The Cricket Thread

[Archibald&Crooks]

5-0

Quite a lengthy partnership here

 

[UncleBuck]

This won’t be going to a fifth day....

 

[Wellspurs]

FFS sitting ducks

 

[mpickard2087]

First over (just about) survived.

 

[UncleBuck]

Surely last chance saloon for Vince now.

Ali rightfully dropped but not sure why Woakes has seemingly taken the flak. Him and Broad should be opening our attack when Jimmy retires.

Hope this is Cook's last test as well, we should put faith in a replacement for this summer's tests. Personally would bring in Hameed.

We’ve been looking for someone to open with Cook for the last four seasons and we can’t even find one let alone two openers, to bin him now would be suicide!

 

[UncleBuck]

We’ve been looking for someone to open with Cook for the last four seasons and we can’t even find one let alone two openers, to bin him now would be suicide!

UncleBuck curse....58 to beat...

 

[Wellspurs]

It was only a matter of time

 

[Deleted member 27995]

Death Knell of English test cricket. Time to start a rebuild, all in on limited overs cricket and the majority of our players look like they don't understand the longer format of the game.

 

[mpickard2087]

I think Cook has to decide if he still wants it. Still capable of an epic innings every now and then (in fact he's the only one who can knuckle down and bat for a day plus) but he just looks like he's mentally checked out now. That was a tidy delivery and did move a bit, but still...

 

[UncleBuck]

I think at a push he might have this summer but it wouldn’t surprise me if he calls it quits in a couple of weeks.
Will be a huge loss if he does.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Was a good ball but foot movement awful. Who is coaching these ****s? We are looser than a slag outside off, not Test match batting.

#baylissout

 

[UncleBuck]

What was that? Hooking from outside off after seven overs?
Sooner we get home the better...

 

[WiganSpur]

Oh for fucks sake Cook, come on England

 

[theShiznit]

What happens in that umpiring situation, where Erasmus has given Vince out Caught behind but after that was proved not out they then went to check for LBW.

So if the RTS showed it as Umpires call, would it be given out or not out (as the original umpire's call was not for LBW but was out)

 

[Sweetsman]

So, basically Warner ran the show, and Lehmann and Smith couldn’t face him down. Smith and Lehmann cry their eyes out, though Lehmann was the only one with any tear production; Warner says bog all, but writes an apology. He really is a card.

 

[Sweetsman]

Oh for fucks sake Cook, come on England

It was a good ball, a boult of lightning.

 

[WiganSpur]

Stoneman playing relatively sensibly so far

 

[UncleBuck]

Was a good ball but foot movement awful. Who is coaching these ****s? We are looser than a slag outside off, not Test match batting.

#baylissout

I heard the other day Ramps and Collingwood, the England batting coaches, had been released for this series to coach the north v south game.
Not that they were much use in Oz...

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Yay! 58-2 which puts the 1st innings in the last test to bed

It's gravy from here on in

 

[Redfap]

Smith isn't suitable to Captain Australia. I'm not just talking about the events of this week, but the way he carries on, from the DRS 'brain fade' when he looked to the balcony for help with a review to calling other players cheats, his giggling at the Bairstow headbuttgate press conference, just in general, so many poor choices, poor conduct and 'laddish' disrespectful behaviour. He doesn't carry himself in the right manner IMO. It seems to me that he's lurched from one thing to another, never really learning, never really appreciating what his got and his responsibilities to his position as captain and poor judgement until finally the chickens came home to roost.

As people have said, it was uncomfortable to watch and I didn't take any pleasure out of it although it did cross my mind that he's not giggling now. He'll be back for the Ashes but I don't see how he can ever lead the team again although I'd totally not be surprised if he did. This is going to be rough on him for a long time but (and I don't like him at all) he should certainly be allowed to play again.

Warner on the other hand................He's not suitable to walk amongst decent folk. A carbuncle on the backside of humanity.

'A carbuncle on the backside of humanity' - brilliant!

I think your Post is spot on regarding Smith. Previous Australian Captains in the last 25-30 years have pretty much picked themselves. From Allen Border to Mark Taylor then to Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and even the unpopular with public Michael Clarke was a logical choice. These previous captains were all experienced and natural leaders with their personalities. Smith was picked because he was the best player in the team and was going to be for the next 10 years, I always questioned whether he had the mental maturity to do it and influence over the group that the previous captains did. If things aren't going his way you can see it in his sometimes petulant body language and his antics (ie bad reviews, petty squabbles, send offs etc) that he gets too caught up in the game and this is viewed by the team and enabled the wrong attitude in the team. Him and the team were in a bubble where they clearly didn't appreciate the seriousness of how important it is to Australians that the team also conduct themselves as representatives of our country.

That press conference with Smith was really hard to watch. That was genuine and he was crushed. I felt sympathy for him and accept that he now fully realizes the real impact.

Now he needs to work on his game for 12 months and earn the trust of the public back. We would love to see him play test cricket again. Though as your said in your post, I'm not sure it will ever be as a captain of the test team and nor is he be suited to it.

Back to the actual game of Cricket...

With the England top order out of form (I like Stoneham but he needs to go on and make a century), who are the potential replacements? Does Vince keep getting backed in too deliver on talent and is Cook still the best opening bat? What is waiting in the county wings?

For what it's worth I think the currently NZ pace bowlers are all underatted in home conditions. Not easy batting at the moment.