Cricket thread

[AndyRM]

Australia are not a "much better" side than England. A lot of things went wrong for us yesterday, and on Sunday too. I hope, and expect, that these games will have been exactly the boot up the arse the team has needed.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Australia are not a "much better" side than England. A lot of things went wrong for us yesterday, and on Sunday too. I hope, and expect, that these games will have been exactly the boot up the arse the team has needed.

On the evidence of yesterday they were though, and that's the only evidence that the Table will take into account.

 

[AndyRM]

On the evidence of yesterday they were though, and that's the only evidence that the Table will take into account.

Sure, on the day they were the better side. But overall? Nope.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Sure, on the day they were the better side. But overall? Nope.

I think the country would be happy with a not-so-good team that mullered others and won the World Cup.

There's an emerging school of thought which says that we have been exposed as one-trick ponies, bullies on flat tracks, but our groundsmen haven't had the memo, clearly!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Australia are not a "much better" side than England. A lot of things went wrong for us yesterday, and on Sunday too. I hope, and expect, that these games will have been exactly the boot up the arse the team has needed.

My fear is that the England game has been built on utter self-confidence. That confidence now seems to be ebbing away. That would work as the opposite of a kick up the arse.

 

[AndyRM]

I think the country would be happy with a not-so-good team that mullered others and won the World Cup.

There's an emerging school of thought which says that we have been exposed as one-trick ponies, bullies on flat tracks, but our groundsmen haven't had the memo, clearly!

I heard a bit of this "flat track bullies" chat on 5 Live last night. I disagree. England have a deep and skilful batting set up, which has unfortunately been disrupted by the loss of Roy. I feel our bowlers are lacking a little, but not much.

There are so many considerations that although I'm vaguely concerned, I'm not prepared to write the side off yet.

 

[AndyRM]

My fear is that the England game has been built on utter self-confidence. That confidence now seems to be ebbing away. That would work as the opposite of a kick up the arse.

Morgan's post match comments suggest to me the exact opposite. One bad result (Sri Lanka) and one where the better side on the day won do not a melt down make. Sunday is going to be huge.

 

[yello]

Confidence and batting deep. Top and middle order can afford to throw the bat as they trust there will be someone else to take up the reins if they fail. I'm not knocking it by any means because it is fun to watch and has given results. On it's day, it's majestic.

There's no magic art to it either, the tactic is plain to see. It simply biases the game approach towards batting and out scoring the opposition. However, if you have a bowler, such as Starc, who can disrupt that game plan then it makes the tactic less certain to succeed. That's when you need your backup plan.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Confidence and batting deep. Top and middle order can afford to throw the bat as they trust there will be someone else to take up the reins if they fail. I'm not knocking it by any means because it is fun to watch and has given results. On it's day, it's majestic.

There's no magic art to it either, the tactic is plain to see. It simply biases the game approach towards batting and out scoring the opposition. However, if you have a bowler, such as Starc, who can disrupt that game plan then it makes the tactic less certain to succeed. That's when you need your backup plan.

I hadn't realised quite how stellar his stats were until I heard them yesterday - he's head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of his World Cup bowling. Not taken a wicket for a couple of overs? Don't worry, he'll take one this over's a nice place for his Skip to be!

 

[yello]

Yesterday, I nearly said 'NZ know how to win' suggesting they'd be a difficult opponent for England to beat. That was yesterday. Today, maybe NZ are putting themselves to that test... 46-4 as I type.

 

[AndyRM]

Yesterday, I nearly said 'NZ know how to win' suggesting they'd be a difficult opponent for England to beat. That was yesterday. Today, maybe NZ are putting themselves to that test... 46-4 as I type.

New Zealand are a pretty average side IMO. Their unbeaten state in the tournament so far is flattering.

 

[Beebo]

There's an emerging school of thought which says that we have been exposed as one-trick ponies, bullies on flat tracks, but our groundsmen haven't had the memo, clearly!

The IOC have control over the type of wickets produced at the World Cup.
It isn’t like an ashes tour where the ECB control the wickets.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

The IOC have control over the type of wickets produced at the World Cup.
It isn’t like an ashes tour where the ECB control the wickets.

Interested to find out more about how regulated this is - do you know the process involved?

 

[Beebo]

Interested to find out more about how regulated this is - do you know the process involved?

Not sure, i heard it on TMS. And i meant the ICC not the IOC obvs.

 

[yello]

...and Pakistan's remaining games are Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Far from being 'dead rubber' games left, it's turning out to be a tense run in - for some teams.