Ashes Thread | Page 27 | Vital Football

Ashes Thread

I was surprised Burns was dropped tbh and given the circumstances, I would reinstate him. We should persevere with Crawley ,but he should be at no.6,not opening. Likewise with Hamed, who should go in at no.3,with Malan opening. My team for the next test :

Burns
Malan
Hamed
Root
Stokes
Crawley
Bairstow (W/K)
Robinson
Wood
Leach
Anderson

The old saying about re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic comes to mind.
 
I'm reminded of the time in the mid 70s when a workmate was advocating the virtues of "floodlit tip n run" to wind up a more traditional cricket fan. It took 40 years for it to happen, but happen it did.
 
We were taught forward and across towards the ball, the majority of our lot are stuck on their crease wafting their for catching practice .
Crawley is a prime example, he averages 11 this calendar year...
Due to covid regulations and the stupid idea of sending the entire lions squad we're stuck with this lot. Buttler isn't test standard at either keeping or batting, Foakes must be given an extended run in the team
I for one won't be lining the ecb pockets during the summer until they take red ball seriously again.
Cheapest seats at trentbridge for the humiliation by New Zealand on the first 3 days are £58 going upto £85 and trentbridge is one of the cheapest to go to!
There are one or two playing in the Big Bash , Vince & Sajid Mahmood I believe
 
I may be wrong , but arnt England A out in Aussie . Perhaps they should swop places . Also blood in some of the younger players , looking for the future .

Just looked at the highlights , David Warner looked rather pleased in catching Root . gotta love the man ...........
 
England have reached another low in their history - quite similar to the position they were in before Hussain took over the captaincy.

The difference then is that there was a will and a way to respect red ball cricket, which got it back on track. Sadly the only will now, is white ball cricket and money.

Some administrators may consider it reality and the price of modernisation for the game to survive. I may consider them soul less vandals and in 50 years time it would not surprise me if test match cricket is viewed as a historical curiosity - a bit like under arm bowling.

I have no doubts that the finest technicians of the game have come and gone because future generations will never have to apply themselves or strive to achieve the same levels required to survive and prosper in all conditions of a 5 day game.

It's sad to see, at a time footballers are likely to be seeking to continually push the standards higher - cricket is doing it's best to regress and the only thing it has to offer as progress is a few new show pony batting shots.
 
The difference then is that there was a will and a way to respect red ball cricket, which got it back on track. Sadly the only will now, is white ball cricket and money..

How do you propose to promote a top level sport without money? This is what pays, and therefore attracts, players.

For years now Test cricket has only really drawn crowds in England or Australia, and the breeding ground for those players on the county circuit is not financially viable. I suppose it might become so if the number of county sides playing the 4-day game was reduced just to the test match venue counties (goodbye, Yorkshire) and the standard of play less diluted, but even then....

....true aficionados like yourself are going to need to admit that a 5 day game does not appeal to a lot of people, even those who actually like cricket. I can't watch a 5 day match; I can't even watch a full day of a 5-day match. In all games, even the fondly remembered great ones, there are long, long spells when nothing at all is happening. Sometimes several days of play are lost to jockeying for position then everything happens in the last two hours and people congratulate themselves on what a great game it was.

One-sided encounters don't help, and is there anything worse than a side with a first innings lead of over 200 choosing to bat again? Where's the entertainment in that? That's 50, 60, 70 overs of utter tedium.

I'm sorry to say that Test match cricket is dying a slow death and should probably put out of its misery. The extended game is going to end up a relic played out to practically nobody with little publicity - like Speedway.
 
I may be wrong , but arnt England A out in Aussie . Perhaps they should swop places . Also blood in some of the younger players , looking for the future .

Just looked at the highlights , David Warner looked rather pleased in catching Root . gotta love the man ...........
No they’ve gone back to UK
 
How do you propose to promote a top level sport without money? This is what pays, and therefore attracts, players.

For years now Test cricket has only really drawn crowds in England or Australia, and the breeding ground for those players on the county circuit is not financially viable. I suppose it might become so if the number of county sides playing the 4-day game was reduced just to the test match venue counties (goodbye, Yorkshire) and the standard of play less diluted, but even then....

....true aficionados like yourself are going to need to admit that a 5 day game does not appeal to a lot of people, even those who actually like cricket. I can't watch a 5 day match; I can't even watch a full day of a 5-day match. In all games, even the fondly remembered great ones, there are long, long spells when nothing at all is happening. Sometimes several days of play are lost to jockeying for position then everything happens in the last two hours and people congratulate themselves on what a great game it was.

One-sided encounters don't help, and is there anything worse than a side with a first innings lead of over 200 choosing to bat again? Where's the entertainment in that? That's 50, 60, 70 overs of utter tedium.

