Hate it! Maybe because we’re spoiled with TMS and how good they’ve always been. I listened for about 5 overs on TalkSport the yesterday. Had zero idea of the score. They never mentioned it once. TMS said it end of every over.
I disagree about Root’s captaincy, mate. He’s cost us so many games with his unusual decisions and this last test should have been wrapped up more comfortably. The decision to hold Anderson and Broad back in the final session of day 4 was absurd and his defensive field placings when we were on the attack and looking to pick up wickets was also bemusing. He’s our worst captain in the last few decades but he’s being carried through by an outstanding team. Good solid start to the 3rd test, we are currently 117-2 but Root or Denly need to kick on and put a ton on the board as the openers both fell short of 50.
Typical of this series isn’t it. Getting themselves in but unable to kick on and put up any kind of decent score. Pope in now, he’s probably the most talented batsman I’ve seen in the last decade. Hoping for big things from him, he’s batting to far down the order.
If only we had a better spin bowler... This pitch will be terrible by day 3. The bounce is already inconsistent and moving all over with them cracks already opening up. 350 would be a big first innings score here.
As long as Stokes stays in we can still get a very good score. You are right though Pope looks the real deal. Saying that we now have three decent young openers in Burns, Sibley and Crawley. We have the makings of a very good test team over the next few years.
Pitch is difficult...so slow scoring.. guys are hanging in there. Roots ball out ball did not bounce properly. I am just envious of the weather. Its raining, blowing a hoollie and its freezing. Another log on fire and watching cricket and golf in the sunshine is okay
I agree with some of that mate. I never liked Vaughan (still don't) but he had a hell of a team; a bowling line up that we could only hope for. As for the current team; Anderson and Broad have been brilliant but both close to retirement. We've never really replaced Swann in the spinning department and the openers' since Cook retired have not been the best. Take Stokes out of the team and we would have been pretty fooked these last few years. I thought Roots captaincy was spot on in the 4th innings, on a dead track but he managed to get the best out of all his team.
It would be great if we had openers like Cook and Strauss but around the world opening averages have been poor the last 5 years or so I believe and to be fair to the lads today they didn't get 50 but posted a score, tired the bowlers and saw off the new ball. Reckon if they played the same innings in every test from now on we'd do alright! Feeling quite positive about the batting line up, lots of potential to get better and the right players in the right positions. Love test cricket, wish I didn't have to work and could watch it more, awesome game
Yeah Vaughan’s team hit their peak in that unforgettable Ashes Series. Flintoff, Harmison, Hoggard. Giles was always a decent spinner, too. That’s some bowling attack. Yeah we need to find a reliable wicket taking spin bowler. Holding an end up isn’t good enough for modern test cricket, the likes of Root and Denly can do that now. Curran looks like he’s got a lot of potential and offers us something different. He can replace Anderson or Broad, I think. Archer will be the other. I don’t think he’s ready yet tho, another season playing championship cricket would see him mature into a better all round bowler and understand the game a bit better because he still looks really raw and a bit wet behind the ears. We are in a good position with this 3rd test now. Every session will see that pitch become harder to batter on. If we can bat until tea tomorrow and put on another 150 runs we’ll be in a very strong position to win the game.
We’ve still got Burns to come back into the squad, too. He was looking the real deal when he picked up his injury. The openers played very well today and their patience allowed Stokes and Pope to play a few of their shots at the end to push the score on a bit. I’m a little worried about our strength in depth in the batting department because for a few years now I’ve looked and we’ve always been solid until about 9. Now we’ve got Buttler at 7 and then into the bowlers and none of those really fill me with confidence, tbh. I agree about test cricket. 5 days must stay, too. Test cricket is a test of will, patience, stamina, fatigue, tactics. That’s the beauty of it. If you take away a day then you’re just encouraging one day style batting and I don’t think there’s any appetite for that with dedicated cricket followers. It would completely ruin it for me.
You missed Simon Jones and he was possibly the best "first change" bowler we've had in my lifetime. One of the issues many teams have is that their bowlers are too samey, the strength in that bowling line up wasn't in their individual talent (our current crop are probably better and the 2011 group certainly were) but how they all had a role they carried out - made it easy to captain too! We miss Swann. He was the best spin bowler in the world for a while and it transformed our team. Our current team are good, and could be very good, but are a bit over-rated. Root isn't in the Steve Smith, Kohli, Williamson bracket of player; Stokes is excellent but works better as an impact player if he is pushing victories rather than having to dig the team out; Buttler-Bairstow-Ali who carried our lower order for a while with the help of Woakes-Curran-Bess has seem to have fallen off a cliff! There's positives there though. Burns is quality (not that young though!), Root and Stokes are possible world XI picks and in Curran x 2, Sibley, Archer (and possibly Crawley, Bess and the Overtons) we have a good crop coming through. Pope is the most exciting new batsman we've had since Root, I think 6 is the right spot for him at the moment IF our lower order can start contributing again. It isn't long since we used to be 30-3 then 100-5 every match. 224-4 and people are asking whether it was our day? Of course it was.
