The Hundred @ Lords final for the ladies was attended by 20,000 and had a fantastic game of cricket, my comment was more aimed at the lack of crowd supporting a Windies home game of cricket,
The West Indies has produced some of the best T 20 cricketers in the world and the calypso crowd with band and noise can be amazing
Turned on, saw about thirty seconds and all those empty seats….
Gardeners World was far more exciting …
Jamie Smith looks a serious player. He appears to bat “properly”.
Root, Brook and Smith is starting to look like a serious batting line up.
I have enjoyed a competitive Test, lots of more subtle skills on show from both teams. Sri Lanka undoubtedly undercooked and a few players short of being a really good side but they battled through. England worked with bat and ball to a less comfortable win than it looked on day 1 with Sri Lanka 6 for 3 (or 3 for 6 Pete).
Agree re our batters, but Pope remains very unreliable. Capable of big runs but too often gives his wicket away early. Smith can bat anywhere including No 3 I reckon. The bowling is OK but we need Wood fit plus someone else with that extra bit of pace. Atkinson and Potts are solid performers. No sign that Archer will be risked in red ball cricket again. We could do with finding a decent all-rounder too, Stokes isn’t going to last for ever, especially as a bowler.
The selectors have made some great calls recently. Picking Bashir after just a few first class matches, Smith who doesn’t even 'keep for his county etc. Both look international class.
Lord’s next week.
Bruce
An enjoyable test; but, a subtle allegation from Angelo Mathews, has raised an issue in some media that when England had the ball changed the replacement started to swing. AM suggested that when Sri Lanka asked for a ball change they were told that no old balls were available. The suggestion is that preference was given to England over the quality of replacement balls. Surely not …
I heard AM interviewed and he raised the issue of the changed ball swinging more, but he did not give the impression that anything untoward had taken place.
Everyone is playing the ‘ball change game’ because quite often if you persist you seem to get a ball that does do more. England have been pushing this recently and it is a clear tactic. In the end it is the umpires that must control the situation and have suitable balls to use if they agree to a change. Interesting that SL got reverse after quite a short time but England never seemed to. Seems to be a skill lacking from our lineup at the moment.
I wonder if it would be better to give teams a new ball earlier (say 60 overs) and reject any calls for ball changes unless the condition is really damaged ie more or less falling apart. Spinners seem better able to use a newer ball than of old so might not work against them. The Dukes in England is still part of the special challenge playing here, much as the pitches make sub-continent cricket such a different experience. We should keep it in my view.
Bruce
I was surprised that when the replacement balls appeared they all looked in a lot better condition than the one they were to replace. I was surprised the batsman didn’t make more of it.
I guess that is inevitable if the old one is considered unfit to continue with!
It was a bit confusing actually, the closeup of the balls show on TV was of the old ball and a dark plum coloured one as a possible replacement that wasn’t actually the one they were given. The ‘new’ one that was chosen certainly did a bit more though.
Bruce
England call up Josh Hull as Mark Wood is injured.
On the face of it it is not obvious as he has a First Class bowling ave of 58 and batting ave of 3.
However he is 6’7" and quite quick.
Interesting. As with others they seem to pick on potential. Stone and Pennington injured?
Lots of fine County bowlers doing well (Sam Cook for example) but they aren’t seen as Test options away from England, so are ignored. I am OK with that.
Bruce
Is first class cricket a totally different game to test cricket?
Selectors appear to be looking at certain aspects of a players game rather than averages which was the case in the past. The funny thing is that it appears to be successful.
I think the Ashes, even nearly 18 months away, looms large. County bowlers who deliver 80mph line and length won’t help win in Australia, nor indeed Pakistan coming up.
Bruce
Part of the success seems to be down to the team culture. People brought in have the mindset that they can succeed, and if they don’t have a great first match they won’t be dumped. So they have the opportunity to express themselves, and even if all commentators complain about a loose shot they still feel they can play their way.
Sadly I think that includes Woakes, he’s a star in English conditions, but has a poor record abroad
If it’s the culture then they should introduce it to the county game and we’ll become a cricketing superpower!
Yes, Pope looked like he was trying to get out yesterday, reverse sweeping more than once very early in his innings. Duckett plays in a similar way.
When commentating on Sky last week, Broad mentioned that playing abroad on quicker/bouncier wickets where the ball & conditions offer far less help is tricky, as you pitch up and the ball gets driven. You bowl slightly short to compensate and the stumps disappear from your wicket options, and you get pulled. I think this sums up England’s bowling attacks of late when touring Australia.
Totally agree - Bashir can’t get in the Somerset side but looks right at home in Test cricket. County form seems to have a low correlation with success as a Test cricketer. As a Kent supporter, I don’t miss Crawley in the county side but think he has blossomed into an excellent Test opener
We have a surfeit of circa 80mph right armers, the England team needs a point of difference to use the current catch phrase. A 6’7" left armer is a much more exciting prospect
There was some discussion onTMS about standardisation of balls. The argument against hinges around playing local conditions, which I have some sympathy for in red ball cricket. I believe white ball cricket uses the kookaburra world wide.
You make a good point as in the past statistics and the reports from roaming selectors, who watched potential test players around the counties fed into the selection process. Statistics are still important, but potential more so. However, some counties allegedly still don’t develop their potential test players with due care and attention (as indeed did some recent test captains).
Hence the importance of England getting cricketers as early as possible so that they are developed properly (as long as the young cricketer wants to progress).