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England (and Wales) gloom, doom and recriminations thread
- Thread starter wpdavid
- Start date
Lillian Thomson
Hall of Fame Member
Today was pretty much what I expected. We blew it when we had the best of the conditions during both teams first innings but needed a hit from Woakes to get a half decent lead. We currently don’t have many Test quality cricketers, but that’s not the fault of those selected.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Who's the alternative?
wpdavid
Hall of Fame Member
All of the current top 5 apart from Root, surely.
wpdavid
Hall of Fame Member
And that's the toughie. If Burns is seen as a fixture nowadays, then at least he has FC experience of the job, including a CC win.
ImpatientLime
International Regular
bringing back bairstow another masterstroke tbh
MW1304
Cricketer Of The Year
India really started to make the ball talk tbf to them. All the chat about how flat the pitch was looked silly when Bumrah and Thardul started getting them through off the surface. None of our fast mediums could do that for whatever reason, apart from Woakes in a couple of spells. Jadeja a huge upgrade on Moeen too, obviously. I think the decision at the toss was huge, giving away the best time to bat on this pitch, but ultimately we couldn't be as ruthless with the bat or as penetrative with ball. Not much else to say.
I said at the time that getting Moeen in based on Hundred form was a fool's errand and that's proven true. I get he was picked as the only viable allrounder, but he's not a Test player and hasn't been for years. Slotting him in here and there isn't fair on him or us, just be honest with him and tell him you're moving on. It's a shame because he's so likeable, but nobody benefits from the way England have treated him.
It's pretty clear Jimmy and Robinson both need a rest, right? And Leach should always play, he just has to be fit into the lineup somehow. Not like he's a genuine 11, either, I think he's a hugely undervalued player and a significant upgrade on current-day Mo in the spin department.
I said at the time that getting Moeen in based on Hundred form was a fool's errand and that's proven true. I get he was picked as the only viable allrounder, but he's not a Test player and hasn't been for years. Slotting him in here and there isn't fair on him or us, just be honest with him and tell him you're moving on. It's a shame because he's so likeable, but nobody benefits from the way England have treated him.
It's pretty clear Jimmy and Robinson both need a rest, right? And Leach should always play, he just has to be fit into the lineup somehow. Not like he's a genuine 11, either, I think he's a hugely undervalued player and a significant upgrade on current-day Mo in the spin department.
wpdavid
Hall of Fame Member
Not really a priority, is it. As for today, I didn't think we'd win but I thought the last nine wickets might add a bit more than 110 after the openers put on a hundred. Crazy optimist that I am.
ImpatientLime
International Regular
when was the last time england lost two home test series in the same summer?
Manee
Cricketer Of The Year
Yes Stokes is a legend in Tests with bat and ball - always will lift the team up a level.
wpdavid
Hall of Fame Member
1986 - to India and NZ.
Red_Ink_Squid
Cricketer Of The Year
I think everyone agrees that the greatest danger after [1] defeats in a row is to underreact, so what XI do we need to field next match?
Burns scored a nice 50 but can't catch so he's out. Hameed can't score after reaching 40, which is A Problem, so that's two new openers we need. We can't tolerate a run out when batting to save a Test so there's Malan gone. Root on thin ice after failing to ton up for multiple innings in a row; he just about keeps his spot but best take the captaincy off him for choosing to bowl first at the Oval. Everyone wants Pope to be great already, but he isn't yet and it makes people sad. Much easier and more satisfying to scapegoat an older county pro with past international failures already on their resumé, so we'll recall one of those. Speaking of, Johnny Bairstow seems a good scapegoat today, so let's give him the axe. Our best spin option is whoever isn't playing and currently that's Leach. Robinson looked a bit tired so best rest him and Anderson is now only outrageously brilliant in one innings per match so must be Time To Move On.
I suppose that leaves us with no choice but to play
1 Alex Davies
2 Tom Abell
3 Harry Brook/Sam Hain
4 Root
5 Gary Ballance
6 Darren Stevens
7 Ben Foakes + (irrespective of fitness)
8 Chris Woakes *
9 Brydon Carse
10 Sam Cook
11 Jack Leach
Burns scored a nice 50 but can't catch so he's out. Hameed can't score after reaching 40, which is A Problem, so that's two new openers we need. We can't tolerate a run out when batting to save a Test so there's Malan gone. Root on thin ice after failing to ton up for multiple innings in a row; he just about keeps his spot but best take the captaincy off him for choosing to bowl first at the Oval. Everyone wants Pope to be great already, but he isn't yet and it makes people sad. Much easier and more satisfying to scapegoat an older county pro with past international failures already on their resumé, so we'll recall one of those. Speaking of, Johnny Bairstow seems a good scapegoat today, so let's give him the axe. Our best spin option is whoever isn't playing and currently that's Leach. Robinson looked a bit tired so best rest him and Anderson is now only outrageously brilliant in one innings per match so must be Time To Move On.
I suppose that leaves us with no choice but to play
1 Alex Davies
2 Tom Abell
3 Harry Brook/Sam Hain
4 Root
5 Gary Ballance
6 Darren Stevens
7 Ben Foakes + (irrespective of fitness)
8 Chris Woakes *
9 Brydon Carse
10 Sam Cook
11 Jack Leach
I see you have removed Root’s first name, as well as the captaincy, from him
Red_Ink_Squid
Cricketer Of The Year
How else will he learn?
Bijed
International Regular
Bairstow has another 40 or so tests in him, worth a shot
sledger
Spanish_Vicente
not yet thankfully
Pup Clarke
Cricketer Of The Year
This England team for next summer
Burns, Hameed, Abell, Root, Stokes, Livingstone, Foakes, Woakes, Robinson, Leach, Archer/Topley/Stone
Burns, Hameed, Abell, Root, Stokes, Livingstone, Foakes, Woakes, Robinson, Leach, Archer/Topley/Stone
