Jonny Bairstow showing why he's first name on the team sheet (for me anyway). Another brilliant knock. Foakes and Woakes supporting well.
Not sure he’s the chatty communicative sociable personality required but he certainly has a spine, some bottle and some fight. On the basis that nothing could be worse than Root, maybe worth a try.
Fortunately WI can collapse too. I don’t think there will be too many plus 350/400 totals in this series.
Another dud. Debut at 28. Says it all. Average of 34 at FC level, hardly going to see it higher in tests. Probably gives a good foot rub to Joe ‘1 win in 14 tests’ Root.
So what do you suggest? Back to Hameed and Burns? Racist Gary Ballance? It's all very well saying players aren't good enough but we can't simply whistle up another Boycott, Atherton, Trescothick or Cook whenever we want one: we have to give these players a try. And personally I wouldn't write a player off after one Test: Gooch got two ducks in his first match.
I’d suggest trying with younger players. Not players who are going to be over 30 when the next Ashes comes around with no experience of them. Warner hadn’t played a first class game before playing for Australia, could you imagine our old farts picking someone like that? Then again, any organisation who say that it’s up to the captain to decide whether he wants to be captain doesn’t seem the best run.
I don't disagree in principle, but I wonder if such a player exists. On this list, all are around Lees' age or older, except for Bracey, and he was a disaster when selected (admittedly not as an opener). https://wisden.com/series-stories/e...nty-openers-england-havent-tried-in-tests-yet As for not picking a player who hasn't played a FC match: no, I can't - but since the general complaint about England players in recent years is that they have played Test cricket as if it were white ball cricket, I can't see that that would help much.
That was me being positive and giving him a break ? He improved his average - he's getting better. At this rate he'll reach double figures with 4 more innings.
Indeed. I think it needs to be said that I’m critical of the system, rather than the players (other than Root). I feel for the likes of Lees, Hameed (who I was a huge fan of when he made his debut at his age) and the others coming in to this environment. I feel the system makes these players hyperbolically ‘duds’. England openers are like England players in a penalty shoot out these days. Perhaps we don’t have any good young test players coming through. If so, the game either needs to let it die or overhaul itself.
Well, yes: there may well be a problem with the system. There should certainly be more red ball cricket at sensible (and dry) times of the summer and it does probably need to be made more competitive, although I would be very reluctant personally to let go of county cricket. The selection process could do with an overhaul too. I think I'm a bit more optimistic though, I'm inclined to see this as being as much of a cycle as necessarily a long-term problem. After all, we were rubbish in the 90s but had a very decent Test team from 2003-2015 or so. The Kiwis were ***** twenty years ago but are world champions now.
I'd have stuck with Burns. Hameed has been out of form for years and years since that very promising start. I don't think he's ever going to get back to the player that everyone believed and hoped he'd become. Lees' record, age and now his start means the odds are against him.
That is certainly not the impression I got from your posts duing the Ashes! I'm not sure Burns has been dumped, just as I don't think Anderson and Broad have been dumped.
No one did well in the ashes. If you recall it was Hameed I said was an utter waste of a pick. Burns struggled but had the right attitude and battling qualities. I’d love to see Lees prove me wrong but everything is against that happening.
Yes and will give confidence. Hope they didn’t go and do something daft like an aggressive declaration though given our limping powder puff bowling attack on a great batting surface.
I'm not judging after one test. His low county average at 28 was already suggesting we were close to the bottom of the barrel. His performance this test doesn't help dispel those doubts.
Blimey ...286 off min 70 overs. 4 an over on a great pitch with a weakened attack. That's a risky declaration isn't it ???? Brave or foolish - I guess we will see !
I can’t believe Root was wearing the big boy pants today. I’m sure he was forced into it. He’s allergic to winning.
According to Wisden his first class average is 35. Not fantastic, but better than you seem to think. He should be given this series. If he fails, I’d look again in the summer. Probably go back to Boo-erns.
Off topic for a moment however James Hildreth averages over 40 in 1st class matches and has never had a sniff at a test and at 37 very unlikely. Allan Wells at Sussex , back in the day , suffered a similar fate playing for Sussex but did eventually get his test match debut at an advanced age and unfortunately was out first ball on debut .
As a Somerset supporter I would say (a) best current cricketer never to play for England and (b) selfishly I am quite pleased about that (and yet we still haven’t quite managed to win the CC…).
Plenty of decent players especially in the past who never had a good crack of the whip . IMO Matthew Maynard should have played many more tests than he did in the 90s
