*Official* India Tour of England 2018

[Hicheal Michael]

There is an argument to be made that Stoneman should have been kept instead of Cook. In his 8 Ashes innings without the 244*, Cook scored 132. In 9, Stoneman scored 232.

England likely lose 5-0 though if Cook's runs are more equally distributed.

 

[SeamUp]

I'm not saying he deserves anything, a nice ending or whatever. It's professional sport, he deserves to go out when the selectors decide he's not good enough and stop picking him.

But the question remains, who to pick instead? Noone's scoring enough to displace him. Picking some young punk in the forlorn hope they do better risks destabilising the team and puts enormous pressure on whoever that poor young punk is. And why risk it when the same team is 2-0 up in the series? Tear it down and start again when the team is still winning, I just don't see the point.

And I know armchair types like to pretend that the weight of a player's rep doesn't matter but it really does. Sure the 'Hyenas are circling' and noone from the oppo is going to contradict someone saying that, of course. So the Indian team also have to real careful about not pushing his buttons because they know from quite recent history what he's still capable of when he has a day out. Someone in CC better be scoring a lot of runs to offset even the threat of a big score from Cook and it's simple, noone is.

What I was saying is that I understand both sides of the fence.

No doubt what he has achieved in the game deserves breathing space and when you consider what is around in County cricket but this was my strong thinking at least 12 months ago.

You only have to see 3 balls before he was out he edged behind the exact same way and was dropped. That is a concern no matter who it is. You almost know how you getting him out before you do.

Red flags have to be waving but the over-riding factor for me like you say is that England are winning so until that changes he will stay.

 

[harsh.ag]

Keeping Stoneman and not bringing in Jennings makes sense, discarding Cook until the opening partner is settled makes no sense.

But his presence does make it more difficult to find someone. Because you only get to try one at a time, sometimes for the whole series. For all of Kohli's selection weirdness, the rotating around of Vijay, Dhawan, and Rahul lets one have a good look at their game at the highest level. Vijay seems to have lost something, somewhat like Cook. He probably won't play the next game.

Cook should probably be in a rotation policy with 2 other openers.

 

[Top_Cat]

Well I suppose they could bring Hameed in. Which would be bad in case anyone misreads

Have you seen Hameed's record this year? Bloke just keeps getting moved further down the order he's travelling that bad. He'll be lucky to keep his 1st team spot for the rest of the season at this rate.

 

[Top_Cat]

What I was saying is that I understand both sides of the fence.

No doubt what he has achieved in the game deserves breathing space and when you consider what is around in County cricket but this was my strong thinking at least 12 months ago.

You only have to see 3 balls before he was out he edged behind the exact same way and was dropped. That is a concern no matter who it is. You almost know how you getting him out before you do.

Red flags have to be waving but the over-riding factor for me like you say is that England are winning so until that changes he will stay.

All that says is that he's struggling. Again, who else would you pick who won't struggle or do better?

 

[harsh.ag]

England likely lose 5-0 though if Cook's runs are more equally distributed.

Dude this is the kind of stuff we can never know about. Cook's runs being more distributed might result in Root getting more cover from the new ball in some innings and not getting out early. Impossible to say.

 

[Moonsorrow999]

Have you seen Hameed's record this year?

It was in response to ‘it could get worse’. I am in no way saying recall Hameed!

 

[Moonsorrow999]

All that says is that he's struggling. Again, who else would you pick who won't struggle or do better?

Whoever is mentioned you won’t agree with though since you clearly don’t think anyone is. I’m not a county cricket fanboy and I don’t watch as much as some. But what would be wrong with Burns and Gubbins? Just asking.

 

[StephenZA]

But his presence does make it more difficult to find someone. Because you only get to try one at a time, sometimes for the whole series. For all of Kohli's selection weirdness, the rotating around of Vijay, Dhawan, and Rahul lets one have a good look at their game at the highest level. Vijay seems to have lost something, somewhat like Cook. He probably won't play the next game.

Cook should probably be in a rotation policy with 2 other openers.

