butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Aussies getting suckered here. Can't believe they're falling for it.
The Ashes 2015
- Thread starter Santino
- Start date
Oh dear 
The plan to lull the stupid Australians into a false sense of security appears to be going well 
They clearly have no idea how awesome England really are 
They clearly have no idea how awesome England really are 
Bonfirelight
Crocodile
well done Aussies.
Terrific bowling and applied batting. England, not so much.
sets it all up nicely though
Terrific bowling and applied batting. England, not so much.
sets it all up nicely though
DrRingDing
'anti-human wanker'
What knee jerk team changes do we want to see then?
Lyth needs to fuck off. Butcher's fave replacement hasn't been in the best of form. Who could be an appropriate replacement?
Ballance needs to go...... butBell should have another chance.
Butler? Johnny Bairstow has been in great nick. He has to be the replacement.
Lyth needs to fuck off. Butcher's fave replacement hasn't been in the best of form. Who could be an appropriate replacement?
Ballance needs to go...... butBell should have another chance.
Butler? Johnny Bairstow has been in great nick. He has to be the replacement.
DrRingDing
'anti-human wanker'
He's a stroke player that needs to come down the order.
Lyth would have seemed the natural choice but the occasion has got to him. Sam Robson would be the choice for thee future.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
James Taylor in for Bell would seem like the obvious change. I'd maybe give Ballance one more go.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Crap performance.
Well the first thing to say is that I hope this result knocks the idea of preparing flat pitches on the head (if they have purposely prepared them).
That said the England selectors do have a lot more thinking to do than their Australian counterparts did after the last match. Australia could basically just replace like with like, unfortunately England will have to do a bit more thinking about the whole make up on the team.
Bairstow is obviously the in form county player at the moment but he's (yet another) lower order batsman, he can't open and I wouldn't even really fancy him playing at three. Likewise Sam Hain has been in good knick but again he's another middle order player. One option could be to drop Ballance (who IMO has the talent for Test Cricket but is out of form), bump Ali up to three (where after all he's has played at in FC cricket) and play Bairstow at seven. But Ali does seem to have started to ease himself into batting at eight.
As for Lyth, I'm not sure what they should do. TBH I've always felt that he was one of those players that is an excellent first class player but not quite Test Match quality, at least not against the top teams. The problem is who to replace him with, Robson is hardly stacking his claim in the CC this season. Compton is the only one of the three major contenders to be averaging over 40. And to add complications neither Compton nor Carberry are playing as openers at the minute. I guess Hales could be one (slightly risky) option for opening.
Bairstow 6 10 2 767 219* 95.88 75.34 4 3
Carberry 11 19 0 636 97 33.47 47.82 0 5
Compton 11 21 2 769 117 40.47 47.94 1 5
Hales 8 14 1 601 236 46.23 60.77 2 1
Hain 6 9 0 363 106 40.33 49.39 1 3
Robson 11 21 2 647 178 34.05 53.56 1 2
Taylor 9 16 1 436 61 29.07
All that said personally my guess is that the team at Egbaston will be very similar to the one they played here (maybe Ballance will be given a rest).
Well the first thing to say is that I hope this result knocks the idea of preparing flat pitches on the head (if they have purposely prepared them).
That said the England selectors do have a lot more thinking to do than their Australian counterparts did after the last match. Australia could basically just replace like with like, unfortunately England will have to do a bit more thinking about the whole make up on the team.
Bairstow is obviously the in form county player at the moment but he's (yet another) lower order batsman, he can't open and I wouldn't even really fancy him playing at three. Likewise Sam Hain has been in good knick but again he's another middle order player. One option could be to drop Ballance (who IMO has the talent for Test Cricket but is out of form), bump Ali up to three (where after all he's has played at in FC cricket) and play Bairstow at seven. But Ali does seem to have started to ease himself into batting at eight.
As for Lyth, I'm not sure what they should do. TBH I've always felt that he was one of those players that is an excellent first class player but not quite Test Match quality, at least not against the top teams. The problem is who to replace him with, Robson is hardly stacking his claim in the CC this season. Compton is the only one of the three major contenders to be averaging over 40. And to add complications neither Compton nor Carberry are playing as openers at the minute. I guess Hales could be one (slightly risky) option for opening.
