snowychap Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) May I ask how much of a difference the wickets/creases make?A great deal but it isn't always evident to people commentating/watching 80 odd yards away.Some tracks are easily identifiable as easy to bat on (little movement, consistent pace and bounce - though not too much of either, not too dry and so on) or good to bowl on (lots of grass or lots of moisture just underneath the surface or a dry bunsen or other things) but some aren't which is why the adage of waiting to see both sides bat often holds true (atmospheric inputs being equal). Edited July 18, 2014 by snowychap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Its not technique its concentration... The captaincy is weighing him down.... Another 5 wickets for the great Dale Steyn against Sri Lanka... Philander got done for ball tampering during the innings as Steyn ends up getting big reverse swing. Cheating bastards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) No No No with Bell, he is the best batsman in England. His last 2 knocks were with the changed Ball at Notts which took 5 or 6 wickets in 25 overs, whilst every other ball in the match took 25 wickets in about 500 overs. The other being on a green oval pitch taking 16 wickets in 2 days. I think he is still in the top 20 run scores in the county championship this season, not bad considering he has only played about 4 or 5 games He still needs that big score... Only Cook out the batsmen have scored less in tests this summer.... Edited July 18, 2014 by PaulC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colhint Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I know what you mean, It would help, but wasn't it last season he was Englands cricketer of the year. The other thing is what's his role? He moves up and down the batting order not because of his form, its because of everyone else's. 2 years ago he was 5, then 3 now with some youngsters it 4. We should just put him at 3 and leave it at that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 His record is best at 5 or 6 though and how can you move Ballance from 3 when he's been our best batsman this summer... Impressed with Ballance, very solid, good technique and a man that averages over 50 in first class cricket and list a cricket... Good player.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colhint Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I think that with a quality batsman, he should have is own position. So if its 3 4 or 5 he should stick to it. I can't think of any recent test batsman who gets moved around as much as Bell. Considering he has probably been our best batsman for 4 or 5 years now, its poor from England. When you think of Ballance, what happens. Englands approach is, well he prefers 3 so we'll move Bell. Same when Root came in We'll move Bell. Pietersen leaves, we'll move Bell. I just think that's wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Yes I agree with you but theres no denying that Bell has had most of his success at 5 and 6...Ballance is a strange one because he bats at 5 for Yorkshire. No.4 is a responsible position. A lot of the great batsmen have batted at 4, He is not going to be moved so its up Bell to start getting scores at 4...He may have a big chance 2nd innings... I really thought Bell would be a great but a true yardstick for greatness is a test average of over 50 and Bell averages under 45. Too man blips in form during his career....You look at the top batsmen like Sangakarra, Kallis they average nearer 60 than 50.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avfc96 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Just about India's day I reckon. 145 lead with 6 wickets left put them in a good position. If Vijay can stay in and get a 100 and the others (Dhoni, Jadeja, Binny, Kumar) all bat around him and make a decent contribution then I think they will have too much for us, especially with our fragile batting line up. Also, Anderson looks shattered and in need of a long rest. Especially if he is going to be our main bowler at the World Cup. Stokes hasn't impressed me since he has came back at all. Batting has been awful and his bowling has been a bit wayward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Stokes was England's best bowler today but looks totally out of sorts as a batsman at the moment. But he's young and should be persisted with. This test is very much in the balance. If India can bat until tea they have the game in their hands but the lower order is pretty brittle so England will fancy knocking them over to leave a target around 200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Personally I think England can chase anything up to about 280. Not sure about India's lower order being brittle. Didn't their no.11 make 50 the last test....The brittleness seems to Dhawan and Kohli. Regarding Stokes his batting leaves a lot to be desired. No way can he bat at 6. You take away the hundred and he's scored nothing.. His bowling offers promise but although I'm biased I think Woakes is a better bowler and batsman. He's not as quick but he does more with the ball. I thought Plunkett was our best bowler myself... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Personally I think England can chase anything up to about 280. Not sure about India's lower order being brittle. Didn't their no.11 make 50 the last test....The brittleness seems to Dhawan and Kohli. Regarding Stokes his batting leaves a lot to be desired. No way can he bat at 6. You take away the hundred and he's scored nothing.. His bowling offers promise but although I'm biased I think Woakes is a better bowler and batsman. He's not as quick but he does more with the ball. I thought Plunkett was our best bowler myself... I'm an India fan and can tell you the lower order of Dhoni, Jadeja and Binny is not really one that fills you in confidence in these conditions! Shami won't be scoring another 50 any time soon so I wouldn't worry about that either. Regarding Woakes I don't see it personally. I'd rate Jordan and Stokes a couple of notches above him as bowling all rounders. Plunkett got the important double break through but for me it was Stokes who was making the batsmen play the most and obtaining the most uneven bounce from the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Ok but I have to disagree about Woakes having watched him at Warwickshire since he was 16. On that first day on that green wicket he would have bowled better than any of the other England seamers 100%. Look at his first class record... Pace wise he's not as quick as Jordan and Stokes but he's a superior bowler... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avfc96 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Stokes has 18 runs in his last 9 England appearances in all competitions. After a very good start in England colours he has regressed but I suppose some of that could be put down to his age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Stokes has 18 runs in his last 9 England appearances in all competitions. After a very good start in England colours he has regressed but I suppose some of that could be put down to his age. yes and time out through injury. he hasnt scored runs for Durham this season.. South Africa win and 9 wickets in the match for Steyn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 South Africa win and 9 wickets in the match for Steyn...And the fine for ball tampering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggy_333 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Big ask i know but could anyone try and post a few updates on the England game for me during the day please? For some reason i can access VT but my signal is awful so i can't get on anything else! Would be much appreciated while I'm at the hospital! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 India 203/6 new ball approaching 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Dhoni caught Bell bowled Plunkett 19 Binny caught Cook bowled Moeen 0 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) South Africa win and 9 wickets in the match for Steyn... And the fine for ball tampering. Not Steyn. He's a magnificent bowler has been for a number of years... Wouldn't get too bothered about ball tamepering..... All teams including England do it to an extent... 235/6 Edited July 20, 2014 by PaulC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 235/7 Vijay caught Prior bowled anderson 95 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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