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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11412
    The have dropped Bairstow for some proper batsmen, but what wazzock thinks that Buttler is a test keeper?
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  • crunchman said:
    The have dropped Bairstow for some proper batsmen, but what wazzock thinks that Buttler is a test keeper?
    The ones who decided to not pick Ben Foakes. 

    Ollie Pope as a backup keeper's a very dodgy decision.  
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  • The ones who decided to not pick Ben Foakes. 

    Ollie Pope as a backup keeper's a very dodgy decision.  
    The Test selections: 

    -Apparently England are now OK with picking players from a Division 2 county if they play at a Test ground. 
    -Mahmood above Lewis Gregory: GTFO. 
    -No Foakes. Duh. 

    The slap and tickle selections: 

    -Who cares  

    And here's Ed Smith:

    "I wouldn't want to reduce his options, I want to expand them," insisted Smith.

    "With Jonny, someone who averages 50 in first=class cricket, non-Test match cricket, they are exceptional numbers. But I think what we've seen recently in an England shirt is not a reflection of what he can do."

    His ODI and FC numbers are very good to exceptional. His numbers in Test cricket so average practically everywhere? Pull out that not out boosted average in South Africa and the big average from one Test in SL and his figures are really poor. So why is there this mantra that his options must be expanded? How exactly do you expand the options of a guy batting in the England Test top order and keeping wicket? Make him captain, tell him to learn how to bowl off breaks, perhaps ask himn to be team driver at the same time? And if YJB needs to expand his options, then what message does that send to the like of Sibley and Crawley? 







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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11412
    If Bairstow expands, he will start to look even more like his dad.
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  • I have no problem with picking Mahmood above Gregory, or at least, I can see why they've done it. Mahmood is young and has both pace and skill. Gregory is a classic English trundler and won't get picked for the same reason they never pick Jamie Porter, Ben Sanderson, Ollie Robinson, Sam Cook, Hannon-Dalby and so on: not quick enough, at least according to the ECB. They're all deadly on a green pitch in May, not so much on a flat deck in Adelaide. Even Craig Overton looked harmless against Australia and he is probably a bit more lively than Gregory.

    The ECB has a big pace bowling programme in place and they identify possible Test bowlers very young. They may be fast-tracked into the England team without ever playing much county cricket. George Garton at Sussex is a good example -- has only ever played 12 first-class matches but has toured with England Lions. Zak Chappell is another.

    I would have liked to see them pick Richard Gleeson, but maybe they think he's too old.
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  • Stuckfast said:
    I have no problem with picking Mahmood above Gregory, or at least, I can see why they've done it. Mahmood is young and has both pace and skill. Gregory is a classic English trundler and won't get picked for the same reason they never pick Jamie Porter, Ben Sanderson, Ollie Robinson, Sam Cook, Hannon-Dalby and so on: not quick enough, at least according to the ECB. They're all deadly on a green pitch in May, not so much on a flat deck in Adelaide. Even Craig Overton looked harmless against Australia and he is probably a bit more lively than Gregory.

    The ECB has a big pace bowling programme in place and they identify possible Test bowlers very young. They may be fast-tracked into the England team without ever playing much county cricket. George Garton at Sussex is a good example -- has only ever played 12 first-class matches but has toured with England Lions. Zak Chappell is another.

    I would have liked to see them pick Richard Gleeson, but maybe they think he's too old.

    If they're picking purely on pace, then Jamie Overton's quicker than Mahmood and has been playing better this season. If they're picking on form, then you pick Gregory above Mahmood, as 21 wickets in 9 Div 2 matches at 31 is not Test material. I agree on some of those trundlers you mention with the exception of Ollie Robinson who's got a bit more to him. Craig Overton isn't quicker than Lewis Gregory and didn't look any more harmless against Australia on a flattish track in that first innings than Archer. His selection was mystifying and typical of the Bayliss era approach: mental :) Gleeson's a decent bowler but I do think age is against him now. Hopefully Lancs can sort out how to develop Josh Bohannon as I really like the way he approaches the game. 

