Quote Originally Posted by Notts78 View Post
I genuinely think we have no spin resources that are good enough for test cricket.

As for Jimmy - here are his written thoughts

Legendary England fast bowler James Anderson launched a scathing attack on the Edgbaston pitch after Australia registered a thrilling two-wicket victory over the hosts in the first Ashes Test. Slamming the pitch for being unresponsive for pacers, Anderson even went to the extent of saying that his Ashes career might be over if similar tracks are dished out in the remaining four Tests. "If all the pitches are like that I'm done in the Ashes series," he wrote in his Daily Telegraph column. "That pitch was like kryptonite for me. There was not much swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace,” he wrote.

If it’s not doing anything at all it might as well be me or you bowling. When players like Anderson get ‘injured’ are they actually injured? Or Is it the ECB saying, he has a niggle we want him rested? Didn’t Ollie Robinson have fitness concerns, hence rested against Ireland?
The biggest issue England have is the fitness of Stokes. If he can’t bowl a decent quota of overs then we simply need that extra bowler. Wood would be good for 12-16 overs in an innings. Given the Ozzies batted well past 100 overs a proper 5th bowler is needed.

As I said, no point making decisions now when no one knows what next weeks pitch will look like…. I think we can all guess it will be placid again.
We’ll never know if we genuinely have no spin options if we keep bringing them out of retirement.

And Jimmy’s injury was real, don’t quite understand how you might think otherwise?!? He couldn’t play before the first test?! He wasn’t rested. In his own words :

"It [groin injury] is good. It is not too serious. I have been back bowling and running and confident I will be fit and firing soon," Anderson told the Telegraph.”

But if you feel they all made it up…..

You’ve never seen me bowl so how do you know I wouldn’t take wickets on that pitch

Joking aside, I agree entirely on Jimmys view of the pitch. You would have thought England might have known that when they picked the side though…..but still picked him. So much for home advantage.

Now, please answer the question on Ali, and tell me who you would have played or would play in the next test, there’s a good fellow.