BBC says Bracey to bat at 7 which if correct means only 4 bowlers, seems
a bit risky but perhaps they are counting on the wicket favouring
the bowlers, 1 of whom will be Broad as hes VC. I guess Leach
will miss out, or we would only have 3 seamers. So lets hope
the pitch is well watered after all this heat. Whoever they choose
it doesnt look like a well balanced side with stokes, ali and woakes
all missing. In their absence they could have tried out
some other all rounders like Dawson or Gregory or even Higgins.

Kane will play for NZ apparently despite having been in the IPL.

Unusually for a Lords test, the weather looks to be fine throughout.
Might be quite a hot one.

mike

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 10:16:47 AM UTC+1, mike wrote:
> BBC says Bracey to bat at 7 which if correct means only 4 bowlers, seems
> a bit risky but perhaps they are counting on the wicket favouring
> the bowlers, 1 of whom will be Broad as hes VC. I guess Leach
> will miss out, or we would only have 3 seamers. So lets hope
> the pitch is well watered after all this heat. Whoever they choose
> it doesnt look like a well balanced side with stokes, ali and woakes
> all missing. In their absence they could have tried out
> some other all rounders like Dawson or Gregory or even Higgins.
>
> Kane will play for NZ apparently despite having been in the IPL.
>
> Unusually for a Lords test, the weather looks to be fine throughout.
> Might be quite a hot one.
>
> mike

i forgot to add: Jamieson is going to be one to watch [cant miss him
as hes 6'8] 56 with the bat and 13 with the ball in 6 tests. Its gonna be
quite a test for our weak batting line up. for the Kiwis these tests are useful
warmups for the final vs india.

mike

In message <0a3e2ff8-8717-4295-bd8d-8f29cdacb2e6n@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmike204@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>i forgot to add: Jamieson is going to be one to watch [cant miss him as
>hes 6'8] 56 with the bat and 13 with the ball in 6 tests. Its gonna be
>quite a test for our weak batting line up. for the Kiwis these tests
>are useful warmups for the final vs india.

Yes, apart from Root our top seven are unusually inexperienced.
--
John Hall "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always
pays off now." Anon

In message <83714d4f-790c-470d-9c39-66cfc484220fn@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmike204@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>BBC says Bracey to bat at 7 which if correct means only 4 bowlers, seems
>a bit risky

Probably less risky than having positions 7-11 filled by Broad, Wood,
Leach, Robinson and Anderson. All England's all-rounders (Stokes,
Woakes, Curran, Moeen) being unavailable has left England with a big
problem. I suppose they could have chosen Overton instead of Robinson,
which would have helped a bit.

> but perhaps they are counting on the wicket favouring
>the bowlers, 1 of whom will be Broad as hes VC. I guess Leach
>will miss out, or we would only have 3 seamers. So lets hope
>the pitch is well watered after all this heat.

In the event, it looks a pretty good pitch for batting, and they could
have done with a quality spinner, if only to reduce the load on the
other bowlers.

> Whoever they choose
>it doesnt look like a well balanced side with stokes, ali and woakes
>all missing. In their absence they could have tried out
>some other all rounders like Dawson or Gregory or even Higgins.

I'm not sure that any of those have really done enough.
>
>Kane will play for NZ apparently despite having been in the IPL.
>
>Unusually for a Lords test, the weather looks to be fine throughout.
>Might be quite a hot one.

Looks like it was.

Conway was very impressive. I thought England bowled quite well, but
when the ball got older and the bowlers tired NZ cashed in.

England's over-rate was atrocious, given that Root - who gets through
his overs very quickly - bowled 12 overs. They only managed 86 in six
and a half hours. There was only one DRS referral, no changes of the
ball (other than taking the new ball), and no hold-ups for people
walking behind the bowler's arm apart from the traditional one for the
very first ball of the day. There were no injury delays and only one
short delay for a physio coming on to bring Taylor some eye-drops. I
don't recall the batsman ever pulling away as the bowler was running in.
I think there was only one no-ball bowled all day. Yes, it was hot, but
not exceptionally so. So there was really no excuse for the slow over
rate..
--
John Hall "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always
pays off now." Anon

On Wed, 2 Jun 2021 19:26:33 +0100, John Hall <john_nospam@jhall.co.uk>
wrote:
> All England's all-rounders (Stokes,
>Woakes, Curran, Moeen) being unavailable

Which makes the exhumation of an ancient article about Ali all the
more lunatic.

