I said in the summer I had reservations abotu Sibley. Nothing I have seen so far has changed that. He looks out of his depth.
Cricket
- Thread starter summerisle
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I said in the summer I had reservations abotu Sibley. Nothing I have seen so far has changed that. He looks out of his depth.
What I will say, is that this Embuldeniya has shown up Leach and particularly Bess. It looks a different pitch to an hour ago. Bess and Leach are probably the best we have (particularly Leach) but they are a long way behind him.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
To say the toss was a big advantage is underplaying it tbh, at Galle It really is a match winning advantage. The wicket should start taking turn now and our two openers are always walking wickets, handing them an early collapse after losing the toss can't go on.
Last test for Sibley and Crawley has to moved down the order at least until the ball's hardness has gone. Obviously the team for India is selected but Root and Bairstow may as well open as in effect they do now. An absolutely 'ginormous' tail, having one end open when only 5 down makes it almost impossible to rescue (batting second).
Just get Keaton Jennings on the next flight.
People will say he can't play seam, but seam in Asia is different to seam at home.
He averages 44 in the subcontinent and these two don't look like making a run.
Last test for Sibley and Crawley has to moved down the order at least until the ball's hardness has gone. Obviously the team for India is selected but Root and Bairstow may as well open as in effect they do now. An absolutely 'ginormous' tail, having one end open when only 5 down makes it almost impossible to rescue (batting second).
Just get Keaton Jennings on the next flight.
People will say he can't play seam, but seam in Asia is different to seam at home.
He averages 44 in the subcontinent and these two don't look like making a run.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Alistair Cook especially so
Tbh it depends on where they're playing and who against, opening in England in recent years on seamer friendly pitches with a swinging Dukes ball has been tough.
While these openers can't play spin, Crawley played exceptionally well last summer against seam in England batting at number three. These are different conditions and bowling.
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Does anyone know a way I can watch this, as I can’t watch sky at present. PM me please team
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
No getting away from the fact that SL's spinners are better but you simply can't ignore the elephant in the room....
The pitch now has a day and three quarters cricket on it and it will be more conducive to turn. It was flat for most of their innings but the first day and into the second is always by a long way the best time to bat. It takes a special team and a special performance to lose a test after winning the toss here.
SL with an outrageously inept performance managed to pull it off in the first test but miracles don't often happen in consecutive tests.
The pitch now has a day and three quarters cricket on it and it will be more conducive to turn. It was flat for most of their innings but the first day and into the second is always by a long way the best time to bat. It takes a special team and a special performance to lose a test after winning the toss here.
SL with an outrageously inept performance managed to pull it off in the first test but miracles don't often happen in consecutive tests.
Another one who is absolutely crap.
His Lancs contract is up this season, and he doesn't deserve a new one - so why should he be opening for England?
Let's stop going on about tours that happened years ago, and look at how he's playing recently. Garbage.
Could be Joe Root’s time this. He’s always been a good batsmen but has never made that final step for me
Good effort that. Root in good nick and needs to make it count again tomorrow
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Haven't seen him in India or Sri Lanka recently but was only being half serious anyway. It was more to do with how he was so successful in the subcontinent and how by getting low in your stance, judging the length with liberal use of the sweep, an opener can learn the skills required.
Jennings adapted to become proficient in the subcontinent, he became a specialist in those unique spinning conditions. Our current openers look all at sea and it's technical issues that are contributing.
Sibley a tall man himself, needs to adjust his stance, get lower, play more side on and judge the length better - playing later to give himself more time. He needs a shot to rotate the strike and on a turning wicket, the sweep is the shot of choice that worked for Jennings and is working for Joe Root.
It's far harder to score down the ground with a straight bat exposing both edges but far more feasible square and behind the wicket.
(His county form on seaming English wickets has little or no relevance anyway tbh - conditions, the level of cricket and the predominance of opening against spin bowlers aren't something encountered by Lancs - it's looking back at his whole record on the subcontinent not one tour anyway - but not really being totally serious as would never happen)
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Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Not at all, when you're crap, you're crap - and he is crap