The England Cricket thread
- Thread starter kishman
- Start date
- Jan 14, 2004
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- #22
Great knock from Prior. Hope he cements his place in the side, I can't cope with G. Jones any more.
On the Tres, Vaughan, Freddie issue, it is difficult to try and get all 3 in the side. Tres is the best opener we have, but Cook is the future and has performed well and Strauss is captain at the moment. Bell has improved a lot and again is part of the future. Collingwood has been superb and KP picks himself. I think Freddie would have to bat at 7 and Prior at 8, which would work great as long as his foot holds up. Still one of Strauss, Cook, Bell, Vaughan, Tres, Collingwood and KP has to be left out. For now Tres is the obvious, but when he is fully back it is going to be tough.
Can't wait to see if S. Jones can make a full recovery too.
On the Tres, Vaughan, Freddie issue, it is difficult to try and get all 3 in the side. Tres is the best opener we have, but Cook is the future and has performed well and Strauss is captain at the moment. Bell has improved a lot and again is part of the future. Collingwood has been superb and KP picks himself. I think Freddie would have to bat at 7 and Prior at 8, which would work great as long as his foot holds up. Still one of Strauss, Cook, Bell, Vaughan, Tres, Collingwood and KP has to be left out. For now Tres is the obvious, but when he is fully back it is going to be tough.
Can't wait to see if S. Jones can make a full recovery too.
TrueYid
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- Jul 29, 2003
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Spoken like a true spurs fan.... However I do admit that he failed misrably today, but I feel he bowled to much in his first spell, and then once Hoggy went off, the presure was right back on him...
Tickers
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What do you mean like a true spurs fan? Nowt to do with it.
Fact is, he's an international cricketer - being under pressure's all part of the gig. He was utterly abysmal yesterday. I genuinely think he bowled worse than he did in the winter, it was embarrassing.
Patience must be wearing thin by now. He's been mollycoddled for far too long. If he doesn't perform in the second innings, he shouldn't be in the side at Headingley. He needs a fucking kick up the arse.
i was there yesterday, and tbh Harmison didn't look that bad.. wildly inconsistent i'll agree, but every over he seemed to beat the bat at least once, then bowl 5 fairly nondescript balls, mainly down leg.. but at least he was looking vaguely threatening again
Tickers
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He was not "vaguely threatening". He was garbage. Beat the bat three or four times all day, not once an over. Certainly bowled two or three balls down leg every over, though.
well clearly we were watching different games then
paulspursman
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- Oct 19, 2004
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harmison has just lost all confidence in himself completely
i cant see us winning tomorrow. 2 proper seam bowlers (1 who is in shockin form and the other still young and learning) and collingwood
monty is our main hope
i cant see us winning tomorrow. 2 proper seam bowlers (1 who is in shockin form and the other still young and learning) and collingwood
monty is our main hope
Tickers
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Clearly. He's been marginally better second innings, but still way below the standard of a Test opener.
It's just so disappointing cos we all know how good he can be. But he hasn't bowled well since the 2005 Ashes, and in fairness there were plenty of times in that series when he was comfortably the least effective of the four seamers.
- Oct 2, 2004
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- #32
Cricket in boring draw shock!
Tickers
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That's what you get for scheduling Test matches in England in May.
And Lord's is becoming a bit of a graveyard for fast bowlers. Should get a better game at Headingley.
Mediocre Test that it was, it was still a million times better than any of the nonsense in the Caribbean over the last couple of months.
paulspursman
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- Oct 19, 2004
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5 centuries for england was a huge plus point for us
harmison really isnt good enough for this level right now
we never would have won today even if we had the whole day with that bowling attack
harmison really isnt good enough for this level right now
we never would have won today even if we had the whole day with that bowling attack
- Feb 1, 2005
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- #35
Quite impressed that the Windies found those 1st innings runs though. I always wondered if they wouldn't bond and play better as a side without Lara. It'll be interesting if this resilience continues.
I'm not overly worried about the series though. When you look at their batsmen, there is a minimum of 2 big collapses in there waiting to happen. Especially if Harmy or Freddie hit their straps.
I'm not overly worried about the series though. When you look at their batsmen, there is a minimum of 2 big collapses in there waiting to happen. Especially if Harmy or Freddie hit their straps.
- Feb 1, 2005
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- #36
:hump: I concur.
Tickers
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England will undoubtedly win the series 3-0. Lord's was always the spanner in the works - it's a batting paradise at the moment.
The draw was inevitable from the moment Hoggard went off injured. England would have struggled to win the game from there with two quality quick bowlers. With Harmison and Plunkett, they were fucked.
The draw was inevitable from the moment Hoggard went off injured. England would have struggled to win the game from there with two quality quick bowlers. With Harmison and Plunkett, they were fucked.
- Feb 1, 2005
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- #38
Spot on. I just wish I'd had some vbookie points on the draw...
...oh, hang on...
*sits smugly*
...oh, hang on...
*sits smugly*
I wasn't saying he was bowling anywhere near good enough, just that he looked to be a bit better than in the ashes... mind you that could have just been that the standard of batting was lower so he didnt look so bad. He did bowl a couple of excellent balls on saturday, one nearly sliced Bravo in half.. butnot nearly consistent enough. The trouble was that Plunkett didn't really look a great deal better... Hoggard was pretty ineffective as well, so whether it would have made any difference having him for the whole match I don't know. We missed freddie, but more importantly we've missed Simon Jones hugely.
The trouble with Harmison is that he's a bit like James Beattie in that he had one great season and every now and then has had a flurry of good bowling but overall the only stand out period when he bowled really well was the period around the Windies tour and the ashes. I'm not sure he's actually ever going to be as good as he was back then in all honesty
Tickers
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Yeah, some good points there. Personally, I think he did bowl worse than during the Ashes, but as you say, the quality of the batting wasn't as high. There were certainly more balls stuffed down leg than in the winter, but it's all a bit moot - which shite performance was the more shite. Does it matter?
You're dead right about Simon Jones. But whether he will ever be the bowler he was two years ago is even more doubtful than it is with Harmison, unfortunately. There are only so many career-threatening injuries fast bowlers can come back from.
