Broad has been absolutely world class in this innings (and for the last few series actually). The Woakesinator also great.
Broad has been absolutely world class in this innings (and for the last few series actually). The Woakesinator also great.
Broad taking loads of wickets and bowling properly is all well and good but who's ENFORCING while he's doing that, eh?
The former bowlers on last night's Verdict suggesting that being a short batsman isn't the worst thing that could possibly happen.
Haven't they read the script?
Bob saying on the Verdict that you can't expect much more than ropey footwork and drops from Bairstow because he's not a wicketkeeper.
Bob has a point. There are probably better keepers who don't even play county cricket. All about batting these days though apparently.
If he's batting down at 7 rather than 5 we might as well pick Buttler who is the bigger talent with bat and gloves
Given we bat pretty deep you'd think we could afford to look at whoever's the best wicketkeeper (did Buttler's keeping deteriorate when his batting did?) but of course the ECB has a very specific idea what exact mould every player has to fit.
Buttler was dropped because of his batting form (despite keeping pretty well) so you can only presume they see keeping to be a completely irrelevant skill. It isn't though, especially in a Test match where taking 20 wickets is the way to win.
On that subject just seen this from George Dobell:
Bejesus, that is incredible.This keeping error was not a one-off. England's policy of selecting keepers primarily on the basis of their batting ability has led to a ridiculous situation where the team has not taken a wicket through a stumping in Test cricket since 2012.
Although I think Buttler is decent with the gloves. I can remember him fluffing a couple of stumpings. Bairsy has no chance though
Don't play a keeper.
Who's the best pure wicketkeeper in England, then?
Didn't Northants try that for a bit in a T20 last year?Originally Posted by Davgooner
Best gloveman is James Foster or Chris Read. Both are old, so if you want one in their 20s you're looking at possibly Adam Wheater but he struggles getting county games in div 1 because they all pack their batting. Ben Brown also quite good and may have done some limited Lions stuff. There is the curious case of a guy called Michael Bates who is supposedly the best gloveman anywhere but he doesn't even have a county contract because of his batting stats.
Surrey always play about 4 keepers but all of them are shite.
Wow, what an utter shit day for us. Our cricket is broken. Captaincy has seemingly broken Amla, he's been really ordinary lately, in every aspect. Faf and Duminy has been shit for too long now. Also, I can't understand our apparent need to shove a middle order batsman to open an innings (van Zyl). We have a very good opener scoring consistently in first class cricket in Stephen Cook.
Our line-up should be:
Elgar (Ugly but effective, looks like he can grind it out.)
Cook (Has been scoring consistently for years in first class cricket.)
Amla (Shouldn't be captain, but he'll be fine.)
AB (As good as it gets, what a champ.)
5 and 6 should be a straight shootout between van Zyl, Bavuma, Faf and Duminy, whoever's in the best form, gets to play.
de Kock (Young and talented, just needs to sort out some small issues.)
Rabada (Future star.)
Abbot/Philander (Depending on injury, form and suitability to certain conditions.)
Steyn (Duh.)
Morkel (Same as Steyn.)
Does Quinny qualify for the quota? Saw he got a hundred from six today.
I'd have thought Rilee Roussouw for the somewhat hapless van Zyl will happen soon.
You need to find a black wicketkeeper from somewhere and let AB off the leash.
Sri Lanka getting ripped apart by McClenaghan. Oh dear. We've just brought on our specialist spinner Sodhi for a few overs in case he doesn't do anything at all this game.
This might be the last time the West Indies get a 3 match series in Australia for a long time. They're a complete shambles.
Every time I've looked at the Australia score this winter against either them or NZ they have been 500 for 4. We'll see if that continues in NZ (it won't).
So is it Broeen? Or Mooad?
Either way,
Excellent cricket from England this morning. Another South African fourth innings blockathon on the cards?
Moeen Ali baby
Moeen Ali, wooooooah
So good. 300+ lead and watch them suffer.
Stat on the live text saying SA haven't topped 250 in 7 tests. Surely I've misread that/ it's not right?
