Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Second division wickets shouldn't be too difficult to get
Cricket
- Thread starter summerisle
- Start date
Second division wickets shouldn't be too difficult to get
joey_macmo
Player Valuation: £35m
Livingstone top scored when they got hammered in the first game as well. What a difference a year makes for him, he was top scoring in the warm up matches for the test side in New Zealand & was unlucky not to get a place. Now this winter he didn't even get in the Lions 4 day side,
joey_macmo
Player Valuation: £35m
It's all about whether he can stay fit or not, he did well last winter for the lions if memory serves then was injured almost all summer
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
I can't think Livingstone's that thrilled at the prospect of division two, I would be surprised if he hasn't been talking to other Lions players while out there.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he moved on tbh
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
tsubaki
Player Valuation: £90m
I didn't realise this was only the second time in a hundred years that England have whitewashed an opposition away from home, at least until I read this great piece by Andy Bull - of which the quote below is the highlight:
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
I didn't realise this was only the second time in a hundred years that England have whitewashed an opposition away from home, at least until I read this great piece by Andy Bull - of which the quote below is the highlight:
It's only natural after any examination to look first of all at the mistakes made, deficiencies exposed, improvements to be targetted and possible remedies available, and cricket teams and cricket tours are no different, a time for post tour retrospection and analysis is expected. So perhaps it's no surprise those former players now turned TMS radio analysts haven't been slow to get off the mark. They're usually quick with criticism and slow with praise and change they won't.
So whenever England achieve anything remarkable, or at least exceptional for them, there are normally two reasons put forward:-
1) It wasn't remarkable at all, in fact the reverse was probably true and such a result should have been expected.
2) The opposition was so weak, a shadow of anything resembling the word, any talent had long left the team and a badly led rabble was all that was left.
So faint praise, accompanied by as many caveats as the author can think of is currently in vogue, with our old favourites, luck and outrageous fortune being prominent.
If however, you had any doubt how unusual it is for England to achieve a 3-0 series whitewash in any away series, then consider this, the last time it happened Lee Harvey Oswald was purchasing a second hand rifle and The Beatles releasing their first album, and the only time before that Queen Victoria still had several more years to reign over us.
The purpose of all this? Is to underline the fact, especially from an England perspective, of just how rare such away whitewashes are.
So whatever we think of Sri Lanka now so many of their stars have departed the scene, and whatever caveats we apply, England have achieved something very rare indeed. It perhaps being all the more remarkable as it was in the intense heat and humidity of Sri Lanka. When you also consider England's record in Asia - which is grim - they deserve a huge amount of credit.
As George Dobell (cricinfo) comments ...
'For while away Ashes wins still seem to gain the most plaudits, the greatest challenge for most England players is winning in Asia where spin dominates (a record 100 wickets fell to spin in the series) and England's traditional skills - the ability to deliver and defend the swinging, seaming ball - are largely irrelevant. Never before have England completed a whitewash in Asia (in a three-match series) and not since 2001 had they won a series in Sri Lanka. This is significant.
While some will delight in belittling the achievement of Joe Root and his team, it is worth reiterating that this Sri Lanka side - bar one or two exceptions - won in the UAE and Bangladesh not so long ago. They also beat South Africa and Australia at home. They're not as bad as some would have you believe.'
There are very legitimate points to be made about this Sri Lankan side and we have to acknowledge the importance of the toss, too. Root has now won the toss eight times in succession in Test cricket and some of those tosses - not least on this tour - have been crucial.
None of this however, can take away from just how unique and exceptional their achievement is, whatever TMS say.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
I recall a well publicised quote from world renowned Australian cricket journalist Gideon Haigh on the eve of last winter's ashes down under that even today seems more than apt.
"Trouble is that without Stokes, England are like a table with a length sawn off a single leg: no matter how you work on the other legs, the table will never be quite stable again. All the drinking bouts and vagrant headbutts in the world won't in the end obscure that."
There remains the possibility that Stokes could face further time out of the game. He and Alex Hales will face disciplinary proceedings from the ECB next Wednesday with the result expected next Friday, though the smart money suggests the fact that he has already missed the Ashes and lost the vice-captaincy of the team would mean any further suspension has already been served.
Trevor Bayliss was almost overflowing in his appreciation of a player he referred to as 'the first pick' (on the team sheet)
"Certainly I think he's learnt a lesson since that time," Bayliss said, referring to the events of September 2017. "The way he's conducted himself since he has come back into the fold has been exemplary.