    The ECB pace bowling programme: generally it's a mix of older players and the young uns. It's success rate is very mixed. George Garton is a good example: toured with the Lions, is now being constructed as an all-rounder, and has been free enough on Saturdays this year to play league cricket for Horsham. There are doubts on him being a first-class bowler, let alone a Test bowler. Zak Chappell has been playing 2nd XI most of the year despite Notts being absolute dogshit. 

    Go back to Feb 2018 and this news release. Some of the names mentioned you'll know well. Out of them, only Toby Roland-Jones has actually played Test cricket and succeeded despite not being outright pace and being as English trundler as they come. Of the others? 

    Jamie Porter - selected for tours, drinks waiter, unlikely to ever play for England. Reece Topley - injury after injury to the point of being released and playing league cricket for East Molesey. Coming back into county cricket again tentatively with Sussex. 

    Tom Barber - is a genuinely quick mofo but ain't anywhere near the Middlesex first team and has still to take a first-class wicket. Tom Helm - getting on a bit now and is more in the TR-J mould than Archer. 

    Jamie Overton - finally fulfilling some of the potential everyone at Taunton knew he had. I think he's a good outside chance for the SA trip as he hits the bat hard and he will get bounce there. George Scrimshaw - quick. Injured. Hasn't played at even 2nd XI level since August 2017. Paul Walter - as medium pace as they come. 

    For all the efforts of the pace academy, they're not turning out a mass of cricketers who are doing that well at county level, let alone international level. You don't breed Test bowlers through net sessions and academy work and a Lions tour. 



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  • Hmmm... Jamie Overton can't even get into the Somerset first XI at the moment, and he was pretty ordinary on loan to Northants earlier this season. He is rapid and tall, and if someone can make him more consistent he'll be a hell of a bowler, but it hasn't happened yet and he's been playing for a long time now. I haven't seen Mahmood towards the back end of the season but he was bowling bloody well in the first half, and already has the skills and variations that many bowlers take a long time to learn.

    Probably he'll carry the drinks all winter then get injured and struggle for form, and the ECB will have snuffed out another promising talent.

    Really impressed with Sam Cook in this Essex / Somerset game. Only bowling high 70s but moving it both ways and not giving the batsmen anything.
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  • Stuckfast said:
    Hmmm... Jamie Overton can't even get into the Somerset first XI at the moment, and he was pretty ordinary on loan to Northants earlier this season. He is rapid and tall, and if someone can make him more consistent he'll be a hell of a bowler, but it hasn't happened yet and he's been playing for a long time now. I haven't seen Mahmood towards the back end of the season but he was bowling bloody well in the first half, and already has the skills and variations that many bowlers take a long time to learn.

    Probably he'll carry the drinks all winter then get injured and struggle for form, and the ECB will have snuffed out another promising talent.

    Really impressed with Sam Cook in this Essex / Somerset game. Only bowling high 70s but moving it both ways and not giving the batsmen anything.

    Hopefully not as there has been a lot of behind the scenes work to prevent the injuries occurring through changing his action. Stuff like that takes time. Back in my uni days, we had a Worcs CC player joining us for nets and practice in the close season. The notion back then was that it took around 20,000 deliveries to get the body used to the new action and that is why he was joining in with our sessions. It's been a long process with Jove and it's good to see him doing well this year. 

    The Northants loan was very good for him even if it didn't bring a load of wickets as the overs under the belt in the middle meant he came back to Taunton and hit his straps. Overton has actually been consistent this season once he started playing. A strike rate of 33 demonstrates consistency when you compare him to people who have taken wickets all season like Gregory (32) and Kyle Abbott (30). At the minute he's not playing because it's the arse end of the season and we're on green seaming tracks where the like of Josh Davey are more effective or they're going for the two spin option. When it's damp and warm and the wickets are green, you don't need a lot of pace to be effective. Sam Cook as you say is perfect for this type of weather. His performance against Kent last month was superb. 








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  • scrumhalfscrumhalf Frets: 11262
    Stuckfast said:

    Really impressed with Sam Cook in this Essex / Somerset game. Only bowling high 70s but moving it both ways and not giving the batsmen anything.
    You can't really judge a bowler on his ability to take wickets in the most bowler-friendly of condiions.

    The sad fact is that most county cricket is several orders of magnitude below top-flight test cricket. Rather than go by numbers I think it's necessary to adopt the Trescothick model - does a player look like soneone who will succeed at that level.
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  • Sod the courts, this is the best story of the day. 

