After the unbelievably tense finish of the last match it isn’t exactly a great advert for Test cricket is it?

15 wickets in 4 days – suggests the pitch isn’t really up to the job (though England seem to be short at least one decent bowler – somebody remind me why Flintoff was replaced with a batsman when despite him getting a pair last time we still declared twice, yet couldn’t get 20 wickets in 2.5 days).

somebody remind me why Flintoff was replaced with a batsman

Does the fact he has flown home with a hip flexor injury ruling him out of the 4th and 5th tests ring any bells?

I think the emphasis was on why he was replaced with a Batsman, and not a bowler, rather than why he wasn’t picked.

I tend to agree, he should have been replaced with a bowler, given that this is/was where Freddie’s major contribution was coming from. The 4 main bowlers we have used don’t seem to be enough.

Christ, just checked the score on BBC Sport website (sadly not got Sky TV). I would have put a fair bit of money on England having a significant first innings lead (I mean, 400 required to avoid follow on is a big feat even!), but 749-9 is silly!

1350 runs and only 15 wickets in 4 days of play. I’d fancy my chances of making a few runs on that pitch even against “world class” bowlers. You’ve got to feel for the likes of Chris Gayle though, getting out so cheaply when some of his team mates cashed in so richly.

somebody remind me why Flintoff was replaced with a batsman

Lack of confidence in the Batsman to post a decent total. You’ve got to say that if you were in the same situation, you might err on the side of caution too. OK, Strauss and the boys with the bat did a good job, but you’d never put money on ANY of them doing well even on a decent pitch, whereas our bowlers are usually more consistent.

Got to be said though, sounds like a joke of a pitch quite frankly.

You’ve got to feel for the likes of Chris Gayle though, getting out so cheaply when some of his team mates cashed in so richly.

I feel more for the ones given out even though they weren’t (Gayle’s dismissal was at least legit).

Lack of confidence in the Batsman to post a decent total.

Which is kind of bizarre given how they did last time out. Surely they were in the situation of needing to win to win the series? Though in all fairness, I suspect having Harmy as well might not have helped.

Should have been playing Panasar.

Unfortunately England haven’t had a decent bowling attack since the 2005 ashes. injuries, selection politics/policies. how many times have they taken 20 wkts in a match since that series. hopefully a new coach will sort it out (fresh blood)
ok! I grant you we did beat NZ twice but NZ are going through a rebuilding phase after the loss of nearly all of their best/experienced players in a really short space of time. (NZ and WI are the two lowest ranked test nation, i’m not counting Banglasdesh, and we’ve lost to both

Should have been playing Panasar.

On that flat pitch? I assume you want the Windies to win then…

Aye, Panesar should have been in the team, for all 3 tests so far. Crazy going onto those pitches with only one spinner – even worse to have Sidebottom playing and Panesar not.

Hmmm

Nearly 1700 runs and only 17 wickets inside 5 days play! YAWN! 🙄

Sack the groundsman methinks!