#3712

I’ve only just clocked that we actually won the toss, then having not picked a spinner and in overcast conditions, we actually chose to bat first. Bemusing.

#3713

Bracey clearly had GME shares and was going with :gem::open_hands:.

Barmy Army just proper fucked up the “everywhere we go” chant. It’s all gone to shit.

#3714

Always feels like a long tail when the nine-ten-Jack is Wood, Broad and Anderson.
Speaking of Broad, whatever happened to Varun Aaron? Did he get a big injury or something?

#3715

From the guardian OBO

4m ago 16:40

65th over: England 192-6 (Lawrence 34, Stone 4) Wagner replaces Boult, who took two for 12 in a savvy four-over spell. Stone has a windy woof at a very wide delivery and is beaten. England have batted pretty poorly today/in this series/in this calendar year/for as long as I can remember.

“I wonder who regrets that torn hamstring the most, Foakes or Bracey?” says James Evans. “And a penny for YJB’s thoughts…”

Bairstow probably feels he could show Bracey a thing or two. And with three ducks in his last four Test innings, he’d be right.

2 Likes
#3716

Haven’t watched a test during COVID before this series from memory. How far is this off the strongest side? What’s our best 1-11 now?

Assume Stokes, Buttler, Bairstow and Sam Curran maybe come back in? Remember there being some talk of rotating Anderson and Broad. Have they knocked that on the head?

Who’s the first choice spinner nowadays - Leech? Mooen had been going through a rough spell if I remember rightly.

What’s the craic with the keeper - people seemed quite split on Foakes v Buttler v Bairstow a year or so back, is Bracey now first choice, if so does that mean a straight choice between Jos and Johnny?

#QUESTIONS

#3717

All the ipl lads are resting and foakes is injured

1 Like
#3718

think (hope) they’ve told bairstow that he’s out of the test reckoning for good now, been bobbins too long.

jos and stokes walk back into the side imho.

no one really knows what our best bowling lineup is because we’ve got eight really good quicks
no one really knows what our best batting lineup is because we’ve got no batsmen
what’s a spinner?

3 Likes
#3719

This is far from our strongest 11. The biggest problem as noted earlier in the thread is that Stokes isn’t available, and he’s two players in one. With him out and the need for 4 seamers, we can’t seem to fit a spinner in.

Bairstow is out of favour, his form has been poor and he’s just looked out of sorts for at least 18 months. Moeen did indeed have a rough spell and was dropped, he was back in but got some rough treatment from the selectors and press over the last year, he could certainly make it back though. Sure hope so.

Elsewhere we’re missing Woakes who should be an automatic choice in England, Buttler (and Foakes who is number 2 WK, Bracey… hasn’t cemented his place let’s say) and Curran, who might or might not play. Leach plays if Stokes plays. Our first choice 11 this test (give or take some resting/horses for courses around the fast bowlers) would probably have been

Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Root
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Woakes
Leach
Broad
Anderson

1 Like
#3720

mandatory “moeen ali was averaging 28 the year he was dropped for being woefully out of form” post

#3721

Always has been “form” for the favourites and “form” for the rest though hasn’t it?

I think we also need to put a twitter pending asterisk next to Buttler given his conversations with Morgan.

1 Like
#3722

Looked like he’d just middled it onto his pad at first but think he’s got away with that. Was plumb if it had gone to ball tracking

#3723

Are you talking about the Wood review? Both BBC and cricinfo comms saying ball tracking showed it going over

#3724

played some lovely lovely shots the last half hour these two.

obviously I can’t let myself enjoy it because I’m thinking the pitch looks quite easy under the sunshine.

#3725

It was a couple of balls before the one going over

#3726

Thought we were gonna be all out for 215. Decent little fightback

Good to see 90 overs in a day too.

#3727

Difficult to say how good (or bad) that is but certainly doing better than the other team that chose to bat first in a test match today

#3728

It was a Lawrence one a few before. Got reviewed and rejected for bat first. But looked like it may have flicked pad, then bat, then back into the pad and the TV umpire missed it

#3729

Openers got 116 between them and soaked up 40+ overs, which should be the platform for 400+, but we batted through the day and no. 6 is leading a decent fight back.

Would be classed as a decent day had we lost the toss and been put in.

A bit of a disaster considering we won the toss and chose to bat.

#3730

What would you call 97 all out after winning the toss and choosing to bat?

#3731

England away?

1 Like