"To see him bowl the ball and then chase the ball all the way to wide mid-on to save it, that's commitment, that. He's a madman. How many other blokes in the world would you see do that? No one. And that says a lot.
"I got into the lift a couple of nights ago after dinner on the third day and he was getting out. He'd just come back from the gym! That's how hard he works. He deserves everything he gets from the game.
"You can throw the ball to him, you can put him in any situation with the bat, you can put him where the ball is coming in the field. For me, he's the first pick. His averages may not be the greatest in each of his positions. But you add those three disciplines together, it adds up to one hell of a player."
Bayliss, at least, is very keen that his key allrounder should be at England's disposal as much as possible.
"I hope he's available for our next game," Bayliss said. "That [case] hasn't affected him. I haven't heard it mentioned once around the changing room. He can lift the tempo with whatever he does for the team. The team at different times definitely take this one lead."
Stokes' performance was, in Bayliss' view, one of the highlights of a memorable tour.
Immense. The Sri Lanka coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, rated Stokes as the difference between the sides and it is hard to disagree. Stokes added a new dimension to the England attack by somehow managing to bounce batsmen out on sluggish surfaces, finishing as the fastest bowler in the series (he was the only man to break 90mph) and the highest wicket-taker among seam bowlers. Outstanding in the field - his run-out of Dimuth Karunaratne in Pallekele was a high point - he also produced two important half-centuries, and two scores in the 40s, with the bat.
Anyone following the series via scorecard may wonder what the fuss is about; anyone watching it will know he was England's most valuable player.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... or-bayliss
"Trouble is that without Stokes, England are like a table with a length sawn off a single leg: no matter how you work on the other legs, the table will never be quite stable again. All the drinking bouts and vagrant headbutts in the world won't in the end obscure that."
There remains the possibility that Stokes could face further time out of the game. He and Alex Hales will face disciplinary proceedings from the ECB next Wednesday with the result expected next Friday, though the smart money suggests the fact that he has already missed the Ashes and lost the vice-captaincy of the team would mean any further suspension has already been served.
Trevor Bayliss was almost overflowing in his appreciation of a player he referred to as 'the first pick' (on the team sheet)
"Certainly I think he's learnt a lesson since that time," Bayliss said, referring to the events of September 2017. "The way he's conducted himself since he has come back into the fold has been exemplary.
"To see him bowl the ball and then chase the ball all the way to wide mid-on to save it, that's commitment, that. He's a madman. How many other blokes in the world would you see do that? No one. And that says a lot.
"I got into the lift a couple of nights ago after dinner on the third day and he was getting out. He'd just come back from the gym! That's how hard he works. He deserves everything he gets from the game.
"You can throw the ball to him, you can put him in any situation with the bat, you can put him where the ball is coming in the field. For me, he's the first pick. His averages may not be the greatest in each of his positions. But you add those three disciplines together, it adds up to one hell of a player."
Bayliss, at least, is very keen that his key allrounder should be at England's disposal as much as possible.
"I hope he's available for our next game," Bayliss said. "That [case] hasn't affected him. I haven't heard it mentioned once around the changing room. He can lift the tempo with whatever he does for the team. The team at different times definitely take this one lead."
Stokes' performance was, in Bayliss' view, one of the highlights of a memorable tour.
Immense. The Sri Lanka coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, rated Stokes as the difference between the sides and it is hard to disagree. Stokes added a new dimension to the England attack by somehow managing to bounce batsmen out on sluggish surfaces, finishing as the fastest bowler in the series (he was the only man to break 90mph) and the highest wicket-taker among seam bowlers. Outstanding in the field - his run-out of Dimuth Karunaratne in Pallekele was a high point - he also produced two important half-centuries, and two scores in the 40s, with the bat.
Anyone following the series via scorecard may wonder what the fuss is about; anyone watching it will know he was England's most valuable player.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... or-bayliss
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
He's definitely in form.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Excellent news, a great prospect.
his action looks very much like that of a T20 specialist, is there a bit more to him than that and its just the vid?
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
He's 22, in first class matches he's taken 42 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 28.16. Taken five wickets twice, the best 5/49. He's played for the Lions, and is being spoken of highly.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Looking good for next year's World Cup : 32 off an over, 87 off 32 balls
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Bangladesh thumped West Indies by an innings and 184 runs, spinner Mehedi Hasan taking 12-117. With spinning wickets in the West Indies it'll be interesting to see how many spinners England will play.