Vijay, Dhawan, and Rahul have never been settled, and the rotation is because India haven't had a settled opener for awhile now. Cook is a settled opener, who has years of experience to pass onto a partner but has declined (quite a bit), It is a different scenario for my mind. I personally don't see how, for example, having Stoneman and Jennings open makes any positive difference to England batting.

 

[Prince EWS]

Guys, I think Moonsorrow999 wants to recall Hameed. What a nutjob.

 

[SeamUp]

All that says is that he's struggling. Again, who else would you pick who won't struggle or do better?

I haven't been watching County Cricket so maybe Ed Smith will have to pull out a move on character again. Who the person is.

No one would have thought Trescothick would do what he did for example.

It's no easy answer. So right now he stays but do I see him lasting until the Ashes ? I can't say with any certainty.

In New Zealand I did say maybe drop him in the middle order. Can breathe new life in him but not sure there is any point now just for the short term view it will be unless thats all the selectors are looking for.

 

[Moonsorrow999]

Guys, I think Moonsorrow999 wants to recall Hameed. What a nutjob.

To the Lancashire B team.

 

[StephenZA]

Where is Michael Carberry when you need him?

 

[harsh.ag]

Vijay, Dhawan, and Rahul have never been settled, and the rotation is because India haven't had a settled opener for awhile now. Cook is a settled opener, who has years of experience to pass onto a partner but has declined (quite a bit), It is a different scenario for my mind. I personally don't see how, for example, having Stoneman and Jennings open makes any positive difference to England batting.

Nah, Vijay was pretty much settled. India still went ahead with Rahul.

Having 2 other openers play together may make them more competitive. As in, the one who performs better gets to stay which is a decent motivator. If you're opening with Cook, you know you are the one to get the axe even if you do better than Cook (even if you both actually sucked)

 

[Hicheal Michael]

Dude this is the kind of stuff we can never know about. Cook's runs being more distributed might result in Root getting more cover from the new ball in some innings and not getting out early. Impossible to say.

Root only faced the new ball once IIRC (Brisbane 2nd innings) and scored 51.

No English bat has the ability to occupy the crease and score daddy 100's like Cook. This is why when Cook is struggling, England have little chance of winning in India and Australia.

They also don't have the bowling to increase any value a Root 60 would otherwise have abroad.

 

[wpdavid]

Jimmy out of luck this morning. Probably wouldn't have changed the result if those had taken the edge but at least the day would have been more competitive.

 

[Moonsorrow999]

Jimmy out of luck this morning. Probably wouldn't have changed the result if those had taken the edge but at least the day would have been more competitive.

Comedy value though seeing Jimmy’s grumpy face when they get shelled.

 

[Jack1]

Buttler really shouldn't be in the team. He's a bag of nerves with the bat, in the field and during interviews. Everything you need for test cricket and a test cricket team he doesn't have. He is the opposite personality of what I want in a test match team. He has no backbone. He's lazy and inattentive. That's all I've got to say. He's the English Dhoni with a bit more talent. Dhoni however has slightly more of a brain, hence the higher FC average. This bag of nerves, inattentive personality is perfect for limited overs and hit and giggle. Not proper test match cricket.

 

[Jack1]

Comedy value though seeing Jimmy’s grumpy face when they get shelled.

Would love to know his average in the series if all the catches had been taken. England's slip cordon is nothing short of a joke tbh. At least Jimmy is still giving it his best.

 

[Jack1]

Root only faced the new ball once IIRC (Brisbane 2nd innings) and scored 51.

No English bat has the ability to occupy the crease and score daddy 100's like Cook. This is why when Cook is struggling, England have little chance of winning in India and Australia.

They also don't have the bowling to increase any value a Root 60 would otherwise have abroad.

I think Cook is struggling as he's opening up with a muppet. Get Burns in and Cook might get some confidence back himself. Cook needs someone with him actually capable of surviving. Jennings is completely out of his depth. Root is a decent bat, shame about his atrocious captaincy and demeanour however.