*Official* Second Test at Lords

[wfdu_ben91]

This pitch is slow and flat, but the boundaries are noticiably shorter then what they were at Cardiff aswell.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I'm amazed at the success Johnson has had with such a horrid seam position. It's schoolboy stuff to get your seam position straight; I can do it and i'm completely gash.

Yeah I'm surprised too, I hit the seam a lot and I'm not great by any stretch of the imagination. Never dreamed it was so difficult.

Someone needs to tell Johnson The Ashes have started.

 

[Briony]

Johnson's mainly had success when the pitches have favoured him. I'm surprised the saffers juiced theirs up so much for the first two tests. They played into his hands.

 

[The Sean]

Partnership records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | Cricinfo.com

Gavaskar and Chauhan the real surprise for me there - had no idea their record together was so good.

 

[91Jmay]

Err if Cook is a success, then one has to question what on earth you have been watching. He is a classic example against what you seem to claim, in that his technical weaknesses have actually hindered him from being a successful test match opener.

3340 runs at 45?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Pretty dismal wicket, even worse bowling. Not the most thrilling start to a Lords test.

 

[wfdu_ben91]

I'm amazed at the success Johnson has had with such a horrid seam position. It's schoolboy stuff to get your seam position straight; I can do it and i'm completely gash.

Because of his angle and his unique style. Australian & South African pitches are allot faster then the ones the English are producing and hence the batsman don't have much time to react. Just ask Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

 

[Pizzorno]

Staying with Cook for a minute, anyone else find it a bit funny that his batting buddy Anderson has a better technique than him?

I love our Jimmy. What a man.

 

[zaremba]

Yeah I'm surprised too, I hit the seam a lot and I'm not great by any stretch of the imagination. Never dreamed it was so difficult.

Someone needs to tell Johnson The Ashes have started.

Pretty hard to hit the seam if your arm is so far from the vertical. I imagine that if he held the seam upright (relative to his arm) it might not make contact with the pitch at all; the side of the ball would make contact with the ground instead.

 

[JBH001]

Gavaskar and Chauhan the real surprise for me there - had no idea their record together was so good.

Yeah. But I love seeing Hobbs and Sutcliffe leading the way.

88 average and 15 hundred partnerships and 10 50 partnerships from 38 innings. A solid start from 2 out of 3 innings. Fantastic!

 

[Pizzorno]

Because of his angle and his unique style. Australian & South African pitches are allot faster then the ones the English are producing and hence the batsman don't have much time to react. Just ask Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

So basically you're saying Johnson can only perform on pitches that suit him? Sign of a real world class bowler that.

 

[tooextracool]

And yet he averages 45...

Err get off blind numbers. He cant bat to save his life on a green top and thats the bloody whole point of an opener, someone who can see out the new ball when it is moving around.

I couldnt care less if hes scored 4 100s against the WI on some of the flattest tracks in the world to boost his average.

 

[91Jmay]

Because of his angle and his unique style. Australian & South African pitches are allot faster then the ones the English are producing and hence the batsman don't have much time to react. Just ask Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

Why is he looking 10x worse than any of the bowlers who bowled in S.A with him though?

 

[Top_Cat]

Johnson's mainly had success when the pitches have favoured him. I'm surprised the saffers juiced theirs up so much for the first two tests. They played into his hands.

Not the case, I'm afraid. Took plenty of wickets on the flattest decks imaginable in Aus before that series.

As for Johnson's seam position. I don't think it's that he can't, I just don't think he's really going for that sort of bowling right now. Bloody flat deck, though. He may not be bowling awesomely but he did take 5 wickets at Cardiff and not exactly with rank deliveries. England better hope he doesn't get it right!

EDIT: Also, Johnson has always gone through periods like this where his bowling arm isn't vertical. Looks like he's still working himself in, in a lot of ways.

 

[Redbacks]

A short ball at 150km/h and Strauss had to wait for it Need discipline here or it's a batsman's paradise.

 

[91Jmay]

Err get off blind numbers. He cant bat to save his life on a green top and thats the bloody whole point of an opener, someone who can see out the new ball when it is moving around.

I couldnt care less if hes scored 4 100s against the WI on some of the flattest tracks in the world to boost his average.

So someone like Virenda Sehwag "can't bat to save there life" then, he struggles hugely on green tops. Or Chris Gayle? Graeme Smith is technically pretty average, and struggles against swing. What about him?

 

[Pizzorno]

Err get off blind numbers. He cant bat to save his life on a green top and thats the bloody whole point of an opener, someone who can see out the new ball when it is moving around..

Tbh, most batsmen in the modern game struggle on green tops. It's why they're so dangerous.

 

[Athlai]

Man my eyes are bleeding. Worst cricket and worst posts.

 

[JBH001]

Man, Cook is hammering Johnson here.

 

[tooextracool]

Wonder how many runs Johnson will concede before he bowls that one wicket-taking delivery that will send the Aussies on this forum into a frenzy.