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Topic: God help me - the Test Cricket thread (Read 261026 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #600 –
Jim was right twice with Khawaja, it's a reflection on the English bowling and Roots lack of nous as captain that he could come in and score with such ease.
Worst English team I have seen for sure...

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #601 –
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
Jim was right twice with Khawaja, it's a reflection on the English bowling and Roots lack of nous as captain that he could come in and score with such ease.
Worst English team I have seen for sure...
The Poms are broken, right at this moment they are weaker than Bangladesh!
 
"Extremists on either side will always meet in the Middle!"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #602 –
Well, that was the one that got away .... meh, it happens

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #603 –
Quote from: capcom – on
Well, that was the one that got away .... meh, it happens
English showed some fight today, Crawley can play and Stokes, Leach love a rear guard action. Jonny Bairstow showed plenty of grit and spirit but they need more youth coming through.
Langar and Cummins mucked up the declaration but that's cricket...

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #604 –
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
English showed some fight today, Crawley can play and Stokes, Leach love a rear guard action. Jonny Bairstow showed plenty of grit and spirit but they need more youth coming through.
Langar and Cummins mucked up the declaration but that's cricket...

Given they were never likely to chase down that target, it was at least 45 minutes too late.  Boland's got the goods though.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #605 –
There was plenty enough time,  I thought we were poor with both new balls,  especially the first one.
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #606 –
Quote from: Professer E – on
There was plenty enough time,  I thought we were poor with both new balls,  especially the first one.
Didn't think Lyon was great either and of course we dropped a couple of catches plus Green half bowling Stokes was an unusual non dismissal when the bails wouldn't fall.
Lost seven overs due to rain after lunch and couldn't bowl our quicks at the end because of the light.. All conspired against us...
 

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #607 –
Can.t do a lot better than 3 wins and the ashes in the first 3 games and only one wicket stopping us in the fourth game.

Usman K . . . . . . . great match.
I spent most of my money on Women and grog.
The rest I just wasted.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #608 –
In a parallel universe, did Boland get an early selection and shut Hazelwood out of the Test team? No wonder wicketkeepers would prefer to play with broken fingers rather than give their competition a chance at stealing their spots.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #609 –
Quote from: Mav – on
No wonder wicketkeepers would prefer to play with broken fingers rather than give their competition a chance at stealing their spots.
I think the quality differences between keepers is greatly over-stated by the media, unless they are like Gilchrist and piling on the runs the incumbent is always the favourite to get the next gig.

Carey should be a long term as he has both keeping and batting potential, batting with quick scoring which can bring results.
"Extremists on either side will always meet in the Middle!"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #610 –
He needs to tidy up his keeping and sure up his batting a bit IMO.   He's done OK but after the first mix up with first slip the tolerance slips.
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #611 –
Quote from: Professer E – on
He needs to tidy up his keeping and sure up his batting a bit IMO.  He's done OK but after the first mix up with first slip the tolerance slips.
Yes, it is understandable.

Those slips mix ups are common when teams get the spacing wrong. I listened to Punter about this and my own cricket experience tells me they have it exactly the wrong. I rarely disagree with Punter but I will on this one, by spacing players further apart things will get worse when they are "forced to go for everything". The problem isn't the areas within reach, it's the area of doubt that becomes wider when you stand further apart, that causes a hesitation when players aren't confident and then it's too late to correct the reaction.

When I was captaining until I had confidence in the group behind the wicket I found keeping them closer together than normal was the best solution, very few if any chances went down and their confidence went through the roof, then they would naturally start standing a bit further apart. It can be especially important on pitches that are a bit variable, as you have to stand up closer to the stumps, you have got less time as you get closer to the wicket, so you need a narrower area to cover.

Rather than making them wider apart I found a bigger stagger to be more useful, have the keeper aligned with or even a step in front of 2nd slip and 1st slip well behind the keeper. This gives the slips freedom to dive about, even dive forward, without getting in each others way.

Years ago there were some stats I read once, circulating in cricket circles about where chances go statistically. It's some crazy percentage of catches go to the keeper or within the area of 1-1/2 keepers. Having the 1st slip and keeper closer together you still cover something like 80% of chances behind the wicket or across the whole field. I was quite surprised at those stats when I first read them, but if you think for a while it makes sense based on how many catches keepers get relative to the rest of the field! If 4:1 to either the keeper or 1st slip makes sense, than that's 80% of catches.
"Extremists on either side will always meet in the Middle!"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #612 –
Carey has the Pakistan series to improve or he will be looked at imho.
Keeping to medium pacers in SA and Big bash bowlers hasnt helped him either.
Looks like his footwork needs correcting vs the quicks.
Gilchrist and Rod Marsh were not great when they started either.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #613 –
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
Keeping to medium pacers in SA and Big bash bowlers hasnt helped him either.
I think this has a much bigger impact than people realise.

Getting an extended run of keeping in 5 day cricket to become Test match fit is critical to build that muscle memory. It's not about physical fitness, it is as much about mental fitness. Good muscle memory keeps the basic mechanics of keeping going when you are becoming fatigued and not thinking at 100%.

Obviously I never played 5 days, but I did play 4 day cricket, and it's amazing how the required level of physical / mental endurance scales up as you go from 2 to 3 or 4 day. Most are not ready for it!
"Extremists on either side will always meet in the Middle!"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #614 –
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
Didn't think Lyon was great either and of course we dropped a couple of catches plus Green half bowling Stokes was an unusual non dismissal when the bails wouldn't fall.
Lost seven overs due to rain after lunch and couldn't bowl our quicks at the end because of the light.. All conspired against us...

Lyon has usually been somewhat solid, but now there have been several occasion where he has failed to have any significant impact on a 5th day wicket.  I just don't rate him as a bowler who can rip through a batting side.

We need a wrist-spinner badly.  Swepson would do for a start, but they should get Warnie in the mentor chair for young guy who plays for Sydney Thunder (Tanveer Sangha).
This is now the longest premiership drought in the history of the Carlton Football Club - more evidence of climate change?