*** Official*** South Africa in England 2017

[Adders]

If SA can get up here & then bring Rabada back for the 3rd, they should rightfully be bullish. Must confess to have written them off for this test without Rabada.

So had I tbh. Beating their better side at our worst ground had me thinking this test was in the bag..........cricket is great at bringing you back down to earth isn't it.

 

[Zinzan]

Is it just me or do both Root and Williamson have this annoying propensity to fall over to seemingly innocuous dismissals outside off, even when they're looking like a million dollars & in complete control. To me that's the key edge Smith has over those two at Test level, he doesn't seem as likely to fall to the soft dismissal. Can only think it's a mental thing since all 3 so often look in total control.

 

[Raffski]

Roots issue is that he almost plays too well sometimes. Gets a bit over eager outside off. If he's looking to rectify his conversion issue that's something he has to look at. Iirc it's something he did really well in his double against Pakistan last year.

 

[tooextracool]

RE openers/number 3s.

It's defo between Stoneman and Robson looking at averages and Lions selections for the slot assuming a change. For someone who hasn't watched Robson bat for a while has he fixed his gaping technique issues (ie issues with bowled/LBWs) ? Ballance proves you can go back to CC and plunder without fixing technical issues and don't know if this is the case here?

One name that has not come up as much within the selector-ial circles so far is Tom Westley. Under normal circumstances, scoring a century for the Lions against a visiting side would be a ticket to national honors or at the very least an adulating George Dobell article. That would be ignoring some other more discernible points like the fact that he bats at 3, is averaging 56 this season with 3 tons, is coming off no less than 3 successful CC seasons (albeit 2 against div 2 attacks), and had a decent winter with the Lions. Despite my heavy inclinations towards Lions performances, does anyone know why he isn't considered a serious contender for the spot at 3?

 

[Burgey]

Are you blokes mad or am I missing something?? Why is everyone so quick to right Jimmy off? Woakes walks straight back into this side but be ****ed if he comes in for Jimmy Anderson.......Anderson is still > than Woakes.

Also how bad was Wood yesterday? Only got to watch bits of the first session but his first few overs were right on the money, from the comments in this thread I assume he didn't maintain that through the day?

I think it's because he's such a knob and no one wants him around the joint tbh

 

[tooextracool]

I think Moeen only batted at 5 in Bangladesh, so given the nature of that series I think it's fair enough to say he may still have potential at 5. That said, I'd expect Bairstow to get more out of batting there than Mo, so happy enough to stick with what we've got for a while.

Is Stokes at 5 a possibility at all. I can see it not affecting him too adversely, and Mo/Jonny might prefer 6 to 5?

If we want to be perfectly honest, none of them are good enough to bat at 5 and perhaps even 6 might be too high for all of them without the safety net of Chris Woakes at 8.

 

[vcs]

England's inconsistency must be annoying for their supporters, but it does make them a fun side to watch.

 

[Daemon]

Great to see South Africa do so well despite the major blows wrt availability. Losing Steyn, AB, Rabada and Abbott is massive, and yet somehow they're in the drivers seat.

 

[wpdavid]

If we want to be perfectly honest, none of them are good enough to bat at 5 and perhaps even 6 might be too high for all of them without the safety net of Chris Woakes at 8.

Regrettably true.

 

[harsh.ag]

SA are gun when either Elgar or Amla delivers.

 

[wpdavid]

England's inconsistency must be annoying for their supporters, but it does make them a fun side to watch.

I think inconsistency is a euphemism for not very good, if we're talking about the last 18 months. There is some talent available, but not enough for a full test side. And the mid-set is simply not good enough for this form of cricket. I just hope that Root can fast-track into the gnarled old pro that's needed to sort them out.

 

[harsh.ag]

Look, regardless of his county form, Hameed looked more of an international batsman than Jennings does right now.

 

[Spark]

Jennings does have a touch of the Robson/Compton about him tbh. Just missing something at this stage.

 

[vcs]

I think England have loads of talent, and great depth right now. But their weaknesses are oddly pronounced (brittle top-order, no real spinner despite Moeen winning them the odd match here and there) and their performances show high variance. I do think they are just inconsistent, as opposed to ordinary.

 

[JRC67]

The problem England have is the jump from county cricket to test cricket is massive. Not sure there are better players out there. As a team I think the whole has generally performed better than the individual parts in recent home series. We do tend to bounce back from poor performances at home and have a knack of getting across the line in tight matches, which probably says the team spirit is quite good. If Cook is now in terminal decline there will be big issues with the batting. I fancy this series to finish 2 all which will be a decent result as South Africa always were a better team than many claimed after Lord's. I'd probably stick with the same team for the next match as it will be a big ask to bring inexperienced players in during a competitive series against a strong attack. Maybe gamble on Rashid at Old Trafford if we need to win. The problem with Rashid in tests is when he's bad he's truly awful, but he could also be a match winner. I think we need to try and bed in a couple of batsmen against The West Indies, then hope they can step up against the Aussies.

 

[NUFAN]

The problem with Rashid in tests is when he's bad he's truly awful, but he could also be a match winner.

The balance of the English attack makes the Rashid gamble way easier to justify compared to other sides because of Bairstow/Stokes/Moeen and especially when Woakes returns. I know Rashid and Dawson's first class record is similar, but there is nothing about Dawson's bowling and batting that appears Test class to me, so I would drop him if he doesn't perform in the remainder of this match.

 

[Compton]

I'd rather have a potential match-winner in Rashid than a bits-n-pieces cricketer like Dawson.

Every single time.

 

[morgieb]

Jennings does have a touch of the Robson/Compton about him tbh. Just missing something at this stage.

The fact that he's not English?

 

[Moonsorrow999]

Rumour has it Woakes is out for the series.

 

[marc71178]

Rashid definitely benefitting here from the boost to his abilities that occurs when someone's not in the team...

Yes Dawson probably isn't good enough for the team but he deserves a chance to show that, something Rashid has already shown.