches. Not necessarily in that order.

Other catchier mantras are available to describe what this Test side is doing, with less copyright infringement to get around, too. But as England completed their 10th win out of 11 under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, all you could really do was reel off what has been the last two weeks leading up to this first win away to New Zealand since 2008.

They have seemingly graced every golf course in the North Island and left no stone unturned for this series opener at the Bay Oval. Since arriving into the country at the end of January, they have spent the last three weeks recalibrating the vibe with minimal actual cricket in the middle and still won their first overseas day-night match in six attempts with five sessions to spare. In the process, they secured England's biggest run-win - by 267 - against the Black Caps.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Reflections on the highlights (was away and missed most of the match).

Great stuff in the field from England (Crawley catching aside). Broad magic spell, first time in a long time. He's clearly revelling in every moment right now. Duckett impresses again. Crawley doesn't. Root still not quite in the right place. He should just be told to play normally - his normal is faster than 90% of test batters anyway and he averages 50 so don't change anything. Stokes needs to stop slogging. He's better than that. The likes of Pope, Duckett and Brook are clearly getting it all right at the moment more often than not, so just keep going.

NZ will have a lot to look at. Their second string bowlers are not very good, which is a worry for them. Losing Jamieson was a huge blow. Not picking Boult was a huge mistake. But that said, the vagaries of day-night tests didn't fall in their favour. It's stupid to play d/n test cricket. I'm looking forward to a normal second test, which will be a fairer contest.

 

[Petcha]

Yeh, their bowling stocks seem very low. They seem to be quite excited about Matt Henry returning. With all due respect to the guy he's not exactly A list himself.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Root does sound a bit down on himself which is totally ridiculous. He’s currently 5th in the ICC rankings with an average of 49. The positive mental attitude hasn’t rubbed off on him.

If I’m being brutally honest there was the initial relief of coming out of the captaincy and now I’m just trying to find out what my role is within this team.

Joe Root determined to find his place in Ben Stokes’ grand plan for England team

'I want to contribute and feel like I’ve not done that in the last few matches.'

metro.co.uk

 

[Petcha]

That's precisely why he was such a terrible captain. Can't believe he stayed in the job so long.

 

[two sheds]

Have we had this? Anderson top wicket taker

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Not top wicket taker (although in that list, he is), but top-rated on recent form on a points system. An incredible achievement for a 40-year-old.

 

[Petcha]

Am I right in thinking that if the Aussies keep bombing and England keep thrashing all and sundry, England are still an outside chance to get into the WTC final?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Am I right in thinking that if the Aussies keep bombing and England keep thrashing all and sundry, England are still an outside chance to get into the WTC final?

no. England can't qualify. Aus can fuck it up by losing 4-0 in India and other results going against them. Unlikely though. The WTC final is almost certain to be Aus vs India.

England's WTC campaign is done. This NZ series isn't part of it.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

It's incredible really isn't it. Just looked it up and he's taken 202 wickets at 20.56 since turning 35. That's a fantastic career just on its own. For comparison Michael Holding - who I think everyone would agree is a legendary bowler - took 249 wickets at 23.68 in his whole career.

 

[surreybrowncap]

World Test Championship: How your team can reach the final

Australia’s innings defeat to India in the first Test in Nagpur has further extended their wait to confirm a spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 Final.

www.icc-cricket.com

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It's incredible really isn't it. Just looked it up and he's taken 202 wickets at 20.56 since turning 35. That's a fantastic career just on its own. For comparison Michael Holding - who I think everyone would agree is a legendary bowler - took 249 wickets at 23.68 in his whole career.

Not only that, but his away record in that period is just as impressive as his home record. Match-winning performances in India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan. Excellent performances on a losing side in Aus. Once upon a time, it was said that Anderson was only effective with a Duke's ball in England. His record in Asia, in particular, is incredible. Average around 27. He's now up there with another legend (arguably the best ever) - Malcolm Marshall, who was one of the few seamers to do well in India. Marshall averaged 20 across his career.

 

[Petcha]

no. England can't qualify. Aus can fuck it up by losing 4-0 in India and other results going against them. Unlikely though. The WTC final is almost certain to be Aus vs India.

England's WTC campaign is done. This NZ series isn't part of it.

That's a shame. I think the entire cricketing world would like to see England in that. Joe Root's captaincy

 

[littlebabyjesus]

That's a shame. I think the entire cricketing world would like to see England in that. Joe Root's captaincy

Yeah, it's a reflection of how catastrophic the previous year was that 10 wins out of 11 still hasn't put them in contention.

 

[Petcha]

It's incredible really isn't it. Just looked it up and he's taken 202 wickets at 20.56 since turning 35. That's a fantastic career just on its own. For comparison Michael Holding - who I think everyone would agree is a legendary bowler - took 249 wickets at 23.68 in his whole career.

It's only a couple of years ago that both Broad and Anderson were dropped for that tour of the Windies. I mean. Who was making those decisions? Strauss from memory?

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

It's only a couple of years ago that both Broad and Anderson were dropped for that tour of the Windies. I mean. Who was making those decisions? Strauss from memory?

Just under a year ago in fact: English cricket team in the West Indies in 2021–22 - Wikipedia

 

[Petcha]

Just under a year ago in fact: English cricket team in the West Indies in 2021–22 - Wikipedia

I think if they had lost their central contracts they would have very good grounds for dismissal based on age discrimination. They were still the best bowlers in the side but it was made known they weren't selected basically because they were too old. Just terrible management.

 

[Petcha]

It's such a shame they haven't had a backroom film crew following them about like the Aussies had for 'The Test'. I'd love to see how the fuck they've done this. Maybe they'll do it for the Ashes.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

It’s another green one.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Have we had this? Anderson top wicket taker

Not sure how the ICCs algorithm works but I hope Broad is played again and that bumps him into the top 10 (and pushes Starc out).

3 English bowlers in the top 10 would be a thing.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Atherton says Bairstow is back doing some light training.

Michael Atherton pinpoints England's "real problem" ahead of the Ashes

England legend Michael Atherton believes they will have a "real problem" on their hands ahead of the Ashes once Jonny Bairstow returns from injury, given Harry Brook's impressive form

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[planetgeli]

I don't know who Bairstow v Brook is a difficult decision for but it's not me. And neither is Bairstow v Foulkes if that's the other choice.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Brook is going to be picked and so is Bairstow and so is Foakes for that matter.

Chuck out Crawley if that wouldn’t make Rob Key cry. Get Brook the wonder kid to open. He has a solid defence and Bazball is his natural game.