Cheers,

Mike

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 7:29:51 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> In message <83714d4f-790c-470d...@googlegroups.com>,
> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >BBC says Bracey to bat at 7 which if correct means only 4 bowlers, seems
> >a bit risky
> Probably less risky than having positions 7-11 filled by Broad, Wood,
> Leach, Robinson and Anderson. All England's all-rounders (Stokes,
> Woakes, Curran, Moeen) being unavailable has left England with a big
> problem. I suppose they could have chosen Overton instead of Robinson,
> which would have helped a bit.
> > but perhaps they are counting on the wicket favouring
> >the bowlers, 1 of whom will be Broad as hes VC. I guess Leach
> >will miss out, or we would only have 3 seamers. So lets hope
> >the pitch is well watered after all this heat.
> In the event, it looks a pretty good pitch for batting, and they could
> have done with a quality spinner, if only to reduce the load on the
> other bowlers.
> > Whoever they choose
> >it doesnt look like a well balanced side with stokes, ali and woakes
> >all missing. In their absence they could have tried out
> >some other all rounders like Dawson or Gregory or even Higgins.
> I'm not sure that any of those have really done enough.
> >
> >Kane will play for NZ apparently despite having been in the IPL.
> >
> >Unusually for a Lords test, the weather looks to be fine throughout.
> >Might be quite a hot one.
> Looks like it was.
>
> Conway was very impressive. I thought England bowled quite well, but
> when the ball got older and the bowlers tired NZ cashed in.

Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start, for once the bore was spot on.
But there was some turn for root, and NZ have a lot more variety and
numbers on their side when it comes to bowlers. England are gonna have to bowl
very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for under 400, and then somehow
bat much better.

The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well, and Robinson
first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and avoids twitter he could
be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to read a mea culpa statement
written by the management at the end.

>
> England's over-rate was atrocious, given that Root - who gets through
> his overs very quickly - bowled 12 overs. They only managed 86 in six
> and a half hours. There was only one DRS referral, no changes of the

yes it was bad but not unusual from england to slow the game down
when they cant take wkts. windies used to do it a lot in the 80s, but
it rarely seems to work for england. Given what root said b4 the match about
putting on a show for the fans, it was quite dissappointing.

mike

In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed-9c77-ce9323856eadn@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmike204@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,

So was Simon Doull on Sky.

> for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
>NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
>bowlers.

But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.

> England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
>under 400, and then somehow bat much better.

Yep.

>
>The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
>avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
>read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.

I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
them to the ECB.
--
John Hall "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always
pays off now." Anon

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> >bowlers.
> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> Yep.

especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of drugs is he on ;)

> >
> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> them to the ECB.

they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
collective discomfiture.

mike

On Wed, 2 Jun 2021 02:16:46 -0700 (PDT), mike wrote:

> BBC says Bracey to bat at 7 which if correct means only 4 bowlers, seems
> a bit risky but perhaps they are counting on the wicket favouring
> the bowlers, 1 of whom will be Broad as hes VC. I guess Leach
> will miss out, or we would only have 3 seamers. So lets hope
> the pitch is well watered after all this heat. Whoever they choose
> it doesnt look like a well balanced side with stokes, ali and woakes
> all missing. In their absence they could have tried out
> some other all rounders like Dawson or Gregory or even Higgins.
>
> Kane will play for NZ apparently despite having been in the IPL.
>
> Unusually for a Lords test, the weather looks to be fine throughout.
> Might be quite a hot one.
>
> mike

Could anyone explain to me what "a flamingo-flicked boundary..." is?

Said Cricinfo:
" a flamingo-flicked boundary through backward square leg off Robinson
taking him to three figures and a place on the Lord's honours board"

Is the author trying to expand the avian references in cricket?

alvey

On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 10:34:24 AM UTC+10, alvey wrote:
> Could anyone explain to me what "a flamingo-flicked boundary..." is?

One legged.

On Wed, 2 Jun 2021 17:39:15 -0700 (PDT), jack fredricks wrote:

> On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 10:34:24 AM UTC+10, alvey wrote:
>> Could anyone explain to me what "a flamingo-flicked boundary..." is?
>
> One legged.

