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buckley

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2012
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when you think how graham Hick was dropped time after time and made the scapegoat for defeats it annoys me that players that are not performing on a regular basis are retained by the selectors.
It is clear that for a long while at test cricket Ali/Bairstow and new boy Denly are not up to it at this present time and need to return to county cricket to try and find some form .At the danger of sounding like an echo for me out of the team. Ali / Denly/Bairstow/Anderson thru injury.Replaced by Leach / Archer. /Foakes /Curran /
I name curran in place of Denly as I feel he will not fair any worse in the chase for runs and is also another bowling option.
I think they are taking the view that you can't keep changing the team ; well I have news for the selectors that if they don't change the team we are staring down the barrel of a 5-0 drubbing.
 

karennina

ciffirt
Nov 24, 2004
2,820
1,032
I'd put Stokes up to 4 and bring Curran in at 7/8.

Dug our this old article about why Stokes should bat three...He obviously looks far cuter to the untrained eye than Bairstow, and Buttler, who Root was even talking up to play 3 at one stage. Would be good if, after the total failure to move each of our middle order to three, we got one to stick at four. But I think he made one 19 from first drop, in Sri Lanka, and then got immediately moved for the second innings, then never seen that high again.

Analysis: Why Ben Stokes should be England’s Test No.3
“There is plenty of evidence which suggests that of this group of players, Stokes is the best equipped to cope with the challenges of top-order batting. The data implies that among England’s middle order who ended the Test summer, Stokes plays the moving ball better than any. Against deliveries moving more than the global historic average, Stokes averages the most against both swing and seam bowling.
4842330A-6808-4A33-9AB8-226C4847A887.png
 
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Sandros Shiny Head

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
4,794
8,765
I thought everyone knew Stokes was the better batsman than that lot but had to stay low in the order if he was going to bowl as much as he likes to so his body doesn’t fall to pieces
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2003
9,187
11,149
Just playing catch up with the KP series on Sky, safe to say no one came out of that with any credibility whatsoever.
Have to say though Strauss should have parked Broad for a test or two for setting up the fake account in the first place.
 

Archibald&Crooks

Aegina Expat
Admin
Feb 1, 2005
55,533
204,721
Just playing catch up with the KP series on Sky, safe to say no one came out of that with any credibility whatsoever.
Have to say though Strauss should have parked Broad for a test or two for setting up the fake account in the first place.
I haven't watched it yet but I remember at the time giving Broad and Anderson a coating over their (alleged) part in the whole affair.

I actually came back onto SC just to post this that caught my eye on the BBC this morning.....

Captain Joe Root has promised his England side will "put in a really good show" as they attempt to level the Ashes series in the second Test at Lord's, starting on Wednesday

I see you've beaten me to it :D

Anyway, lets see how they go.
 

Spurs_Bear

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2009
17,094
22,286
Just playing catch up with the KP series on Sky, safe to say no one came out of that with any credibility whatsoever.
Have to say though Strauss should have parked Broad for a test or two for setting up the fake account in the first place.

It wasn't Broad though, it was his mate.
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2003
9,187
11,149
It wasn't Broad though, it was his mate.
Oh wasn’t it? Programme gave me the impression it was Broad!
He must have known about it though as he’s a mischievous so and so, probably got his mate to do it!
Can’t see a ball being bowled today...
 

Spurs_Bear

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2009
17,094
22,286
Oh wasn’t it? Programme gave me the impression it was Broad!
He must have known about it though as he’s a mischievous so and so, probably got his mate to do it!
Can’t see a ball being bowled today...

Yeah I agree he must've known about it. Probably him and a few others!

Apparently Jofra Archer has been presented with his cap (by Chris Jordan...) so he is definitely playing. It's been pissing down in London all day and even though I'm more central than where St John's Wood is I cant see any play at all sadly.
 

dondo

Well-Known Member
Jan 4, 2006
8,603
14,091
It wasn't Broad though, it was his mate.


Where did his mate get all the inside information from? KP said it was all very close to the mark and must have come from the dressing room.
As joke on your mate it’s acceptable but if as stated KP wasn’t getting on with the team it’s bang out of order and a discipline investigation should have took place as it did in textgate massive double standards
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2003
9,187
11,149
Where did his mate get all the inside information from? KP said it was all very close to the mark and must have come from the dressing room.
As joke on your mate it’s acceptable but if as stated KP wasn’t getting on with the team it’s bang out of order and a discipline investigation should have took place as it did in textgate massive double standards
Strauss even said in hindsight he should have managed it better, the way KP referred to him in the interviews alluded to that.
It’s such an echo of maverick’s who are just that much better than their peers, the worst decision ever was to give him the captaincy, just like Beefy previously.
 
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dondo

Well-Known Member
Jan 4, 2006
8,603
14,091
Strauss even said in hindsight he should have managed it better, the way KP referred to him in the interviews alluded to that.
It’s such an echo of maverick’s who are just that much better than their peers, the worst decision ever was to give him the captaincy, just like Beefy previously.
Tactical nouse as opposed to the best player on the team, last time we done that was Brearley and we need that tomorrow.


He was such a entertaining player to watch and it made cricket less appealing to me have Gary fucking balance replace him and all because his teammates basically didn’t like him
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
He was such a entertaining player to watch and it made cricket less appealing to me have Gary fucking balance replace him and all because his teammates basically didn’t like him

I've defended Pietersen before, but lets be honest he's an extremely difficult person to manage - highly temperamental, huge ego yet also a pretty fragile character. Also is very blunt and has no filter. It's inevitable at some point he will cause issues.

Looking back in hindsight I also don't think his heart was in it anymore, which is what started a lot of the problems with the management, and if that's the case probably best to remove him from the team.

For a rough timeline and what happened and who was to blame - I think in the lead up to 2012 when it all blew up it's clear he didn't like Flower and his regime and his eye started wandering towards the T20 leagues and to pick and choose his England commitments. This puts him at odds with the management and Strauss who backs them, plus sets him apart from others in the dressing room.

There is then the big blow up over his texts to SA players. Idiotic and self-inflicted and whatever his issues with team mates probably right to be punished, but I do think he had a point about the Twitter account and others like Broad were quite obviously guilty of also betraying trust in the dressing room and going against their team mates and should have had a similar punishment but it got overlooked.

The problems after that were because none of the previous got resolved. Cook just got him back in the team, only to sit back and let things unfold. KP comes back still not liking Flower's coaching regime, pissed off at management, and gunning for certain individuals. The "bowlers clique" (and Prior) obviously don't like him and are out of control with some of their behaviour. It didn't take long for it to go wrong again......

They had to try and get past it. New coach, new captain, KP out, Prior and Swann retired from that grouping. It was needed.

There was some pretty petty behaviour towards him though which you wouldn't expect from professionals in charge. When he got that huge triple century for instance and they rushed out a response of basically "great knock KP, by the way you're definitely never going to play for England again" seemed a bit of a cheap shot to me and not the way an organisation should behave.
 
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