He is on the wane no doubt, but I don't think it's worth bringing Hales in for this one match. Wouldn't be surprised if he retired from tests soon though. I hope they bring in Ballance for the SA series, only 26, averages 57 in first class cricket 47+ in tests, can handle going in at 3, used to the conditions and found some form after being dropped.
Pakistan England
- Thread starter tony
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
You'd be ringing in the changes regarding Bell then?
I know, I can't help myself. I'll leave.
Absolutely agreed!. Was a great effort by Rashid and Wood. Showed the rest of the English team that it was very much possible to stick around for along periods of time on this wicket.
Strangely for a team batting this deep there were only 4 front line batsman in the team and the rest were bowling all rounders + the wicket keeper. I would assume another specialist batsman needs to come in for the 3rd test.
For Pakistan Azhar Ali coming back will improve our batting and our close in catching which needs drastic improvement.
Can't remember the last time I saw the ball spin that much on the first day of a test! Shame Rashid and especially Moeen cannot bowl a consistent length, Pakistan were there for the taking and they kept releasing the pressure with long hops and full tosses. Brilliant from Anderson and Broad though, skillful disciplined bowling of the highest order!
Maybe it's because he plays for my nearest County side that I have sympathy for Moeen at least. The guy has worked hard on his bowling but he isn't a true all-rounder - what he is is a batsman who bowl fairly well. It's an indictment of England's spin resources that he's had to do so much bowling during his Test career so far.
Yup a square peg in a round hole. I have no doubt he CAN do the spinners job for England but he really needs to groove his length ( his line is pretty good ) If he had played for a county with a more conducive square for spinners, Northants or Old Trafford come to mind, he may have had many many more overs under his belt.
Perhaps he needs to sacrafice a few revs off his early overs to improve his accuracy because he is pretty economical in one day cricket. A bit unfair to reinvent him as an opener because he has been really effective down the order.
Yep - That was the finest ODI innings from an England player I've seen since Freddie smashed it in a Natwest final 15 years ago. He's a special player no doubt!
I was just reading an article about Buttler in today's "Grauniad" and it was clear from the quotes in that article how relieved he is to have come through his recent dodgy spell. This display now double-underlines the fact. It's all good.
Yes - Taylor looks very solid. We'll need that as I am unsure of our overall strength for the SA series.
Cook
Hales
Compton
Root
Taylor
Stokes
Buttler
Moeen
Broad
Footitt
Anderson
Not really confident in Jordan, Samit, Woakes as test players. Not confident in Hales either ... and Footitt is obviously not proven. Is Ballance ready to come back in? If so, he may be an option for Hales or Compton. I think Taylor has the #5 slot, so no Bairstow unless Buttler remains out the test team.
Cook
Hales
Compton
Root
Taylor
Stokes
Buttler
Moeen
Broad
Footitt
Anderson
Not really confident in Jordan, Samit, Woakes as test players. Not confident in Hales either ... and Footitt is obviously not proven. Is Ballance ready to come back in? If so, he may be an option for Hales or Compton. I think Taylor has the #5 slot, so no Bairstow unless Buttler remains out the test team.
Agree with the above. Only 3 points of discussions
- #3 in the batting order which i suppose is between Ballance and Compton. Not seen either enough to comment. Surprised to an extent that Bell was dropped as you don't have a ready made #3 to replace him, but than again with his form over the last 12 months, you could not argue against him being dropped
- 4th Seamer. Mark Wood will be a big loss as i think he has been the find of the year for England along with Taylor with his performances in the Ashes and the tests in UAE. Highly impressive under tough conditions in UAE and given it was his first overseas tour.
- Surprisingly Sumit Patel was preferred over Adil Rashid as second spinner which was odd one for me.
Steyne is currently injured with a groin strain, difficult to shake off as a bowler and could be a big miss for them, although the emerging Rabada looks pretty tasty. I'm cautiously optimistic we could do well in SA. Personally though, amazing though Buttler's innings was he is very underwhelming as a keeper, and I for one have no confidence that he would bring that one day form into Test matches
Similar threads
-
- Locked