Ahhhhh.

alvey

In message <ba1da892-4405-4803-b5e5-e128a23a07d3n@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmike204@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
>> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
>> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
>> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
>> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
>> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
>> >bowlers.
>> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
>> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
>> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
>> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
>> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
>> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
>> Yep.
>
>especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
>Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
>drugs is he on ;)

Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
achieve it.

>
>> >
>> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
>> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
>> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
>> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
>> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
>> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
>> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
>> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
>> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
>> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
>> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
>> them to the ECB.
>
>they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
>stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
>were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
>collective discomfiture.
>
>mike

One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.
Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
for their country than for their county.
--
John Hall "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always
pays off now." Anon

On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 8:30:49 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> In message <ba1da892-4405-4803...@googlegroups.com>,
> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> >> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> >> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> >> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> >> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> >> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> >> >bowlers.
> >> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> >> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> >> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> >> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> >> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> >> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> >> Yep.
> >
> >especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> >Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
> >drugs is he on ;)
> Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
> achieve it.
> >
> >> >
> >> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> >> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> >> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> >> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> >> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> >> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> >> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> >> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> >> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> >> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> >> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> >> them to the ECB.
> >
> >they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> >stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> >were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> >collective discomfiture.
> >
> >mike
> One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
> that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.

Robinson's "apology" had very obviously been written for him, most probably by a lawyer. RH

> Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
> Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
> England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
> their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
> for their country than for their county.
> --
> John Hall "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always
> pays off now." Anon

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 10:22:15 PM UTC+1, mike wrote:
> On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> > mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> > So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> > >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> > >bowlers.
> > But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> > much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> > Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> > anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> > >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> > Yep.
> especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of drugs is he on ;)
> > >
> > >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> > >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> > >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> > I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> > didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> > an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> > of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> > regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> > who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> > when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> > them to the ECB.
> they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> collective discomfiture.
>
> mike

The timing of the revealing of the tweets looked as though the revealer deliberately waited for the Test to be under way ...RH

On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:22:00 AM UTC+1, RH wrote:
> On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 8:30:49 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > In message <ba1da892-4405-4803...@googlegroups.com>,
> > mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > >On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > >> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> > >> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > >> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> > >> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > >> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> > >> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> > >> >bowlers.
> > >> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> > >> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> > >> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> > >> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > >> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> > >> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> > >> Yep.
> > >
> > >especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> > >Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
> > >drugs is he on ;)
> > Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
> > achieve it.
> > >
> > >> >
> > >> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > >> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> > >> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> > >> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> > >> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> > >> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> > >> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> > >> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> > >> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> > >> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> > >> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> > >> them to the ECB.
> > >
> > >they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> > >stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> > >were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> > >collective discomfiture.
> > >
> > >mike
> > One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
> > that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.
> Robinson's "apology" had very obviously been written for him, most probably by a lawyer. RH

yes thats what i thought too or by some ECB media type. But the ECB clearly place
great store on these campaigns and by not telling them of these twits
hes caused a lot of embarrasment to them and their sponsors.

In his defence, it was 8 years ago and he may have genuinly forgotten about them,
I mean does anyone remember what they were twitting about 8 years ago?
and theyre such poorly expressed youf speak to be hardly understandable.

> > Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
> > Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
> > England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
> > their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
> > for their country than for their county.

He was sacked by Yorkshire about the same period, whether these
were indicative of an attitude they found unacceptable i dunno. But
its reasonable to accept that hes a more mature individual now and
no longer thinks its cool to be a yob. I think Overton has a bit of a
reputation as a yobby type.

To get back to the actual cricket showers are forcast today especially pm
so by the time england get to bat whenever that is, batting conditions could
be very different from yesterday, and possibly perfect for the bowlers.
So there could be embarrassment for england both on and off the pitch.

