GIMH
Norwood's on Fire
Excellentit's ok i've got a gif of gvenkat
taking it well
Excellentit's ok i've got a gif of gvenkat
taking it well
What I love about this England team is that there are no weak-links. They may not have the star quality of some of the other teams in world cricket, but I've always believed in all team sports that the more you move up the levels, the more it becomes about eliminating (or at least reducing the impact of) weak players and the less it becomes about having star players.
Now that Tremlett's fit and actually being selected, the only thing that could be a termed as a weakness or a worry in England's playing roster is Paul Collingwood's batting form. And given his proven ability in a crisis, his catching and even his occasional bowling, he's contributing quite a bit for the worst player in the team, even if he's not in great batting form. That they don't have a proper fifth bowler is something you could point out but if Anderson can maintain his improved accuracy and consistency and Tremlett can stay fit, they won't need one.
India and South Africa both have real problems with their bowling depth and number six batsman, and South Africa have concerns over Petersen and even Boucher as well. Every other team in world cricket has several points of weakness but England have all but eliminated it which is why I have such confidence in them as a team going forward, even if they don't have a Steyn, a Kallis or a Tendulkar.
Yeah I'm probably a bit biased when it comes to Bell and Tremlett as they're both players I've always had a lot of faith in, particularly Tremlett. There's a chance I'm jumping the gun a bit with their recent form but I'm trying to make a point of actual stating my opinion more often instead of just being a source of statistics and facts. Going into the Ashes I still had big concerns over Trott as a #3 batsman, particularly away from home (and he's given me the bird and then some on that count), Cook in general (see Trott) and Finn (replaced by someone I've long though was gun).
They have ten players I regard as very good and Collingwood who is almost the perfect role player in such a team. If he was in better batting form closer to the mean of his career it'd be perfect. I'd actually be tempted to call them the best side in the world on paper (not results yet obviously) and going forward they're the team I have the most confidence in at the moment. Whether or not they can beat India every day of the week is another matter though - I'd expect them to win at home and lose away, so every day of a June week, maybe.
Good to see someone finally dug up an embarrassing old thread which I hadn't made a score of stupid posts in.There are a lot of (IMO) pointless discussions in this thread about what teams have done up to 25 years ago. This England team is very new; the point isn't that they're the best team in the world based on results around the world, but that they have the team to do that now. Ignoring what that idiot Gough said, people have made predictions based on analysis of the current team that is yet to play very much as a unit.
What they did 14 years ago with an entirely different set of players under a different captain and a different coach really isn't relevant because no-one's saying their long-term past results are good.
well saidGood to see someone finally dug up an embarrassing old thread which I hadn't made a score of stupid posts in.
if Stuart Broad ever takes a hat-trick I'll own up to being a Richard multi whilst eating my computer
This is the fantastic post I was talking about.English fans getting a bit ahead of themselves here. Will be sure to bump this thread next summer.
Was a bit right there wasn't i.No doubt Zaheer is a quality bowler but no point being a good bowler if you miss games every series. You do wonder with a World Cup coming up how fit he will be after it. Wouldn't be surprised if he misses at least one test in England (i hope he doesn't) and on that basis Anderson has to be the wiser choice on fitness grounds.
I'm sure some of your other posts were complete **** tbh.
For example
haha....well done dudeWas a bit right there wasn't i.
Not rocket science predicting a Zaheer injury though.
Don't worry, there is PEWSfail in every thread somewhere.http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...0;spanval2=span;template=results;type=bowling
You can't break it down into series though really; you can only get overall records by bowlers in Australia within any given timeframe, so Anderson appears as 22 wickets @ 41. You can still compare him to the others though.
What was wrong with that post? :/Don't worry, there is PEWSfail in every thread somewhere.
Haha, exceptional stuff.I'm sure some of your other posts were complete **** tbh.
For example
Oh, meh.You can group the figures by series.
Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo
You do realise it was a fake quote, right?Haha, exceptional stuff.
That could still end up being trueThis is the fantastic post I was talking about.
Two Tests to go of course, but what a beautiful post it was.
Actually aussie batsman have made finn,tremlett,bresnan look very good,Indian bowling attack is good in all conditions and they are capable of taking 20 wickets on flattest of p-itches which i do not think england are yet capable of.Also england have won against pak,bangladesh and drew against wi at home also may draw the ashes .
series is not over. let's see if england can actually beat close to full-strength indian side.