England team for the 5th test

[Fuller Pilch]

England have used 25 players in tests in 2021.
Root and Malan (the latter who has played just 4 tests this year) are the only ones to average over 30 with the bat. Woakes (28.83), Burns (27.89), and Lawrence (27.23) come next. Burns has scored the only non-Root 100 and no one else has reached 90.

Who's the batting coach?

 

[wpdavid]

England have used 25 players in tests in 2021.
Root and Malan (the latter who has played just 4 tests this year) are the only ones to average over 30 with the bat. Woakes (28.83), Burns (27.89), and Lawrence (27.23) come next. Burns has scored the only non-Root 100 and no one else has reached 90.

Who's the batting coach?

Not sure what the batting coach can do with the quality of resources available to him. That being said, I don't think that Pope used to look as frenetic at the crease as he does nowadays, so maybe you have a point there.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Not sure what the batting coach can do with the quality of resources available to him. That being said, I don't think that Pope used to look as frenetic at the crease as he does nowadays, so maybe you have a point there.

I agree that Pope/Sibley/Crawley/Lawrence isn't the finest raw batting talent to work with, but those are our most promising young players of the past few seasons and the first three have all regressed while in the Test team and Lawrence hasn't progressed. Burns too is no better now than when he first joined the Test side.

Batting coach is Trescothick, but he only got the gig in March this year, so too soon to lay the blame on him I think, but something in the England set up doesn't seem to be working.

 

[wpdavid]

I agree that Pope/Sibley/Crawley/Lawrence isn't the finest raw batting talent to work with, but those are our most promising young players of the past few seasons and the first three have all regressed while in the Test team and Lawrence hasn't progressed. Burns too is no better now than when he first joined the Test side.

Batting coach is Trescothick, but he only got the gig in March this year, so too soon to lay the blame on him I think, but something in the England set up doesn't seem to be working.

You'd think that Trescothick would be able to help Pope play spin better than what we're seeing. Not sure that he'll do much for their foot movement against the quicker bowlers, iirc.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Lawrence has always looked the best of the bunch to me. Gut feeling is that there is a major talent there which England are not harnessing correctly. You have to give younger players time to develop without chastising them (media) for repeated failures - there just has to be a more supportive culture

Hashim Amla said in interview (not sure of the link) that it took him 30 tests before he began to feel like he belonged at test match level. This is paraphrased but it's always struck me as one of the most thought-provoking insights into the game

 

[mr_mister]

Lawrence has always looked the best of the bunch to me. Gut feeling is that there is a major talent there which England are not harnessing correctly. You have to give younger players time to develop without chastising them (media) for repeated failures - there just has to be a more supportive culture

Hashim Amla said in interview (not sure of the link) that it took him 30 tests before he began to feel like he belonged at test match level. This is paraphrased but it's always struck me as one of the most thought-provoking insights into the game

Steve Waugh said something similar in his books

 

[Gob]

I agree that Pope/Sibley/Crawley/Lawrence isn't the finest raw batting talent to work with, but those are our most promising young players of the past few seasons and the first three have all regressed while in the Test team and Lawrence hasn't progressed. Burns too is no better now than when he first joined the Test side.

Batting coach is Trescothick, but he only got the gig in March this year, so too soon to lay the blame on him I think, but something in the England set up doesn't seem to be working.

I mistook Sibley for Crawley all this time. Sibley is dead set the ugliest batsman I've ever seen but Crawley looks pretty good. Bit of a KP in him with his long reach. I would replace him with Hameed

 

[halba]

Haseeb Hameed, Zac Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson

pretty ordinary batting lineup still. and bowling is average. not going to strike fear on these pitches. only ollie robinson is a grade.

 

[wpdavid]

Haseeb Hameed, Zac Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson

pretty ordinary batting lineup still. and bowling is average. not going to strike fear on these pitches. only ollie robinson is a grade.

Wrong test mate, unless you are suggesting that this XI will play more than once.

 

[Alex0paul]

I think Sibley would've done alright in Australia and brought up a few Cowan's

 

[kevinw]

Sibley is far better than Crawley, who lucked out in one Test. Sibley is ugly and has limited shot range, but at least showed patience. Crawley is just going to play and nick at anything on a fifth stump line. He may get away with a couple but his number is marked almost immediately.

If I was pulling guys out of the Big Bash, I'd be considering Duckett as an opener and Clarke at five (with Stokes moving to six).

 

[Uppercut]

I agree that Pope/Sibley/Crawley/Lawrence isn't the finest raw batting talent to work with, but those are our most promising young players of the past few seasons and the first three have all regressed while in the Test team and Lawrence hasn't progressed. Burns too is no better now than when he first joined the Test side.

Batting coach is Trescothick, but he only got the gig in March this year, so too soon to lay the blame on him I think, but something in the England set up doesn't seem to be working.

Serious question, how did Trescothick get that job? Was he doing a noticeably good job coaching at FC level and was the most impressive candidate they interviewed? Or was it like ‘this guy was decent at batting and we have his phone number’?

 

[Red]

Ffs give Hameed and Crawley a chance down the order. Poor kids

Malan
Bairstow
Root
Stokes
Crawley
Hameed

 

[Prince EWS]

Ffs give Hameed and Crawley a chance down the order. Poor kids

Malan
Bairstow
Root
Stokes
Crawley
Hameed

wot.

How dare they make a young opener player as an opener.... ?

 

[Red]

wot.

How dare they make a young opener player as an opener.... ?

The guy has talent but he’s shot. Continually coming in and facing Starc and Cummins is devastating him.

I dont see any issue with dropping him down to 5 or 6 and making his life a bit easier. He’ll probably still face the second new ball but not against fresh bowlers.

 

[theegyptian]

Sounds like Buttler, Bairstow and Stokes all doubts for next test with their injuries. Billings called up to the squad apparently- I'd guess very likely to play given the hand injuries to Buttler and Bairstow.

 

[honestbharani]

Sounds like Buttler, Bairstow and Stokes all doubts for next test with their injuries. Billings called up to the squad apparently- I'd guess very likely to play given the hand injuries to Buttler and Bairstow.

Well, the closer you get to your C team the better your chances of winning away are. So those are steps in the right direction, finally.

 

[Spark]

The guy has talent but he’s shot. Continually coming in and facing Starc and Cummins is devastating him.

I dont see any issue with dropping him down to 5 or 6 and making his life a bit easier. He’ll probably still face the second new ball but not against fresh bowlers.

I do: he's not as good as other players who are specialists in that position and shuffling him around is going to mess with him even more. I've seen absolutely nothing to suggest he's as good as Pope or Lawrence.

Moving him down to 5 seems like the sort of fodder for ten years down the line when we'll look back and say "remember when England were such a mess, they moved Hameed down to bat at 6 instead of picking a specialist middle order player?"

 

[ImpatientLime]

hameed looks very very poor. that little bit of that indian tour he played starting to look like more of an outlier with each passing test.

 

[Pothas]

I missed a trick not picking Billings. The injury predictions are looking good though.