mike

On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:55:25 AM UTC+1, mike wrote:
> On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:22:00 AM UTC+1, RH wrote:
> > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 8:30:49 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > In message <ba1da892-4405-4803...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > >On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > >> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > >> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > >> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> > > >> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > > >> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> > > >> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> > > >> >bowlers.
> > > >> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> > > >> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> > > >> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> > > >> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > > >> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> > > >> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> > > >> Yep.
> > > >
> > > >especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> > > >Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
> > > >drugs is he on ;)
> > > Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
> > > achieve it.
> > > >
> > > >> >
> > > >> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > > >> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> > > >> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> > > >> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> > > >> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> > > >> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> > > >> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> > > >> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> > > >> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> > > >> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> > > >> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> > > >> them to the ECB.
> > > >
> > > >they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> > > >stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> > > >were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> > > >collective discomfiture.
> > > >
> > > >mike
> > > One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
> > > that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.
> > Robinson's "apology" had very obviously been written for him, most probably by a lawyer. RH
> yes thats what i thought too or by some ECB media type. But the ECB clearly place
> great store on these campaigns and by not telling them of these twits
> hes caused a lot of embarrasment to them and their sponsors.
>
> In his defence, it was 8 years ago and he may have genuinly forgotten about them,
> I mean does anyone remember what they were twitting about 8 years ago?
> and theyre such poorly expressed youf speak to be hardly understandable.
> > > Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
> > > Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
> > > England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
> > > their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
> > > for their country than for their county.
> He was sacked by Yorkshire about the same period, whether these
> were indicative of an attitude they found unacceptable i dunno. But
> its reasonable to accept that hes a more mature individual now and
> no longer thinks its cool to be a yob. I think Overton has a bit of a
> reputation as a yobby type.
>
> To get back to the actual cricket showers are forcast today especially pm
> so by the time england get to bat whenever that is, batting conditions could
> be very different from yesterday, and possibly perfect for the bowlers.
> So there could be embarrassment for england both on and off the pitch.
>
> mike

Well it was much worst than forcast, a complete washout, which at least
means england will have less time to save the match in the 2nd innings,
although that wont make much diffrence if they are bolwed out for
their usual 200/250.

mike

On Friday, 4 June 2021 at 22:45:59 UTC+1, mike wrote:
> On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:55:25 AM UTC+1, mike wrote:
> > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:22:00 AM UTC+1, RH wrote:
> > > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 8:30:49 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > > In message <ba1da892-4405-4803...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > > mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > > >On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > > >> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > > >> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > > >> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> > > > >> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > > > >> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> > > > >> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> > > > >> >bowlers.
> > > > >> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> > > > >> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> > > > >> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> > > > >> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > > > >> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> > > > >> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> > > > >> Yep.
> > > > >
> > > > >especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> > > > >Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
> > > > >drugs is he on ;)
> > > > Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
> > > > achieve it.
> > > > >
> > > > >> >
> > > > >> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > > > >> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> > > > >> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> > > > >> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end..
> > > > >> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> > > > >> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> > > > >> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> > > > >> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> > > > >> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> > > > >> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> > > > >> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> > > > >> them to the ECB.
> > > > >
> > > > >they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> > > > >stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> > > > >were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> > > > >collective discomfiture.
> > > > >
> > > > >mike
> > > > One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
> > > > that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.
> > > Robinson's "apology" had very obviously been written for him, most probably by a lawyer. RH
> > yes thats what i thought too or by some ECB media type. But the ECB clearly place
> > great store on these campaigns and by not telling them of these twits
> > hes caused a lot of embarrasment to them and their sponsors.
> >
> > In his defence, it was 8 years ago and he may have genuinly forgotten about them,
> > I mean does anyone remember what they were twitting about 8 years ago?
> > and theyre such poorly expressed youf speak to be hardly understandable..
> > > > Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
> > > > Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
> > > > England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
> > > > their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
> > > > for their country than for their county.
> > He was sacked by Yorkshire about the same period, whether these
> > were indicative of an attitude they found unacceptable i dunno. But
> > its reasonable to accept that hes a more mature individual now and
> > no longer thinks its cool to be a yob. I think Overton has a bit of a
> > reputation as a yobby type.
> >
> > To get back to the actual cricket showers are forcast today especially pm
> > so by the time england get to bat whenever that is, batting conditions could
> > be very different from yesterday, and possibly perfect for the bowlers.
> > So there could be embarrassment for england both on and off the pitch.
> >
> > mike
> Well it was much worst than forcast, a complete washout, which at least
> means england will have less time to save the match in the 2nd innings,
> although that wont make much diffrence if they are bolwed out for
> their usual 200/250.
>
> mike
I thought Devon Conway's innings was one of the best Test innings I've seen in years. It was a picture of calmness, simplicity and conventional strokes and posture. Although Smith has proved that a steady head and conventional technique aren't the b all and end all such a contrast to the awkwardness of Sibley and to an extent the frantic feeling you get when Burns is batting, although he has done well so far. Root also looking good with his usual time to spare.

On Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 9:45:25 AM UTC+1, dcwea...@googlemail.com wrote:
> On Friday, 4 June 2021 at 22:45:59 UTC+1, mike wrote:
> > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:55:25 AM UTC+1, mike wrote:
> > > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:22:00 AM UTC+1, RH wrote:
> > > > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 8:30:49 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > > > In message <ba1da892-4405-4803...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > > > mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > > > >On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > > > >> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > > > >> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > > > >> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> > > > > >> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > > > > >> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> > > > > >> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> > > > > >> >bowlers.
> > > > > >> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> > > > > >> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> > > > > >> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> > > > > >> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > > > > >> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> > > > > >> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> > > > > >> Yep.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> > > > > >Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
> > > > > >drugs is he on ;)
> > > > > Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
> > > > > achieve it.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >> >
> > > > > >> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > > > > >> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> > > > > >> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> > > > > >> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> > > > > >> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> > > > > >> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> > > > > >> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> > > > > >> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> > > > > >> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> > > > > >> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> > > > > >> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> > > > > >> them to the ECB.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> > > > > >stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> > > > > >were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> > > > > >collective discomfiture.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >mike
> > > > > One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
> > > > > that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.
> > > > Robinson's "apology" had very obviously been written for him, most probably by a lawyer. RH
> > > yes thats what i thought too or by some ECB media type. But the ECB clearly place
> > > great store on these campaigns and by not telling them of these twits
> > > hes caused a lot of embarrasment to them and their sponsors.
> > >
> > > In his defence, it was 8 years ago and he may have genuinly forgotten about them,
> > > I mean does anyone remember what they were twitting about 8 years ago?
> > > and theyre such poorly expressed youf speak to be hardly understandable.
> > > > > Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
> > > > > Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
> > > > > England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
> > > > > their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
> > > > > for their country than for their county.
> > > He was sacked by Yorkshire about the same period, whether these
> > > were indicative of an attitude they found unacceptable i dunno. But
> > > its reasonable to accept that hes a more mature individual now and
> > > no longer thinks its cool to be a yob. I think Overton has a bit of a
> > > reputation as a yobby type.
> > >
> > > To get back to the actual cricket showers are forcast today especially pm
> > > so by the time england get to bat whenever that is, batting conditions could
> > > be very different from yesterday, and possibly perfect for the bowlers.
> > > So there could be embarrassment for england both on and off the pitch..
> > >
> > > mike
> > Well it was much worst than forcast, a complete washout, which at least
> > means england will have less time to save the match in the 2nd innings,
> > although that wont make much diffrence if they are bolwed out for
> > their usual 200/250.
> >
> > mike
> I thought Devon Conway's innings was one of the best Test innings I've seen in years. It was a picture of calmness, simplicity and conventional strokes and posture. Although Smith has proved that a steady head and conventional technique aren't the b all and end all such a contrast to the awkwardness of Sibley and to an extent the frantic feeling you get when Burns is batting, although he has done well so far. Root also looking good with his usual time to spare.

Conway was very impressive on debut, well 200 says it all. Vaughan says he was missed off robinson
when he was 70 odd, but I'm not sure, it seemed the ball had passed the fielder Broad or Crawley at
leg slip. It was very disappointing for england that root was out first ball but he got a goodun
but more so that they lost 3 wkts on 140 and that all the young batters have contributed very little.
Crawley and Lawrence in particular wont like seeing those replays. Burns did very well to keep
going when wkts kept falling so regularly and he batted very well after reaching his 100, but as
usual he did need a lot of luck to get there, dropped 3x i think.

Even though theres only 1 day left I sure NZ will try to win this one, and England are quite
adept at collapsing suddenly in the last innings. Also have the boundaries at Lords been
brought in for covid reasons, or something else, they seem very short on both sides of
the wicket.

