*Official* 2022 New Zealand Tour of England, Ireland, Scotland & Netherlands

[Uppercut]

Oh yeah but "Anderson and Broad wreck a top order who don't play properly against the moving ball" is about as fixed a quality of English cricket as the bad batting at this point.

I think them getting dropped kind of gaslit a lot of us into thinking they were average. Like, we all knew they shouldn't have been dropped, but you still subconsciously downgrade them when it happens.

 

[_Ed_]

Eoin Morgan says on commentary that this is the first time he's seen Potts in a match... he must have missed him during the Hundred last summer... Morgan c Potts b Rashid!

Whoops.

 

[Meridio]

‘Compact’ Blundell sitting back in his crease and praying for a long hop does not look a good chance of scoring runs in these conditions

Yeah it would be really nice if England decided to try and bounce Blundell out now

 

[Spark]

I think them getting dropped kind of gaslit a lot of us into thinking they were average. Like, we all knew they shouldn't have been dropped, but you still subconsciously downgrade them when it happens.

There was some rank nonsense posted about them during the Ashes tour, as if them struggling in Australia under a mediocre captain and horrible selection was a serious indication of how they'd do on a day like today.

 

[Meridio]

I know it's a deliberate thing these days, and Potts seems that kind of bowler, but I really hate seeing guys run up and bowl scrambled seam. Just ugly. Cricket is an aesthetic game dammit and I want those seams perfectly canted to first slip thanks.

 

[thierry henry]

I know it's a deliberate thing these days, and Potts seems that kind of bowler, but I really hate seeing guys run up and bowl scrambled seam. Just ugly. Cricket is an aesthetic game dammit and I want those seams perfectly canted to first slip thanks.

So far he seems to have a great knack of bowling perfect leg cutters with a random seam, dumb luck or bowling genius beyond my understanding?

 

[Heboric]

Yikes, come on New Zealand, you are playing for the sanity of the cricketing world. Imagine the fallout after an English win here.

 

[social]

Not death riding him as he’s doing very very well on debut

Potts is just another 80 mph bowler of average height

I get why he’s been picked but meh unless he can really crank it up

 

[jcas0167]

There was some rank nonsense posted about them during the Ashes tour, as if them struggling in Australia under a mediocre captain and horrible selection was a serious indication of how they'd do on a day like today.

My vague recollection was they both bowled pretty well despite those factors. Seemed a very ageist decision to omit them from the Windies tour.

 

[Uppercut]

There was some rank nonsense posted about them during the Ashes tour, as if them struggling in Australia under a mediocre captain and horrible selection was a serious indication of how they'd do on a day like today.

Yeah that too.

Also that every summer could be the one where age finally catches up to them.

 

[nzfan]

I'm struggling to understand why our guys are not able to cope with swing and seam of late. All these guys are brought up in similar conditions or worse. Our decks are much harder to bat on even at peak summer.

 

[Spark]

I'm struggling to understand why our guys are not able to cope with swing and seam of late. All these guys are brought up in similar conditions or worse. Our decks are much harder to bat on even at peak summer.

My memory is admittedly spotty but haven't NZ pitches been mostly very flat in the last few summers?

 

[Meridio]

There was some rank nonsense posted about them during the Ashes tour, as if them struggling in Australia under a mediocre captain and horrible selection was a serious indication of how they'd do on a day like today.

That's modern sporting commentary isn't it. Players are only as good as their last game irrespective of all other variables, if they fail it just reinforces their preconceived narratives.

So far he seems to have a great knack of bowling perfect leg cutters with a random seam, dumb luck or bowling genius beyond my understanding?

Basically all three of those - the whole 'wobble seam' thing that came into vogue a decade (probably more) or so ago. Bowlers don't know which way it will move, they just send it down with the seam a bit scrambled and it's just random luck as to whether it goes in, out or straight. Of course when the ball/seam is soft it doesn't move at all and there's no swing either, which is possibly why there's been all this talk about the Dukes ball this year being soft and not moving and guys can't swing it anymore hence big runs.

 

[ashley bach]

Great toss this for England to win, nice and overcast, always good to bowl to a touring team in these conditions first day of a new series.

 

[Starfighter]

I know it's a deliberate thing these days, and Potts seems that kind of bowler, but I really hate seeing guys run up and bowl scrambled seam. Just ugly. Cricket is an aesthetic game dammit and I want those seams perfectly canted to first slip thanks.

Scrambled seam? Mate, that's wobble seam, the most genius invention of modern fast bowling.

(there's literally no difference, just depends on what the surface is doing)

 

[Uppercut]

My vague recollection was they both bowled pretty well despite those factors. Seemed a very ageist decision to omit them from the Windies tour.

I just checked and their figures were really very respectable. 8 wickets @23 for Anderson, 13@ 26 for Broad. I'm not sure it's even fair to say they struggled, though they did only manage 3 games each.

 

[wpdavid]

Great toss this for England to win, nice and overcast, always good to bowl to a touring team in these conditions first day of a new series.

NZ won the toss and chose to bat.

 

[social]

I'm struggling to understand why our guys are not able to cope with swing and seam of late. All these guys are brought up in similar conditions or worse. Our decks are much harder to bat on even at peak summer.

Coaching, pitches & the ball

All about hitting through the line on flat decks now

That’s what makes the $

 

[Meridio]

Scrambled seam? Mate, that's wobble seam, the most genius invention of modern fast bowling.

(there's literally no difference, just depends on what the surface is doing)

I know - as per my reply to Thierry just now. I'd just much rather watch the ball hooping around corners.

 

[Spark]

I just checked and their figures were really very respectable. 8 wickets @23 for Anderson, 13@ 26 for Broad. I'm not sure it's even fair to say they struggled, though they did only manage 3 games each.

Yeah the narrative came entirely from them not quite bowling full enough in the first two sessions at Adelaide. And then they didn't even get to bowl on some of the most helpful pitches of that series.