The Ashes (Australia tour of England)

[Punk_Sk8r]

Forums quite dead, a shame.

Anyway was going to post "when will Roy get out" but he got out before I could finish the post

 

[Jalen]

Love to see this, Root is always caught on his back foot and stuck on the crease always caught behind, by slips or trapped lbw.

 

[Dutch]

England are soooooooo predictably frustrating! Arghhhhhh.....

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Bloody hell, Archer is really something. If he stays somewhat injury free which I think he can as his action seems so effortless he could become a contender for most wickets taken by a quick...




....Unless it's beginners luck of course

Worry for me would be Root bowling him into the ground.

 

[Dutch]

They have raised to an art form the process of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.....

 

[Yorkshireman]

So bloody predictable ..

 

[Yorkshireman]

Stokes why would you do that?? My god.

 

[Aislabie]

I feel like I keep posting this over and over again, but England need to select specialists and have them in their best positions. This might not mean that the eleven most talented cricketers are the eleven who play all the time, but it'd be a start.

In fact, you start by broadening things to an extended squad with players for each role in the team.

Opening Batsmen (1 & 2)

• Hassan Azad - It's kinda hard to argue with a young player who's averaging 50 in first-class cricket. Worth looking at even if he's not fantastic against the short ball.
• Rory Burns - The incumbent, and at this rate quite possibly the next England captain.
• Zak Crawley - In my eyes he's not the answer, but he keeps getting spoken about like he's the next big thing so let's assume for now that there's something I'm not seeing.
• Dominic Sibley - I think that Sibley will be straight into the side after the Ashes, but that's probably not soon enough.

Top & Middle Order Batsmen (3, 4 & 5)

• Joe Denly - Not the future, but included as he is a present incumbent. He does actually look like a Test batsman aesthetically, even if his stats tell a slightly different story.
• Sam Hain - He can't crack the ODI team despite a List A average of 60, because they reckon his game is better suited to red-ball cricket. Averages over 50 this season and still young.
• Sam Northeast - An extremely talented batsman who started off as an opening batsman but has settled into the middle order. I would say he's a definite Test class player.
• Ollie Pope - Surely he's the future of English batting? There's nobody else in England with a first-class record that's anything like his. Will probably play the next Ashes Test.
• Joe Root - Averages 30 in his last fifteen Tests, but he has shown his ceiling is higher than most of his contemporaries. Needs to be relieved of captaincy.
• Jason Roy - The selectors really seem to like him, but he's not going to make the grade as an opening batsman.

All-Rounders (Number 6)

• Sam Curran - Curran is a curious one, having shown that he definitely has the stones for Test cricket, but doesn't really challenge for a Test spot because of the presence of Stokes.
• Ryan Higgins - He's a medium-pacer, but he has a first-class batting average of 37 and bowling average of 21. Surely an option for Kiwi or home conditions, or as a relief seamer?
• Ben Stokes - One of the world's premier all-rounders, Stokes commands a place in the England side whenever he's fit.

Wicket-Keepers (Number 7)

• Jonny Bairstow - He's the current incumbent despite being the third-best keeper of the three. Arguably has a very high ceiling as a Test batsman but it's been a long time since he threatened to reach it.
• Jos Buttler - Currently in the team as a batsman, but he only has one first-class hundred in the last five years. Can England currently afford such a luxury?
• Ben Foakes - Must surely feel hard done by to not be in the Test side currently. He's the best wicket-keeper available and should be treated as such.