You mean the James Taylor who's currently not even averaging 30 in the CC this season? If he's supposed to be England's saviour then they are fucked.
Bairstow 6 10 2 767 219* 95.88 75.34 4 3
Carberry 11 19 0 636 97 33.47 47.82 0 5
Compton 11 21 2 769 117 40.47 47.94 1 5
Hales 8 14 1 601 236 46.23 60.77 2 1
Hain 6 9 0 363 106 40.33 49.39 1 3
Robson 11 21 2 647 178 34.05 53.56 1 2
Taylor 9 16 1 436 61 29.07
All that said personally my guess is that the team at Egbaston will be very similar to the one they played here (maybe Ballance will be given a rest).
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littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
That's also my guess, although I think it would be a little strange to keep bell and drop Ballance. If any batsman is to be dropped, I would have thought it would have to be Bell now.
They might not make any changes. It's one-all, folks. Best of three shootout now.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
That's about what I thought about Carberry. But I also thought Carberry was a little unlucky to be dropped. Robson isn't up to it. His technique was exposed last year and this year in the CC, he's having a stinker. Reckon they will think both Carberry and Compton are the past now. Carbs' form's not good enough now anyway - he seems to have remodelled himself as a t20 worldwide journeyman. Compton? Well they seem to hate him. Personally dislike him. Which is rubbish, but there it is.
I'd give Lyth one more test. But only one.
Personally, the only change I'd make for the next test would be Bairstow for someone. The top order has malfunctioned badly now in both tests really. Something should give for a man in a purple patch. I'd replace Bell.
Problem for Lyth is that his purple patch was last year, while Robson was in possession and doing badly.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Yeah if you're making changes to the middle order it has to be Bairstow really, I don't think those figs will include his hundred yesterday either. And he can score runs under pressure, yesterdays he came in when Yorkshire were 57-3, when he was out they were 311-4. The last ODI is another good example.
But consider the Trott debacle in the Windies, or Prior before that. England really don't like letting go of senior players (unless they're named Kevin)
EDIT: Interesting piece by Dobell especially on Compton
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littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I was there for Compton's last test match. It wasn't pretty. He blocked for an hour then got frustrated and lobbed up an easy catch. One of those innings where it would have been better for him if he'd got out first ball.
I understood why they dropped him, just not how they dropped him. Both he and Carberry were treated disgracefully.
As for the new 'brand', test cricket isn't about how fast, it's about how many. Sehwag and Dravid lived very happily alongside each other in the same team. Flair can coexist with graft. I see no problem there.
Even the WI of the 1980s had Larry Gomes in there battling away. I would suggest that this kind of contrast can work rather well.
I understood why they dropped him, just not how they dropped him. Both he and Carberry were treated disgracefully.
As for the new 'brand', test cricket isn't about how fast, it's about how many. Sehwag and Dravid lived very happily alongside each other in the same team. Flair can coexist with graft. I see no problem there.
Even the WI of the 1980s had Larry Gomes in there battling away. I would suggest that this kind of contrast can work rather well.
Idaho
blah blah blah
Lyth another test I think. Hales is a go long or go home type of opener. I think he's someone who other teams will fancy a chance at early on, but will get very twitchy if he gets past 20 runs.
I'd still swap bell for Rashid, put Rashid in at 8 and roll everyone up a place. Not getting any runs out of bell any how, so we may as well get a chance at some wickets.
I'd still swap bell for Rashid, put Rashid in at 8 and roll everyone up a place. Not getting any runs out of bell any how, so we may as well get a chance at some wickets.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Hildreth should really be in this discussion but...wrong team.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Hmmm. You may well be right, but that's an odd one. When was the last season Somerset weren't in the first division? A while ago.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
He made his debut when we in div 2 - we went up in 2007 and have stayed up since so most iof his cricket is div1. He was captain of the lions a few years back - but, as seems to be the way, someone upstairs doesn't like him/face don't fit so never made it into the first team. Should have been given a chance to fail at least.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
There was a half decent article in the Telegraph making the point that a lot of the current problems can be traced back to selection strategy (or lack of it) of the last half decade or so.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cr...-during-peak-years-of-Andy-Flower-regime.html
It does seem like a lot of promising young players have got onto the edges of England only to be dropped back into CC out of sorts. Rashid first time around for example, Finn, Taylor. Kevin Howells did an interview with James Harris earlier this year for the BBC CC podcast where Harris was talking about how England pushed him to bowl faster and that it screwed him up for a couple of years, that this year he went back to doing what he was doing before he got involved with the England set up and has got his form back.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I agree with some, but not all, of that. Highly successful teams often end up feeling a bit like a closed shop, with good players excluded. A look at the fast bowlers sidelined by West Indies in the 70s/80s - the likes of Clarke and Daniel - or the batsmen sidelined by Aus in the 90s/00s - the likes of Lehmann himself or Stuart Law - shows that.
