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LeSoupeKitchen

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Aug 18, 2011
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You're kidding, right? With precisely no specialist batsmen left and still 100 behind, you want them to throw the bat at everything?

I was factoring in we both still have another innings going into a fifth day that is expected to be affected by rain. We're also 1-0 down in the series.
 

SargeantMeatCurtains

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Jan 5, 2013
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Fantastic knock from Root. Hopefully Root can take that score and his form into South Africa.

Ollie Pope looks like a fantastic player and his technique is so, so similar to that of Ian Bell’s. He’s exactly the type of player we need in the middle order; the complete opposite of Stokes and Buttler. He can occupy the crease and allow the likes of Root, Stokes etc to score big runs.
 

Spurs_Bear

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Jan 7, 2009
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I was factoring in we both still have another innings going into a fifth day that is expected to be affected by rain. We're also 1-0 down in the series.

I do get your point but this slow pitch is not conducive to that really. Pope is naturally pretty attacking but he struggled to get much past the field early one. Did well though the young fella, considering he's only played a handful of Tests and been asked to keep wicket as well he's had a good game.
 

Arnoldtoo

The thinking ape's ape
May 18, 2006
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I was factoring in we both still have another innings going into a fifth day that is expected to be affected by rain. We're also 1-0 down in the series.

Well yes, but if we were all out by lunch yesterday we'd have been facing a deficit of c. 300 batting at the start of day 5, and we know how that story ends!
 

midoshairband

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Apr 25, 2006
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some good batting positives from this tour. Root, Pope, and the really impressive Burns. he’s really growing into the role. I hope they give Sibley the same time.

for me, the bowling is still a worry. especially away from home. no spinner who can turn the ball, plus a battery of military medium 80mph seamers isn’t much good away from home.
 

midoshairband

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Apr 25, 2006
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Pope drops Williamson, regulation catch, flicknoff the glove down legside.

why have we stopped picking a specialist wicket keeper? what did Foakes do so wrong?
 

Arnoldtoo

The thinking ape's ape
May 18, 2006
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Pope drops Williamson, regulation catch, flicknoff the glove down legside.

why have we stopped picking a specialist wicket keeper? what did Foakes do so wrong?

Pope is the back-up keeper. He's going to drop a few. Foakes is a better keeper, but not as good a batter.

If Foakes had been playing would he have supported Root with 75 in a big stand or would we have exposed the tail and watched it duly collapse?

It's a judgement call.
 

Spurs_Bear

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Jan 7, 2009
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Pope is the back-up keeper. He's going to drop a few. Foakes is a better keeper, but not as good a batter.

If Foakes had been playing would he have supported Root with 75 in a big stand or would we have exposed the tail and watched it duly collapse?

It's a judgement call.
Harsh on Foakes in my opinion matey, he has a test century to his name in harder conditions than any of the batsmen faced in NZ.
 

Arnoldtoo

The thinking ape's ape
May 18, 2006
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Harsh on Foakes in my opinion matey, he has a test century to his name in harder conditions than any of the batsmen faced in NZ.

Can't argue that it's tough, but Buttler is the chosen #1 and allows for another batter - Pope, great potential and starting to realise it - into the team. Put Foakes in and you have to drop one of them. Whoever misses out it's tough. If we had a reliable top order it might be different, but ...
 

Archibald&Crooks

Aegina Expat
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Feb 1, 2005
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They need to stop fucking about with this, a wicketkeeper is a wicketkeeper, Pope hasn't the experience at it and IMO it's unfair to throw him into it, especially when we have three more than capable wicketkeeper/batsmen. Currently Pope should be in for his batting alone and we should be picking a squad with the required roles properly covered and if Jonny the Sulk doesn't want to schlep across the world on tour as backup then retire from test cricket.

As for the rest of the tour, I am in complete agreement with Michael Atherton. The pitches have been awful and they need to get rid of the Kookaburra

Worrying that on batting friendly surfaces we still struggle
 

Spurs_Bear

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Jan 7, 2009
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Burns
Sibley
Denly
Root
Stokes
Pope
Buttler/Foakes
Curran/Leach
Archer
Broad
Anderson

Is how I see first test in South Africa. They are clucking to get Moeen back in despite the bloke saying he is on a break from test cricket.
 

midoshairband

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Apr 25, 2006
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Pope is the back-up keeper. He's going to drop a few. Foakes is a better keeper, but not as good a batter.

If Foakes had been playing would he have supported Root with 75 in a big stand or would we have exposed the tail and watched it duly collapse?

It's a judgement call.

Foakes is a better keeper than the first choice keeper. he averages 42 in test cricket, more than most of our top and middle order. he did absolutely nothing wrong, yet is dropped without proper explanation.

so yes, on two absolute roads, i am sure he would at least performed as well.
 

dimiSpur

There's always next year...
Aug 9, 2008
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Foakes is a better keeper than the first choice keeper. he averages 42 in test cricket, more than most of our top and middle order. he did absolutely nothing wrong, yet is dropped without proper explanation.

so yes, on two absolute roads, i am sure he would at least performed as well.
Can't argue with that to be honest. It seems they want a counter-attacking option in Buttler, but I'm really unconvinced about his ability at Test level.
 

Spurs_Bear

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Jan 7, 2009
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Can't argue with that to be honest. It seems they want a counter-attacking option in Buttler, but I'm really unconvinced about his ability at Test level.

The thing with Buttler is that Ed Smith nailed his balls to the mast when he came into the fold as Chief Selector, bringing Buttler out of the lucrative IPL to shoehorn him into the middle order of the test side. As much as he hasn't set the world on fire, his record has been better than the majority of England players in that time. As @Archibald&Crooks has said, the thing that has fucked this up is sulky bollocks Bairstow refusing to accept giving away the gloves away in Tests and just fronting up as a batsman.

We should never be in a situation again where our reserve keeper is a young lad who isnt really a keeper at first class level. It either needs to be Bairstow or Foakes in the squad to back up Buttler.
 

midoshairband

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Apr 25, 2006
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The thing with Buttler is that Ed Smith nailed his balls to the mast when he came into the fold as Chief Selector, bringing Buttler out of the lucrative IPL to shoehorn him into the middle order of the test side. As much as he hasn't set the world on fire, his record has been better than the majority of England players in that time. As @Archibald&Crooks has said, the thing that has fucked this up is sulky bollocks Bairstow refusing to accept giving away the gloves away in Tests and just fronting up as a batsman.

We should never be in a situation again where our reserve keeper is a young lad who isnt really a keeper at first class level. It either needs to be Bairstow or Foakes in the squad to back up Buttler.

yep. how on earth they picked him as back-up keeper is staggering. 4 first class games as a keeper.

its like England picking Harry Kane because once went in nets during a Europa League game.
 

JCRD

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Aug 10, 2018
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I never understood even numbered test matches. Why play two and not three? or five and not four? I know that even numbered test matches can still end in a draw but best out of three or five always seems more natural... maybe just me.
 
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