Ashes - 3rd Test

[the other bob wilson]

I find it quite funny that the day England collapses as as badly as they have done today, Lancashire have announced that they will release Haseed Hamed. He looked like an Alistair Cooke or Mike Atherton, someone who could grit it out and stay in to build an innings around but his career has nosedived. It’s a real shame as he’s exactly what England could do with if he’d continued the early promise

Yes, agreed about Hameed. It's three dodgy seasons on the trot for him now, so it'll be interesting to see the sort of sides that will be interested in him - I think Glamorgan should try to sign him.

[MacAdder]

Agreed. Although it would be just like this England batting line up to click and knock off 200 odd!

Yes I know what you mean.

I decided to put the radio commentary on and listen to Boycs.
He is the epitome of pessimistic dour Yorkshireman "never in my day"
"all Australia have to do is bat sensibly and get 300 ahead and it's in the bag" etc.

I must admit I agree with him but we have seen some proper drama this year and some wouldn't put it past England, although as the difference between getting 300 in a one dayer and 300 in a test match is immense.

You'd swear it was a one dayer mind if you'd just got back from the moon and glanced at the score today, 13 wickets in two sessions.

[Des Parrot]

Joe Root does a Steven Gerrard ... no slipping

[MacAdder]

Poor umpiring there. Head LBW appeal given not out but replay shows hitting.
You do make your own luck though and if the slip catch taken by Root, this may well have gine his way too.

Been a nightmare day for Root.g

[Philbccfc]

Travis heads gone.

[MacAdder]

Great spell by Stokes

[Don Corleone]

Best batsman on display plays for Glamorgan, can’t be many times that’s been said in an Ashes game!

[Hilts]

I really am struggling to remember a worse England test match batting line up than this one - the term specialist batsman doesn't seem to apply in this country any more.

The batting line up and Joe Roots captaincy is shambolic.

Brain dead thinking again. Roy again opening but Pope is brought in as cover. No way would Pope have opened so I presume Denly would have opened if Roy wasnt passed fit.

Root saying he wasnt worried about this line up!!!!!

Id axe Buttler Bairstow Denly. Im not convinced by Burns or Roy but I think Roy deserves a chance in the middle.

[the other bob wilson]

The batting line up and Joe Roots captaincy is shambolic.

Brain dead thinking again. Roy again opening but Pope is brought in as cover. No way would Pope have opened so I presume Denly would have opened if Roy wasnt passed fit.

Root saying he wasnt worried about this line up!!!!!

Id axe Buttler Bairstow Denly. Im not convinced by Burns or Roy but I think Roy deserves a chance in the middle.

I don't like Burns' method of batting, but anyone who gets a hundred in this team has got to stay in for a series. I think you have to have proper opening batsmen in test cricket and so would go for Sibley of Warwickshire, but so many have been tried in that position and failed since Strauss retired that I'm not confident of him being a success. I agree Roy should have a chance in the middle order and I'd get Foakes (still can't work out why he was dropped) in for Bairstow - I'd keep Buttler in though and make him captain.

[Hilts]

I don't like Burns' method of batting, but anyone who gets a hundred in this team has got to stay in for a series. I think you have to have proper opening batsmen in test cricket and so would go for Sibley of Warwickshire, but so many have been tried in that position and failed since Strauss retired that I'm not confident of him being a success. I agree Roy should have a chance in the middle order and I'd get Foakes (still can't work out why he was dropped) in for Bairstow - I'd keep Buttler in though and make him captain.

I think Bairstow threw a strop when he lost the gloves.

Bairstow needs to work on his technique as well. Never liked any batsman using that upright stance. Seemed to have caught on in the 80s. Less players using it now but Bairstow who is a good player has been bowled way too often for my liking.

Buttler is a talent and if showing any form would be my choice as captain. But hes not scoring runs.

There needs to be major changes.

[Kind of Blue]

Glammy's Marnus not doing too shabbily for the aussies. Could've done with him in Colwyn Bay earlier in the week.

[the other bob wilson]

I think Bairstow threw a strop when he lost the gloves.

Bairstow needs to work on his technique as well. Never liked any batsman using that upright stance. Seemed to have caught on in the 80s. Less players using it now but Bairstow who is a good player has been bowled way too often for my liking.

Buttler is a talent and if showing any form would be my choice as captain. But hes not scoring runs.

There needs to be major changes.

My way of thinking about batsmanship is way out of date now - when I started following cricket seriously, there was no such thing as one day international cricket and a score of something like 160 was considered to be "par" for a match in the 40 over a side Sunday League. To illustrate what I mean, I can think of two televised Glamorgan games in that competition - in the first, they were chasing something like 165 to beat Derbyshire and went into the last two overs needing eight with plenty of wickets in hand - they lost. With the second, my favourite Glamorgan batsman ever, Majid Khan, hit the fastest fifty ever in the competition at that time as Glamorgan posted something like 240 against Northants and the attitude of the commentators at the end of the innings was that the game was as good as over because it was impossible to chase down a score like that - in the event, Northants batted like they had no chance and were bowled out for around half of that score with the joke bowlers on for Glamorgan.

