The Cricket Thread

[BlueLion. 21,491]

South Africa over Christmas and New Year. To be honest, that batting line up really worries me. Think pretty much everyone that watches English cricket is praying that Root and Cook can bat most of the day to save the third test and tie the series because once they go, we'll probably collapse.

We've got problems in our second opener, number 3, keeper, and probably Stokes too. Stokes is no where near consistent enough with bat or ball to warrant a place for me.

Ali shouldn't be batting as an opener. For me, Compton should have been given a second go and he was pretty solid; but if they're going to look elsewhere, it needs to be Hales.

Stokes, I disagree on. Taken 30-odd wickets and scored 1600 runs this year. Genuine all-rounders are like gold-dust and he does a decent enough job with bat (averages in the 30s) and with the ball (capable of unreal spells, look at the second Aussie innings of the Trent Bridge Ashes test on day 3).

But our team is pretty weak and some more young blood needs to come through. Bell is on borrowed time yet IMO.

[DavidEU 2,023]

Ali shouldn't be batting as an opener. For me, Compton should have been given a second go and he was pretty solid; but if they're going to look elsewhere, it needs to be Hales.

Stokes, I disagree on. Taken 30-odd wickets and scored 1600 runs this year. Genuine all-rounders are like gold-dust and he does a decent enough job with bat (averages in the 30s) and with the ball (capable of unreal spells, look at the second Aussie innings of the Trent Bridge Ashes test on day 3).

But our team is pretty weak and some more young blood needs to come through. Bell is on borrowed time yet IMO.

Think we'll probably hear something regarding Bell tomorrow mate. Either a retirement or a short term break.

Surely there are more options in and around the county scene to come in? I agree that Hales should probably come in and open but it's getting ridiculous how many openers we've had since Strauss packed in.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Think we'll probably hear something regarding Bell tomorrow mate. Either a retirement or a short term break.

Surely there are more options in and around the county scene to come in? I agree that Hales should probably come in and open but it's getting ridiculous how many openers we've had since Strauss packed in.

Not realistically.

From a spin bowling perspective all we're seeing in the LVCC is Zafar Ansari, who has obviously missed out on this tour because of injury. Pace bowlers, well, there's a few of them. Harry Gurney from my team, Notts, was an experiment in the limited overs team a year or two back but has failed to show consistent quality. Probably the best shout at the minute is the Durham seamer, Chris Rushworth, but he is very, very similar to Mark Wood and therefore wouldn't offer anything "new".

Batting is where we're struggling. Gary Ballance has done a decent job since going away to work on his game at Yorkshire, and there's also Alex Lees from the same county who is an option. I've always liked Luke Wright as an all-rounder but for some reason he's never been given the opportunity in the long format. I'm a fan of Scott Borthwick, who'd bring some genuine spin to the table, as well. Second-top run scorer in the LVCC last year. Obviously there's also Michael Carberry at Hampshire who's been around the England set-up before and not been given a real chance.

There is only one option for the gloves and that is Chris Read, but after the way he was treated by England back in the day, I couldn't imagine him wanting to come back. He'd only ever be a short-term option as he's already 37.

[DavidEU 2,023]

What do you think of Varun Chopra? He's one that I'm surprised has never really been touted to come in and given a go.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

What do you think of Varun Chopra? He's one that I'm surprised has never really been touted to come in and given a go.

Not a fan to be honest mate. Good County player though, but I think that's his level, a lot like Samit Patel.

[DavidEU 2,023]

Well we've fucked this one up. Surely 2-0 Pakistan. Four England wickets in half an hour.

[KevinAshburner 1,270]

Hi @BlueLion @DavidEU here is the England Confirmed Test Side to Travel to South Africa and Play My South Africans.

Bell dropped; Compton, Ballance, Footitt called up

http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-england-2015-16/content/story/942217.html

Ballance, Compton and Footitt included in Test squad

http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/articles/ballance-compton-and-footitt-included-test-squad

England Test Squad

Alastair Cook (Essex) (Captain)

Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)

James Anderson (Lancashire)

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)

Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)

Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)

Jos Buttler (Lancashire)

Nick Compton (Middlesex)

Mark Footitt (Surrey)

Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)

Chris Jordan (Sussex)

Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)

Joe Root (Yorkshire)

Ben Stokes (Durham)

James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

Tour schedule

December 11: England arrive in SA

December 15-17: SA Invitation XI v England, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom

December 20-22: SA Invitation XI v England, Pietermaritzburg Oval

December 26-30: 1st Sunfoil Test match, Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban

January 2-6: 2nd Sunfoil Test match, Newlands, Cape Town

January 14-18: 3rd Sunfoil Test match, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

January 22-26: 4th Sunfoil Test match, SuperSport Park, Centurion

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Strange from England..

[Strike 7,478]

Steven Smith

[Spike 12,049]

This Big Bash business is quite the show. Those crowds are impressive. Cricket is on the up and up again in Austrlaia, it seems.

[Strike 7,478]

Kohli is no Sachin tbh

[LDN Blue 7,903]

4 minutes ago, Strike said:

Kohli is no Sachin tbh

But he has all the attributes to be. 

Ever since emerging from the u19 WC, I've watched Kohli to see if he is Sachin's heir. We've seen pretenders to the crown, Rohit Sharma not too long ago. But Kohli's consistency and his natural leadership sets him apart. There will only ever be one Sachin Tendulkar, but if anyone will come close to matching his class and match winning calibre it's Virat. 

[Strike 7,478]

On 4/2/2016 at 7:16 PM, LDN Blue said:

But he has all the attributes to be. 

Ever since emerging from the u19 WC, I've watched Kohli to see if he is Sachin's heir. We've seen pretenders to the crown, Rohit Sharma not too long ago. But Kohli's consistency and his natural leadership sets him apart. There will only ever be one Sachin Tendulkar, but if anyone will come close to matching his class and match winning calibre it's Virat. 

I rate Sachin in his peak far higher. Late 90s to 2004 right before his tennis elbow injury. At times, the batsmanship was quite incredible - overseas included.

 

[LDN Blue 7,903]

10 hours ago, Strike said:

I rate Sachin in his peak far higher. Late 90s to 2004 right before his tennis elbow injury. At times, the batsmanship was quite incredible - overseas included.

 

Can we say Kohli has peaked though? I think he's still getting better and better, with being test captain now too he'll mature further. It won't be long before he's give the reigns for the ODI and T20 squad too.

If he can balance being captain and batting to the best of his capabilities then I think he'll surpass Sachin in due time. 

[Madmax 9,219]

21 hours ago, LDN Blue said:

Can we say Kohli has peaked though? I think he's still getting better and better, with being test captain now too he'll mature further. It won't be long before he's give the reigns for the ODI and T20 squad too.

If he can balance being captain and batting to the best of his capabilities then I think he'll surpass Sachin in due time. 

Tendulkar was a horrendous captain though. Oh boy, don't remind me of our mid-late 90s performances.