2nd Test at Adelaide - 16 to 20 Dec

[SteveNZ]

And also accounting for the fact that you don't want to be 0-1 when you're not defending the Ashes, no matter who you think suits what pitches throughout the series. Classic case of management overthought.

 

[Blenkinsop]

Yeah. Just play your best team, don't overcomplicate things.

Except that England's best team probably includes a couple of players who aren't even in the squad, and probably doesn't feature a specialist spinner.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Opening gambit of the biggest series of your season and you don't play either of the guys with 1100 wickets between them? Horses for courses and player management is all good but you'd be a fool to turn your back on that sort of experience on game day.

 

[Xix2565]

Opening gambit of the biggest series of your season and you don't play either of the guys with 1100 wickets between them? Horses for courses and player management is all good but you'd be a fool to turn your back on that sort of experience on game day.

Tbh, the damnation goes both ways if any of Anderson/Broad get hurt, considering we've seen Stokes and Robinson struggle as well. Don't think bowling experience can hide batting frailties for too long, certainly didn't when India played Aus in the last few years.

 

[the big bambino]

Yeah, his record anywhere but England is hopeless. They're kidding themselves if he plays in Adelaide - as I said, he was probably only picked on the premise he might contribute a few runs.

And Adelaide under lights. So it wouldn't be a lol to play him there. Plus he's a show against Smith in those conditions. Trouble is they'd have to spell Wood if they're playing Woakes. Now Root wants to play Wood as often as he can. But injury history and crammed schedule might convince him to rest him at Adelaide so he's right for the day tests when his pace will be needed.

Yes its an over representation of Woakes skill set to have him plus Broad, Anderson and Robinson (whom I developed a cricket crush when I saw him) in the one team, but it should be fine for Adelaide while allowing for the management of Wood over the series. I see no use for a spinner given their standard, the conditions at Adelaide or for the rest of the series given our wet summer. I think Archer is right in suggesting Eng play 5 pace men. The role of dry container can fall to Anderson as he basically played that role last ashes out here. If Anderson's fitness breaks down then Robinson could do it.

 

[honestbharani]

But they haven't had any match practice since last week either. The reports going around were Anderson bowled in the nets for about 45 minutes the day after he was ruled out. One of them should definitely have played. They seem to have put all their eggs into winning Adelaide under lights, but then what? It's a gamble there as well because it isn't as though Aus's record there is junk. And if they do it's 1-1 with two of the flattest decks in world cricket ahead. Will they not play Sydney and Melbourne either?

I thought one of them playing in Brisbane was a lock tbh. There was something in that deck for the quicks until day three. Really think they missed a major trick there.

To be fair, now that they are two d/n tests, I guess it could be an option that they feel those two and the MCG are their best chances of wins on this tour and wanna ensure Broad and Anderson play those 3 tests.

 

[Burgey]

Maybe. They're just as likely to get dicked as they are to win them though. It isn't as though the other mob have a poor record under lights either. Strange one imo.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Opening gambit of the biggest series of your season and you don't play either of the guys with 1100 wickets between them? Horses for courses and player management is all good but you'd be a fool to turn your back on that sort of experience on game day.

Over-thinking/over-management. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and pick your best team.

 

[honestbharani]

Maybe. They're just as likely to get dicked as they are to win them though. It isn't as though the other mob have a poor record under lights either. Strange one imo.

It is and I would never wanna rest my main players in the first test but I guess if they felt they can play only 3 of the 5, I can kinda see their point in ensuring its those 3 tests.

 

[stephen]

Broad at the least should have played in Brisbane. I'd expect him to be the Englishman in with the best chance of success at the Gabba, and you'd think that a pitch with life would be England's best bet for snagging a win.

 

[Nintendo]

Genuinly what on earth went wrong for England over the 12 month period since the sri Lanka series? Just after that they'de won two away series and 6 tests in a row, had just beaten India at home in the first test, had beaten SA in SA, demolished Windies and Pak at home, root was making doubles for fun, Sibley was in the runs, pope was still a beast, Crawley still looked promising, Lawrence was looking decent.

There still playing the same guys now but things have just gone so far downhill. Lost both series of the home summer, thrashed by India, lost the first test of the ashes.

 

[Flem274*]

Genuinly what on earth went wrong for England over the 12 month period since the sri Lanka series? Just after that they'de won two away series and 6 tests in a row, had just beaten India at home in the first test, had beaten SA in SA, demolished Windies and Pak at home, root was making doubles for fun, Sibley was in the runs, pope was still a beast, Crawley still looked promising, Lawrence was looking decent.

There still playing the same guys now but things have just gone so far downhill. Lost both series of the home summer, thrashed by India, lost the first test of the ashes.

The batting just isn't good, and they've played sides who catch them with their pants down.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Genuinly what on earth went wrong for England over the 12 month period since the sri Lanka series? Just after that they'de won two away series and 6 tests in a row, had just beaten India at home in the first test, had beaten SA in SA, demolished Windies and Pak at home, root was making doubles for fun, Sibley was in the runs, pope was still a beast, Crawley still looked promising, Lawrence was looking decent.

