*Official* Second Test (Lord's, London) 28 June–2 July

[Michelle Fivefer]

England have also not added a wicketkeeper to their squad. Bairstow missed too many chances at Edgbaston, England need a reliable keeper who can also bat well.

Ben Foakes is the obvious answer but for some reason he gets overlooked. Does Bairstow pull the selectors' strings?

 

[chunksafc]

Ben Foakes is the obvious answer but for some reason he gets overlooked. Does Bairstow pull the selectors' strings?

Barstow is there for his batting, unless his hands fall off he's not being replaced

 

[Michelle Fivefer]

Barstow is there for his batting, unless his hands fall off he's not being replaced

If he's there for his batting he doesn't need to keep. But I suppose someone else would therefore have to be dropped to make room for Foakes....

 

[mustardcharlie]

Evening MC. Hope you are well. I drifted over here after C24/7 passed away after a short illness.

Regarding out spin options it's at times like this you realise that the cupboard is bare.

Rehan Ahmed could eventually be our answer but I feel he's not ready yet for the heated battle of the Ashes.

Will Jacks might be an option. I think they might go for 4 seamers with Root and Stokes to spell them though.
I agree about Raheem. but if you are going to be adventurous they need to do it in selection as well.

 

[CartyDurham]

Tongue took five wickets in debut at lords a few weeks back

now I clear concede that Ireland are not Australia but the lad has pace and I suspect the Australians won’t have seen much of him, though no doubt they will have had a look at the Ireland test

Tongue and Wood can get up to 88mph and above on a regular basis

not sure what that is in kph but it’s rapid

 

[mustardcharlie]

Reading the comments on the BBC app from McCullum, Ali IF fit will play, Barstow is a shoe in, so the only change might be Wood coming in

Big "if" though. He certainly won't be 100% and his batting was absolute shite.

 

[CartyDurham]

Let’s be fair to Moeen has been retired at test level for 18 months and anyone in any country would struggle to come straight in and look to score big and bowl teams out

He’s been bowling four overs and slogging for 20 balls for nigh on two years

There ain’t a player anywhere could return and then overnight be fully tuned into test match cricket

 

[Starfighter]

Ironically just as ECB switched the 1st Ashes Test to Edgbaston because they always went 1-0 down at Lords...

Was the first test ever going to be there? Lord's has been the traditional second test for many years.

 

[mustardcharlie]

Ben Foakes is the obvious answer but for some reason he gets overlooked. Does Bairstow pull the selectors' strings?

reerees o

Am a great fan of JB as you know MF. Still think the man who gave him a pair of keeping gloves should be whipped naked through steeets of York. Don't think that Foakes has been overlooked at all think he will join a long list of brilliant keepers who didn't make it cos their batting was crap

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

I have it on very good authority (@RossTaylorsBox I think) that this isn't actually true.

That's right

 

[Burgey]

slogging for 20 balls for nigh on two years

They should get him to open the batting then

 

[ataraxia]

They should get him to open the batting then

this but unironically

 

[the big bambino]

Honestly, most of this is "modern" cricket for mine, with the exception of 49, and possibly 74.

Basically, you have to be an absolute madlad to try this stuff, that even the captains of pre modern Test cricket didn't even try!

No one has scored at the clip bazball England have achieved which gives them the opportunity to do so.

 

[Lefty]

England will be unchanged.

That is good for Australia

 

[Anthony Clayden]

Awesome news for Australia, bat first and ground the English bowling down....

 

[Son Of Coco]

I don't think Ben Stokes going on about how they had changed the name of the nightwatchman to 'Nighthawk' has been spoken about enough.

It's ****ing hilarious...the things that resonate with a sportsperson's mind. If I was walking out to bat as the designated 'Nighthawk', I'd probably die of embarrassment before I got to the centre wicket.

Unless they are talking about this, in which case good on them.

 

[Nintendo]

Just listening to Jarrod Kimber and he bought up an interesting point about England's lack of planning for usman compared to smudge and marnus. I remember people bringing this up when broad and Anderson kept going around the wicket to him in the 2nd dig despite usman averaging a lot less when RHB go over the wicket.

Stokes did eventually work some stuff out to slow usman down, like the umbrella field and having a fielder just behind the bowler like Dhoni use to do to pollard, but I can't help but think that if they'de had a more immediate plan for usman and executed it straight away rather than when he'de already made a ton of runs in the first dig England could have cut back his scoring a bit.

 

[Spark]

Usman also said he apparently deliberately reined it in during the chase because he wanted to play no-risk cricket (with the logic that so long as Australia was batting at the end of the day, they'd win with a few overs to spare)

 

[Qlder]

Aus team is easily named except for the usual which pacer to leave out?

Based on workload management, Starc in for Boland who's played the last 2 tests this tour (WTC). Boland will then be fresh to give Hazlewood a rest in the 3rd test.

Starc can also go flat out this test as they name a new squad prior to the 3rd Test and Neser should finally be in the formal squad (rather than training squad)

Crunch time for Warner to. Will he be in this next squad if he fails both innings or will another 30 save him?

 

[Spark]

It's actually kind of nuts that they might only have two days' break between this game and the next.