Cricket

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

This stat from today’s paper tells you all you need to know -  “74, the total number of male test batters over the last 10 years with a batting average above 40. Only two played for England - Joe Root and Alistair Cook. “

[chaddyrovers]

I haven't watched any of the Ashes on live TV cos I refused to pay BT Sport prices. But I watched clips online and read the reports plus what Sky Sports cricket experts are saying. I will say that we can continue to blame Root and Sliverwood for this series performances but for the last 5/6 years the real problem is County Championship season. It is played on poor pitches, wrong time of year played and far too emphasise on one day and twenty20 cricket plus this hundred game. Until the ECB and director of cricket Ashley Giles change this we will not bring through enough quality players including top order batsmen. 

On Root being captain, I don't see natural replacement and it has to be someone who place is very guarantee to play like Stokes or Anderson. 

2 hours ago, Gav said:

Butler aside, he needs dropping and replacing with a proper wicket keeper,

Would you play him just for his batting? 

How about Ben Foakes as the test wicketkeeper? 

here is a few genuine questions

1. Would people agree that ECB and Giles need to put Test Matches as the priority now? should Giles be sack if he won't? 

2. would people replace Root and if so who with? 

3. Would people replace Sliverwood and if so who with?

4. Would you bring back the Chief selector role and should we return having chief selector with 2 assistants?

[den]

Cricket is doing what football has been doing since the emergence of Sky, it’s following the money. There’s far more money in the one day games and that’s the big draw. 
 

Who is going to be brave enough and take the game against that? I fear, nobody. The counties and test cricket will not vote to deny themselves those one day receipts.

[den]

On top of that, here’s an excellent, thought provoking article that puts the blame primarily on coaches.

https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/120396/englands-test-batting-at-rock-bottom-with-deep-rooted-issues

Edited December 27, 2021 by den

[Ianrally]

50 minutes ago, den said:

Cricket is doing what football has been doing since the emergence of Sky, it’s following the money. There’s far more money in the one day games and that’s the big draw. 
 

Who is going to be brave enough and take the game against that? I fear, nobody. The counties and test cricket will not vote to deny themselves those one day receipts.

I totally agree with all of that Den. I am one who always relish Test cricket above all other forms, and the various limited over formats have undoubtedly affected England test cricket.

Consider this though, Australia have the Big Bash and India the IPL. I don’t see a detrimental effect on either of those countries test performances. 

[den]

5 minutes ago, Ianrally said:

I totally agree with all of that Den. I am one who always relish Test cricket above all other forms, and the various limited over formats have undoubtedly affected England test cricket.

Consider this though, Australia have the Big Bash and India the IPL. I don’t see a detrimental effect on either of those countries test performances. 

Then maybe the coaching is also big problem and has been for a long time - as in that link I posted?

Edited December 27, 2021 by den

[Ianrally]

Exactly. That’s where the fault lies in my opinion. 

[jim mk2]

"I think we've got too many batsmen in county cricket that have got techniques that are flawed," says Paul Farbrace, Director of Cricket at Warwickshire and former England assistant coach

Yet Farbrace presumably coaches Sibley, who has one of the most flawed techniques I've seen in Test cricket

Any decent club bowler would get Sibley, Burns or Crawley out. They have flaws so obvious it's hard to see how they've made it in the professional game. They certainly would not have done so in the 1960s and 1970s.  

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, jim mk2 said:

Yet Farbrace presumably coaches Sibley, who has one of the most flawed techniques I've seen in Test cricket

How can change that technique when he has scored loads of runs at County Cricket which has scored plenty of runs at that level? Same with Crawley and Burns. 

[Mattyblue]

They are picking Crawley on ‘potential’, not runs in the CC - he’s got a first class average of 30!

[den]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

How can change that technique when he has scored loads of runs at County Cricket which has scored plenty of runs at that level? Same with Crawley and Burns. 

Because if there’s a flaw in your technique, there’s a flaw. You won’t get away with it at the top level. The opposition will expose it.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, den said:

Because if there’s a flaw in your technique, there’s a flaw. You won’t get away with it at the top level. The opposition will expose it.

But he has had the technique for years and he had success at County level. That's the problem and the quality of the standard. You can't blame Farbrace for his technique 

I remember listening to interview with Duncan Fletcher and how he selected Trescothick and Vaughan based on their technique and how they would succeed at Test Cricket where someone like Adams didn't have the technique for the test game. 

In the England Coaching set up you have Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothink, Paul Collingwood. So you have players who have had success in the top level of the cricket game. 

