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trying their best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at the moment
With India's 9 and 10 scoring runs for fun, methinks this game is just edging beyond our grasp. Bowl them out in 20 mins and it might be game on, but have them stick around until after lunch and there'll be next to no chance, even with the likes of Bairstow, Buttler and Ali.
Ohhhhhhhh FFS
errr crap.
Root’s 180 seems a long time ago!
All over by tea at this rate.
Just popped in to see how we're doing:
Byes are doing well!
Wow. With the score on 66-3, you might be wondering who our second top scorer is... well, it's Extras on 23! That's insane.
oh dear oh dear oh dear 🙁
From being in the driving seat at 11:30 this morning to facing another defeat, this England side really has a to take a look at itself. Feels like we're back to that age old conundrum of working out who should open.
It's all getting a bit nasty
Without extras England would be 68-7.
I said yesterday. Kohli is a nasty piece of work. He sets the tone, same as the snarling Aussie sides of the past, his team follows.
I'd quite fancy Ollie Robinson to shove that bat up Siraj at some point. Possibly sideways.
Tell me the Hundred is better than this?
Where is Monty when you need a last man stand with Jimmy?
it has the advantage of being free to view on the telly as opposed to only for those with sky
And there's another dismal defeat for England. Well played India.
Difficult to see where England go from here.
Four ducks (and a nought not out) for England. Root top scoring on 33, why can't England bat?
Spanked by NZ, spanked by India, about to be spanked by Aus. I suppose it's one way of re-living my childhood.
So, how do you fix it? Who comes in? What needs to change?
Can’t see much changing in the short term. Our domestic game doesn’t produce good test players and you can’t fix that overnight. Best we can hope for is that everyone else has the same issue so they become as crap as us and tests are at least competitive.
I’m not one for swapping and changing players. As I say, it’s not as thought there are lots of good test players waiting. But it’s hard to see how Sibly stays in the side now. He gets a lot of stick for his slow scoring and the one defence was that one day we might need someone who can just stick at the crease and help us grind out a draw. But when we did he went for a duck!
Hameed to open and Malan in at 3 is the obvious move, but it’s just a sticking plaster and will probably be the final nail in the coffin of Hameed’s test career.
Hameed, Jennings, Compton, Burns, Sibley, Ballance, Stoneman, Hales, Vince, Denly.....
Lathwell, Gallian, Crawley (J), Maynard, Morris, Bailey, Knight, Butcher.....
Ah, the memories....
My feeling its nothing to do with skills but its about the mental preparation / attitudes. England clearly had enough batsmen with enough skills to bat out if not win - but something between the ears is wrong.
Hameed to open and Malan in at 3 is the obvious move, but it’s just a sticking plaster
Yep, that’s my thoughts, or Pope at 3. I think Hameed was OK in his second innings, he’ll be better opening.
I’m not one for swapping and changing players.
Neither am I, but there are several players in the team with 20+ test matches and very little to show for it. Root is a terrible captain (what was he thinking yesterday morning!) and the best bowler is now 39 years old.
I find it interesting that Vaughan and Trescothick were selected despite modest first class averages - makes me wonder about the quality of England's current scouting system.
Vaughan and Tres were selected on the basis of being made 'of the right stuff' - good enough technically (you could argue Tres wasn't really, limited shot repertoire etc.) but going to be able to stand up to the Aussies mentally.
This was a part of Fletcher's selection process - who do you think can stand up to the pressure, which is where I think we struggle currently.
Vaughan and Tres were selected on the basis of being made ‘of the right stuff’
Vaughan was a very assertive leader and captain, and that enabled him to apply pressure on opponents. He didn't get it right every time of course, but he was certainly far more aggressive and 'in yer face' than Root. I can't help but feel Root is just like Cook in terms of his temperament and outlook - obviously both great batsmen, but IMO both way too reserved.
Whoever captains england needs to be a captain first and not the best batsman, a mistake repeatedly made. If England want to be good at test cricket, the selected players need to play for their counties and fewer matches with higher quality county matches. England will struggle when Anderson goes but they do have other good bowlers, they just need a captain to get them working as a unit and setting fields that work for them (see point 1).
[edit] I like Root but if he goes through a period of not posting big scores then the captaincy will make it harder for him to focus on getting his game back together again, and then the press will start making sly digs and critiscising, now is the time to pick a captain to focus on that
My feeling its nothing to do with skills but its about the mental preparation / attitudes. England clearly had enough batsmen with enough skills to bat out if not win – but something between the ears is wrong.
It is both. Burns and Sibley both have glaring technique issues. They don't lack application, though. Buttler and Bairstow both like to push out at the ball - Bairstow especially. How many nicks from Bairstow fall short of the cordon? Bairstow can't help himself. Buttler is a bit better, a bit more adaptable and a better 'fielder with pads on' (he is no keeper, mind).
The Trescothick thing is interesting. He was comprehensively worked out by McGrath and Gillespie in 2001. He sorted it in 2005, not by a change in technique, but by upping his aggressive scoring and transferring pressure back onto the bowlers. Even aussie captains will take a bowler off early if he is going at 4-5 an over as opposed to 3.
Vaughan was a very technically accomplished player - pretty much 360 in an orthodox sense. He was hobbled by his knee towards the end. As an aside, I now despise him because he has become the Beefy Botham 'I want five slips, three short legs but you have to apply scoreboard pressure too' gobshite.
It's not just the batting either. When Anderson and Broad go we are looking like being left with express bowlers with glass backs, hamstrings and elbows (Archer, Stone, Wood) and a series of the usual trundlers who flatter to deceive in English conditions but will go the journey in Aus/Sa (Robinson, Overton, Curran).
as Robinson hasn't played overseas for full test team you don't really know what will happen to him
Just woke up after a nap ( 🙂 ) and India all out for 78!! 😲
And the England openers are still in. Crikey.
don't believe it, I'm in an alternate fantasy reality 😉
This is strange.
This is strange.
Match-fixing? 😛
WTAF been working all day (not at desk) and come back and India 78 all out and our openers are still in.
What is happening in test cricket? This is more batting fragility than suddenly bonkers-brilliant new style of bowling. Why is becoming widespread?
Same - forgot this was on. Weird!!
in the lead !!!! no wickets down.... I need to lie down.
Absolutely bizarrely brilliant day for England. As DK said on Sky Joe Root couldn't possibly have even hoped for such a good day.
Just watched the highlights. Not a bad day...
This is weird.
Both openers appear to have got us off to a solid start and have played well. Both were dismissed by good balls and not by playing silly shots.
Now 3 and 4 are in, looking reasonably comfortable and scoring well.
Below them, we have a hugely experienced 5 who can strike a ball but plays proper crickets shots and a 6 and 7 who can also score runs quickly.
I’m not sure how I feel about this.