mike

On Saturday, 5 June 2021 at 23:37:17 UTC+1, mike wrote:
> On Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 9:45:25 AM UTC+1, dcwea...@googlemail.com wrote:
> > On Friday, 4 June 2021 at 22:45:59 UTC+1, mike wrote:
> > > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:55:25 AM UTC+1, mike wrote:
> > > > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 9:22:00 AM UTC+1, RH wrote:
> > > > > On Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 8:30:49 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > > > > In message <ba1da892-4405-4803...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > > > > mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > > > > >On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:19:54 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> > > > > > >> In message <4bd1e75d-a101-41ed...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > > > > >> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> > > > > > >> >Coney was bigging up Conway b4 the start,
> > > > > > >> So was Simon Doull on Sky.
> > > > > > >> > for once the bore was spot on. But there was some turn for root, and
> > > > > > >> >NZ have a lot more variety and numbers on their side when it comes to
> > > > > > >> >bowlers.
> > > > > > >> But they chose Santner as their spinner, whom Doull doesn't reckon is
> > > > > > >> much good and apparently has never taken more than three wickets in a
> > > > > > >> Test innings. He's a very useful batsman, but NZ have plenty of batting
> > > > > > >> anyway. But even without Boult, their pace attack is very impressive.
> > > > > > >> > England are gonna have to bowl very well tomorrow to restrict NZ for
> > > > > > >> >under 400, and then somehow bat much better.
> > > > > > >> Yep.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >especially if they are to fufill joes target of 7 test wins b4 the ashes!
> > > > > > >Did he really say that? I know its good 2b positive but what sort of
> > > > > > >drugs is he on ;)
> > > > > > Having a target doesn't necessarily mean that you expect to be able to
> > > > > > achieve it.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >> >
> > > > > > >> >The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well,
> > > > > > >> > and Robinson first 10 overs were impressive. If he stays fit and
> > > > > > >> >avoids twitter he could be very useful. All rather spoiled by having to
> > > > > > >> >read a mea culpa statement written by the management at the end.
> > > > > > >> I turned off the TV immediately after the last ball of the day, so
> > > > > > >> didn't know about that. I've now read about it on the BBC website. Not
> > > > > > >> an ideal start, especially given that the two teams had before the start
> > > > > > >> of play lined up to demonstrate that cricket should welcome everyone
> > > > > > >> regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. I suspect that someone
> > > > > > >> who had read Robinson's tweets back when they were originally posted,
> > > > > > >> when they saw the teams lining up was motivated to dig them out and send
> > > > > > >> them to the ECB.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >they even had a special anti discrim jersey. when they are doing all this PC
> > > > > > >stuff its bound to backfire eventually, cos most of the sporties i knew
> > > > > > >were anything but PC. I think a lot of people will be laughing at their
> > > > > > >collective discomfiture.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >mike
> > > > > > One hopes that Robinson's apology was genuine rather than just something
> > > > > > that he knew that he had to say if his England career wasn't to be over.
> > > > > Robinson's "apology" had very obviously been written for him, most probably by a lawyer. RH
> > > > yes thats what i thought too or by some ECB media type. But the ECB clearly place
> > > > great store on these campaigns and by not telling them of these twits
> > > > hes caused a lot of embarrasment to them and their sponsors.
> > > >
> > > > In his defence, it was 8 years ago and he may have genuinly forgotten about them,
> > > > I mean does anyone remember what they were twitting about 8 years ago?
> > > > and theyre such poorly expressed youf speak to be hardly understandable.
> > > > > > Even if it was genuine, it's going to be rather awkward when he and
> > > > > > Joffra Archer - and perhaps Moeen Ali too - come to play in the same
> > > > > > England XI. And of course they play for the same county too, though
> > > > > > their England commitments make it more likely for them to play together
> > > > > > for their country than for their county.
> > > > He was sacked by Yorkshire about the same period, whether these
> > > > were indicative of an attitude they found unacceptable i dunno. But
> > > > its reasonable to accept that hes a more mature individual now and
> > > > no longer thinks its cool to be a yob. I think Overton has a bit of a
> > > > reputation as a yobby type.
> > > >
> > > > To get back to the actual cricket showers are forcast today especially pm
> > > > so by the time england get to bat whenever that is, batting conditions could
> > > > be very different from yesterday, and possibly perfect for the bowlers.
> > > > So there could be embarrassment for england both on and off the pitch.
> > > >
> > > > mike
> > > Well it was much worst than forcast, a complete washout, which at least
> > > means england will have less time to save the match in the 2nd innings,
> > > although that wont make much diffrence if they are bolwed out for
> > > their usual 200/250.
> > >
> > > mike
> > I thought Devon Conway's innings was one of the best Test innings I've seen in years. It was a picture of calmness, simplicity and conventional strokes and posture. Although Smith has proved that a steady head and conventional technique aren't the b all and end all such a contrast to the awkwardness of Sibley and to an extent the frantic feeling you get when Burns is batting, although he has done well so far. Root also looking good with his usual time to spare.
> Conway was very impressive on debut, well 200 says it all. Vaughan says he was missed off robinson
> when he was 70 odd, but I'm not sure, it seemed the ball had passed the fielder Broad or Crawley at
> leg slip. It was very disappointing for england that root was out first ball but he got a goodun
> but more so that they lost 3 wkts on 140 and that all the young batters have contributed very little.
> Crawley and Lawrence in particular wont like seeing those replays. Burns did very well to keep
> going when wkts kept falling so regularly and he batted very well after reaching his 100, but as
> usual he did need a lot of luck to get there, dropped 3x i think.
>
> Even though theres only 1 day left I sure NZ will try to win this one, and England are quite
> adept at collapsing suddenly in the last innings. Also have the boundaries at Lords been
> brought in for covid reasons, or something else, they seem very short on both sides of
> the wicket.
>
> mike
"The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well, "
Can't say I agree with that. It was quite tricky and doing odd things but I don't recall seeing the ball mis-handled that much by a keeper at Lords before. Loads of leg side takes bounced out of his gloves that I am certain would have stuck in Butler's. Also in the NZ first innings a catchable edge went between first slip and keeper which he just watched go by. He should have taken responsible for that one.

