It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
If they take a horses for courses approach, then he will play. Sam Curran has obviously had a great start of his career but he looked underpaced in the West Indies. A dry summer with a lack of green in the wickets won't enhance his chances. If we're going to have a Jimmy-Broad-Archer-Stokes attack then Leach in as someone who contains and attacks. Also decent against left handers(his dismissal of Burns stumped at Taunton in the CC this year was one of the smartest bits of flighted spin bowling I've seen in ages).
C'mon then, pick yer 1st Ashes Test side.
Burns
? - ANYONE. Fuck it, send Sam Curran in to open.
Ballance (on the form he's shown in the CC and a lack of anyone else saying YEAH).
Root
Buttler
Stokes
Bairstow
Archer
Broad
Anderson
Leach
Wood, Woakes, Ali in reserve. If it's going to be a spinning track, easy to switch Curran for Ali.
Ashes XI:
Burns
Vince might be the best of a bad lot (unless someone can talk Cook out of retirement)
Root
Stokes
Bairstow
Buttler
Foakes
Archer
Broad
Leach
Anderson
Foakes is the best keeper, and is likely to make considerably more runs than whatever batsman they would otherwise pick at 3. That does necessitate moving Root up to 3, but Root at 3 and Foakes at 7 is likely to generate more runs than Root at 4, and a walking wicket at 3. You also get the best keeper in the team, which is important.
In the unlikely event of a total greentop, I'd swap Leach for Ali to stiffen batting a bit.
If a second spinner is required, then leave out Broad for Ali.
I'm still not convinced by Buttler at test level. He's likely to come unstuck against good bowling on non-flat pitches, but until he does they probably have to stick with him. It's not like there are any other batsman banging the door down. I know Balance is making runs at county level, but he has repeatedly been found out at test level. Unless he has fundamentally changed his technique, I'd look elsewhere.
Vince versus Ballance: JV's been found out at Test level an awful lot more than GB has. So it's one perceived Test failure with an average approaching 40 versus one averaging under mid 20s with no centuries to his name yet. Had Joe Clarke not been a fucking idiot when still at Worcestershire, he'd be in there but there's nobody else I think is good enough. Plenty of decent looking young players but nobody's pushing. I'd rather have a guy with Test centuries to his name than go back to a guy with none.
Foakes will probably make more runs than Ballance (or any other top order option you could pick) anyway. That's why it's stupid it to leave him out. If there were good top order options, then it might make sense to play Bairstow as keeper, but there aren't.
I picked Vince as opener because he's been opening for Hampshire. It's not ideal, but he has ability if he can stop flirting with balls outside off stump. I'm not sure he can tighten up his game, but the cupboard is bare when it comes to openers. After all, you picked Curran there. Vince has the potential to do a better job than Curran or Ali.
England vs Pakistan - Pakistan batting well 156-2 after 26 overs, England's body language is a bit heads down after Jason Roy dropped a pearler of a catch.
Heads up boys you like a chase, we've got a game on here.
Required run rate is 10 an over, tough one.
...I don't think they can.
England need this, will focus them for the tests to come in the rest of the competition, barring disaster they should get into the semi finals but this loss will sharpen them up. Fielding was poor and Archer wasn't the magic difference everyone was hailing...
The competition rolls on...cricket every day I'm loving it!
Anyway, the defeat will do them good. A bit of a reality check, and will hopefully make them realise they can’t cruise through to the semi’s on autopilot.