*Official* England in New Zealand 2019

[flibbertyjibber]

Good day for us then, certainly a decent start to batting under the new regime even if Root remains poor. Need Stokes to go on tomorrow then Buttler and Curran to have some fun.

 

[Groundking]

I watched until we were 50 without loss last night and it's nice to see batsmen try and grind it out for once, but it's frustrating seeing both Burns and Denly make 50's but not go on to make big scores after doing so much good work. They've set a great foundation for the team to push on tomorrow though and it's good seeing Stokes' good form continue, but he needs to go big tomorrow to really have this game by the scruff of it's neck.

 

[James90]

Sibley looked much more solid than Burns in the first hour, I thought. Will be interesting how he goes long term. He appears to have that sort of Matt Renshaw technique whereby his natural arc is through the leg side, so he is strong off his pads but can't hit balls on a good length outside 4th stump so wants to leave everything.

Good luck to him.

 

[Gnske]

Yeah it's a similar vibe, all that front foot movement and his hands and backlift are just set to play across his pads so much.

 

[Woodster]

Pleased to see us grinding out a platform on the first day, it was doing just enough in that first session and de Granhomme was bang on target. Hopefully Stokes can start again later and go on and register a three figure score and fingers crossed we can get over 400.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

It’s hard to knock Denly and Burns when they’re making the most of limited talent. But all these half innings they keep playing need at least some conversion rate in the long term.

 

[BSM]

Sort of start I wanted for this series. Watched up until the end of the 2nd session and thought NZ actually bowled really well, and got some movement. I don't think the pitch is necessarily that flat to be honest. However, I've noticed a trend with NZ pitches as of late where they tend to flatten out over the course of the game, and so the prospects don't look too great for a result here if the same thing occurs.

Denly and Burns getting 50s and then getting out... I think something that slips past the minds of most england fans when talking about Root's laughable conversion rate is that the rest of the team hasn't really faired much better in the same period. None of our batsmen tend to push on as of late. Butler, Bairstow, Burns etc, seem to reflect the same sort of inability to do so, yet it isn't really picked up on as much

Hoping Pope gets some big runs tonight, and we bat all, if not most of the day. He has finally been given a chance in his theoretically best position (though I would like to see him move up to 5 if he is successful)

 

[Groundking]

Just watched the highlights, looked like it was a real struggle to score well other than the second new ball, one of those wickets where it's a struggle to feel properly in with how slow it was. Having said that it was poor shots from Burns and Denly to get out and the less said about Root the better.

 

[Adders]

Denly and Burns getting 50s and then getting out... I think something that slips past the minds of most england fans when talking about Root's laughable conversion rate is that the rest of the team hasn't really faired much better in the same period. None of our batsmen tend to push on as of late. Butler, Bairstow, Burns etc, seem to reflect the same sort of inability to do so, yet it isn't really picked up on as much

)

Yeah, but we don't have the same expectation of those other guys. We know that Root is a class batsmen and should be in the discussions for top 4 in the world.........he is massively underachieving and it's incredibly frustrating to see, of course there is more focus on him.

 

[fredfertang]

Yeah, but we don't have the same expectation of those other guys. We know that Root is a class batsmen and should be in the discussions for top 4 in the world.........he is massively underachieving and it's incredibly frustrating to see, of course there is more focus on him.

Needs to be back in the ranks

 

[theegyptian]

Need someone to replace him if he's to go back into the ranks. Isn't one decent candidate amongst the rest of the side for captaincy imo.

 

[NZTailender]

Bring Morgan in and bat him 5 or 6 with *. Can't be any worse than your revolving door of middle order bats, and has plenty of captaincy experience with most of the same blokes in the current side.

 

[theegyptian]

They have plenty of middle order bats much better than Morgan, and would block opportunities for quality youngsters like Pope.
I doubt Morgan would want the job as he is pretty selective of the cricket he plays in general and being 33 he's probably looking to play less cricket rather than more.
It risks weakening the ODI/T20 sides because he'd no longer be able to concentrate on those formats solely.

 

[wpdavid]

Need someone to replace him if he's to go back into the ranks. Isn't one decent candidate amongst the rest of the side for captaincy imo.

Burns the obvious candidate if he can cement his place in the side. At least he's done it at FC level, and pretty successfully too. Stokes wouldn't be pleased, but I think that he has enough on his plate already. Plus I don't know when he last captained a side.

 

[NZTailender]

They have plenty of middle order bats much better than Morgan, and would block opportunities for quality youngsters like Pope.
I doubt Morgan would want the job as he is pretty selective of the cricket he plays in general and being 33 he's probably looking to play less cricket rather than more.
It risks weakening the ODI/T20 sides because he'd no longer be able to concentrate on those formats solely.

I wasn't being entirely serious but when captaincy is absolutely railing your best Test batsman (who could be in with a shout for best England bat ever) and there are no other alternatives maybe a temporary measure for 2-3 years while you groom someone who can actually nail down a spot for more than 1 series isn't the worst idea.

 

[ImpatientLime]

even at his best root was never a ruthless accumulator and to the naked eye his form and touch was as good as the big three. he just doesn't have that ruthless streak.

he really missed out by not cashing in during 2014-2017.

 

[Groundking]

That's out i think

 

[Groundking]

That's out i think

Maybe not! Happy days

 

[fredfertang]

Certainly looked out at first sight

 

[ImpatientLime]

lel **** me he was almost stood on cdg's toes