Daaave Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 First test starts tomorrow so thought I'd get a thread up in case anyone aside from me is interested. Bizarre timing for England to remove Downton, seems like it would've made more sense to do it right after the World Cup, but the ECB work in mysterious ways I suppose...Big scores for a few batsmen in the warm up games, albeit against very questionable opposition, including a ton for Cook should give them a bit of confidence. My 11 for the first test would be:Cook, Trott, Ballance, Bell, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Jordan, Tredwell, Broad, AndersonWouldn't mind seeing Lyth open with Cook with Trott and Ballance to scrap for the number 3 slot. Perhaps Bairstow in at 6 for Tredwell depending on the pitch but getting him some overs before the summer is important so I'd probably play him regardless.As far as the series goes, anything other than a 2-0 or 3-0 win would be a worry ahead of a much tougher summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anag Ram Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 First test starts tomorrow so thought I'd get a thread up in case anyone aside from me is interested. Bizarre timing for England to remove Downton, seems like it would've made more sense to do it right after the World Cup, but the ECB work in mysterious ways I suppose...Big scores for a few batsmen in the warm up games, albeit against very questionable opposition, including a ton for Cook should give them a bit of confidence. My 11 for the first test would be:Cook, Trott, Ballance, Bell, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Jordan, Tredwell, Broad, AndersonWouldn't mind seeing Lyth open with Cook with Trott and Ballance to scrap for the number 3 slot. Perhaps Bairstow in at 6 for Tredwell depending on the pitch but getting him some overs before the summer is important so I'd probably play him regardless.As far as the series goes, anything other than a 2-0 or 3-0 win would be a worry ahead of a much tougher summer.Moeen Ali is our chosen spin bowler. He will be at six. Tredwell is just for one-dayers though they strangely elected not to pick him during the World Cup.i'd like to see Lyth given a go, too. We are going into a Test series against Australia in the Summer with a batting line-up which crumbled against their bowling attack last time they played.What do they say about the definition of madness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Sage is out there so I'll expect he'll report back when he gets the Internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daaave Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Ali wasn't fit for this tour, though I agree he'll probably bat 6 as our main spinner in the summer so perhaps lessens the need to play Tredwell regardless of the pitch in the West Indies.Unfortunately we don't have a lot of options regarding the batting lineup right now. Lyth aside nobody scored enough runs in Div 1 CC last season to really demand a call up. You could maybe make a case for James Vince but division 2 attacks are notably weaker. I'm not too concerned about the lineup anyway, Cook, Trott, Ballance, Bell and Root are all top class batsmen when in form. Unfortunately they conspired to be in terrible nick all at the same time last time down under, not helped by some outstandingly consistent bowling.If they can play their way into some form - and Broad and Anderson remember how to bowl - in the next two series we could have quite an entertaining Ashes this summer.As an aside, I'm not a huge Pietersen fan but if he scores bags of runs in the first part of the season he could very well be looking at a recall which would make things even more interesting. I'm a bit disappointed he didn't go to a Division 1 team though to really try and prove himself though I know he has links with Surrey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtains Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 England are carp under this regime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daaave Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Great insight, but actually under this regime in tests we've lost 1-0 in an excellent series against Sri Lanka and comfortably beaten India 3-1 at home. Not exactly fair to call us crap based on that. ODIs is another matter, but we've always been crap at those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daaave Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 I should say though, if we don't comfortably win this series I'll be inclined to agree with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtains Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I should say though, if we don't comfortably win this series I'll be inclined to agree with you!I don't think England are very good at cricket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovis aries Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Not much new blood is there , same old same old .Why did young Taylor not go ??. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anag Ram Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ali wasn't fit for this tour, though I agree he'll probably bat 6 as our main spinner in the summer so perhaps lessens the need to play Tredwell regardless of the pitch in the West Indies.Unfortunately we don't have a lot of options regarding the batting lineup right now. Lyth aside nobody scored enough runs in Div 1 CC last season to really demand a call up. You could maybe make a case for James Vince but division 2 attacks are notably weaker. I'm not too concerned about the lineup anyway, Cook, Trott, Ballance, Bell and Root are all top class batsmen when in form. Unfortunately they conspired to be in terrible nick all at the same time last time down under, not helped by some outstandingly consistent bowling.If they can play their way into some form - and Broad and Anderson remember how to bowl - in the next two series we could have quite an entertaining Ashes this summer.As an aside, I'm not a huge Pietersen fan but if he scores bags of runs in the first part of the season he could very well be looking at a recall which would make things even more interesting. I'm a bit disappointed he didn't go to a Division 1 team though to really try and prove himself though I know he has links with Surrey.Sorry -always best to check the squad! My worry is that England looked scared against the short ball in Australia. Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson will test England severely and if Ryan Harris is fit too, we are in big trouble.I don't think there's any way we could pick Pietersen now. He comes across even more insincere now and his boasts about his innings against Oxford University are frankly pathetic. The West Indies will be less dangerous opposition than either NZ or the Aussies and we should try out new blood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 It's a good warm-up for England - get them complacent before Ireland thrash them in the European Championships in May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovis aries Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ali is playing for Worcs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovis aries Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Trott trotted of for a duck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daaave Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Good recovery after a poor start. A brisk 150 or so this morning with Stokes and Buttler at the crease would put us in a really dominant position. On the other hand if we get rolled over for under 400 it'd be looking pretty even. If Cook doesn't get some runs soon though even his most ardent supporters (me among them) will be getting worried... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I've never described a test series as pointless but can anyone explain why this is taking place at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovis aries Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I've never described a test series as pointless but can anyone explain why this is taking place at all? Why not ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtains Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 England vs West Indies 1st test drawn in Antigua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLACML Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Why not ?.The County Championship has just started, they should be playing in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEL Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Well done Jimmy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovis aries Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 The County Championship has just started, they should be playing in that.Not if they are contracted to England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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