Seam Bowlers (8, 9, 10 and 11 - lots of these because quick bowlers get injured lots)

• Jimmy Anderson - The best English swing bowler of his generation. Will be in and around the set-up until he retires.
• Jofra Archer - Has all the tools to be the world's best quick bowler. Needs to be treated as if he's made of poppadoms to keep his body safe.
• Stuart Broad - Broad has really impressed as he's stepped up to lead the attack in Anderson's absence. Has reaffirmed his value in the side lately.
• Ben Coad - He's been an absolute machine in the Yorkshire Championship side; is thought of by some as a replacement Anderson.
• Sam Cook - I've not seen much of his bowling, but apparently he has a bit of pace about him. Dismantled Kent the other day, but they really didn't bat very well.
• Lewis Gregory - Not the sort of bowler who'll get a game everywhere, but he could still be an option in seam-friendly conditions.
• Ollie Robinson - Got released by Yorkshire for being a bit of a knobhead, but has a really excellent, strong action and can land it on a sixpence.
• Ollie Stone - He looked fantastic in the Ireland game at Lord's, and could be a real prospect if he shows that he can get through a two-Test series without snapping in half.
• Chris Woakes - A fantastic bowler at home, but he has a remarkably fragile knee that makes it look as if his Test days might be numbered.
• Mark Wood - He bowled absolute gas in the World Cup, but played every game and after all that workload his season was over. Archer has shown the benefits of bowling absolute gas though.

Spin Bowlers (8, 9, 10 and 11)

• Liam Dawson - A bit of a stock spinner, and only really likely to be very useful as a third spinner in deepest, darkest Galle/Nagpur when it's spinning at right-angles from day one.
• Jack Leach - I really want him to do well, but didn't really rate him when he came into the Test side. He has pleasantly surprised me though with some excellent performances.
• Matt Parkinson - For my money, he's the best spinner in England and should be going on the next tour of Sri Lanka at the very least.

That needs to be the squad of players sent to play as overseas players in other domestic competitions if they're not on an England tour; New Zealand and Sri Lanka (seriously, why aren't about half a dozen spinners being sent out to Sri Lanka every winter?) are most amenable to this, but Grade cricket is still a strong learning experience. Similarly, an ECB-run "North versus South" first-class series could be very useful - it could be held in a different country each year, depending upon upcoming World Test Championship tours. So if there's an upcoming tour of the West Indies, get in there first by having a North versus South series to help players to acclimatise and become familiar with conditions.

Of COURSE this won't happen. But it's what should probably happen.

Oh, and there's still the captain question that I've studiously avoided. If anyone has any ideas, that'd be very useful because I can't see how Root can keep going in the role.

 

[Ed Smith]

Well, this is a horror show so far

 

[wasteyouryouth]

We can bowl Australia out chase 200 to win.

 

[Aislabie]

We can bowl Australia out chase 200 to win.

Bold to assume England can make 200

 

[Ed Smith]

Bold to assume England can make 200

Bold to assume we'll make 100

 

[Aislabie]

Joe Denly Test Career

West Indies (A), 2nd Test

• 6 (23) - Opening - Top score: Moeen Ali (60)
• 17 (62) - Opening - Top score: Jos Buttler (24)

West Indies (A), 3rd Test

• 20 (50) - Number 3 - Top score: Ben Stokes (79)
• 69 (99) - Number 3 - Top score: Joe Root (122)

Ireland (H), Only Test

• 23 (28) - Number 3 - Top score: Joe Denly
• 10 (31) - Number 4 - Top score: Jack Leach (92)

Australia (H), 1st Test

• 18 (36) - Number 4 - Top score: Rory Burns (133)
• 11 (16) - Number 4 - Top score: Chris Woakes (37)

Australia (H), 2nd Test

• 30 (67) - Number 4 - Top score: Rory Burns (53)
• 26 (51) - Number 4 - Top score: Ben Stokes (115*)

Australia (H), 3rd Test

• 12 (49) - Number 4 - Top score so far: Joe Denly

... to be continued?

 

[Dutch]

Man o man o man. The England bowlers must feel like they are just wasting their time.... utterly let down by their teammates!

 

[Dutch]

A very valid point being made on the BBC going with the point above about specialists:

Forget England have never replaced Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.

Forget England have never replaced Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell.

England haven't even replaced Paul Collingwood.