*Official* 2nd Test at Lord's

[Pothas]

Saw pretty much every ball of the last test, saw almost none of this today. I chose my time off well.

 

[smash84]

England are quite into leather it seems

 

[Watson33]

Be interesting to see how Aus bowl on that track. Early signs say a draw but never judge 'till both sides have bowled on it I guess...

 

[Spark]

Can't help but think back to earlier conversations we were having regarding the general "sameyness" of the attack and its lack of weaponary when the pitch gives them nothing. Given that everyone seems to agree that England bowled okay...

 

[Son Of Coco]

Quite a score to wake up to. Was thinking it'd be nice to be 3 down at the end of the day for a decent total, even though the deck was clearly a good one. One down trumps it. Maybe, just maybe, we can now just start preparing decks that more accurately reflect traditional conditions in England and just let the teams go at it...

 

[Cric123]

Australia to score 600 in their first innings
England all out under 350

It's then a choice of either scoring quick runs and setting England a 4th innings chase or making England follow on.

 

[Compton]

I don't think England bowled as well as is being made out. They completely wasted the first new ball, bowled too short, sprayed too many down leg side, and showed the distinct lack of spinner in their side.

The Aussie batsmen didn't need to take too many risks to score at an easy 4 an over.

 

[theegyptian]

Think this match should be a good guide of where England are at going forward over the next few years. Be interesting to see if the lower middle order of Stokes, Buttler and Ali can play mature innings and are not shown up technically when they have to go out there and play under pressure with a big score against the oppositions name. Can Stokes compel himself to not just bash a quick 50 but compile a big score which will take time out of the game and get England close to the Australia target? Will Buttler's technique be shown up when batting in a pressure situation rather than the low pressure situations that a lot of his innings have come in. Does Moeen want to prove he is a test class batsman or is he just happy in the low pressure number 8 spot where he can play aggresively? Can they combine their natural attacking tendencies with an ability to bat a long time?

Think 2 of those mentioned will have to step up a level this ashes if England are to win it.

Under normal circumstances this would be a defining series for Ali one way or the other but the fact that no spinner is pushing him at all means he'll probably get more opportunities after the series. Him being selected as the spinner was always likely to be a short term fix but I thought the advantage he would have was that in time he may prove himself to be a good enough bat alone. Seems unlikely at the moment.

 

[Cric123]

I still think Buttler is probably not the right man behind the stumps. FC average is not usually misleading. If England are happy with a wicketkeeper who will average 30-35 then Buttler is fine, but if they want a wicketkeeper who might average 40-45, Bairstow is the man. I think Buttler is more a destructive limited overs type player.

 

[Compton]

I'd be inclined to give Simon Kerrigan another go.

8 overs when Cook chucked him to the deep end then left him fielding in the deep for the rest of the test when he was a little expensive isn't proof he can't make it at test level.

Clearly he's England's best first class spinner.

 

[theegyptian]

I still think Buttler is probably not the right man behind the stumps. FC average is not usually misleading. If England are happy with a wicketkeeper who will average 30-35 then Buttler is fine, but if they want a wicketkeeper who might average 40-45, Bairstow is the man. I think Buttler is more a destructive limited overs type player.

Problem is Bairstow failed as a test batsman before and his keeping is no better and possibly worse than Buttler's. Buttler was the guy who got first shot after Prior's injury and whilst he isn't the finished article or a proven reliable test performer yet he has done generally well in the year since and has nothing really to warrant being dropped - and whilst Bairstow has scored plenty of runs he has also being poor behind the stumps in high profile matches.

 

[Spark]

I have seen nothing that indicates that Buttler is anything but a much, much better batsman at international level than Bairstow.

 

[Cric123]

Colin Graves, the new ECB chairman, has been making a fool of himself since he got into his role. First the WI debacle a couple of months ago and this morning (before play) suggesting England have the Ashes in the bag. It doesn't look like he will be able to get some live cricket back on terestrial he had promised. The only thing the seem to want to do is prepare slow, dull surfaces so test matches can go into the 5th day and they can make as much revenue as possible.

 

[Compton]

If Bairstow could be relied upon to consistently score at 45 he would be in the England team as a batsman.

Buttler has the gloves, and has done nothing to suggest he's not the right man for England with either the gloves or the bat. He's a good keeper, he's a destructive batsman. England will be hoping in the long run that he can be their Gilchrist.

 

[theegyptian]

I'd be inclined to give Simon Kerrigan another go.

8 overs when Cook chucked him to the deep end then left him fielding in the deep for the rest of the test when he was a little expensive isn't proof he can't make it at test level.

Clearly he's England's best first class spinner.

Given that he's Lancashire's reserve spinner at present (behind Lilley) it would be a push to select him for England. That match felt like a failure of character and technique by Kerrigan and it probably won't be forgot easily. He's still young but I feel like he is a development stage for the time being.

Also I think with your spinner you want a reliable spinner. I don't think England have one at present anywhere in the county game that they could guarantee is going to be reliable and of a high enough standard.
So as a compromise they want their spinner to be able to bat a bit as well because if say a Kerrigan gets hit out of the attack England are basically playing with 10 men. Playing an Ali, Rashid or Ansari gives them added batting depth which is what they need if you've got Stokes at 6 and Broad at 8/9 - and they are probably no more likely to get hit out of the attack than a Kerrigan.

Untill a good spinner emerges they probably will continue with Ali, Rashid or Ansari because it makes most sense for team balance.

 

[theegyptian]

blimey that last post of my was waffle.

Basically play Kerrigan and England's batting is too weak. Stokes at 6, Broad at 8 are too high.
Saying that if they thought Kerrigan could win them games with his bowling they'd go ahead with that team. They don't think he could so they don't select him.

 

[Burgey]

look what the cat dragged in. No doubt he'll disappear back under his hole once the partnership reaches 260. ****

Hi x

 

[weldone]

I think it will be a better idea to bat twice if possible (i.e. not enforcing follow-on if the situation comes to that) - it'll give the Mitchells some rest...So, a declaration for around 550 won't be too bad in that respect

 

[GIMH]

Hi x

I'm applying FCA, suck it

 

[marc71178]

I purposefully quoted the word 'fearful' and still people are missing the point of the post.

Oh no, we all got the point of it, it was yet another trolling attempt.