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Cricket Thread

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Crash Hamster Feb 2014 12:55pm, 5 Feb 2014 273 posts	Quote Pin Crash Hamster An awful lot of our top 6 will be growing old together, so introducing a couple of younger players is a necessity. My inside source tells me that part of the problem is that KP was outside the clique; I have no definitive names as to who is in the clique, but we can all have a good guess, yes?
Doctor K Feb 2014 1:44pm, 5 Feb 2014 3,144 posts	Quote Pin Doctor K At least I can look forward to seeing the Indian Cricket team, they are bound to have some decent batters.
Bru-Bru Feb 2014 1:52pm, 5 Feb 2014 2,428 posts	Quote Pin Bru-Bru I'm more worried about the bowling than the batting. True, the batting was dire in australia but there's enough talent there and comng through the ranks in county cricket that, with a return to form, will leave us plenty to work with. On the bowling front, though, every attempt to draft in new blood has been a bit of a disaster - Woakes? Dernbach? Kerrigan? And I suspect the reason is the old one - promising aggressive bowlers are made to "learn their trade" (i.e. told to bowl much more conservatively) for far too long before they get a chance in international cricket. By the time they "make the grade" they are all identikit county trundlers.
The Teaboy Feb 2014 3:57pm, 5 Feb 2014 10,762 posts	Quote Pin The Teaboy Good point BB. Hopefully Finn will be told to just bowl fast and knock people's heads off. I just find it amazing that people were complaining that England were becalmed and batting too slowly. A batsman who tries to change things and force the tempo is then vilified. Aggression doesn't always work, but to then suggest it looks like the batsman didn't care is just ludicrous. If England are instilling a culture of fear and conservatism about their play, it will only go wrong. Australia forced the upper hand by hitting their way out of trouble. Just as we did in 2005. Lehmann's genius has been to free his side up. All sports require controlled aggression for optimal results. Innate conservatism invariably hands the initiative to the opposition. Bring back KP. Or certainly, after the world T20, we will want to.
Wriggling Snake Feb 2014 4:12pm, 5 Feb 2014 6,111 posts	Quote Pin Wriggling Snake I think the series because a reflection of the more negative sapects of Cook as a player/captain. Strauss used to do the slow stuff. Look at Botham/Gower as captains, all out attack didn't work either, don't forget Cook is a VERY experienced batsman, but has almost no captaincy experience.
TRO Saracen Feb 2014 4:19pm, 5 Feb 2014 8,494 posts	Quote Pin TRO Saracen Spot on there Teabers and BB, absolutely spot on. It's a pattern repeated across ALL of our team sports. We have a chronic shortage of geuine talent and flair because it's all coached out. The few that manage to arrive at top level still having that sort of talent are then regarded with instinctive distrust - and are judged by far harsher standards and if there's a choice between them and a 'steady Eddie good team man', we know who gets the nod. Cricket, football, rugby: there's literally dozens of cases. They are judged in what they aren't very good at, whereas the steady Eddie is judged not on the flair he can't produce but on the good old relaible things he can do. When they do get a chance they get chucked in the team usually as a matter of desperation and expected to sort it single handed, then hauled out of the team if they don't produce miracles every time.
The Teaboy Feb 2014 4:58pm, 5 Feb 2014 10,763 posts	Quote Pin The Teaboy Remember, but for that attacking instinct in 2005, we wouldn't have held on at the Oval in 2005. Would we then have had the nerve to win them back in 2009? Who else could have played that innings - which almost ended as soon as it started - under that pressure with that freedom? Who was man of the series as England finally won a global one day trophy? Yeah, he's been a d1ck, but so have many others. Just without the runs and the genius to back it up.
Doctor K Feb 2014 5:25pm, 5 Feb 2014 3,145 posts	Quote Pin Doctor K Pietersen will be able to console himself with a few million pounds from a full IPL tournament with endorsements and then next winter the Aussie big bash , he will be in demand. His ton against the Aussies at OT last summer was very good too Teabers -and enabled Bell to make a good score at the other end. That's when we started to go downhill -without his innings and poor weather we would have lost that match. To be fair to Kerrigan he only had a handful of overs. Yes he got carted but who didn't and hasn't since? Whether it's him or Borthwick or someone else they will need time to bed in
Bru-Bru Feb 2014 6:03pm, 5 Feb 2014 2,429 posts	Quote Pin Bru-Bru Yes, to be fair, everyone I know who has seen Kerrigan bowl in County cricket says he shows a lot of promise and should be given a bit more backing and persevered with - he was just thrown in at the deep end and then hoicked out after one bad game, rather like poor old Matt Tait in the rugby a few years ago. Not good from the selectors and management in my view: if you believe in them, give them a decent run at it.
Wriggling Snake Feb 2014 8:52pm, 5 Feb 2014 6,112 posts	Quote Pin Wriggling Snake Chronic shortage of talent!! Cook Broad Prior Anderson Swann Bell Strauss Trott Jones Flintoff Harmison Hoggard Vaughan I remember very well the swing bowlers won the matches in 2005 they had nothing to do with it?