Cricket

Cracking partnership, finally looks like we're getting some stability in this batting line up now, especially when stokes come back in. Just need to be patient and stick with sibley, crawley and pope for the foreseeable.
 
Zac Crawley came of age today, he's always had the ability and looked the part but now has not only his maiden test hundred but his highest first class score behind him and a chance to make it a truly monumental score.

Buttler came in with us in serious danger of being skittled for less than 200 with only the bowlers to come afterwards, what a rich streak of form he's hit at last, together with Chris Woakes he changed the direction of the first test and must have every chance of only his second test century. Crucially all that patience shown with his batting at test level may just be paying off.

England are still only one wicket away from a pack of cards collapse but must be hoping for over 350 and even towards 400 now, so much still depends on these two restarting tomorrow. Pakistan will know one wicket could easily bring another five very quickly.

I'd be tempted to send Broad in at eight after Woakes if things go well, a half hour of hitting from Broady could really accelerate the scoring and make for something massive
 
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As people have probably seen on the thread I've been banging the Crawley drum for a bit of time. I thought they were wrong to drop him earlier (I'd have played him ahead of Bess).

I felt he had shots all around the wicket, off the front and back foot and against different bowlers. I knew he had that and showed it today. The two things worth noting on top of that were how well he hit the ball today and also the greed he has shown.

As I noted earlier, he played a number of excellent shots to a fielder today. Part of that is really good captaiancy from Pakistan, but you sense with a big more care there might have been 8-10 more boundaries today from Crawley. He hits the ball really cleanly, along the floor, very hard. He's one of the best strokeplayers we have, he just needs to find gaps a little better.

As for the 2nd, the big question with any player is how will you cope when you get in. Will you really cash in. Todays he's answered that in a big way. He didn't give it away, and just kept batting. Forget opening being a hard place, it can be a great place to bat if you get in and take the game away from the opponents. He did that today. As I've said, you've seen more in 1 innings today than Sibley & Burns have shown in 30 test matches between them. Crawley looks a superstar in the making to me, levels ahead of the current openers, and he should be being dropped again while those 2 remain in the side. It was a big mistake, and not one that can be tolerated again.

The other point is around Buttler. The lads a class act. Averages close to 50 batting at 6, in general is a very solid keeper, and scores runs in a manner that changes the course of the game. While there's a discussion about his keeping (one for me that he keeps the gloves) he is in our top 6 batsman and is starting to show it now he's getting a chance to construct an innings up the order.

A really good day for England, particularly for a couple of their unsung heroes Buttler and Crawley. They are both inked on now.
 
Great isnt it when all the planets align, the stars are in the optimum positions and the Gods are in a good mood and we finally manage to get a 90 over day in.


I shall cherish the memories
 
BFK aka Rob Key (Big Fat Key as his mates call him) the former Kent skipper has been banging the Zac Crawley drum for about a year or two on Sky - a bit like our very own cstcherintherye, kudos to both. Rob's had plenty of stick for it in the past, I think he started mentioning his name as a possible future England batsman just about the time Zac was breaking into Kent Second XI.

:D
 
Chris O'Connor said:
BFK aka Rob Key (Big Fat Key as his mates call him) the former Kent skipper has been banging the Zac Crawley drum for about a year or two on Sky - a bit like our very own cstcherintherye, kudos to both. Rob's had plenty of stick for it in the past, I think he started mentioning his name as a possible future England batsman just about the time Zac was breaking into Kent Second XI.

:D
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I like Key, I think he's a really good broadcaster.

I hope Crawley gets the double tonne tomorrow. Of lads his age or younger who've done it the list reads;
Miandad
Headley
Kambli
Sobers
Smith (G)
Jawardene
Brathwaite
Bradman
Rudolph
Hutton
Gower
Gayle

Slightly older than him you have
Kahai
Walters
Eric Barlow
Joe Root
Lara
Zaheer Abbas
Sarwan
Flower
De Villiers
Sinclair
Viv Richards

It's a who's who list of batting.

In fairness, while he looked talented I had no idea he could go on and dominate the attack all day. I was listening to him on the way home from work on TMS, and sort of thinking, thats the final hurdle really. Can he get to the close. Really elite players, even at a young age, when they get in and get 100 make it pay. He did that too. I knew he had a wide range of shots, but he put it all together there.
 
tommye said:
Jos is 3rd in the run totals so far this season and was involved in all the highest partnerships scored. Yet folk still want him dropped. Madness.
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He had a bad game, but in my view was too harshly judged. In general his keeping has been very good (better than Bairstow in my view). I like how he's batting now. He looks better to me as a 6, getting to play with proper batsman and not having to worry about farming the strike. His record at 6 looks outstanding and to me it's a hard sell to move him back to 7. If England want to bolster the batting maybe they have to consider utiling another allrounder below him (like a Curran/Moeen Ali type).

He looks better now he's counter attacking. He can change games from that position. I think England need to adopt a more Australia type attitude, which is he won't change every game, but when he comes off playing aggressively it will be very important. It won't be every innings, but on the innings he does, it will really demoralise the opponents.

So yes, Buttler for me is undroppable at 6. Whether you do something with the keeping is another matter, but he's our best number 6 option.
 
catcherintherye said:
I like Key, I think he's a really good broadcaster.

I hope Crawley gets the double tonne tomorrow. Of lads his age or younger who've done it the list reads;
Miandad
Headley
Kambli
Sobers
Smith (G)
Jawardene
Brathwaite
Bradman
Rudolph
Hutton
Gower
Gayle

Slightly older than him you have
Kahai
Walters
Eric Barlow
Joe Root
Lara
Zaheer Abbas
Sarwan
Flower
De Villiers
Sinclair
Viv Richards

It's a who's who list of batting.

In fairness, while he looked talented I had no idea he could go on and dominate the attack all day. I was listening to him on the way home from work on TMS, and sort of thinking, thats the final hurdle really. Can he get to the close. Really elite players, even at a young age, when they get in and get 100 make it pay. He did that too. I knew he had a wide range of shots, but he put it all together there.
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Alastair Cook always name-checked Graham Gooch back at Essex as his mentor, the man who really taught him the lesson of caching in and going really big when you get a ton.

'As an opener you have to try to make up some of the ground for all those early unplayable dismissals' - getting a 'daddy' hundred - he called it.

Gooch himself once scored 333 for England Vs India.

(Rob Key is my favourite pundit and commentator on live cricket atm, a great addition to Nasser, Athers and Mikey)
 

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