My dear old things, it's STW TMS!

Think now they’ll be hoping they get more than 45 – currently the lowest T20 total

Has Root blamed the bowlers yet?

I think we have devoted far too much time to the red ball game, in particular the Ashes and sacrificed the white ball game. Time to reorganise the County championship.

🤔

Let’s hope they fare better tonight

Can I technically claim my 5/0 drubbing from the ashes.
That’s a short boundary in WI is gale playing?

Heh! Not seen it yet, just trying to sort a BT Sport/Virgin Media app problem out

It was looking a reasonable start but is this the start of a collapse?

Windies dropping catches so there’s a higher score for them to chase?

As it stands English sport has more recently won a world Cup ski race than an international cricket match.

That was a good bit of fielding!

And yet misses out on an LBW wicket on his figures. Welcome back, Reece!

Now it’s our turn to drop catches.

Did their best to try and throw it away!

Typical, turned it over to watch MOTD once it was clear we were going to win easily

Our tactic seemed to be “let them hit 6’s & we might catch one on the boundary!” Mahmoud’s death bowling was just everything you don’t want it to be. I’m not actually sure he even had a plan other than just to wang it as fast as possible.

At least Topleys 19th over had pace changes.

Only 225 to win then

Some degree of pongo required.

ridiculous game is T20 – it’ll say 20 runs as the margin but WI were cacking themselves after 2 balls of the last over, just as we nearly blew it the other night.

No-one has a clue what a good score looks like nowadays.

How about give each team two innings, unlimited overs, and give them five days?

Make it a real test?

Woman’s ashes test…..wow, how awesome was that.

Moeen put in a real captain’s performance last night, with bat and ball – was great to see

How about give each team two innings, unlimited overs, and give them five days?

We tried that. We were terrible at it.

Didn’t see the women’s ashes will check some highlights now.

Woman’s ashes test…..wow, how awesome was that.

Yep. Went to bed last night with the Aussies something like 90-2 and assumed the game would fizzle out to a draw. Oh no, it was very much alive for both sides this morning.

And the men’s T20 decider is looking rather tasty too right now.

Fizzling out for England unless they can do something amazing.

Billings (and Jordan) keeping England just about in this

Text book hat trick, all caught at cow corner.

Four in four!

Wow 4 in 4 for Holder wins the game!

So all change in the good ship English cricket. Giles, Silverwood & Thorpe gone and Straus returns.

Question I’ve never quite understood….. why is the role of selector and coach considered too much pressure for one person in cricket? Football, rugby and pretty much every team sport I can think of combine the roles. In fact, having a squad forced upon you as the head coach seems a bit bizarre. Yes, you’ll need to trust your scouts but even so…..

I feel a bit sorry for Silverwood. We just don’t have many good players. If you put En*lands best 11 next to India and Aus, you wouldn’t pick many of ours.

We just don’t have many good players.

Yep, something has really gone awry since those series’ against WI and Pak in 2020. That was a very entertaining summer. A few changes in personnel for sure, but as 2021 went along I couldn’t help but feel shades of the 90s all over again. Part of me thought we could get some momentum by winning that last Test again Ind (which they ‘cancelled’) but they probably would have proved me wrong anyway.

Looking forward to the WI in a few weeks and just take it for what it is.

I feel a bit sorry for Silverwood. We just don’t have many good players.

While that’s true, some of the recent selectorial decisions have been bizarre, and it seems as though new players regress.

Langer has just stepped down. I wonder if he’ll be approached about taking over. Not sure I can see him in an England camp, but his style might shake things up a bit.

Mad that Langer is going after such success. What’s been going on behind the scenes there?

Hearing it in different places that he has been spoken to.
Don’t some of the Aussie players think he is a bit hard work ?

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/morris-the-moment-of-player-payback-that-proved-langers-biggest-flaw/news-story/9a3cfdb71de6dc9a1dd9baec8b1ba64b?fbclid=IwAR0hdF7F8Q6YvAVZfXXjdFh9fnfvCr7o_xu1IbA9clx7qrgGixKuQ1iZ50E

That article about Langer sounds like the polar opposite of what has gone before… It seemed to me that the Silverwood era was a bit too friendly and safe – in fairness possibly partly due to COVID… not sure an entire u-turn in approach is necessary, but something a little more inventive than picking a team based on what happened last time out would be welcome

Not sure I can see him in an England camp, but his style might shake things up a bit.

Strauss will know what he’s like.

Paul Collingwood named as interim head coach. least the fielding should be up to snuff.

Paul Collingwood named as interim head coach. least the fielding should be up to snuff.

A brilliant fielder doesn’t automatically become a brilliant fielding coach. Also, one has to wonder about the athletic qualities of various players in the field in recent times. Hopefully you’re right, so let’s see.

Apparently Gillespie is on the shortlist for the F/T role.

Gillespie is a good option for head coach, he did a good job in the county game and is very well regarded as a coach. I’m surprised Aus aren’t looking at him in truth.

Oh wadda picture, wadda wadda picture,
wadda wadda picture, wadda photograph!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/mar/07/joe-root-insists-england-have-point-to-prove-in-west-indies-with-captaincy-on-line

Joe root looking like he’s crashing a bicycle, Cav style.

England (men) win toss and bat first.

Looks like this is on BT sport and talk sport 😒