But those highly talented players who can't get in the team just need to keep playing, keep trying to improve and be ready to jump in whenever the chance comes. In this, I disagree with the article - a player called up a bit later, in his late 20s, say, should have the experience to hit the crease running. Think of Lehmann, again, Hussey, Strauss, more recently Rogers and Vosges.
I think the article slightly misdiagnoses the problem. The problem, imo, is very precisely the existence of the structure that is funded by Sky money - the performance squads and centres of excellence. There already exist 18 performance squads and centres of excellence. Make county cricket count and create a situation where success in the CC can be carried over into test cricket straight away. And don't let the England coaches anywhere near young bowlers. Let the counties develop them. Empower and trust the counties to handle the new talent that would present itself at clubs with cricket on tv free-to-air all summer.
DrRingDing
'anti-human wanker'
It's a right old mess IMO.
Ballance is the obvious person to be dropped...and the batsmen demanding to be in the team are Bairstow & Taylor - neither of which are test No. 3s.
This means we're going to have to fuck with the order of batting, moving Groot up to 3, keeping Bell at 4 and lobbing in the replacement at 5.
Still doesn't seem satisfactory.
You can't drop Bell as we all know how good he is and playing on his home ground is likely to give him some confidence. A Bell finding form would be very valuable.
Carberry was cruelly dropped by no doubt racist selectors. He didn't do amazingly in Aus but he kept his nerve and played appropriately for an opener. He would do better in home conditions......although his form isnt great.....maybe give Lyth one more chance.
My 11 for Edgbaston......
1.Cook (not baldy bollocks to face the first ball)
2.Lyth
3.Groot
4.Bell
5.Taylor
6.Stokes
7.Bairstow
8.Moeen
9.Broad
10.Wood
11.Anderson
Ballance is the obvious person to be dropped...and the batsmen demanding to be in the team are Bairstow & Taylor - neither of which are test No. 3s.
This means we're going to have to fuck with the order of batting, moving Groot up to 3, keeping Bell at 4 and lobbing in the replacement at 5.
Still doesn't seem satisfactory.
You can't drop Bell as we all know how good he is and playing on his home ground is likely to give him some confidence. A Bell finding form would be very valuable.
Carberry was cruelly dropped by no doubt racist selectors. He didn't do amazingly in Aus but he kept his nerve and played appropriately for an opener. He would do better in home conditions......although his form isnt great.....maybe give Lyth one more chance.
My 11 for Edgbaston......
1.Cook (not baldy bollocks to face the first ball)
2.Lyth
3.Groot
4.Bell
5.Taylor
6.Stokes
7.Bairstow
8.Moeen
9.Broad
10.Wood
11.Anderson
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I think you miss the point about the dropping of Carberry. He was picked for the final test in Sydney in the anticipation that he would fail. Meanwhile Root was dropped for that test. And we all knew that, come the summer, Root would be recalled and Carberry dropped, barring an astounding daddy hundred.
You never pick players in anticipation that they will fail. Never. That made me very angry. And the same happened to Compton when he was selected for Worcester to play Aus last time. They were hoping that he would fail.
I see no evidence of racism in either case, tbh. Partialism and face-not-fitting, yes, plenty.
You never pick players in anticipation that they will fail. Never. That made me very angry. And the same happened to Compton when he was selected for Worcester to play Aus last time. They were hoping that he would fail.
I see no evidence of racism in either case, tbh. Partialism and face-not-fitting, yes, plenty.