On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 04:03:33 -0700 (PDT), D Cornwell
<dcweather01@googlemail.com> wrote:

>"The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well, "
>Can't say I agree with that. It was quite tricky and doing odd things but I don't recall seeing the ball mis-handled that much by a keeper at Lords before.

Anthony McGrath v Zimbabwe comes to mind.

Even so, Bracey has been poor at best.

Cheers,

Mike

On Sunday, 6 June 2021 at 12:53:46 UTC+1, Mike Holmans wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 04:03:33 -0700 (PDT), D Cornwell
> <dcwea...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> >"The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well, "
> >Can't say I agree with that. It was quite tricky and doing odd things but I don't recall seeing the ball mis-handled that much by a keeper at Lords before.
> Anthony McGrath v Zimbabwe comes to mind.
>
> Even so, Bracey has been poor at best.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mike
Thankfully this won't be England's batting lineup for the Ashes - hopefully ! It is pretty woeful looking. Given the fairly generous declaration there is no real intent. I'm not saying they should go for it gung ho but the hesitancy is there for all to see. I'm afraid we need to get back to a positive attitude to Test cricket. I suppose nerves are slightly understandable considering all of them are playing for their place except Root. Positivity has generally worked and it certainly worked for the short forms in the last few years. Apart from Root (and to an extent Burns, I suppose) the batters don't look like international quality.

On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 08:40:31 -0700 (PDT), D Cornwell
<dcweather01@googlemail.com> wrote:

>On Sunday, 6 June 2021 at 12:53:46 UTC+1, Mike Holmans wrote:
>> On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 04:03:33 -0700 (PDT), D Cornwell
>> <dcwea...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> >"The 2 plus points for england was that Bracey kept well, "
>> >Can't say I agree with that. It was quite tricky and doing odd things but I don't recall seeing the ball mis-handled that much by a keeper at Lords before.
>> Anthony McGrath v Zimbabwe comes to mind.
>>
>> Even so, Bracey has been poor at best.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Mike
>Thankfully this won't be England's batting lineup for the Ashes - hopefully ! It is pretty woeful looking. Given the fairly generous declaration there is no real intent. I'm not saying they should go for it gung ho but the hesitancy is there for all to see. I'm afraid we need to get back to a positive attitude to Test cricket. I suppose nerves are slightly understandable considering all of them are playing for their place except Root. Positivity has generally worked and it certainly worked for the short forms in the last few years. Apart from Root (and to an extent Burns, I suppose) the batters don't look like international quality.

Crawley, of whom I had high hopes when he made 267 last year, got out
in both innings playing aggressive shots to the wrong ball down the
wrong line. If that's what you mean by positivity, I can't say that I
think very much of it. I'm not at all satisfied with the batsmen's
performance in this match, but I'm not going to complain about their
attitude because they were out of their depth and not up to the task.

If you want a change in attitude from the batsmen when they're facing
high-quality bowling, I suggest getting batsmen who are good enough to
feel confident in their ability when they're facing high-quality
bowling. As you imply, picking batsmen who aren't good enough is
rarely a recipe for success and we should try and avoid doing it.

