The cricket thread

RandallFlagg · June 2017

not long now until the real cricket starts...

rocktron · June 2017

RandallFlagg said:

scrumhalf said:

So Blowers is calling it a day.

Shame, I enjoyed his commentary. He is a man who understands that going to a cricket match can be about far more than just what happens out on the field.

I hope he isn't replaced by a horde of cookie-cutter commentators as has happened in football, where you can't tell the difference between them in the same way you could tell the differences between Coleman, Davies, Motson and the others.

Agreed, there is something quintessentially English about Henry Blofeld's TMS commentary. I love his anecdotes and observations on the weather, the crowd, the planes, the birds and the food. He's a traditional old English toff, educated at Eton but I like him and his contribution to the game of cricket.
TMS needs a to keep that slightly Victorian air about it and not become a forum for typical modern sporting pundits and for God's sake do not let Shane Warne on.

Was it he who made the infamous commentary, "The bowler's Holding. . .the batsman's Willy!!!?"

scrumhalf · June 2017

rocktron said:

RandallFlagg said:

scrumhalf said:

So Blowers is calling it a day.

Shame, I enjoyed his commentary. He is a man who understands that going to a cricket match can be about far more than just what happens out on the field.

I hope he isn't replaced by a horde of cookie-cutter commentators as has happened in football, where you can't tell the difference between them in the same way you could tell the differences between Coleman, Davies, Motson and the others.

Agreed, there is something quintessentially English about Henry Blofeld's TMS commentary. I love his anecdotes and observations on the weather, the crowd, the planes, the birds and the food. He's a traditional old English toff, educated at Eton but I like him and his contribution to the game of cricket.
TMS needs a to keep that slightly Victorian air about it and not become a forum for typical modern sporting pundits and for God's sake do not let Shane Warne on.

Was it he who made the infamous commentary, "The bowler's Holding. . .the batsman's Willy!!!?"

Urban myth propagated by Johnners.

Gassage · June 2017

Listening to Radio 5 Live talking about lack of equality in cricket today.

I texted them to point out that women are eligable to play mens league, county and test cricket.

No response. They don't want it quite that equal.

Heartfeltdawn · June 2017

RandallFlagg said:

Agreed, there is something quintessentially English about Henry Blofeld's TMS commentary. I love his anecdotes and observations on the weather, the crowd, the planes, the birds and the food. He's a traditional old English toff, educated at Eton but I like him and his contribution to the game of cricket.
TMS needs a to keep that slightly Victorian air about it and not become a forum for typical modern sporting pundits and for God's sake do not let Shane Warne on.

I'm convinced the BBC gave Vaughan his own cricket show in order to keep him busy and less likely to appear on TMS.

Going from TMS to Sky is like having your brains sucked out of your body through the end of your cock.

crunchman · June 2017

I'll probably be listening to TMS a lot more this year as I turned off Sky sports. It is a great institution. Hopefully they don't ruin it.

scrumhalf · June 2017

The Beeb need to be careful with their choices of commentator and summariser. Both Simon Hughes and Ed Smith can be a bit too dry and academic, I'm more inclined to listen to Blowers taling about the colour of a bus than a discussion about a baseball coach's theories.

crunchman · June 2017

Looking ahead to the test series, surely they have to play Foakes.

Century for England Lions against South Africa A, and by all accounts a better keeper than Bairstow or Buttler.

Let Bairstow play as a batsman. Sangakkara batting average 40.5 as a keeper, 66.8 when playing as a batsman. For England: Stewart average 34 as a keeper, 46 as a batsman. Bairstow may well be our best batsman so liberate him from the gloves. You will get more out of him as a batsman, Foakes is a better keeper, and as an added bonus Bairstow is a much better fielder than Ballance who will probably come in otherwise.

crunchman · July 2017

Only seen Cricinfo commentary, but seems that Ballance was pinned LBW on the back foot to a full ball again. He might get away with it against county attacks but he is not a test batsman.

Heartfeltdawn · July 2017

He's got the right mental qualities for Test cricket but the lack of technique change in all this time is very strange. Then again, YJB has just done exactly the same, gone back when he should be forward.

It's a thoroughly perplexing XI. Ballance doesn't play 3 for Yorkshire but is there. Buttler seems to have been cast off despite playing as a batsman in India and not doing too badly. Our seam attack all have some injury clouds of recent note (Broad, Anderson, Wood, and Stokes) and it seems absurd to pick Toby R-J for the squad and then not to play him at home (seeing how a right arm 80 mph bowler in Philander is going today makes it look even more absurd). Dawson's selection would be understandable at a time when rank turners were around but picking him doesn't show confidence in Ali and appears to be to shore up the batting a bit.

crunchman · July 2017

I think Dawson is in because they don't want to pick 8 batsmen. Top order batsmen don't seem to bat well at 8 anyway. There's not a lot of point in going in with 5 seamers so I can understand leaving TRJ out.

As stated above, they would have been better picking Foakes and taking the gloves off of Bairstow.

earwighoney · July 2017

crunchman said:

Looking ahead to the test series, surely they have to play Foakes.

