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Cricket Thread

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Chrisull Dec 2013 3:27pm, 29 Dec 2013 5,995 posts	0 Chrisull But then I read Ballance has "vulnerabilities to the short ball". So Australia had at the beginning of this series bowling wise,not much more than pace, pace and a bit more pace, and we pick team of cricketers who (excepting Pietersen, Cook and Carberry) are uniformly suspect to fast bowling. So Bell, Root, Bairstow, Prior, Broad and Ballance are all likely to crack when faced with the throat ball or the yorker. The selection for this series has been entirely dumb. Three tall fast bowlers of which one they've bowled once, and one they've not bowled at all. Two wickets keepers who can't catch and have both always been suspect catchers (but good batsmen???) A South African who called his last captain the c word, even now says he won't compromise his "batting approach" and then gets out in the most ridiculous fashion (sorry I hate KP and he has to go). And two players who have quit or left to go home. There's bad luck and there's stupidity. And I think it's mainly the latter.
paul a Dec 2013 3:45pm, 29 Dec 2013 10,482 posts	0 paul a Well said as always Chrisull.
Tinsel Snake Dec 2013 8:49pm, 29 Dec 2013 5,690 posts	0 Tinsel Snake It looks a tad grim. I think they were looking to see how Bairstow shaped up. Badly. Vulnerable to the short ball, doesn't get forward enough, plays across the line. He will be ditched. Worse is to come, because I think the selectors will start hedging their bets and picking all-round bits and pieces playere now, I have no idea what will happen, other that it will be bad.
Crash Hamster Dec 2013 10:45pm, 29 Dec 2013 261 posts	0 Crash Hamster Bring back Derek Pringle! (no, not really) I'd like to see Varun Chopra given the chance to open; he'll captain England one day. Carberry and Compton are both technically flawed. Pietersen has had his day; I really think he affects the dressing room badly. We need a proper wicketkeeper; they've not looked at anyone who is a wicketkeeper first. Seriously, Bairstow, Buttler and Bedwetter really aren't international class behind the stumps. Steven Davies is the best we have produced in a generation, but has been badly affected by the whole Maynard/H-Brown/Dernbach affair. I feel people have been harsh on a patently not-match-fit Bresnan; utterly ludicrous selections to take three big quicks (or two big quicks and not-even-done-it-for-Surrey Tremlett) and then not play them. Onions would've been a selection much more in keeping with the tour tactics (though I'd rather have seen the big fellas play)
rf_fozzy Dec 2013 10:50pm, 29 Dec 2013 5,967 posts	0 rf_fozzy I agree with pretty much everything Hamster has to say. I do think Bairstow could be good enough. But he needs time.
The Teaboy Dec 2013 10:52pm, 29 Dec 2013 10,501 posts	0 The Teaboy Or we could just pick the best pure keeper in the country - Foster. Not the worst bat and with Captaincy experience to help Cook.
The Teaboy Dec 2013 10:53pm, 29 Dec 2013 10,502 posts	0 The Teaboy A short-term solution admittedly, but one that I don't think is ridiculous.
Hackett Dec 2013 9:39am, 30 Dec 2013 1,586 posts	0 Hackett We have just got a number of players who have reached there pinnacle and now the sands of time is catching up with them. All players go through bad form BUT over the last two series the Aussies have bowled better in partnerships. Make no mistake the Aussies were disarray at the start of the Series here. That and the Dukes ball meant there was a lot more reverse swing and although a 3-0 win there were plenty of green shoots of optimism for Australia. Over this series they have grown and developed as a team and a number of players are at the top of their game. Haddin, Warner, Johnston and Lyons. The other players around them have stepped up when needed. The Aussies had Cooks number over here and continue to find him out. They have game plans for Prior, Bell, Root KP which have proved successful. Carberry battles hard but doesn't rotate the strike enough and gets bogged down. Bairstow has a weakness against chin music and our tail has failed to wag once. Bowling Swann was shot, Anderson Bresnan and Broad can't get any reverse swing and don't seem as disciplined SS the Australia bowlers. KP, Bell, Carberry, Prior and Anderson all into there 30s so a major overhaul will be needed over the next couple of years.
TRO Saracen Dec 2013 10:04am, 30 Dec 2013 8,333 posts	0 TRO Saracen Can't deny any of that Hackett, although I think there is a more fundamental issue with complacency and not improving. Central contracts have been a good thing overall, getting players out of the grind (and mediocrity) of the County circuit and allowing them to focus on their international careers. But it's thrown up a few issues. Technical issues with players seem to linger. Maybe that's a coaching thing (Gooch especially I would question), but also sometimes going back to county cricket and scoring runs/taking wickets is the best way of recovering from a technical issue/slump in form. Ours seem to have 2-3 months of nets then re-emerge for the next series with the same issue they ended the last series with. There's also an issue with how we start series, which is clearly a central contracts thing. We need a test or two to get up to speed, because players haven't spent time in the middle. The Aussies exploited this brilliantly - the 'warm up' games could not have been designed any better in terms of completely failing to prepare us for what the Aussies knew they would serve up in Brisbane. Finally there is with this team definitely a hunger/complacency issue. Nice secure central contract, plenty of rest, more or less guarateed selection for the tour party once on the contract. Maye that's the real reason for the mental slackness and inability to sort known problems - they don't need to. The gravy train keeps rolling, the place in the team secure. I think the principle on central contracts remains sound, but they do need to think about some of these things going forwards. I'd start by cancelling every central contract and tell the players that the new ones would be based on which players showed form and hunger in the early weeks of the county season.
Doctor K Dec 2013 2:39pm, 30 Dec 2013 3,098 posts	0 Doctor K I'll be interested to watch Joss Buttler in the summer as Lancashire's wicket keeper. He is a potential England wicketkeeper apparently but admits his first class record isn't the greatest -as long as they don't panic and try him immediately. He's in fort eh one dayers.