Swalec Stadium

[Scaly piscine]

So other than the usual stuff about how disgraceful it was to award a Test to a venue that is worse in every single imaginable way than Riverside, Glamorgan have been docked two points for preparing a substandard surface at the ground.

Cricinfo - Cardiff pitch under scrutiny

So expect Panesar to suddenly be proclaimed as England's saviour when he can barely get a wicket for his county. Personally I expect the Test to be more of a dead draw pitch (cue excuses made about the weather hampering preparations) and I'd much rather see England go for someone like Rashid who offers far better balance and can actually buy wickets. I think one specialist finger spinner is more than enough. A bad second one who can't bat or field doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Goughy]

Leaving aside the stuff we got into in the other thread, I think it would be great if grounds in England had different characteristics. Headingley has lost some of its individuality but I think it would add to the game if Cardiff offered spin. Always loved that Australian grounds used to offer something different to each other.

 

[rivera213]

Cardiff spins (generally) + Australia have no spinners of note = Good choice of venue.

Though, tbh, I think the Riverside should've got a test as well being as we have swing bowlers and that's generally a seaming, swinging ground.

There's talk of Australia having a 6-match Ashes series in 2010/11 and I think that should be standard.

The Cardiff wicket is still 100 times better than the current Melbourne one!

 

[andyc]

**** off. A team gets bowled out for 157, and it's a substandard pitch? How did Essex manage to chase it down at almost 5 an over, with only 3 wickets down then? Honestly fail to see how that is any worse than the Lord's pitch which saw over 600 runs scored in a one day game two days ago. At least by playing at Cardiff, the series has a chance to get started with a ****ing result.

 

[Scaly piscine]

It's seems a feat for them to have prepared such a pitch at that time of year in Cardiff. But as I say the Test strip is more likely to be a slow turner where you would expect teams to score over 500+ and slowly. Might actually work against England if it creates a situation where the only genuinely threatening bowlers are the 90mph+ guys.

 

[BoyBrumby]

It's obviouly a ploy. Australia's spin options are practically non-existant (well a combination of Clarke's darts, North's straightbreaks and Katto's cunning mix of long hops and full bungers) and we think we have an advantage there.

Cardiff is not in England tho; can't emphasise that point strongly enough. Is this the first time we've played a home test at a neutral venue?

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Cardiff is not in England tho; can't emphasise that point strongly enough. Is this the first time we've played a home test at a neutral venue?

Going by that logic, no, as all Tests Simon Jones has played has been at a neutral venue for him

 

[BoyBrumby]

Going by that logic, no, as all Tests Simon Jones has played has been at a neutral venue for him

TBF tho it's not like we take tests to Pietermaritzburg or Johannesburg for our star batsman or skipper to feel at home either tho, is it?

Attack our players for not being English is just like shooting fish in a barrell.

& I like the Smith & Jones quote in your sig; how'd you come across it? U-toob?

 

[Magrat Garlick]

TBF tho it's not like we take tests to Pietermaritzburg or Johannesburg for our star batsman or skipper to feel at home either tho, is it?

Well, no, but if you were to draw a map of the cricketing world, Cardiff would have to belong to some board: as Wales doesn't have a national team it seems natural (especially considering governing bodies, CC participation etc) to lump it with England. Pietermaritzburg is quite firmly placed in South Africa (well, until they rename the place uluKwamalulu or somesuch)

I like the Smith & Jones quote in your sig; how'd you come across it? U-toob?

They showed re-runs on Norwegian telly a while back. Good stuff, though a tad dated. Looked it up on the tubes to find the exact quote though.

 

[Uppercut]

It's obviouly a ploy. Australia's spin options are practically non-existant (well a combination of Clarke's darts, North's straightbreaks and Katto's cunning mix of long hops and full bungers) and we think we have an advantage there.

Cardiff is not in England tho; can't emphasise that point strongly enough. Is this the first time we've played a home test at a neutral venue?

"England" is essentially just short for "England and Wales" in cricket. It's as much at home as any other tests played in England and Wales.

 

[pasag]

Was just about to start a thread on this. Complete hypocrisy. Absurd that you get a bowler friendly pitch coming under fire yet Lord's, one of the most disgraceful pitches in the world (along with some in Aus and WI) is nothing but a 'belter'.

 

[BoyBrumby]

"England" is essentially just short for "England and Wales" in cricket. It's as much at home as any other tests played in England and Wales.

Not in my ****ing house, it isn't.

We were playing tests long before Glamorgan were an FC county.

EDIT: Incidentally, where are all the Welsh posters, anyway? We have quite a few Irish & Scots on CW, but no real Welshmen (with apologies to Richard) that spring to mind.