Brilliant stuff anyway and pleased to see Finn pick up a couple at the end. Proper innings from Elgar too.
I don't watch enough cricket to know how rare it is (i imagine it must be bloody rare ) but that's the first time I've seen an opener carry their bat. Properly good innings from Elgar.
They said on the live text it was the first time a South African had done it since 1991 I think.
Rahul Dravid memorably did it for India against us in 2011 and then kept the pads on to follow on.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-...ch/474475.html
Looking back at that series, in the third Test we racked up 710 for 7 in the first innings. What the fuck were we playing at?
lol Steyn going off injured. 4-0 England.
Completely forgot they recalled RP Singh solely becuase he bowled quite well in England four years previously. What a disgrace they were that series.
Steyn injured now. Hello.
Elgar shelled a sitter off Compton at slip, and then AB da Vinci put down a top edge from Root. Proper Test match, this.
Chief Justice Sir Bob Willis having a rare slip and saying Steyn's injury will be devastating to Pakistan.
All I want(ed) for Christmas is a Moeen Ali cover drive
Were Steyn not broken he'd have taken the new ball immediately, right?
He is broken. Don't tell me he's on the field injured again?
Bairstow sticking his hand up for a lengthy run in the side here. If this lineup works it is sexual tbf.
Woakes is definitely the new Bresnan. Useful down the order and apparently "bowls a heavy ball" and "hits the bat harder than you think" but really it's a bit average I want someone better and more interesting
He was unlucky in the first innings I thought, Bairstow shelling Amla off his bowling. He has become a little bit Bressier in recent times, when I first saw him he didn't have the same guns or the extra 5mph but he nipped it past county players for fun.
I'd quite happily have him in a 4 man attack but it gets dicey when Jimmy comes back, as it'll be him or Finn and Finn is definitely the more threatening.
Maybe not a great pitch for him either. He'll be out for Jimmy next test like you say and Wood is ahead of him in the pecking order.
Decent start here. Get Mo on
Sorry Bairstow just nowhere near good enough with the gloves. Shame after a nice innings but that is poor
Binning Amla and AB in the same game is all a bit Kamran Akmal.
'Faf' is fucking atrocious.
Still have a little feeling De Villiers might do something ludicrous tomorrow. But I suppose even if he did we could blow them away at the other end and win the match fairly tidily.
If they get 280 on a fifth day track with AB and Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy and four number 11s, then fair play.
Sorry, the "he" there was Amla.
Bob saying on the Verdict that he thinks there's a case for Finn getting the new ball even if Broad and/or Anderson are fit and in the team alongside him. Thoughts?
Also, Finn's got the sixth best strike rate ever, apparently. Crikey.
EDIT: Just seen that Bairstow one. Surely he's got enough time there that he should be getting that? I know it's gone through de Villiers but surely a proper wicketkeeper gets that?
Not a sitter but you'd want a Test level keeper to convert that.
I wouldn't give Finn the new ball ahead of Broad or Anderson. You could chuck him the second new ball for a change up against the middle and lower order who can't deal with his bounce. A decent opener (not Stiaan van Zyl) will just leave him alone with the first new ball and then have the technique to pounce on his loose ball.
Apparently we havent taken a stumping in test cricket since 2012. We dont pick Test keepers unfortunately.
Agree with you on Finn. Just too loose to open.
Prior giving it a lot of shit about Bairstow "working on his keeping" too. He shouldn't fucking have to.
Can't a wicketkeeper be good at that and work on his batting?
He's just describing his own career there.
1, 2, 3... MOEEN ALI BABY
Needs a full set of lyrics. You were working as a batsman at Worcester-shar, when I found you.
That's a proper pasting. Torn between gutted to have missed it and delighted to have woken up to it having been all done and dusted in orderly fashion.
Giving them a good twatting and killing Steyn in the process is decent work. Anderson back in for Woakes and we should have enough to do this lot, especially if Moeen can keep taking wickets.
Well that was a turn up for the books. I'd barely even gotten to work today and we had already won. Saturday I'm doing fuck all so could be a good chance to get a solid 4-5 hours of watching in.
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