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/49811878





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  • Sod the courts, this is the best story of the day. 

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/49811878


    Agree. 

    Kent also sign Qadri.  Have you seen him play?  I can't remember whether I've seen him bowl or not.  
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  • scrumhalfscrumhalf Frets: 11262

    Sod the courts, this is the best story of the day. 

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/49811878


    Stevo - what a player.
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  • Sod the courts, this is the best story of the day. 

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/49811878


    Agree. 

    Kent also sign Qadri.  Have you seen him play?  I can't remember whether I've seen him bowl or not.  

    Only seen streamed footage of him. He bowls at a decent pace and does get some revs on the ball. High arm, bit of the Swann about him. 

    T20 slow stuff was more than well served by Nabi and Qayyum yet the slow bowling in the CC was a mix of Denly, DB-D, Ollie Rayner and Riley and not a great amount either. The slow bowlers before the season finale had bowled 350 overs between them in the CC: Stevo, Milnes, and Podmore have bowled over 1200 overs between them this season. So it's not obvious where Qadri would slot in. 

    The greatest question to ask would be if it's the right geographical area for him. Kent released Adam Riley this year: five years ago he was being tipped for England. A sad little note in the Cricinfo article about Qadri's signing:

    "Riley was briefly considered to be the natural successor to Graeme Swann as England's best offspinner after a brilliant 2014 season, but lost his action after being encouraged to try and bowl quicker by the England set-up. He never really recovered, and was released in June." 





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  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Frets: 13929
    edited September 2019
    Amid the Brexit chaos treat yourself and remember this:

    https://twitter.com/TheBarmyArmy/status/1175067699883520000


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  • Aside from Stokes, let's spare a thought for those who don't get to enjoy the end of season party. The people being dropped from contracts are being announced and it must be pretty bloody hard to get that news through. Aadil Ali of Leicestershire was one of those to be released. The comparison of his Twitter profile from yesterday to today does reiterate that it's not just losing a job. It really is having a dream that has been there since childhood for many taken away from you. 

    https://i.imgur.com/diqFxyV.png





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  • Aside from Stokes, let's spare a thought for those who don't get to enjoy the end of season party. The people being dropped from contracts are being announced and it must be pretty bloody hard to get that news through. Aadil Ali of Leicestershire was one of those to be released. The comparison of his Twitter profile from yesterday to today does reiterate that it's not just losing a job. It really is having a dream that has been there since childhood for many taken away from you. 

    https://i.imgur.com/diqFxyV.png


    you really are a cheery soul aren't you?

    People get dropped, don't get jobs, don't get acting roles, don't get that record deal, get made redundant and don't know how they will pay the mortgage whatever...all the time. I'm not sure what your point is.


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  • you really are a cheery soul aren't you?

    People get dropped, don't get jobs, don't get acting roles, don't get that record deal, get made redundant and don't know how they will pay the mortgage whatever...all the time. I'm not sure what your point is.
    It's called empathy. Sport takes in all emotions: the glory of a Stokes wonder knock, the reality that we lost the Ashes, the joy in the Essex dressing room yesterday. the sadness as a number of cricketers get told that their services are not needed. 



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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14029
    edited September 2019 tFB Trader
    Just got my tickets - Headingley - July 2020 - 20/20 match v Aussies 

    4 lads and a few beers
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  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Frets: 13929
    edited September 2019
    Just got my tickets - Headingley - July 2020 - 20/20 match v Aussies 

    4 lads and a few beers
    Lucky chap, I got a Dear John today in the Edgbaston ballot.


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  • The greatest question to ask would be if it's the right geographical area for him. Kent released Adam Riley this year: five years ago he was being tipped for England. A sad little note in the Cricinfo article about Qadri's signing:

    "Riley was briefly considered to be the natural successor to Graeme Swann as England's best offspinner after a brilliant 2014 season, but lost his action after being encouraged to try and bowl quicker by the England set-up. He never really recovered, and was released in June." 
    I didn't know about Adam Riley. 

    It seems Andy Flower coach of the Lions at the time. I genuinely can't believe he's still so highly rated in English cricket.  
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