 

[Richard]

Was just about to start a thread on this. Complete hypocrisy. Absurd that you get a bowler friendly pitch coming under fire yet Lord's, one of the most disgraceful pitches in the world (along with some in Aus and WI) is nothing but a 'belter'.

It's no surprise though. Been happening for a good few years now. Though I don't agree that Lord's is "one of the most disgraceful pitches in the world" - as I've said, it's been flatter than would be ideal, but most of the Tests there would still have had results if lost play could be made-up. It's produced more flatties than would be ideal in recent years, but so have plenty of other grounds and because circumstances haven't conspired to produce a heap of draws at said grounds, they haven't got the criticism Lord's has.

Anyway, apart from two personal hobbyhorses (MSP and Cardiff getting an Ashes Test over the Riverside) this thread clearly has no aim given its starter.

 

[Richard]

"England" is essentially just short for "England and Wales" in cricket. It's as much at home as any other tests played in England and Wales.

Not in my ****ing house, it isn't.

One person's house is irrelevant. The "England" cricket team is England and Wales. Thus, any ground in either sub-country is a home one.

 

[Uppercut]

One person's house is irrelevant.

Justin Langer was on during the lunch break on Sunday saying he thinks it would be a huge mistake for England to prepare turning pitches and try to "spin Australia out of the Ashes". Any thoughts?

 

[BoyBrumby]

Justin Langer was on during the lunch break on Sunday saying he thinks it would be a huge mistake for England to prepare turning pitches and try to "spin Australia out of the Ashes". Any thoughts?

That Langer has a surprisingly high-pitched voice and Broad is ageing well.

But, nah I agree with him, essentially. Our bowling strength has always been seam, ever since I've been watching and probably since they started covering wickets. Swann's perfromed very creditably so far, but at the end of the day, he's just an old-fashioned offie. Albeit one who gives it a fair rip, has a decent (and fairly well-disguised) arm ball to compensate for his lack of a throwsra & can bat and field. Monty, on the other hand, is pretty much a passenger if he's not running through teams.

Plus, of course, our weather always mitigates against being able to guarantee what pitches will do.

 

[rivera213]

Langer is ****ting himself because Australia have no decent spinners and we have 3. Ha ha.

I think we'll play both Swann and Panesar (I like Rashid, but he hasn't featured at all so I can't see us giving him his debut in the Ashes opener), the Cardiff wicket generally keeps low which will help the seamers. It's better for us if Flintoff is fit because he can (and does) bowl dead straight to RH and bowls a "heavy ball".

I wouldn't play Broad in that first test personally. Does anyone else think if he couldn't hold a bat he wouldn't be in the team yet?

What would your XI's be for that first test (if everyone in contention is fit)?

My XI:

Strauss
Cook
Bopara
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Foster (it's even more important that we have a top notch gloveman on a pitch that keeps low and turns)
Swann
Anderson
Onions
Panesar

 

[superkingdave]

Can't help but feel you are a little over optimistic Rivera.

Series is about damage limitation in my opinions, though the longer we can keep competing the closer it might get. A drawn first test would be a great result for England, weather might help.

 

[Redbacks]

Langer is ****ting himself because Australia have no decent spinners and we have 3. Ha ha.

Australia won't cry and threaten to go home however

 

[Richard]

Justin Langer was on during the lunch break on Sunday saying he thinks it would be a huge mistake for England to prepare turning pitches and try to "spin Australia out of the Ashes". Any thoughts?

It'd be going hugely against the grain, because since covered wickets England has been traditionally a seam-haven rather than a spin-haven. However, mostly the team's strengths have managed to play to that - almost always England's stocks of seam have been at worst as strong as those of spin, at best much, much stronger. To have a situation like that we currently have - where our spin stocks genuinely are stronger - is most unusual.

Also I know for certain that there's a hell of a disenfranchisement in Australia with the whole idea of deliberately preparing a certain pitch - they just seem to think it's cheating, being unsportsmanlike, etc. Myself (and it seems most non-Australians) I think it's something called "home advantage", but apparently it's seen as taboo in Australia - you should supposedly just let the prevailing soil make the whole choice, rather than just part of it (obviously it's mostly not possible for the groundsman to be able to prepare a surface exactly to plan - some of it depends on prevailing soil and prevailing weather). So I can't help thinking that probably impacted on Langer's comments too.

So in short I'd say that if England's spin stocks are stronger than their seam ones, prepare turners rather than seamers. Either way, certainly, certainly, certainly don't prepare flat, lifeless decks because that plays right into Australia's hands - their batting is beyond all question infinitely stronger than England's.