Cheers,

Mike

In message <ddb7b266-394b-4714-bc62-282f077e47den@googlegroups.com>, D
Cornwell <dcweather01@googlemail.com> writes
>Thankfully this won't be England's batting lineup for the Ashes -
>hopefully ! It is pretty woeful looking. Given the fairly generous
>declaration there is no real intent. I'm not saying they should go for
>it gung ho but the hesitancy is there for all to see. I'm afraid we
>need to get back to a positive attitude to Test cricket. I suppose
>nerves are slightly understandable considering all of them are playing
>for their place except Root. Positivity has generally worked and it
>certainly worked for the short forms in the last few years. Apart from
>Root (and to an extent Burns, I suppose) the batters don't look like
>international quality.

I think it needs to be remembered that NZ have a very good pace attack
and that this was quite a tricky pitch. There was uneven bounce,
especially while the ball was still hard, as well as some seam movement
and sometimes swing as well. There was also some turn to be had, even
though Santner was handicapped by a split finger.

Taking everything into account, I suspect that Silverwood and Root
decided that winning was never really on but that they could easily lose
if they tried to go for the runs and lost some early wickets. It's also
always going to be hard to score quickly when Sibley is a fixture at one
end, as his rate of scoring rarely seems to exceed 30 runs per 100 balls
faced.

At least Burns and Sibley have got some runs in this match in tricky
conditions. To lose only 3 wickets in 70-odd overs was actually pretty
good. And when Stokes comes back in place of either Crawley or Lawrence
and Buttler for Bracey, the batting will look a lot stronger.

Again the over rate was funereal and, given the eight extra overs to
make up some of the time lost to rain, if Williamson had insisted on
playing on till the bitter end, close of play would have been at about
7:25.
--
John Hall "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always
pays off now." Anon

On Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 9:55:41 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> In message <ddb7b266-394b-4714...@googlegroups.com>, D
> Cornwell <dcwea...@googlemail.com> writes
> >Thankfully this won't be England's batting lineup for the Ashes -
> >hopefully ! It is pretty woeful looking. Given the fairly generous
> >declaration there is no real intent. I'm not saying they should go for
> >it gung ho but the hesitancy is there for all to see. I'm afraid we
> >need to get back to a positive attitude to Test cricket. I suppose
> >nerves are slightly understandable considering all of them are playing
> >for their place except Root. Positivity has generally worked and it
> >certainly worked for the short forms in the last few years. Apart from
> >Root (and to an extent Burns, I suppose) the batters don't look like
> >international quality.
> I think it needs to be remembered that NZ have a very good pace attack
> and that this was quite a tricky pitch. There was uneven bounce,
> especially while the ball was still hard, as well as some seam movement
> and sometimes swing as well. There was also some turn to be had, even
> though Santner was handicapped by a split finger.
>
> Taking everything into account, I suspect that Silverwood and Root
> decided that winning was never really on but that they could easily lose
> if they tried to go for the runs and lost some early wickets. It's also
> always going to be hard to score quickly when Sibley is a fixture at one
> end, as his rate of scoring rarely seems to exceed 30 runs per 100 balls
> faced.

a lot a people turned up in the afternoon i think becos theu expected
england to make a go of it. i think you are right without stokes buttler bairstow
that was going to be unlikely, and crawley got out going for it, but
sibley batting 70 overs for 60 was not what the crowd or anyone
wanted to see. but perhaps it he hadnt, england might have collapsed.

the uneven bounce made it pretty difficult at times. watling coped with
it a lot better than bracey did behind the stumps, but he took a good catch
off wood. Will they give him another chance? If robinson is banned, will
he be replaced by the other bad boy Overton? That would be a bit strange,
given the current controversy and his history [plus hes since denied the
incident with Azar Zaidi ever happened].

>
> At least Burns and Sibley have got some runs in this match in tricky
> conditions. To lose only 3 wickets in 70-odd overs was actually pretty
> good. And when Stokes comes back in place of either Crawley or Lawrence
> and Buttler for Bracey, the batting will look a lot stronger.

I would definitley bring back Malan at no3, not just cos hes made a big ton,
but also he has experience in oz already. There cant be many england batters
who have made 100s in oz since 2013-14. Cook & Stokes not root?

Its dissapointing that Crawley and Pope who both had breakthrough innings
some time ago havnt gone on to become mainstays. I'm still hopeful
for Pope that he will make it, but as usual we're running out of time b4
the ashes. I bet most oz are praying that we stick with sibley and burns!

mike