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Cricket Thread

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TROSaracen Oct 2021 11:49pm, 24 Oct 2021 24,071 posts	Quote Pin TROSaracen I saw them on Sky Sports, they show each match as a 1 hour package.
Oscar the Grouch Oct 2021 8:16am, 25 Oct 2021 3,706 posts	Quote Pin Oscar the Grouch Ah... the paywall
njosmith Oct 2021 9:10am, 25 Oct 2021 743 posts	Quote Pin njosmith Stokes back for the Ashes. A glimmer of hope shines.
Oscar the Grouch Oct 2021 10:07am, 25 Oct 2021 3,707 posts	Quote Pin Oscar the Grouch I think he has been trailing this announcement for a couple of weeks. I do think it improves our chances, to about 5%.
TROSaracen Oct 2021 10:11am, 25 Oct 2021 24,073 posts	Quote Pin TROSaracen ‘Improves our chances of avoiding a 5-0, to about 5%’ FTFY
Cheg Oct 2021 10:24am, 25 Oct 2021 3,573 posts	Quote Pin Cheg Sad but true with the 5%
Ocelot Spleens Oct 2021 10:54am, 25 Oct 2021 32,089 posts	Quote Pin Ocelot Spleens Nah. He can't prop up the battingbfrom number 5 and his bowling won't be that great out there. 5-0, 4-0 if 4 games are played.
rf_fozzy Oct 2021 11:11am, 25 Oct 2021 15,563 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy I've always found the obsession with Stokes a bit curious and the need to have him in the team overblown. I don't deny that if fit and in form, he's worth his place in the Red Ball team - he's an outstanding fielder for starters and does provide some balance by offering something with both bat and ball, but.... His batting average of 37.04 at #5 suggests he's batting at least one, probably two spots too high (which is an indictment of England's batting more than Stokes') And his bowling, (average 31.38 - which is good) is very useful when on form, but he's Anderson-pace and doesn't have the same control or swing as him, so he's very much a 5th bowler in seam conditions, given who else England have to call on at the moment. Don't get me wrong, he's a shoe-in for the team, but I still think he's slightly overrated as a player. What he does have though the ability to play outstanding one-off innings - WC final, Ashes test, 250 against SA etc and he's essential to the ODI team as he's an outstanding one-day player. Hypothetical situation. England have a batting line up from the 2010-11 Ashes with all batsmen in form as in that series: Cook, Strauss, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood (test ave 40+ with bat), Prior. Your bowlers are Anderson, AN Other x2 (pick from Broad, Robinson, Stone, Wood, Leach, Bess, Archer - whomever is fit etc) and then you have a spot left. Do you pick Stokes or Woakes?
TROSaracen Oct 2021 11:53am, 25 Oct 2021 24,074 posts	Quote Pin TROSaracen Stokes obviously. Nothing tells me that Woakes is going to be more effective in Australia with a kookaburra and behind that top order Stokes won't have to continually dig the team out of the brown stuff against an on top attack. He'd have a tiring and deflated attack more often than not, and licence to flay them and take the game away in a session. In that position, you want Stokes. Playing behind that 2011 top order for a good portion of his test career his average would be well over 40. Stats don't tell you that for most most of his test career England have had an awful top order and his task has been to rescue the team from calamity on arrival at the crease. Woakes/Collingwood is a decision, mind - Woakes 8 (but a better bowling option), and Stokes 6 ahead of Prior.
Cerrertonia Oct 2021 12:11pm, 25 Oct 2021 14,898 posts	Quote Pin Cerrertonia Alternative hypothetical situation - if he was Indian, or Australian, do you think he'd be left out of their test teams? I think he'd be one of the first on the team sheet in both cases.