My dear old things, it's STW TMS!

So, ashes squad leaked

Root, Cook, Stoneman, Malan, Ballance, Vince, Moeen, Crane, Foakes, Bairstow, Stokes, Woakes, Broad, Anderson, Ball, Overton.

It is, in all honesty, weak. I just hope the Aussies is weaker and the debutants do well.

Overton? That might boost performance today and tomorrow at Taunton (weather-permitting)!

Stokes remains as vice captain.

I’m not massively confident in that team, to be honest.

Root, Cook, Moeen, Bairstow, Stokes, Anderson & Broad are all top quality players. I just don’t see us winning the ashes with a seven man squad.

Aus are in a similar position though in terms of team selection. Here’s hoping!

I’m not sure who else they could have picked though – apart from Hales (who I’d have picked) the selection looks about the best from the possible options they had. Assuming they weren’t going to select a complete outsider which they said they weren’t – but then there isn’t really anybody obvious knocking on the door for the positions they need anyway.

Woakes/Ball/Overton for the 4th seamer doesn’t seem all that weak a link – Woakes has been very good, though his lack of express pace may limit his effectiveness in Australia. I presume Ball is the quickest of those 3? Plunkett unlucky to miss out given his pace – what has he done wrong? Though it seems likely Wood will get a trip with the Lions* so will be available for selection depending on fitness despite not being in the squad – I think he’s about the quickest option we have when he’s not broken. We’re probably OK for bowling as long as nobody breaks down, and at least our bowlers give us a longish tail (arguably there are 5 world class batters in that list of 7).

* it looks like the Lions squad will be stocked with a whole load of backup players who could be selected if they’re showing form.

I’m not sure who else they could have picked though – apart from Hales (who I’d have picked) the selection looks about the best from the possible options they had. Assuming they weren’t going to select a complete outsider which they said they weren’t – but then there isn’t really anybody obvious knocking on the door for the positions they need anyway.

I agree there’s nobody breaking down the door. On the other hand, Moeen is the only player to have come into the side in the last few years and hold a place down, probably only because he’s so flexible in terms of where he can go in the batting order. There’s something very wrong with the system…

Personally, I’d take a punt on Buttler (playing Bairstow as a batsman), Leach, Finn and Wood.

Buttler has been tried and failed, and has played very little red ball cricket recently (and hasn’t set the world alight when he has). Maybe worth a place in the squad, but I certainly wouldn’t put him in the team. I’d actually be quite tempted to put Foakes in the team – far better FC average than Buttler, in fact a better FC average than any of the recent new batting selections, he’s almost worth a punt as a specialist bat!

Leach and Finn must have got a lot of discussion in the selection meeting – I’m sure they’ll make the Lions trip, so be available for selection to the team. Wood is still recovering from injury I think, but will probably also make the Lions trip – he’d be in the squad if not the team for me when he’s fit.

Anyway, on to today’s ODI for a bit. Weather looks good but an outside chance of rain towards the end.
Bat first?

Buttler has been tried and failed, and has played very little red ball cricket recently (and hasn’t set the world alight when he has). Maybe worth a place in the squad, but I certainly wouldn’t put him in the team.

If Buttler has been tried and failed, he is in very good company! Given his talent, I’d much rather give him another go than Ballance, who appears to have learnt absolutely nothing about the flaws in his technique. Ditto Vince: his unerring ability to edge to slip has me throwing things at the telly. I don’t know much about Foakes, but presumably he’d only play if Bairstow was injured. Speaking of keepers, Davies has had a brilliant season for Lancs, scoring over 1,000 CC runs.

My concern about the bowling with this squad is that it’s far too samey, and easily neutered.

Top tossing, Eoin.

12:06
England captain Eoin Morgan: “The wicket looks good. There might be a little bit more in it than earlier in the summer so we’re going to have a bowl.”

*Soul limbo*

Gayle gone!

Gayle back in the hutch with a SR of 50 quite possibly justifies bowling first already!

Tidy start here.

I mean game on

One more cheap wicket and yes, I think it is.

*Commentator’s curse invoked*

*Edit – sure you’d said game over! 😀

Good to see that Woakes looks back to form

Stealth edit there!

haha I remember saying on this very forum that a game of cricket is never over, that’s why its so good. but…

Good to see that Woakes looks back to form

Indeed. I wonder if he’s one of those players who needs plenty of overs? He certainly looked undercooked when he was recalled to the test side.

Finally! That 4th wicket partnership was going too well.

Big chase

How over is the game do you think?

Haha precisely

Hopefully a good- un!!

Moeen v Messrs Duckworth and Lewis.

🙂

Good old DL 🙂

He’d clearly been told that rain was coming. And to crack on to the DL par and beyond. Which he did, in style!

Ruh Oh, Shaggy…

The Butler/Mo partnership was a biggy- 5 down and 40 behind on D/L was a big ask. It was also naive from Holder bringing on the spinner. IND/Aus/SA/NZ would have known the rain was imminent and bowled out their best bowlers imho.

It seems pretty unequivocal that Stokes has chinned someone. Best scenario now is that it is demonstrated that the bloke laying spark out threatened to use the bottle on Stokes and he was acting in self defense. Doesn’t look good, though.

I expect he will have been provoked because not even a firebrand like Stokes is going to risk everything by twotting an innocent bystander, but this is just conjecture.

What a shame.

Yeah, that’s not a good look for Stokes. Better be some seriously good witness statements given his previous, or his broken hand will be the least of his ashes worries.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/ben-stokes-threw-15-punches-in-one-minute-as-details-of-brawl-emerge-20170928-gyqaau.html

What is he doing being out that late in he middle of a series?

Why be out that late on a Sunday in Bristol, in Mbargo of all places? Asking for trouble.

How pissed must he have been? Ok he got some decent punches in but those aren’t the actions of a sober, rational professional sportsman.

Why didn’t Hales intervene properly?

Why didn’t stokes take one of the many opportunities he had to walk away?

Shameful.

Agreed

What is his previous? Is he a convicted brawler or just the incident where he broke his hand punching a locker?

I’ve never been a fighter so have no idea how the police will treat him considering the other bloke was armed.

I listened to the whole game up to the point of England’s dismal collapse where I finally gave up at 5 down and about 30 runs behind DL….

Oh well – England are pretty resilient these days!

I’d be interested to see the bit before that video started, to see what the guy with the bottle was doing and provocation Stokes had. But that’s pretty damming and It’s be hard to argue with any police action or ban he might get.

Bugger. One of England’s most important players…..

Whilst the cocktail of youth and cash inevitably results in some casualties, I’ve never understood why such well paid sportsmen (celebs etc) don’t have a minder on hand 24/7 to minimise the prospects of such events if they insist on trying to have a night life. I’m surprised their employers don’t make it a ‘benefit’ of their employment or similar contractual arrangement (I do appreciate it’s a numbers game).
Fwiw I’m a Judge Dredd fan so no sympathy for drunken aggressors becoming victims.