Cricket thread
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philk56
Guru
I don't pretend to be a cricket expert but I think some of the doom and gloom in the English media has been a bit over the top. Australia have obviously been the better team but the main difference has been that their bowlers have been consistently good and they have Steve Smith. If you take away Smith's runs and replace them with what a 'normal' test batsman might achieve it gets a lot closer. The opening batsmen on both sides have been poor and the rest of the batting very patchy. England have had the Aussies in some tight spots but have not been good enough to make it count. Plus some loose fielding, especially in this test with dropped catches and that no-ball. Losing those two wickets at the start of the second innings was the clincher.
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
Despite not being an expert that is a fair summary.
Batting...Smith was the difference. Frankly, both teams' batting was poor except him. A lot of players badly out of form
Bowling...the difference was the 3rd/4th seamer. Australia's were better than England's. Losing Anderson and Wood to injury left England too reliant on Stokes and Wokes/Overton
Positives...Archer obviously. I also think Leach can do a job. Also I can see a future for Burns and Denly. Nuggety players that our flair batters can rely on
Negatives....Roy has technical flaws that I suspect he will find difficult to eradicate. I'm not too worried about the bowling, at least until Broad retires
swee'pea99
Squire
For me, as the expert who wrote off the Aussies a fortnight ago, that's the single biggest difference. As nice Mr Boycott says, defend the good balls, and when a loose one turns up, put it away. The problem with the Aussies is that they bowl on line, on length, relentlessly. Even Broad can be relied on for enough loose ones to keep the batsmen cheerful and the scoreboard ticking along. The Aussies seem to have a tight group of bowlers who just never stray, building pressure, denying runs, creating desperation. Did Cummins bowl a bad ball this summer?
postman
Squire
Well i do declare.I know in leap year we get an extra day,but here in Yorkshire we get an extra Knight also,how good is that.
Daddy Pig
Veteran
We need a few more batsmen in the team who can play like Boycs.
The news in narking me with all the conviction crap about him. Maybe they should spend time looking at the court facts from the conviction (which would have been more than the French court did). Basically, the women he supposedly beat up was a complete nutter who did it herself.
So much for investigative journalism these days!
Grant Fondo
Legendary Member
Not getting too excited for Thursday .... Stokes' two innings this summer will be a nice memory though.
swee'pea99
Squire
Stokes's Headingley innings will be the only thing anyone will remember from this series. Must be very galling if you're an Aussie. Ho ho.
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Dayvo
just passin' through
A tasty, if somewhat surprising, first innings lead for England with an hour's play left on day two of the final test at The Oval.
Smith failed, for a change, out for 80, and Archer bagged a six-for.
England's 2nd innings to start shortly. can they see out the handful of overs without losing any wickets?
Smith failed, for a change, out for 80, and Archer bagged a six-for.
England's 2nd innings to start shortly. can they see out the handful of overs without losing any wickets?
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
Yep. Curran looks a notable omission from this series, doesn't he.
Cletus Van Damme
Previously known as Cheesney Hawks
As Boycott said, Buttler should have possibly played further up the batting order..
