*** Official*** South Africa in England 2017

[Burgey]

Sorry, bit late to this.

Lol England.

 

[harsh.ag]

Pretty damning article this by Dobell

England struggle with naive approach in Tests | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

Some sense in it but a fair bit of crap too, nearly pissed myself laughing at this though.......

It's awesome of you to stake out some of the good passages so the rest of us don't have to do the dirty work of reading his articles.

 

[Burgey]

If only Ikki would likewise do some editing in the politics subbie instead of subjecting us to hour long trash videos.

 

[Spark]

Pretty damning article this by Dobell

England struggle with naive approach in Tests | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

Some sense in it but a fair bit of crap too, nearly pissed myself laughing at this though.......

It's a fair cop but it should also be remembered that he inherited a total basketcase of a side after the WI tour and somehow managed to eke out an Ashes win that basically no one expected within a few months.

 

[Spark]

Is Cook on the wane? I don't remember him having his customary huge stonewalling innings recently.

I don't know about on the wane, but he's only had one really good year since his 2010-12 peak.

 

[LegionOfBrad]

Telegraph saying Stoneman in to open Jennings to 3. Ballance to 5 (if fit) and everyone shuffles down 1. Moeen back to no 1 spinner.

It's a better team than what we have been playing. If Ballance has broken his finger who comes in at 5 though.

 

[SeamUp]

Telegraph saying Stoneman in to open Jennings to 3. Ballance to 5 (if fit) and everyone shuffles down 1. Moeen back to no 1 spinner.

It's a better team than what we have been playing. If Ballance has broken his finger who comes in at 5 though.

Malan or Westley seem front runners but maybe best to mix it up and go a next generation pick ie Livingstone or Lawrence.

 

[Furball]

Yeah I think in an 'Australia in the 90s' level of batting depth, Cook would be coming under pressure for his place. His output is hitting that Shane Watson style 'looks absolutely fine statistically but is actually contributing very little in the way of meaningful runs' - it's a bit damning that he's still light years ahead of anyone else.

 

[Pothas]

Telegraph saying Stoneman in to open Jennings to 3. Ballance to 5 (if fit) and everyone shuffles down 1. Moeen back to no 1 spinner.

It's a better team than what we have been playing. If Ballance has broken his finger who comes in at 5 though.

Yeah I suppose that is fine but Stoneman just feels like another one of those picks we have been making, at least he is coming in off a couple of years of good performances rather than just the one. Doubt it will really fix our long term issues, does not mean we can't win the next match or the series though.

 

[harsh.ag]

Telegraph saying Stoneman in to open Jennings to 3. Ballance to 5 (if fit) and everyone shuffles down 1. Moeen back to no 1 spinner.

It's a better team than what we have been playing. If Ballance has broken his finger who comes in at 5 though.

Selectors read CW carefully

Yeah, but the same two can also not be relied upon to perform a rescue mission always. Less pressure on them with the bat is a good thing given that they are being bowled quite a bit too with Wood and Dawson being in the team.

Cook
Stoneman
Jennings
Root
Ballance
Bairstow
Moeen
Stokes
TRJ
Broad
Anderson

gives a decent amount of breathing room on all sides, and if push comes to shove, Root can bowl a few overs (although I don't think it will be required).

 

[Moonsorrow999]

Root has basically been opening for a couple of years now and seems pretty good at it. Why bring in all of these inept players, especially ones who leave a 'caravan size hole' in their technique. He can just open like he has done for years because England always 2 or 3 down inside the first few overs and then he just carries, when he does England do okay, when he doesn't they lose.

 

[LegionOfBrad]

Malan or Westley seem front runners but maybe best to mix it up and go a next generation pick ie Livingstone or Lawrence.

Yeah I tweeted Nick Hoult who mentioned them to. Interesting stuff.

As harsh as it is Ballance breaking a finger might be just the thing we need ATM.

 

[DriveClub]

Isn't Jennings next generation? Doesn't seem to be doing any good

 

[ImpatientLime]

i like malan a lot but he's another loose strokemaker and i'm not sure he's got the temperament for test match cricket.

 

[Spark]

i like malan a lot but he's another loose strokemaker and i'm not sure he's got the temperament for test match cricket.

The thing is, the players England have selected lately to be solid, obdurate and have the "right temperament" have looked kind of ****, with their lack of ability being mistaken for grittiness. Cricket is at heart a game of skill; you gotta pick guys who actually look like they can bat at Test level at some point even if they irritate you from time to time. And it's worth noting that Moeen, who is probably the flightiest of all the English batsmen, initially really made his name with a superb rearguard at Headingley against SL. Players shouldn't be pigeonholed just because they have more than three shots.

 

[Zinzan]

Awesome South Africa, and perfectly set up for Rabada's return.

Meanwhile, Faf smacks as being such a good people leader.

 

[Groundking]

Isn't Jennings next generation? Doesn't seem to be doing any good

His dismissal yesterday really wasn't so good, but Morkal has bowled some outrageous balls to him to get him out, and getting a ton on debut in India is something special so he has time in the bank. It doesn't help his county form has been kinda eh this year.

 

[Zinzan]

Incidentally, why are England persevering with Ballance? Averaged 60 after 8 tests & a paltry 29 since in 15. Has looked a walking wicket against top class bowling. He may have scored big domestic runs of late, but clearly struggles at the top level.

Root back to 3 imo, the position Smith & KW skipper their sides from.

 

[SeamUp]

i like malan a lot but he's another loose strokemaker and i'm not sure he's got the temperament for test match cricket.

He does look Khawaja-ish but then again he hasn't been too bad. Just not too adaptable so it would maybe a short-term pick.

Westley is an interesting one. Wasn't he one of the first to go play in Bangladesh from the English players etc

 

[vcs]

The thing is, the players England have selected lately to be solid, obdurate and have the "right temperament" have looked kind of ****, with their lack of ability being mistaken for grittiness. Cricket is at heart a game of skill; you gotta pick guys who actually look like they can bat at Test level at some point even if they irritate you from time to time. And it's worth noting that Moeen, who is probably the flightiest of all the English batsmen, initially really made his name with a superb rearguard at Headingley against SL. Players shouldn't be pigeonholed just because they have more than three shots.

Good point, bringing in technically limited players who are forced to be stodgy because they are limited, is not necessarily the way to go.