Century for England Lions against South Africa A, and by all accounts a better keeper than Bairstow or Buttler.

Let Bairstow play as a batsman. Sangakkara batting average 40.5 as a keeper, 66.8 when playing as a batsman. For England: Stewart average 34 as a keeper, 46 as a batsman. Bairstow may well be our best batsman so liberate him from the gloves. You will get more out of him as a batsman, Foakes is a better keeper, and as an added bonus Bairstow is a much better fielder than Ballance who will probably come in otherwise.

I agree with all your points.

I've seen a fair amount of Ben Foakes and he really has something behind the stumps with the gloves.

Atherton made a point of his XI selection would be based around the batting strengths of Bairstow, who has been in exceptional form and deserves a go to play as specialist batsman.

I believe Stoneman deserves a chance at the top of the order.

scrumhalf · July 2017

Something's very wrong with our batting if we are continually 3 down for less than 50. Admittedly SA have a very good bowling line-up, and with Steyn to come it can only get better.

scrumhalf · July 2017

I do enjoy watching Joe Root bat.

RandallFlagg · July 2017

What a turn around, match saved by Rooty. Good lad.

NickL · July 2017

Dear old Blowers would get thoroughly confused if Stokes, Foakes and Woakes were all in the same team wouldn't he. Maybe it's best to leave that selection until he hangs up his microphone.

Heartfeltdawn · July 2017

crunchman said:

I think Dawson is in because they don't want to pick 8 batsmen. Top order batsmen don't seem to bat well at 8 anyway. There's not a lot of point in going in with 5 seamers so I can understand leaving TRJ out.

As stated above, they would have been better picking Foakes and taking the gloves off of Bairstow.

I can understand not going in with five seamers but going in with seamers who have all had recent/ongoing fitness issues is a risk. If you're not going to play TRJ at Lords, then where will he play? He'll end up like Mark Footitt, part of a squad but seemingly always on the periphery.

With the pitch offering turn, a couple of friends have said that Dawson was in for his spin options and his batting. I pointed out that Rashid averages more than Dawson with the bat in FC cricket and has a better FC bowling average as well. Dawson feels like a covering selection rather than a decisive one and to me it indicate that management do not regard Rashid as a Test bowler. One of the Cricinfo commentators described the selection as a passive one and I agree with that.

There are some good young keepers out there. Foakes gets the plaudits but the like of Davies at Lancs and Ben Cox at Worcs are good glovemen and improving batsmen. It's a good sign for English cricket as the keeping role has been rather neglected over the last few years.

scrumhalf · July 2017

Liam Dawson. No, don't see it.

cj73 · July 2017

Rabada banned for next test because of something he did on day two of this test??

Ban him for the rest of this test, that's a proper punishment.

RandallFlagg · July 2017

Despite a 2nd innings op order collapse, England cruise home against SA at Lords. An unusually good bowling wicket dealt up for this Lord's Test making for some tricky batting day 3/4.

Next up Trent Bridge, bring it on!

scrumhalf · July 2017

Eighteen wickets falling in one day, will the pitch inspectors be called in?

camf · July 2017

England thumped! So who's out and who should come in?

camf · July 2017

Is it time for Ian bell to arise like Lazarus?

scrumhalf · July 2017

To not bat out 100 overs in a Test match where the opponnents top 300 twice is shocking.

Bye-bye to Jennings, Ballance and Dawson. The first two are badly out of nick and Dawson serves no tangible purpose. Wood might be worrying a bit about his place, he's not been the speed demon of old. No idea if Woakes will be fit, but if he is he must be under consideration.

As for the batting - we have a serious problem. There seems to be too much of a one-day mentality in our batting. It needs to be drummed into our batsmen that occupying the crease for two days requires certain shots to be put out of consideration. Maybe they need to be sat down to watch Atherton's rearguard action from 20-odd years ago.

Gassage · July 2017

We have some serious issues and the core is FC cricket- it is rubbish.

How can you find the next cab off rank when they're no rank?

Need a RH in top 3.

Rashid needs to be persisted with.

Wood- he's not one thing or the other and 90mph ain't qucik enough if you do nothing with it.

Woakes will make a diff. I'd be well happy with Belly.

scrumhalf · July 2017

Ballance may have a hand injury which owuld rule him out of the next two Tests.

Make up your own joke about how this may have happened.

RandallFlagg · July 2017

RandallFlagg said:

Despite a 2nd innings op order collapse, England cruise home against SA at Lords. An unusually good bowling wicket dealt up for this Lord's Test making for some tricky batting day 3/4.

Next up Trent Bridge, bring it on!

Bring it on?

Take it away, shambles.

I love being an England fan

rsvmark · July 2017

Just enjoyed the England ladies winning the World Cup. Very exciting game at the end

Gassage · July 2017

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05b5j5t

Genius.

scrumhalf · July 2017

In the words of Fred Trueman, I do not know what is going off out there.

This series is see-sawing all over the place.

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