Ok then. The commentators on the radio seemed quite surprised at the lack of turn though so I took their word as gospel.
Strauss has evidently finally figured-out his game again, for the first time since the summer of 2005.
It's certainly looking a hell of a lot more likely now than it was 3 weeks ago. Though admittedly the change from "about as much chance as Marc returning to CW" to "pretty unlikely" isn't all that big a deal.
Was only one each TBF, but yeah, the minute Pietersen ran himself out I started to worry again, having thought no more than "oh well, shame he couldn't manage the n\o" upon Strauss' dismissal.
I was surprised that it didn't turn more, but it did turn, and Strauss and Vaughan (especially) played very well. The real big sea-change was that the pitch, as Bennett said, flattened-out completely. Almost all the uneven bounce disappeared. This meant the seamers went from very useful to pretty innocuous, and Vettori certainly didn't bowl as well as might've been hoped.Ok then. The commentators on the radio seemed quite surprised at the lack of turn though so I took their word as gospel.
Kinda makes the excessive criticism of him on here look pretty silly.
Not if the middle order are still batting like this.
There was a great piece on him in the Sunday Times. He says he is not expecting to be picked this summer, but hopes he can prove throughout the season that he still deserves a place. here's hoping.
Peak? If it wasn’t for New Zealand batting like complete idiots, England would have deservedly lost the test match to the team who played the better cricket and the likes of Anderson, Bell or Collingwood would have presumably and rightfully been dropped. The win is merely papering over the cracks and if this very side comes up against anyone who is relatively ‘good’ (and experienced in winning test matches) they will duly gets beaten.
Having seen Jones bowl a six over spell last week at high pace and excellent accuracy I was certainly optimistic of his chances of a recall sometime this year. Of course there is a bigger picture, he needs a continuous run of games getting plenty of overs in his legs and prove that he can bowl a few spells a day at good pace with the necessary control.
Thats why I said Travelling. Certainly they'd get destroyed if they played the Ashes now. Coming back from nowheresville though took some good cricket, not just shocking cricket from a learning team.
Not if Bell, Sidebottom and Pietersen up their game like we know they're more than capable of.
To still win despite a number of players being out of form is still satisfying despite it not being in the dominating and attacking style we are hoping this England side can display. Good sides have the ability to win ugly, yet I do hope that we win the final Test with the kind of performance Vaughan and co have been promising for a while.
Depends what's happening in regards to England's selections at the time of the Ashes, leading into it, based on form and previous test performances.
You're only allowed to play good cricket in the next series you play.
Wouldn't be happy at that TBH. Jones has never been a good one-day bowler - the white balls swing less than the red ones, doubly so given some of the absurd rules we've currently got in the OD game, and his accuracy (lack thereof) costs far more.