***Official*** England in South Africa 2015/16

[Dan]

Root camps on his back foot and has an ugly slash at balls short and wide outside off. I think that's a degree of why he's not converting at the moment; he hits **** balls at a catchable height into an area that almost always has fielders.

Almost every time I've watched him recently, he's always taking short wide filth and turning into something catchable if you happen to get lucky and have a backward point or gully in the right spot.

 

[TheJediBrah]

re. England ugly batsmen: possibly result of being successful in England where you have to play the ball late on seaming wickets? Compared to batsmen from places where you can hit through the ball better?

it's a hypothesis, probably complete rubbish

 

[Compton]

While we're discussing aesthetics of technique, Bairstow's makes me feel physically sick.

 

[Compton]

Plenty on Twitter now slating Hales as someone that can't play legitimate pace and who struggles with a fourth stump line, as if every other test batsman has figured those problems out

 

[Gnske]

re. England ugly batsmen: possibly result of being successful in England where you have to play the ball late on seaming wickets? Compared to batsmen from places where you can hit through the ball better?

it's a hypothesis, probably complete rubbish

Kanedaddy plays later than anyone else in the game and he's as serene as silk.

 

[Compton]

Oft.

Nearly an absolute worldy of a catch. Lucky boy, Joe Root. This boy is some fielder!

 

[Flem274*]

i prefer the more individual techniques to the textbook swallowers like bell. bell was too perfect for my tastes.

 

[Compton]

Steve Smith has the best technique anyway. All the coaches will tell you to move as much as possible, keep nothing still, and have as many trigger movements as you have time for.

 

[OverratedSanity]

i prefer the more individual techniques to the textbook swallowers like bell. bell was too perfect for my tastes.

Yeah but Root-Compton-Taylor just blend together for me. All similarly crabby and ungainly in my eyes. Atleast if they looked uniquely awkward like, say Steve Smith, I'd enjoy them a bit more.

 

[harsh.ag]

Yeah but Root-Compton-Taylor just blend together for me. All similarly crabby and ungainly in my eyes. Atleast if they looked uniquely awkward like, say Steve Smith, I'd enjoy them a bit more.

Yeah this batting line up is indeed a sight for sore eyes, Cook aside.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Yeah this batting line up is indeed a sight for sore eyes, Cook aside.

WAT. Cook's the worst one, surely.

 

[Cabinet96]

Compton's strike rate is marginally higher than Hales'. Stats.

Yeah, but Hales was hindered by Compton's lack of #intent.

re. England ugly batsmen: possibly result of being successful in England where you have to play the ball late on seaming wickets? Compared to batsmen from places where you can hit through the ball better?

it's a hypothesis, probably complete rubbish

Yeah you just can't play on the up/through the line as easily as in most countries, I'd say it's the biggest reason.

 

[harsh.ag]

WAT. Cook's the worst one, surely.

Technique's fine though. Others look clumsy. Root probably the best when on song.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Yeah you just can't play on the up/through the line as easily as in most countries, I'd say it's the biggest reason.

This isn't something new though. Among English players from the previous gen, KP, Bell, Vaughan, Prior were very pleasing aesthetically. This newer generation is just butt ugly for some reason.

 

[Jono]

yeah but they used to have, as Graeme Swann has openly admitted, one of the ugliest and most boring top 3s ever - Cook, Strauss and Trott.

 

[OverratedSanity]

I'm probably in the minority but I enjoyed watching Strauss. But yeah, I can see your point.

 

[Pothas]

Only really Cook was ugly out of those 3. Trott was certainly boring but I don't think he was actually ungainly or anything, Strauss was neither really.

 

[Cabinet96]

This isn't something new though. Among English players from the previous gen, KP, Bell, Vaughan, Prior were very pleasing aesthetically. This newer generation is just butt ugly for some reason.

KP grew up in SA tbf. It naturally fluctuates I guess. They'll be eras where there's more players good to watch and eras where there's more players who are pretty turgid to watch.

 

[Furball]

I don't like the way both batsmen are now picking out fielders when being offered dross.

 

[Cabinet96]

I don't like the way both batsmen are now picking out fielders when being offered dross.

Particularly annoying when they do it in the air.