There's no question Hilf was utter **** in the last Ashes, and if I was picking the squad he wouldn't be there.What were Hilfenhaus' Ashes figures? Was it 5 wickets at 80 or something like that?
Bear in mind that those figures were boosted by tailend wickets with the third new ball at Sydney when England already had 600 on the board. Spikey is bang on the money.
Finally an admission the England line up is bat **** boring.Then again, England might have just played Hilf better than anyone else would. The England lineup is excellent at leaving the ball - while Hilf bowled a lot of dross that could comfortably be left alone, do the Indian batsmen have the patience to bore their way to runs the way Cook and Trott did?
The most patriotic of England fans would not profess to love watching Strauss/Cook/Trott bat.Finally an admission the England line up is bat **** boring.
Couple of blokes aka SRT, Dravid and Laxman actually can play the patience game quite well, not sure about Sehwag (He doesnt have a 'leave' per se in his dictionary) or the new entrants (Kohli or Sharma).Then again, England might have just played Hilf better than anyone else would. The England lineup is excellent at leaving the ball - while Hilf bowled a lot of dross that could comfortably be left alone, do the Indian batsmen have the patience to bore their way to runs the way Cook and Trott did?
Haha, you would kill for some boring batsmen who scored big runs instead of the dashers who nick off everytime the ball moves.Finally an admission the England line up is bat **** boring.
Adds to the excitement ffsHaha, you would kill for some boring batsmen who scored big runs instead of the dashers who nick off everytime the ball moves.
But more often than not the latter two score runs at crunch times (a solid start by cook means a long, gritty innings and a big english total, while Trott comes in and nudges around without anyones attention only for the opposition captain to soon find him already n.o 100* or so)The most fun to watch English batsmen are Bell and KP. Others are technically brilliant (Cook, Trott), but extremely boring to watch.
Of course, they are very good batsmen, but I was talking about ones exciting to watch. a captain would be happy with the former because their job is to score runs not play exciting cricket.But more often than not the latter two score runs at crunch times (a solid start by cook means a long, gritty innings and a big english total, while Trott comes in and nudges around without anyones attention only for the opposition captain to soon find him already n.o 100* or so)
I'd be careful about wishing too much for bowler-friendly conditions on Day 1. Clarke is absolutely dreadful at winning tosses - had no luck at all in that regard.Oh god I so hope it is overcast (without raining) in the morning and we bowl first. Would love to see Pattinson in front of his home crowd produce some more of this:
2nd Test Day 1 Wrap - YouTube
Atmosphere would be great.
Also wouldn't mind a sunny morning with Warner smashing Zaheer and co. around run-a-ball. I'll take either.
Both Dhoni and Clarke have poor luck when it comes to winning tossesI'd be careful about wishing too much for bowler-friendly conditions on Day 1. Clarke is absolutely dreadful at winning tosses - had no luck at all in that regard.
Rain or not, it would be a good experience for Pattinson. Not everyday you get a chance to see Sehwag and co. smash you around the park, do youOh god I so hope it is overcast (without raining) in the morning and we bowl first. Would love to see Pattinson in front of his home crowd produce some more of this:
2nd Test Day 1 Wrap - YouTube
Atmosphere would be great.
Also wouldn't mind a sunny morning with Warner smashing Zaheer and co. around run-a-ball. I'll take either.
I'd be careful about wishing too much for bowler-friendly conditions on Day 1. Clarkeishas been absolutely dreadful at winning tosses - had no luck at all in that regard.
Fixed. It's not a skill or a intrinsic value.Both Dhoni and Clarkehavehad poor luck when it comes to winning tosses