Going to go down in the record books as a convincing 140 run win, but was anything but.
It looks bad but it was a good effort overall. Harsh lessons sometimes are beneficial in time.
Cricket
- Thread starter summerisle
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Going to go down in the record books as a convincing 140 run win, but was anything but.
It looks bad but it was a good effort overall. Harsh lessons sometimes are beneficial in time.
Anyway, come on England for the ashes
toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
Ah no, numbers 6 and 7 only
toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
And I thought Glamorgan's 44 all out last night was crap
Sky have just shown a list of the 10 lowest scores in Test cricket. Ireland in 7th place. New Zealand top with just 26. Amazingly England not in the list as the batting side but featured 8 times as the bowling side.
Root says he's not concerned with the batting.
He must be the only one well
He must be the only one well
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
The ECB have lessons to learn about the ridiculous scheduling of an extra test match between a long high pressure ODI World Cup and the iconic ashes series.
World Cup players should have been banned from taking part in another international cricket match before the ashes, instead they were given the choice.
Stokes and Buttler jumped at the chance of a rest, the bowlers were largely absent too as Archer went on holiday and Wood is injured while Plunkett and Rashid aren't in the test squad.
So it was primarily the batters and Jonny Bairstow frightened of Foakes taking the gloves, who couldn't afford to say 'no' and tellingly it was the batters who found it impossible to adjust so quickly. Of the five who 'opted' to play, Roy, Root, Bairstow, Ali and Woakes made a grand total of 7 between them in the first innings and only Jason Roy of the five made a significant score (72) second time round. None of the batters should have had a choice - Bairstow copped a pair.
Leach the surprise man of the match but he's picked for his bowling and with 0-26 off three overs should probably have made sure he's out of contention for the ashes. Ali though hardly distinguished himself at anything even if there's serious mitigating circumstances for his batting failures. While there are mitigating reasons for the 'ODI' batsmen who all failed twice, with the exception of Jason Roy, there is none for Rory Burns who looks to be seriously out of touch.
Seriously this has been a test match which has highlighted the ludicrous scheduling and ridiculous demands on players.
Lord's continues to be a graveyard for batsmen as India found out last summer and both sides here. From a batting point of view, England should have given a chance to fringe players ready to grab their opportunity and who would want to play this match, not give a choice to mentally tired 'world cup' batsmen ahead of the big series. They should have all been rested but some could more easily say 'no thanks' than others.
World Cup players should have been banned from taking part in another international cricket match before the ashes, instead they were given the choice.
Stokes and Buttler jumped at the chance of a rest, the bowlers were largely absent too as Archer went on holiday and Wood is injured while Plunkett and Rashid aren't in the test squad.
So it was primarily the batters and Jonny Bairstow frightened of Foakes taking the gloves, who couldn't afford to say 'no' and tellingly it was the batters who found it impossible to adjust so quickly. Of the five who 'opted' to play, Roy, Root, Bairstow, Ali and Woakes made a grand total of 7 between them in the first innings and only Jason Roy of the five made a significant score (72) second time round. None of the batters should have had a choice - Bairstow copped a pair.
Leach the surprise man of the match but he's picked for his bowling and with 0-26 off three overs should probably have made sure he's out of contention for the ashes. Ali though hardly distinguished himself at anything even if there's serious mitigating circumstances for his batting failures. While there are mitigating reasons for the 'ODI' batsmen who all failed twice, with the exception of Jason Roy, there is none for Rory Burns who looks to be seriously out of touch.
Seriously this has been a test match which has highlighted the ludicrous scheduling and ridiculous demands on players.
Lord's continues to be a graveyard for batsmen as India found out last summer and both sides here. From a batting point of view, England should have given a chance to fringe players ready to grab their opportunity and who would want to play this match, not give a choice to mentally tired 'world cup' batsmen ahead of the big series. They should have all been rested but some could more easily say 'no thanks' than others.
Minimeister
Player Valuation: £35m
Had they all been rested and we were blown away in the first Test, everyone would have been saying they should have played again Ireland
Not sure what else they could have done. They have to fit a world cup and an Ashes into one England summer. There was no wriggle room.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
The ashes team will be so Mich stronger of course and they won't be playing at England's traditional graveyard of Lord's every match
If England could stay away from Lord's then they probably should, they invariably play their very worst cricket there and its contrast with their record at Edgbaston, the venue for the first test and England's favourite ground for positive results, couldn't be starker.
They'll have crucial players back in Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer.
As Jason Roy over James Vince showed in the World Cup even one player can be transformative, three can almost seem like another side altogether.
Then of course there's James Anderson to return too.
If England could stay away from Lord's then they probably should, they invariably play their very worst cricket there and its contrast with their record at Edgbaston, the venue for the first test and England's favourite ground for positive results, couldn't be starker.
They'll have crucial players back in Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer.
As Jason Roy over James Vince showed in the World Cup even one player can be transformative, three can almost seem like another side altogether.
Then of course there's James Anderson to return too.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
If it was thought better to play why give them a choice? One test vs Ireland won't improve anyone's batting, their bowlers are of a completely different type to Australia's, it's no preparation, play or don't play.
Jonathan Trott, Andrew Flintoff, Marcus Trescothick, Robin Smith and others have written books about the mental pressures and constant demands non stop cricket can have mentally.
There was a couple of weeks break after a long tiring high profile world cup and euphoric high in the first big goal of the summer, the Ashes starts a few weeks later a second huge test of the summer for some.
Playing mentally unprepared players in a largely superfluous test match achieved nothing, a rest should have been enforced and the ECB should stop trying to fill every single tiny window in the calendar with more international cricket.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Lancashire playing Worcestershire tonight in their latest T20 match.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Worcestershire 34-2, 5 overs.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Good bowling performance from Lancashire, restricting Worcestershire to 130-9 off 20 overs. Wickets shared around.