2nd Test, Lord's, London

[Prince EWS]

I've said this before and will no doubt say it again, but Warner was averaging over fifty in first class cricket when he was picked for tests. Admittedly that wasn't from too many matches, some of which were against a Zimbabwe XI, but it's more than the likes of Finch and Roy have ever done.

Yeah there's a bit of a difference between picking someone off limited evidence and picking someone despite substantial evidence telling you it won't end well. The Roy pick has muuuch more in common with the Finch one than the Warner one.

It was worth a punt given they'd exhausted all the conventional options, and now that they've done it I'd persist a little longer (although I'd consider swapping him and Denly in the batting order), but there isn't the precedent in Warner people think there is.

 

[TheJediBrah]

lol harsh af from Gower to think that anyone would have actually caught that

 

[morgieb]

I think I've only seen one person ever suggest it (Leach) seriously. It gets tossed around as a joke/troll sometimes.

Woakes opening is a live option though. I wouldn't go there because it'd mean Curran would come in and I think five seamers in a Test should be punishable by death, but just from a "best opening options" angle it's not that crazy at all.

The other problem is that I think it could **** with his bowling hard. I'd consider it in English conditions but away from home I think you'd want a proper option. Who that is, I don't know.

 

[Uppercut]

As someone who has sometimes played the role of toporderwatchman in club cricket I'm not totally against the idea for England. I do think it hurts their chances of building a properly serious test side in the long term though. And the added value of having the 5th seam bowling option if you squeeze Curran in or whatever is just so low.

Depends what the alternative is though. If doing it means getting Denly out of the team then it's probably a positive in terms of building a team long-term.

 

[Starfighter]

So with a whole day lost to rain, with 98 overs to bowl today, and Australia bowls 12 overs in first hour

98 overs a day ain't happening consistently in test matches, especially as the last session is always very slow. The only way would be if each pace bowler cut five paces off their runs, the batsmen stopped futzing around and field adjustments were made in an apparently impossibly timely manner.

 

[Gob]

ffs siddle

 

[TheJediBrah]

jfc absolutely nothing is carrying

 

[flibbertyjibber]

ffs siddle

he will run in all day though.

 

[Starfighter]

Burns seems to have two scoring areas, off his pads between mid on and square leg, and 180° in the other direction between slips and point.

Ooh, that was close.

 

[Bijed]

Hunch from Smith I think. Only reason I can see.

Didn't they mention some kind of weighted/adjusted runs calculation they use when he was picked? Not that it appears to count for much...

 

[trundler]

Yeah, no track bullies.

 

[Starfighter]

Can we have the Lord's pitch from 1963 please? Back when it actually had some pace in it.

 

[TheJediBrah]

England recovering well, looking good for 700/3 by stumps

 

[flibbertyjibber]

jfc absolutely nothing is carrying

That is our plan, hope Smith breaks a finger taking one on the half volley at slip. Can't get the bugger out so it makes sense.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I still can't believe they picked Siddle with the bowling strength they have on the bench. What a joke.

he will run in all day though.

haha good

 

[Niall]

England recovering well, looking good for 700/3 by stumps

I just had a chunky bet on Joe Denly to score a double century,,hard to see how the bet loses at this stage tbh.

 

[ajdude]

usman ffs

 

[aussie tragic]

Siddle now averaging 51.00 for the series...and then has a dropped catch

 

[Starfighter]

Oh Usman.

 

[morgieb]

Yikes. That's a dolly too.