The cricket thread

crunchman

Stuckfast said:

That pitch actually suited quickish bowlers like Root and Axar Patel rather than the big spinners though. Kuldeep hardly bowled.

The ptich doesn't matter when you bowl full tosses.

Heartfeltdawn

sixstringsupplies said:

^blessing in disguise. It's strange that you can get 8 wickets in the match and still be thought of as not bowling well.

Having played and adored cricket my whole life, I can not understand how a professional cricketer can be so inconsistent with the ball. As a professional bowler, you would have thought landing it on a decent line and length consistently should come naturally. This is not an attack on Moeen Ali, but Bess too, and all spinners since Swann retired. There must be a spinner on the first class circuit who bowls consistent line and length, or doesn't bowl the release ball once an over. The magic tricks can be developed. These guys gave been bowling spin for years, practicing in the nets day in day out to hone their skills. 

How can they be so inconsistent?

This is why Leach is the best spinner - he is the most consistent, by far. 

I wish Moeen Ali well, but his International career ended when he got dropped during the world cup group stages. A very talented player and elegant batsman when at his best but due to being mis-managed, shuffled, playing in too many roles (and subsequently not knowing his role or ever having a definitive role) he has always been a bit-part player showing glimpes of brilliance.

This England team are a world class spinner short of being a world class team.

I don't think it does come naturally because the right length for a bowler is an evolving process. Look at our leading Test wicket taker. At 24 Tests Jimmy was going at 3.84 runs per over. After 238 Tests (sic), it's down to 2.84 runs per over. He got better and more accurate as he honed his action. Some other players lose a bit of that command as they get older and injuries occur. 

Also you get people like Leach who aren't bowling the same way as they were much younger. He had to remodel the action in 2016 because he was found to bend too much. Last year he started tweaking with the way he released the ball.  You can see what is going on comparing his wrist position at release in 2018 versus the wrist position for the ball in the 1st Test that bowled Rohit Sharma. That plus the run up he uses now is trying to impart more revs onto the ball. It's a subtle change but it most definitely isn't the same way he was bowling as a kid and not what he's done naturally. that in turn has an impact on the control you have on the ball. Until you're fully comfortable with it, then it will feel awkward and you can have some lousy moments. The more he has bowled all winter, the better he has looked. 

https://i.imgur.com/naWBBG5.png
https://i.imgur.com/af1d0GK.png

earwighoney

Stuckfast said:

I thought Mo bowled more consistently in the second Test than Bess did in the first. He looked rusty in the first innings but didn't bowl many bad balls in the second.

Also, Bess got five-for in the first Sri Lanka Test bowling an absolute heap of shite.

Like Gaz Ballance with the bat. His average wasn't bad but his technique was horrible.

Heartfeltdawn

earwighoney said:

Like Gaz Ballance with the bat. His average wasn't bad but his technique was horrible.

Or Allan Border getting a 10-fer... 

Stuckfast

F*** me that's horrific. 

Let's not forget India have a track record of collapsing against part-time spinners...

Heartfeltdawn

And that match also means we shouldn't forget how Australia have a track record in collapsing chasing small totals...

India 104 all out. 
Australia 203 all out.
India 205 all out.
Australia 93 all out. 

The whole match lasted just over 200 overs and was done in three days despite day 1 being rain delayed and only 11 overs being bowled. 

rocktron

I know that this is a hypothetical situation, but I wonder how the Indian batsmen would have fared against their own spin bowlers on that pitch.

crunchman

rocktron said:

I know that this is a hypothetical situation, but I wonder how the Indian batsmen would have fared against their own spin bowlers on that pitch.

Batting first or batting second?  Getting first use of the pitch on day one helped them as well.

crunchman

Bounce looks a bit inconsistent based on the first over.

Probably a good toss to win.

scrumhalf

Uh-oh, 27-2.

On the us side Zak is playing beautifully. 

crunchman

I'm still not convinced by Bairstow as a batsman.  I would have stuck with Burns and played Crawley at 3.  If Bairstow is going to play, it would be better to put Stokes up to 3 and Bairstow at 6.

Nitefly

100-8?  INCLUDING 53 from Crawley!   Stone the bloody crows.

crunchman

A couple of the LBWs that were given out against our better batsmen were umpires call.  If they had been given the other way, it may well be a lot better.

I'm not sure the catch off Leach was clean either.  The fielder got his hands under it initially but it looked to me like it went through his hands and hit the ground before he scooped it up.  It's a pity there wasn't a better camera angle.

Even though England haven't got the rub of the green, it hasn't been a good batting performance.  In some ways the most worrying dismissal was Sibley's.  If he doesn't fix that thing of the bat coming through from slip to mid on he's going to get eaten alive by test quality quick bowlers.

Neill

With Archer at No 8 the specialist batsmen had better perform.   

And I'm not convinced about Archer.  He doesn't bowl consistently at speed yet that's what he's there for.  Mark Wood always looks like he has to try too hard.  Olly Stone is the real deal in my book.

crunchman

Look on the bright side.  Anderson and Broad are likely to get to bowl in the twilight with a nice new ball.

scrumhalf

I'd like to think this is a cunning plan to skittle India out under the lights.

Stuckfast

Flip's sake. How many batsmen have basically just missed a straight one?

I think the jury is still out on Archer as a bowler, but I do worry that England place too much faith in his batting. Why on earth is he coming in ahead of Leach?

guitars4you

so far 10 wickets have fallen to spin on the first day of a test

a) when was the last time this happened - No need to answer as such as I'm sure it has - Just more of a silly observation and an hour or so still to play
b) just a strong hunch - Have we misread the pitch and picked the wrong line up

Neill

guitars4you said:

so far 10 wickets have fallen to spin on the first day of a test

a) when was the last time this happened - No need to answer as such as I'm sure it has - Just more of a silly observation and an hour or so still to play
b) just a strong hunch - Have we misread the pitch and picked the wrong line up

Well if Anderson and Broad don't get five wickets each we are going to look pretty silly, if we don't already.  

England cricket seems to have the same disease as the rugby establishment, everything revolves around certain star players who they can't bear to drop.  Going into this game with one recognised spinner just so they could play Anderson and Broad.  

I think this game could also be make or break for Jofra Archer  - does anyone else think he just isn't that keen on test cricket?  If he doesn't start making the Indians jump about a bit I can see the selectors losing patience, especially with Stone making such an impression.

Stuckfast

Leach has been poor so far. He's basically served up a buffet of half-volleys with the occasional short one. Axar Patel by comparison hit a good length practically every ball.