ImpatientLime
International Regular
foakes is toast
billings the new keeper cause he was heard shouting a bit over stump mic in sydney
billings the new keeper cause he was heard shouting a bit over stump mic in sydney
He actually tried it but stopped because it was too boring. https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/ben-stokes-training-interviewHas he done much captaining before?
He's a chap who could probably do with taking up yoga fairly seriously from now on.
It's such a mess...Jimmy and broad were dropped after years of not doing enough away to win tests, now that there's a new captain they seem to be automatic selections back in. What happens to Mahmood who is being invested in and performing better for Lancs than Jimmy is right now? Jimmy gets back into the side simply because he whinged the louded? Broad hasnt even played since January.Provided Stokes was truly up for it, I don't see how anyone can say that it was the wrong choice. No one else in English cricket has the respect of the players more than Stokes. If anything, I expect his bowling workload to be better managed now that he is in control than if we bring someone with 10 tests under their belt running the show.
No one is expecting him to be a tactical genius. Assuming Broad and Anderson are back, we have a senior core of bowlers who can set their own fields and we will need a coach who can help guide him from that perspective as it relates to the younger players. For any bowler, just knowing that you have the full backing of your captain is going to be a sea change from his predecessor, and I expect we will play with far more aggression generally than we did previously.
England can't keep going back to them for much longer. But who is the next generation to hand over to? Archer/Wood/Robinson/Stone are all injured. Maybe if they were available the decision would be harder but England have to pick some bowlers and overlooking Broad and Anderson in the last series led to Matt Fisher (also now injured) playing when clearly he's not at Test level (let's be kind and say 'yet').It's such a mess...Jimmy and broad were dropped after years of not doing enough away to win tests, now that there's a new captain they seem to be automatic selections back in. What happens to Mahmood who is being invested in and performing better for Lancs than Jimmy is right now? Jimmy gets back into the side simply because he whinged the louded? Broad hasnt even played since January.
Stokes should have been looking to rebuild, not go back, even if it meant a couple years of uncertainty. A fine example is Misbah taking over after the spot fixing debacle for Pakistan, pushing Azhar Ali who had the time was in and out of the side, stabilising YK who was still young enough and great enough and then breathing new life into the bowling post Amir, Asif and then Ajmal.
I'm not sure what 2 more seasons of pick and choose Jimmy and Broad will do, and once Archer is fit and ready to go, does England really go back to Jimmy/Broad/Archer/Woakes?
Stokes needs more balls as captain...kind of like when he's outside a night club.
Trouble is said repeatable action seems to give him not just the usual back issues but every other conceivable injury and a few inconceivable ones. Makes Chris Old seem durable. I disagree with @Red_Ink_Squid's implication he'll never be test level (though he'll never be as fast as he might have been) but when the most matches he's played in a season is five it's very long way to fulfil what potential remains.Not sure why Matt Fisher has a bad rep on this board - I thought he had a decent outing for a debutant bowling on a road though i do agree that he needs a bit more time to develop before playing more test cricket. Seems to have a repeatable action that should allow him to generate some natural in-swing.
You expect too much....if he isn't "rotated" I'll eat my socks.England can't keep going back to them for much longer. But who is the next generation to hand over to? Archer/Wood/Robinson/Stone are all injured. Maybe if they were available the decision would be harder but England have to pick some bowlers and overlooking Broad and Anderson in the last series led to Matt Fisher (also now injured) playing when clearly he's not at Test level (let's be kind and say 'yet').
Anderson and Broad are easily in the best available team on merit. Woakes () and Overton are not as good bowlers. Mahmood is a lock for the squad and I expect he'll play some Tests this summer too. He'll be fine.
Yeah this is the point, if you weren't obsessively looking at his birth-certificate, like a tabloid journo waiting for a starlet to come of age, there would be absolutely no reason to drop him, he would be one of the only certain names on the team sheet. Root, Stokes, Anderson, and he plays more than Stokes because of superior fitness.We are already in uncharted territory with Anderson. He's pushing 40, still obviously England's best bowler, still one of England's fittest players and still a good fielder. For all anyone knows he might have another five years in him, partly because he seems to be some sort of genetic freak and partly because we know a lot more about how to stay fit nowadays than we did in the 1980s. He certainly looks less likely to break down than Robinson or Fisher.
Nice to see lots of English batsmen doing well in the CC so far. Brook looks quality and can't be far away from a call-up. Same with Bohannon.
I don't get it, if England can't consistently take 20 wickets away from home without a lot of help then surely the bowling actually is a problem? It was absolutely a question to ask considering how Anderson and Broad function away from home. Them coming back at home doesn't change this.Broad and Anderson did not fail to win us Tests away, our batting did. They were dropped for no reason, so thankfully they are being brought back for a reason. i.e. they are our best bowlers, and not injured like most of our other bowlers. Our bowling not the problem again, our batting is. Work on that. Shouldn't even be a question, was the wrong move, proven so.
Agreed. Anderson and Broad have had terrible WPMs away from home in the last few years in an extremely bowler friendly era.I don't get it, if England can't consistently take 20 wickets away from home without a lot of help then surely the bowling actually is a problem? It was absolutely a question to ask considering how Anderson and Broad function away from home. Them coming back at home doesn't change this.