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

[Aritro]

Just when you might have been basking in the possibility that England have found the consistent 20+ opening pair they've been craving

 

[wpdavid]

Just tuned in to see that wicket, but why are they playing when it's lunchtime?

Start of play was 30 minutes late.

 

[kevinw]

Lees has batted ten Test innings. Take out his debut when he got two single figures, his next eight innings are all scores between 20-31. Which is frustrating.

 

[jcas0167]

And as we speak, Lees decides to leave one that proceeds to bowl him. Criminal dismissal after such a good start.

They had just been talking about how he changed from the leg stump guard he used in the first innings too. Unusual thing for an opener to be experimenting with during a test and probably messed up his idea of where the stumps were. He was looking good.

 

[nzfan]

Just tuned in to see that wicket, but why are they playing when it's lunchtime?

Late start so lunch and tea pushed out.

The game is so good the bloody lunch break is frustrating. Wish they didn't eat and just carried on. It's so hard to keep awake for like 40 minutes past midnight

 

[wpdavid]

Lees has batted ten Test innings. Take out his debut when he got two single figures, his next eight innings are all scores between 20-31. Which is frustrating.

It is, but I doubt whether any other opener of recent vintage has managed that for England. Looking at it positively, it's a start.

EDIT
Actually it's only six innings after his debut when he's always made between 20 and 31. Still more than Burns, Sibley, Hameed or Crawley have managed, in all probability.

 

[Aritro]

I think Pope is a bloody good batsman. He should be ideally scoring lots more runs than his stats show.

If my auntie had bollocks, Pope would be averaging 40

 

[sledger]

Lees has batted ten Test innings. Take out his debut when he got two single figures, his next eight innings are all scores between 20-31. Which is frustrating.

Just another England player who's very obviously very mediocre

 

[nzfan]

It is, but I doubt whether any other opener of recent vintage has managed that for England. Looking at it positively, it's a start.

I have lost count of how many openers England have tried since Cook retired. Hameed, Burns, Jennings, Hales, Stoneman, Lyth.. geez there must be many more.

Every time we play England there's a new pair.

 

[Shady Slim]

England [...] very obviously very mediocre

well it wasn't the first choice slogan for the tourism campaign but the boys at number ten will be damned if they don't make this one work

 

[sledger]

well it wasn't the first choice slogan for the tourism campaign but the boys at number ten will be damned if they don't make this one work

"England - Mel Jones is here at the moment"

 

[ashley bach]

Late start so lunch and tea pushed out.

The game is so good the bloody lunch break is frustrating. Wish they didn't eat and just carried on. It's so hard to keep awake for like 40 minutes past midnight

LOL know this feeling only too well, going for a 10 min walk in the cold fresh air often helps.
You truly are a dedicated nzfan, hope there's some reward ahead for you because that session was rubbish.

 

[wpdavid]

I have lost count of how many openers England have tried since Cook retired. Hameed, Burns, Jennings, Hales, Stoneman, Lyth.. geez there must be many more.

Every time we play England there's a new pair.

Sibley of course, and, hilariously, Jason Roy. tbf, I think the last four that you mentioned played before Cook retired. But your point is well made.

 

[kevinw]

I have lost count of how many openers England have tried since Cook retired. Hameed, Burns, Jennings, Hales, Stoneman, Lyth.. geez there must be many more.

Every time we play England there's a new pair.

Sam Robson was averaging in the 30s when he was dropped after half a dozen Tests (and had scored a couple of hundreds). He's still one of the best on the county circuit. Should've persevered with him.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

I have lost count of how many openers England have tried since Cook retired. Hameed, Burns, Jennings, Hales, Stoneman, Lyth.. geez there must be many more.

Every time we play England there's a new pair.

It's a good quiz question at this point.

You can add Compton, Carberry, Robson, Duckett, Sibley, Denly. Trott, Root and Ali were all tried as openers too. I'm sure I've missed some.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Too much of Piers Morgan in this documentary

 

[nzfan]

LOL know this feeling only too well, going for a 10 min walk in the cold fresh air often helps.
You truly are a dedicated nzfan, hope there's some reward ahead for you because that session was rubbish.

Yeah it's one of those test matches. It's off season so many players are quite rusty still and the ones coming off IPL it's never easy to get used to English conditions that quickly particularly coming from India and t20 format. If somehow can get through this one, the next two test matches should be good.

 

[wpdavid]

It's a good quiz question at this point.

You can add Compton, Carberry, Robson, Duckett, Sibley, Denly. Trott, Root and Ali were all tried as openers too. I'm sure I've missed some.

Yes, the floodgates for opening bats opened after Strauss retired. I know that was ten years ago, but we've still got through an astonishing number of them.

 

[_Ed_]

Too much of Piers Morgan in this documentary

Any of him would be too much.

 

[sledger]

Watching the Bowled Shane lunchtime feature on Sky, and it's striking to me how much healthier and younger Warney looked in the last few years than he did in 2006

And I can remember in 2006 thinking how much healthier he looked than in 2001

Strange