It's obvious that the T20 game in particular has led to a huge improvement in the standard of attacking batting, but that version of the game has also hit test cricket hard because any player who starts their career with the intention of becoming a specialist test batsman (if there are any) knows that they are significantly cutting their earning potential by not focusing on T20 cricket.

You cannot blame young players today for wanting to whack a drive ball outside their off stump, whereas a batsman, particularly an opening batsman, in the era I first started watching the game, would be just as likely to let it go as try to hit it. Interestingly, in the era of more defensive batsman I'm talking about, I can remember two (Geoff Boycott and Ken Barrington) who were dropped by England after scoring big centuries because the selectors thought they scored their runs too slowly.

What England would give for a Boycott or Barrington now! The stroke players in the team would be able to maintain an acceptable run rate while batting with someone with the defensive technique to stay in for long periods, but there are so few of them out there.

I think Dominic Sibley, potentially, could be one - he batted all day in a four day match earlier this season while scoring only sixty five and his side, Warwickshire, only managed something like 180 in that time, but, from memory, they won the game.

Anyway, assuming Jimmy Anderson is still out, my team for the next test would be;-

Burns
Sibley
Sam Curran (I see he batted three for Surrey this week - I wonder if that was at the request of the selectors?)
Root
Stokes
Roy
Buttler (capt)
Foakes
Archer
Broad
Leach

[Seabird]

Majid Khan.....ah! those were the days. Thanks for jogging the memory, Bob.

[Hilts]

I think Sam Curran has the potential as a batsman definitely.

Its an interesting one and a possibility as well. Its damning on the standard of batsmen that a bowling all rounder gets a batting place.

Sibley is next off the rank and its a disgrace Foakes was dropped.

Pope id say is a certain pick for the next Test.

[Louth]

Watching England collapse makes cricket bearable

[Hilts]

Watching England collapse makes cricket bearable

Hope u enjoyed the World Cup.😂

[Hot Shot Hamish.]

At a much much lower standard I got dragged out of retirement a few weeks ago to help my club 2xi out. I was a decent enough club cricketer but never an outstanding batsman. It was interesting after the game that a few of the opposition said to me while having a beer that they just aren't used to seeing a batsman leave the ball like I was regularly doing. The whole ethos of cricket now is driven by the 20:20 slog fest. Test cricket has had another nail whacked in the coffin, but the ECB will still plough millions advertising this new bag of shite Hundred that will start next year. What a sad state of affairs.

[the other bob wilson]

At a much much lower standard I got dragged out of retirement a few weeks ago to help my club 2xi out. I was a decent enough club cricketer but never an outstanding batsman. It was interesting after the game that a few of the opposition said to me while having a beer that they just aren't used to seeing a batsman leave the ball like I was regularly doing. The whole ethos of cricket now is driven by the 20:20 slog fest. Test cricket has had another nail whacked in the coffin, but the ECB will still plough millions advertising this new bag of shite Hundred that will start next year. What a sad state of affairs.

I agree entirely about the Hundred - I accept charges of being an old fuddy duddy when it comes to my not really interested attitude towards T20, but I'm not sure there is much appetite generally for the Hundred except among the highest ranks of the ECB who think in terms of cash registers rather than cricket.

Agree about Oliie Pope as well. He played one or two awful shots to get out against India last year, but I think he is probably the best of the younger players out there now - Tom Banton of Somerset is very talented as well, but he's another dasher and would probably offer more of the same as the current lot as far as test cricket is concerned.

[Louth]

Which one?

[Hilts]

T20 has obviously brought a different mindset but being bowled out 4 times under 100 I think it is recently including against Ireland FFS is completely unacceptable.

England have a huge run chase today against a side who havent even reached 250!!!!! in either innings.

What must the bowlers be saying to each other about the batsmen.

The challenge is to adapt to the longer game and leave the ball outside off stump particularly against the new bowl.

Thorpe a top test batsman is coach. What is he doing? Do they listen to him?

Time for changes to this line up and enough of this bollox of giving players more than 2 Tests. Listening to the radio yesterday. If a batsman was out to a sh!t shot Brian Close would give them a few minutes then lay into them. About time these players constantly out the same way to bad shots are axed.

[splott parker]

Majid Khan.....ah! those were the days. Thanks for jogging the memory, Bob.

And of course we remember him when he was Majid Jehangir👍

[MacAdder]

Where do they dig these umpires up from? A thicker inside edge you would struggle to see get called LBW.

Are they ex-EPL officials?

[delmbox]

Root gone already, doesn't bode well

[Rjk]

Root gone already, doesn't bode well

Bairstow has picked the pace up, but you get the feeling there could be a wicket at any moment. Very tense.

[CardiffIrish2]

Fair play good session for England 👏👏