Brilliant match and the right result. I think that the Aussies can now see the writing on the wall. They ran England close but England only had a three man attack in the first innings and Swann and Finn were both pretty ordinary. Finn will get dropped for Bresnan which will reduce the number of four balls and lengthen the batting. I can't see Cook/Trott/KP all going another match without a big score so I reckon England won with only one effective bowler and none of their best three batters playing particularly well/getting a big score. I don't see this happening at Lords where Cook and Trott both have fantastic records. Fair play to the Ausies for putting up such a great fight but I don't see them having many more gears to run through and they cannot rely on getting world record 10th wicket stands to get competitive totals. I hope not to end up with egg on my face but I can't see the Aussies winning one now,
There was talk of reinstating David Warner. He and Watson can be a devastating opening partnership and Clarke is due / will get big runs at some stage this series. Fascinatingly poised, but write off the Aussies at your peril - I bet Alastair Cook hasn't
Fair point about Clarke who is a cracking player and a very decent human being but he does have a poor record in England and particularly against James Andersen. I see Warner as being similar to Watson - all the ability in the world but doesn't have the application to crack on and rack up a huge score so IMO is more suited to the one-day or T20 arena. Both he and Watson will either get out quickly nicking off or score a beautiful run a ball 40 - 60 before losing patience and getting out. Saw an interesting stat that Nick Compton has as many test match cernturies as Shane Watson. I reckon we were generally pretty poor and underperformed in this test (Andersen and Bell aside) and we were a bowler down in the first ininings. I can't see us being so poor at Lord's and I can't see the Aussies improving much. I could be way off as I'd have put serious money on us thumping them at Trent Bridge before a ball was bowled and it ended up way too close for comfort but I don't see them getting lucky twice.
Hasn't Warner gone over to SA with the Aussie development squad? More likely see Harris coming in as they rotate their quicks.
Warner is being sent to South Africa,so will not be available for Lords. He could return for 3 rd test. he is certainly a better bet than Cowans
One thing's for sure that by not playing if the Aussies get beaten at Lord's Warner's reputation will be enhanced. Still doesn't make him the Messiah - just a naughty boy!
I was having this exact conversation with a mate at work this morning and I agree (at the risk of jinxing us) that this was a massive opportunity for the Aussies and they still couldn't win, and therefore I think they'll struggle to win any of the remaining four tests. And as for the Compton/Watson comparison, Compton has as many test centuries in the past six months than Shane Watson has in his career - and we drop him!
There could be a case for bringing back Compton and playing Root at 6 instead of Bairstow. Perhaps we discarded him too quick. If we play Bressy for Finn this could be our best 11.
I agree. I would not be averse to dropping Bairstow to facilitate Root playing in his "best" position and having an experienced opener up top with Cook. I think that this plus Bresnan for Finn would really solidify the batting with the only flip side being the loss of Bairstow's agility in the field.
Though to be fair Bairstow did make a complete cock-up of a very good run out chance to take the final wicket before the bums started getting really squeaky. I'm not sure why Bairstow's place wasn't even considered in the run up to the series, it was as if he was a shoe-in despite not having really set the test world alight just yet and despite the two centuries Compton scored earlier in the year. I think ultimately Joe Root will bat at the top of the order, however for now I would definitely move him down to six and bring Compton back in to open with Cook for the Lords test. Bresnan for Finn sounds sensible and wouldn't surprise me, however if there is pace and bounce in the wicket I'd still be tempted to go with Finn as it's his home ground and he has a very good record of bowling at HQ. Whatever the selectors decide to go with I cannot wait until Thursday to stuff the bastards again
Same squad has been announced so presumably Bairstow will keep his place. Finn/Bresnan/Onions is still contentious though.
Bairstow is so average, it's amazing how he continues to live off his 95 vs. South Africa! He has yet to score a century despite being given plenty of opportunities (15). The pundits, with a Yorkshire bias, literally drool over any such player. Bring back Compton, a good solid opener, who has proven that he has the temperament required. He played poorly in the NZ tests, but not surprisingly, given he had a bruised rip and a fractured finger!!! Played well against the Aussies in the 2 warm up games too. Drop Root to shore up the middle order nice and watertight.
This may sound a tad biased towards Essex (which it clearly is ) but Ravi Bopara offers so much more than Bairstow in the squad. I know he's had chances and failed to take them, but he was immense with both bat and ball in the Champions Trophy games and has been great for Essex so far this domestic season. Cleverly disguised wobbly medium pace, for when a pitch is offering nothing to the seamers Plus 30-40 runs, late in the order. Convinced?
I just don't see test as Bopara's format similar to Morgan, great for some big overs and in short formats can really impose themselves on the game i feel that Rav Bop has wasted his test chances and if we were dropping Bairstow, which I personally wouldn't, give the chance to Jos Butler or James Taylor just because they're younger really Also on Bopara against Bairstow they have an almost identical test average (30) granted Ravi has made 3 centuries, but you could argue this means he's also scored more low scores. Id put their batting on a par though. If your talking about what else they offer to the team I don't really see Boparas Bowling helping in a test environment where players are willing to let strike rates drop and so don't play at balls they should't so often. Bairstow is a wicket keeper (as is Taylor) so good cover for Prior, he's also one of the best fielders we have in the side.
Weirdly, although the first test was much closer than I expected, I'm now more confident than ever that we will whitewash Australia. Clark pretty much admitted that everyone in his team (except him) played to the top of their game. Cook and all England fans know that everyone except Anderson, (arguably) Bell and Broad were well below their best. That tells me; England's seam bowling attack is great, compared to Australia's which is good. Swann is a great spin bowler; compared to Agar who (at 19) is poor. (Likewise Panesar and any other candidate for a second oz spinner). Our top and middle order is good; compared to theirs which is poor. Our lower order (in the absence of Bresnan) is average; compared to theirs which is great. They only better us in one key department. Their lower order might conceivably cause us some frustration, but if everyone plays close to their ability we should imo dominate most sessions in this series.
