+ Visit West Bromwich Albion FC Mad for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: 5th Test

  1. #1

    5th Test

    More muddled thinking from England selectors. Our batting has failed miserably and yet it has taken us until the last test to drop a batsman (Australia have changed 3 of their top 6.) We replace him with an all rounder (nothing against Sam Curran who deserves a chance. Would he have played if Stokes was fit to bowl? Would we have dropped Roy?) For me it was blindingly obvious before the series started we need to find at least one new top order bat and in that we have failed to even try.

    Great support from the fans. Full house at OT on the final day when we hade zero chance of winning and little chance of a draw. Don't think that would happen anywhere else in the world.

    Off to The Oval tomorrow a little bit deflated we won't be playing to win The Ashes. England batting first so lets hope they are still batting when I am there. More in hope than expectation.

    Here we go.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    23,894
    I like Curran a lot.

    His left arm bowling is good enough at this level and his batting last year was a revelation and to my mind it adds to our batting line up.

    My own view is that he could end up well up the order in the years to come.

    At this stage Curran’s role is uncertain due to the top six/seven being so abject at times and unpredictable all of the time.

    I’d still like to see Foakes as keeper and Curran coming in as a very strong number eight.

    Woakes is a non starter for most trips abroad so why play him in this test.

    I think we also miss the days when we had Broad at nine and Swann at ten in the days when Broad looked like a batsman and actually tried.

    The bottom line is that the top order need to get their act together OR they need binning and youngsters need to be tried.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by mickd1961 View Post
    I like Curran a lot.

    His left arm bowling is good enough at this level and his batting last year was a revelation and to my mind it adds to our batting line up.

    My own view is that he could end up well up the order in the years to come.

    At this stage Curran’s role is uncertain due to the top six/seven being so abject at times and unpredictable all of the time.

    I’d still like to see Foakes as keeper and Curran coming in as a very strong number eight.

    Woakes is a non starter for most trips abroad so why play him in this test.

    I think we also miss the days when we had Broad at nine and Swann at ten in the days when Broad looked like a batsman and actually tried.

    The bottom line is that the top order need to get their act together OR they need binning and youngsters need to be tried.
    I'm not convinced that Curran is either one of our best 6 batsman or 3 best seamers but I do love his attitude. We can't just bin the whole top 6 but we should have done much sooner what the Aussies have done; recognise failure and replace one at a time and hope we find the gem we so desperately need.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    23,894
    Curran is a better batsman than Woakes and offers the left arm option missing from our attack.

    For me Woakes has had his day and he’s hopeless abroad.

    I was looking at the scores around the County Championship this week and virtually nobody is making a score!

    Pope got a 60 odd but that was about it I think.

    If the Kookaburra ball is going to be used everywhere in the world then we need to ditch the Duke in my opinion.

    We need hard,bouncy pitches at county level and the change of ball.

    Batsmen can start to get some scores for confidence and bowlers will need to work harder for their wickets preparing themselves for foreign pitches.

    These “trundlers” like Darren Stevens still playing into their 40’s and sending down 70 mph “dobbers” and getting wickets is ridiculous.

    Pitch conditions allied to the Duke ball and the time of the season four day cricket is being played is hindering us.

  5. #5
    Four of us recently had exactly this conversation about Duke v Kookaburras. I get the arguement about the Kookaburra requiring the bowlers to actually bowl rather than 'just putting it up there and letting the ball do the work' which so many County cricketrs have made a living out of.
    But if we stop using Dukes in home series then we remove a huge part of home advantage. Of the last 20 + series in England we've only lost 2 so our home record can't get much better.
    I think we all know that the simple truth is the Aussies bowlers are too good for our current set of batsmen. And vice versa with one very notable exception.

    I do love the sublties of cricket. Pitch, overhead, ball conditions, ball type, weather, fields and a dozen other considerations make it for me a more interesting chat that football. But not as good a watch.
    Last edited by 9goals2hattricks3pen; 12-09-2019 at 11:22 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    1,305
    Is Tim Paine wearing Sam Johnstone's gloves?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    23,894
    Root has scored the most flakey 31 you’ll ever see.

    Shakes his head every time he plays a s h I t shot and then does exactly the same again.

    This is why he’s no Steve Smith......lacks the mental toughness.

    His conversion rate from 50 to 100 is awful.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    2,650
    Apparently Peter Siddle is considering staying in the UK after putting down Roots!

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by TipperaryBaggie View Post
    Apparently Peter Siddle is considering staying in the UK after putting down Roots!
    That's very funny.

    Root just doesn't strike me as a natural leader. Pre captaincy he was the joker in the pack not what you need from your captain. Now he comes across as unsure, a little bit rabbit caught in the headlights.

    Heard an interview with Mark Woods where he was asked about leadership. He immediately waxed lyrical about what a leader Stokes was both on and off the pitch. It was afterthought that he realised he ought to say something positive about Root but it came across as faint praise.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    4,927
    To be frank, it's a farce to say that Australia have retained the Ashes, it should read ' Smith retains the Ashes'. It doesn't matter what the result of this test is, except for Smith, most of their batsmen have hardly scored a run between them. Their bowlers have bowled well but so have ours. The only difference is Smith.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Forum Info

Footymad Forums offer you the chance to interact and discuss all things football with fellow fans from around the world, and share your views on footballing issues from the latest, breaking transfer rumours to the state of the game at international level and everything in between.

Whether your team is battling it out for the Premier League title or struggling for League survival, there's a forum for you!

Gooners, Mackems, Tractor Boys - you're all welcome, please just remember to respect the opinions of others.

Click here for a full list of the hundreds of forums available to you

The forums are free to join, although you must play fair and abide by the rules explained here, otherwise your ability to post may be temporarily or permanently revoked.

So what are you waiting for? Register now and join the debate!

(these forums are not actively moderated, so if you wish to report any comment made by another member please report it.)



Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •