My missus us a better WK than Buttler. Those 3 yesterday were flukes. Foakes ton,

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

btw, I see.

But then, it seems the glw is also a better slip fielder than anyone in England. Why do we have one dressed like him out of Pirates of the Carib?

[Luis Anaconda]

btw, I see.

But then, it seems the glw is also a better slip fielder than anyone in England. Why do we have one dressed like him out of Pirates of the Carib?

Poor old Jimmy - quite possibly doesn't play another Test after this and these ****wits are going to **** up his 600 wickets

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Poor old Jimmy - quite possibly doesn't play another Test after this and these ****wits are going to **** up his 600 wickets

Please don't. That's my worry. Everyone's going "Oh, he'll get those two this afternoon" eg MV on BBC. The Times or Graun {I forget which} ran their prepared most important wickets of Jimmy's 600 this morning like he'd already done it.

Buttler's dropped one today. 3 down yesterday including best mate Broad who both heroically affected the run out {showing his skill didn't cost the team} but also meant there was one less wicket JA could take that innings.

The weather's bad, and I could see Jimmy getting injured and ending with 598 or 9 like Bradman's 99.94.

Please, Ganpati, no. I want him bowling in Aus. {Notice the way that everyone said he was past it last test when he beat the bat 100 times. The graphics showed he was swinging it most last test. 1.1 units of whatever. This test he's had the lowest swing. 0.7 units. And taken the edge loads. He was just bowling too well last test.}

I'll let Sibley off cos he's young, new to the cordon and just scored 250. But if that cünt Burns spent more time in slip practice instead of trying to look like a pirate, Jimmy would be done and dusted.

Also, if Pope was as bad as Denley, we could play Root, Stokes, Jos and Foakes at 4-7. But Root's a 4, not 3. Stokes has to bat at 5 or 6. Pope needs to be persevered with. But Buttler isn't a tesst class 'keeper, even if the last 2 innings show that he may have leaned how to bat properly a la Stokes.

But with proper catching, we could have been into them last night and had them 2 or 3 down. With Jimmy have taken 600.

[Burney]

Please don't. That's my worry. Everyone's going "Oh, he'll get those two this afternoon" eg MV on BBC. The Times or Graun {I forget which} ran their prepared most important wickets of Jimmy's 600 this morning like he'd already done it.

Buttler's dropped one today. 3 down yesterday including best mate Broad who both heroically affected the run out {showing his skill didn't cost the team} but also meant there was one less wicket JA could take that innings.

The weather's bad, and I could see Jimmy getting injured and ending with 598 or 9 like Bradman's 99.94.

Please, Ganpati, no. I want him bowling in Aus. {Notice the way that everyone said he was past it last test when he beat the bat 100 times. The graphics showed he was swinging it most last test. 1.1 units of whatever. This test he's had the lowest swing. 0.7 units. And taken the edge loads. He was just bowling too well last test.}

I'll let Sibley off cos he's young, new to the cordon and just scored 250. But if that cünt Burns spent more time in slip practice instead of trying to look like a pirate, Jimmy would be done and dusted.

Also, if Pope was as bad as Denley, we could play Root, Stokes, Jos and Foakes at 4-7. But Root's a 4, not 3. Stokes has to bat at 5 or 6. Pope needs to be persevered with. But Buttler isn't a tesst class 'keeper, even if the last 2 innings show that he may have leaned how to bat properly a la Stokes.

But with proper catching, we could have been into them last night and had them 2 or 3 down. With Jimmy have taken 600.

Couple of things:

1/ Sibley took his. You've got him mixed up with Crawley.
2/ You really don't want a 40 year-old Anderson bowling with a Kookaburra ball in an Ashes series in Australia.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Couple of things:

1/ Sibley took his. You've got him mixed up with Crawley.
2/ You really don't want a 40 year-old Anderson bowling with a Kookaburra ball in an Ashes series in Australia.

1. True. All look the same to me.
2. None bowlers are any good down there. How come Bess is the best spinner in the country? We're gonna get hammered.

[Luis Anaconda]

Couple of things:

1/ Sibley took his. You've got him mixed up with Crawley.
2/ You really don't want a 40 year-old Anderson bowling with a Kookaburra ball in an Ashes series in Australia.

This Ollie Robinson at Sussex looks quite useful - hits the bat hard, as Mike Selvey says and makes the batsman play. Shame he didn't get a run out this summer

[Burney]

1. True. All look the same to me.
2. None bowlers are any good down there. How come Bess is the best spinner in the country? We're gonna get hammered.

Not true. Fitness permitting, I think Wood and Archer have the potential to do well down there. Broad does OK in Australia and Stokes actually bowls very well with the old Kookaburra. The mistake would be to take someone like Woakes, who just has no business playing abroad. As to spinners, we've had about two decent spinners in 30 years, so a paucity in that department is no new thing.
And actually, it isn't our bowling that loses us Ashes series, it's our batting. I'd say there's hopeful signs there if the likes of Pope and Crawley keep developing, Root remembers how to get hundreds and Stokes carries on looking like one of the best bats in the world. If we could find an opener without a spasticated batting style (Christ knows what they're teaching them at Whitgift these days), I'd say we've an even chance.

[Rich]

Not true. Fitness permitting, I think Wood and Archer have the potential to do well down there. Broad does OK in Australia and Stokes actually bowls very well with the old Kookaburra. The mistake would be to take someone like Woakes, who just has no business playing abroad. As to spinners, we've had about two decent spinners in 30 years, so a paucity in that department is no new thing.
And actually, it isn't our bowling that loses us Ashes series, it's our batting. I'd say there's hopeful signs there if the likes of Pope and Crawley keep developing, Root remembers how to get hundreds and Stokes carries on looking like one of the best bats in the world. If we could find an opener without a spasticated batting style (Christ knows what they're teaching them at Whitgift these days), I'd say we've an even chance.

Rash needs to play down under. Might as well just play Root as your spinner if picking Bess - Maybe you play Bess and Rashid at Sydney.

If Anderson is fit he goes to Aus. He's been getting better and better in recent years and I recall him bowling in India when we won there off about 5 paces (i.e. he can adapt). He's also been hovering around the 84/85mph mark in this series and he'll always be on the money. May not play in all 5 tests but certainly an asset to have.

[Luis Anaconda]

Rash needs to play down under. Might as well just play Root as your spinner if picking Bess - Maybe you play Bess and Rashid at Sydney.

If Anderson is fit he goes to Aus. He's been getting better and better in recent years and I recall him bowling in India when we won there off about 5 paces (i.e. he can adapt). He's also been hovering around the 84/85mph mark in this series and he'll always be on the money. May not play in all 5 tests but certainly an asset to have.

Let's see how India goes first - potentially ten Tests against them before the next Ashes and that will have a big bearing on the team. Rashid has to prove his shoulder is up for Test cricket, which I very much doubt it is, sadly.

[Burney]

Rash needs to play down under. Might as well just play Root as your spinner if picking Bess - Maybe you play Bess and Rashid at Sydney.

If Anderson is fit he goes to Aus. He's been getting better and better in recent years and I recall him bowling in India when we won there off about 5 paces (i.e. he can adapt). He's also been hovering around the 84/85mph mark in this series and he'll always be on the money. May not play in all 5 tests but certainly an asset to have.

Fit or not, he'll be 40. I'd offer good odds Anderson doesn't play in Australia. The nature of the selections this summer tells you that Silverwood and Root are looking at establishing a post-Anderson bowling attack prior to going into that Ashes series.

[Burney]

Let's see how India goes first - potentially ten Tests against them before the next Ashes and that will have a big bearing on the team. Rashid has to prove his shoulder is up for Test cricket, which I very much doubt it is, sadly.

I doubt Rashid is a serious contender anymore. Moeen was clearly being lined up as England's spin option, but sadly he forgot how to bat and bowl.

[Rich]

Fit or not, he'll be 40. I'd offer good odds Anderson doesn't play in Australia. The nature of the selections this summer tells you that Silverwood and Root are looking at establishing a post-Anderson bowling attack prior to going into that Ashes series.

Rich's seam attack for Australia (any 4 from):

Broad
Olly Stone
Saqib Mahmood
Archer
Wood
George Garton

Plus:

Stokes

[Burney]

Rich's seam attack for Australia (any 4 from):

Broad
Olly Stone
Saqib Mahmood
Archer
Wood
George Garton

Plus:

Stokes

At the moment, I'd say Archer, Wood and Broad are first pick and the others are scrabbling for the other slot. That may change in a year, though, of course.

They're going to take Woakes, though. They just will. It's what England selectors do. They'll use phrases like 'He can do a job for us' and 'Look at the summer he's just had' and he'll end up bowling gun-barrel straight all series and taking about seven wickets at 40-odd. :-(

[Rich]

At the moment, I'd say Archer, Wood and Broad are first pick and the others are scrabbling for the other slot. That may change in a year, though, of course.

They're going to take Woakes, though. They just will. It's what England selectors do. They'll use phrases like 'He can do a job for us' and 'Look at the summer he's just had' and he'll end up bowling gun-barrel straight all series and taking about seven wickets at 40-odd. :-(

Depends how Root wants to use Archer and Wood, though. If they want to limit their workload to say a maximum of 3 x 5 over spells per innings then it leaves a lot of slack for the others to pick up.

[Burney]

Depends how Root wants to use Archer and Wood, though. If they want to limit their workload to say a maximum of 3 x 5 over spells per innings then it leaves a lot of slack for the others to pick up.

Agreed. I'm not convinced by the 5-over thing with Archer, though. He takes three or four to hit his rhythm and coming off after five clearly seems to frustrate him. There's a balance to be found between overbowling him as Root did in NZ and underbowling him as he did in this test.

I'd say Broad and Stokes as stock bowlers plus whatever excuse for a 'spinner' we take should be sufficient to accommodate the quicks, though.

[Rich]

Agreed. I'm not convinced by the 5-over thing with Archer, though. He takes three or four to hit his rhythm and coming off after five clearly seems to frustrate him. There's a balance to be found between overbowling him as Root did in NZ and underbowling him as he did in this test.

I'd say Broad and Stokes as stock bowlers plus whatever excuse for a 'spinner' we take should be sufficient to accommodate the quicks, though.

Archer needs to bowl with pace. He did in the first innings of this game, at times. But on many other occasions he was the 'slowest' of England's seamers. He seems to bring everything in to the right hander (seam rather than swing) so either needs to ensure his pace is strong or find a way to nibble it away off the seam as well.

I'm a big fan of Broad's 'celebrappeal' where he wraps the batsman on the pads and runs of celebrating to the slips rather than bother to check with the umpire for his decision.

[Burney]

Archer needs to bowl with pace. He did in the first innings of this game, at times. But on many other occasions he was the 'slowest' of England's seamers. He seems to bring everything in to the right hander (seam rather than swing) so either needs to ensure his pace is strong or find a way to nibble it away off the seam as well.

I'm a big fan of Broad's 'celebrappeal' where he wraps the batsman on the pads and runs of celebrating to the slips rather than bother to check with the umpire for his decision.

I agree that someone needs to tell him that we don't have any shortage of blokes who can bowl at 84-85mph (indeed, you couldn't throw a dart in most county dressing rooms without hitting one) and that isn't why he's in the side.
I like Broad's appeal, too. Although it does look bad when it gets turned down.

[Luis Anaconda]

Rich's seam attack for Australia (any 4 from):

Broad
Olly Stone
Saqib Mahmood
Archer
Wood
George Garton

Plus:

Stokes
Garton is an interesting one - seems to have been around for a while but only 23. Best option of a left-hander - but you know Curran will be picked

[Luis Anaconda]

I agree that someone needs to tell him that we don't have any shortage of blokes who can bowl at 84-85mph (indeed, you couldn't throw a dart in most county dressing rooms without hitting one) and that isn't why he's in the side.
I like Broad's appeal, too. Although it does look bad when it gets turned down.

I'd rather use Stokes as a 4-5 over "shock" bowler and Archer bowl longer spells. We aren't going to find a magic spinner - if we can just find one that can tie an end down (I hate to say it but an Ashley Giles-figure) it would make a difference

[Burney]

I'd rather use Stokes as a 4-5 over "shock" bowler and Archer bowl longer spells. We aren't going to find a magic spinner - if we can just find one that can tie an end down (I hate to say it but an Ashley Giles-figure) it would make a difference

Due to his superhuman fitness, Stokes seems quire happy to bowl long spells - even when bowling short stuff.
Agree about a Giles-type figure. That's the advantage a left-armer has, of course. If all else fails they can just bowl at the rough outside leg and prevent scoring.
You've reminded me about Curran, which has distressed me. They're going to take him and Woakes to Australia, aren't they? :cry:

[Rich]

Due to his superhuman fitness, Stokes seems quire happy to bowl long spells - even when bowling short stuff.
Agree about a Giles-type figure. That's the advantage a left-armer has, of course. If all else fails they can just bowl at the rough outside leg and prevent scoring.
You've reminded me about Curran, which has distressed me. They're going to take him and Woakes to Australia, aren't they? :cry:

Will be:

Broad
Jake Ball
Archer/Wood
S Curran
Leach
Stokes

[Luis Anaconda]

Will be:

Broad
Jake Ball
Archer/Wood
S Curran
Leach
Stokes

**** me rich - Jake Ball - ae you trying to send b over the edge

[Burney]

Will be:

Broad
Jake Ball
Archer/Wood
S Curran
Leach
Stokes

Nah. If Archer and Wood are both fit, they'll both tour. Whether they'll both play is another matter. Jake Ball is a non-entity.

[Luis Anaconda]

Nah. If Archer and Wood are both fit, they'll both tour. Whether they'll both play is another matter. Jake Ball is a non-entity.

If Wood and Archer take the new ball in Brisbane, I might actually believe we could win

It won't happen

[AFC East]

If Wood and Archer take the new ball in Brisbane, I might actually believe we could win

It won't happen

How many of our batsmen have performed well in Oz and are still in reasonable form?

I'm not sure where the optimism comes from. Warner and Smith are fully over cheatgate and we're going to need to take more than 1-125 from spin per game.

We are going to get absolutely battered.

[Luis Anaconda]

How many of our batsmen have performed well in Oz and are still in reasonable form?

I'm not sure where the optimism comes from. Warner and Smith are fully over cheatgate and we're going to need to take more than 1-125 from spin per game.

We are going to get absolutely battered.

:hehe: It was moment of fleeting optimism, afc e. I'm sure you are right

[AFC East]

:hehe: It was moment of fleeting optimism, afc e. I'm sure you are right

I feel bad now :cry:

[Burney]

How many of our batsmen have performed well in Oz and are still in reasonable form?

I'm not sure where the optimism comes from. Warner and Smith are fully over cheatgate and we're going to need to take more than 1-125 from spin per game.

We are going to get absolutely battered.

Well Root averages 48 over there, Stokes averages nearly 40 and has made a ton there and is now 10 times the batsman he was then. The others haven't really played there, but we now have two very, very promising young middle order batsmen and an opening pair who, while they have their faults, are capable of making 50 partnerships with a consistency we haven't seen since Cook and Strauss.
Be as miserable as you like, but there are grounds for optimism. :-p

[Rich]

Well Root averages 48 over there, Stokes averages nearly 40 and has made a ton there and is now 10 times the batsman he was then. The others haven't really played there, but we now have two very, very promising young middle order batsmen and an opening pair who, while they have their faults, are capable of making 50 partnerships with a consistency we haven't seen since Cook and Strauss.
Be as miserable as you like, but there are grounds for optimism. :-p

I'm sorry but I don't know that I can stand to watch Burns twist and contort himself as their opening bowlers charge in. We must find an alternative.

[Luis Anaconda]

I'm sorry but I don't know that I can stand to watch Burns twist and contort himself as their opening bowlers charge in. We must find an alternative.

No fan of his (Surrey scum, obviously) but he did very well against them last time. We should stick with him

[AFC East]

Well Root averages 48 over there, Stokes averages nearly 40 and has made a ton there and is now 10 times the batsman he was then. The others haven't really played there, but we now have two very, very promising young middle order batsmen and an opening pair who, while they have their faults, are capable of making 50 partnerships with a consistency we haven't seen since Cook and Strauss.
Be as miserable as you like, but there are grounds for optimism. :-p

Bless you. You don't usually come across all Spursy.

[AFC East]

I'm sorry but I don't know that I can stand to watch Burns twist and contort himself as their opening bowlers charge in. We must find an alternative.

Look on the bright side, you won't have to watch him for long.