 

[Rogerb]

Feeble England 68 all out. Boland 6 for 7 on debut

[AllRoverAsia]

That is beyond words.

Just, just come home and hide.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

That is beyond words.

Just, just come home and hide.

I’ve got around to thinking “ Stay out there and never come home “.

[jim mk2]

From the very first ball of the series, what an absolute shambles

Silverwood needs to go, and his "coaches" with him, including the likes of Farbrace, who is director of cricket at Warwicks yet admits one of his own players such as Sibley has faults and is sub-standard

Players like Sibley and Crawley only score heavily in county cricket because county bowlers are so poor

Said it before, but there are better players in the club game

England have been successful in the past 20 years or so only when we've had foreign coaches. 

Clear this lot out and start again

 

[matt83]

This guy is a fucking wanker.

There are positives - we’ve just been done by an innings, and Australia only scored 267. This has to be some kind of record. No contrition, no acknowledgement that they have got it wrong, no taking responsibility for the performance as Coach and Selector

[47er]

1 hour ago, jim mk2 said:

From the very first ball of the series, what an absolute shambles

Silverwood needs to go, and his "coaches" with him, including the likes of Farbrace, who is director of cricket at Warwicks yet admits one of his own players such as Sibley has faults and is sub-standard

Players like Sibley and Crawley only score heavily in county cricket because county bowlers are so poor

Said it before, but there are better players in the club game

England have been successful in the past 20 years or so only when we've had foreign coaches. 

Clear this lot out and start again

 

Time for a wholesale clear-out, including Root as Captain---no leader of men and poor judgement. Selectors and back-room staff as well.

The whole series has reeked of amateurism. Supposed to have put a plan together months ago and have stuck to it.

Resting Anderson and Broad for the first Test and "saving them " for the second was apparently part of the master plan.

Beaten before we started.

[47er]

10 hours ago, Rogerb said:

Feeble England 68 all out. Boland 6 for 7 on debut

And he's 32 and been around forever!

[47er]

Long-term we need English cricket to connect with more people so that more "ordinary kids" play the game. Increasingly we are forming a side from the elite Public School system as more and more of our free schools sell their sports fields to pay for printing paper and the like. The gene pool is too small.

In particular we should try to engage various ethnic populations--West Indies, indians, Pakistanis and so on.

I mean "engage" in a different way than Yorkshire have by the way.

Finally, live international cricket should be seen on Free to Air TV again.

 

[K-Hod]

1 hour ago, matt83 said:

This guy is a fucking wanker.

There are positives - we’ve just been done by an innings, and Australia only scored 267. This has to be some kind of record. No contrition, no acknowledgement that they have got it wrong, no taking responsibility for the performance as Coach and Selector

Steve Kean levels of bullshit after the series so far. Unreal.

[chaddyrovers]

4 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

From the very first ball of the series, what an absolute shambles

Silverwood needs to go, and his "coaches" with him, including the likes of Farbrace, who is director of cricket at Warwicks yet admits one of his own players such as Sibley has faults and is sub-standard

Players like Sibley and Crawley only score heavily in county cricket because county bowlers are so poor

Said it before, but there are better players in the club game

England have been successful in the past 20 years or so only when we've had foreign coaches. 

Clear this lot out and start again

 

so you would get rid of Thorpe, Trescothck, Collingwood and Foster than aswell as Sliverwood? And replace by Who? Gary Kirsten, Andy Flower?

I have said the problem is the County Championship game and quality of the players, pitches and what the ECB wants to priority is which isn't the 4 day first class game. 

 

[oldjamfan1]

23 hours ago, K-Hod said:

Steve Kean levels of bullshit after the series so far. Unreal.

That was also my first reaction. 

[Mattyblue]

Just looks a bloke well out of his depth (so yeah, SK-esque nonsense comes to the fore).

[chaddyrovers]

After thinking it for a while its time the ECB starting focus on the 4 day championship game. But I would start on replacing Ashley Giles as director of Cricket at the ECB with Sliverwood aswell being removed from the England head coach role. 

I would bring back the head of selector role with and look to people someone who knows the county game like Angus Fraser in that role. Would like to see Alec Stewart has ECB Director of Cricket and running the England cricket team. 

Then I would be in Paul Farbrace as head coach. I would keep Thorpe, Trescothick and Collingwood as assistant coach but I would bring in new bowling coach like Dominic Cork or Darren Gough. 

on the Captain issue, Does Ben Stokes want to take over for a couple of years but I don't see a natural replacement for Root due to most of team aren't guarantee of the place. Do anything have any suggestions? Ive seen James Vince mention b couple of people but he not even in the main squad at the minute.