There still playing the same guys now but things have just gone so far downhill. Lost both series of the home summer, thrashed by India, lost the first test of the ashes.

I guess things were just never as rosy as your post portrays. We didn't demolish WIndies or Pakistan at home - we beat WIndies 2-1 and Pakistan 1-0, and we'd have lost the latter series were it not for a crazy rescue act by Woakes and Buttler. Every Test we won on the Sri Lanka and India tour was down to Root scoring huge runs and carrying the batting solo.

Sibley/Pope/Crawley all looked promising in different ways a year or so ago but none of them really cracked Test cricket. A lineup with all 3 of them at once plus Lawrence (who I don't rate highly) plus an inconsistent Burns plus Bairstow hokey-cokeying in and out the side was just too many players not quite Test standard which only piled up further pressure on all of them. Hameed and Malan don't feel like high-ceiling replacements either, though hopefully I'm wrong on that. If Stokes can get his form back that'll obviously be a huge boost.

Bowling looks brighter as Robinson seems a great player, Woakes is good at home and Wood is good away, Broad and Anderson are still around for now. The question is whether Archer and Stone can ever get fit enough to be Test regulars and step up when the old duo retire. Spin stocks aren't great but Leach deserves a run of games at home which he's never really had. Maybe Parkinson will come good.

The truth is, England are a middle of the pack team at the moment. Decent at home and may jag away Tests when Root does something special.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I'm not enjoying the anti-Woakes chatter recently. I was surprised he was picked ahead of Broad but reading some of the talk over the past week (not just from this board) you'd think that was the decision which threw away the first Test. It wasn't as if Woakes was the reason our batting line up is a shambles nor that we chose to give the Aus attack the best bowling conditions of the match, nor that our fielding is also a shambles. Broad would probably have done a bit better than him with the ball, but I don't think by all that much.

Hopefully Broad and Anderson go well with the pink ball in the next Test, but if they do it hardly proves that they would've gone great at the Gabba had they played.

I like Woakes. He seems like a decent bloke. My comment was more in reference to the chatter about him being picked because of what he brings with the bat instead of the ball, ala Big Ash G.

 

[Spark]

Genuinly what on earth went wrong for England over the 12 month period since the sri Lanka series? Just after that they'de won two away series and 6 tests in a row, had just beaten India at home in the first test, had beaten SA in SA, demolished Windies and Pak at home, root was making doubles for fun, Sibley was in the runs, pope was still a beast, Crawley still looked promising, Lawrence was looking decent.

There still playing the same guys now but things have just gone so far downhill. Lost both series of the home summer, thrashed by India, lost the first test of the ashes.

You'd probably still think they'd replicate at least those home results, purely because their bowling is still perfectly fine. But yeah it's the higher quality attacks that have exposed them horribly, plus I don't think covid quarantineball was exactly fair on the touring sides in terms of getting quality prep for the conditions.

Also there's quite a record now of a new English bat getting picked for Tests with a middling record but in good form, and their good form carries them for a bit, but then international attacks work them out and everyone sees that, really, they aren't especially good Test batsmen.

 

[Spark]

Just saw that Warner is struggling to play the pull shot still. Surely if there’s any question marks, you just leave him out and pick Khawaja? We must have learned our lesson from last summer with regards to playing Warner before he’s fully fit just because he’s Warner.

 

[Nintendo]

Just saw that Warner is struggling to play the pull shot still. Surely if there’s any question marks, you just leave him out and pick Khawaja? We must have learned our lesson from last summer with regards to playing Warner before he’s fully fit just because he’s Warner.

Yeah nah we should play khawaja. Feel like the selectors will randomly pick street because he made a ton in the A game, let him get butchered by anderson and broad with the pinky at night and not pick him again.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Genuinly what on earth went wrong for England over the 12 month period since the sri Lanka series? Just after that they'de won two away series and 6 tests in a row, had just beaten India at home in the first test, had beaten SA in SA, demolished Windies and Pak at home, root was making doubles for fun, Sibley was in the runs, pope was still a beast, Crawley still looked promising, Lawrence was looking decent.

There still playing the same guys now but things have just gone so far downhill. Lost both series of the home summer, thrashed by India, lost the first test of the ashes.

You're going overboard. They were never that good and certainly didn't 'demolish Windies and Pak'. They always struggle against high-quality attacks as Spark mentioned

 

[Gob]

This game has a Melbourne last year feeling. Aust all pumped after the win (like 36 all out) but Eng could definitely sneak one here

 

[Nintendo]

You're going overboard. They were never that good and certainly didn't 'demolish Windies and Pak'. They always struggle against high-quality attacks as Spark mentioned

Yeah in hindsight was probably a bit verbose and over the top.