I'm sorry to say that Test match cricket is dying a slow death and should probably put out of its misery. The extended game is going to end up a relic played out to practically nobody with little publicity - like Speedway.

I agree with several of your points; it's more a case of lamenting from the point of view of striving for quality over quantity. As a purist I do understand that the 5 day game doesn't appeal to a lot of people but it's not as if anybody is trying hard to do anything about that which is disappointing.

In terms of the money aspect, it may be a losing battle but the authorities could at least try and inject some life into test cricket to make it more attractive. What we see is an acceptance to continually undermine and run the format down, (parallels with the FA Cup per chance).

A start with respecting the county game to raise standards (people won't pay a fortune to watch second rate players who are not good enough) and then adding VFM by making sure 90 overs are bowled. Even Geoff Boycott does his nut over slow over rates and coming off for 'light' when we have excellent flood lit facilities now. That may be a bit hypocritical on his part but he's right.

Whilst it is true that dull/one sided TM cricket exists, that is equally true for all formats of the 1 day game. They too can be settled by simply winning the toss or all over after a handful of overs of an innings if either side starts badly. The one day game is all about winning or losing and whilst it's a small point it is worth considering that some of the most gripping tests 'only' involve a draw. There is something unique about a side clinging on for a day and a half against all the odds, a drama that can't be matched or sustained by white ball cricket imo.

But sadly you are correct, many people don't have the attention span or time to invest in red ball cricket. Instant gratification, sub standard cricket and entertainment will undoubtedly win over quality, substance and appreciation of the subtleties of the longer format. I've already accepted that is likely to happen but it doesn't make it a good thing.
 
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Players need to be identified as they were 20 years when Hussain and Fletcher took over. Trescothick, Vaughan, Flintoff etc.
Who's the best young skipper in the county game , make him captain and leave him to it.
Getting rid of Giles, Silverwood etc.
English is certainly at it's lowest ebb for many years in so many ways.
 
Players need to be identified as they were 20 years when Hussain and Fletcher took over. Trescothick, Vaughan, Flintoff etc.
Who's the best young skipper in the county game , make him captain and leave him to it.
Getting rid of Giles, Silverwood etc.
English is certainly at it's lowest ebb for many years in so many ways.

Unlike football, I can actually see the value of what is effectively a franchise system in TM cricket. There comes a point where you can say let's just rip it up and start afresh without any great damage to your commercial status. We have reached that point.

The only problem is, that as somebody who attends county cricket I see the young players being set up to fail under the current format and that is not their fault. The cynic in me thinks that the administrators and money men are physically doing their best to hasten the demise of TM cricket.

Of course The Ashes will be retained as a historical curiosity and marketed as 'the greatest and oldest international sporting event' whilst the rest of TM cricket lies in er, ashes. They wouldn't want to miss out on a lucrative earner after all, no matter how shite the standard is, and constantly having to return gate advances for days 4 and 5.
 
The Aussies have it right. Sheffield Shield cricket is incredibly competitive, respected and it is an honour and achievement to play at that level. Standards remain high and the competition is a very worthy one.

County cricket is awash with too much mediocrity, too many clubs HAVING to play each other becuase of the tradition. Taking something from the hundred (can't believe I said that) perhaps there could be regional county games where only the best players from counties get picked. That would raise standards a bit for starters.
 
At last a decent listen for the last hour and a half. Stokes had fought bravely for a credible 66, then Bairstow and Wood provided some great entertainment. A very well earned 100 for YJB and a hard hitting 39 off 41 balls from Wood.

For England, having been 34-4, to end 257- 7 is almost miraculous.
 
And with rain forecast for the last two days we might sneak a draw!
Congratulations as due to Giles , Silverwood and et al for finally getting back to standard position in the world rankings... BOTTOM!
 
Watching the highlights nice that we Bairstow & Stokes went after Lyon for once, and his figures suffered. 3 tests too late mind
 
100% 3 tests too late, you get the feeling they're shit scared of their entire attack, especially the openers,,their feet apart to be set in concrete.
Buttler failed yet again.
Great to see Woody go after Cummins too.
 
Both openers bowled between bat and pad, just about sums the series up. How on earth has Hameed become an international cricket player?! He looks like a scrawny schoolboy playing against actual cricketers, totally out of his depth.
Well done Bairstow. One of the few that is able to tame his one-day urges on a reasonably regular basis. Why was he ever left out of the side?
 
Watching the highlights nice that we Bairstow & Stokes went after Lyon for once, and his figures suffered. 3 tests too late mind
It was but we tried to get after Lyon earlier in the series but batters kept holing out in the outfield and got slaughtered for giving their wicket away cheaply. Sometimes its fine margins but the difference in quality of both sides certainly isn’t fine margins.
 
Too many of the team get bowled 'through the gate' it's a weakness Bairstow has too.
Pope has taken chance behind the stumps and Leach bowled well too.
It's all too late