2nd Investec Test: England v Sri Lanka at Leeds Jun 20-24, 2014

[hineyrulz]

:lol: What a mob of pea hearts, hope the Lankans murder them tonight.

Where is that jizz mop LeedsMerkin???? I can see the poms going back to their mid 90's era.

 

[Wato]

There is a massive culture issue at the moment they are not this bad a team. Cooks comments about warne were very telling, the leadership in this team do not accept critism as evidenced by the KP saga. Cooks leadership has turned Engalnd into a shambles and there is no way Cook can lead them to Aus for the World Cup also Anderson needs to bowl in shorter spells.

 

[Timbo]

Cook needs to be sacked as captain, ASAP. That thing about Warne was pathetic, mate try acting like an adult. Bell needs to take over as an intermediary until a young captain coming through is ready to take over.

 

[Twizzle]

It has to be Bell, can't see Broad doing a job, don't think he is the right man for it.

Stokes could be the future but obviously not yet.

 

[vvvrulz]

Not sure why everyone is laying the boot into Cook, whatever he is doing as captain it worked when England were a success a few years ago. And I don't even particularly like him.

Cook is out of form as a batsman but he isn't the real problem, the real problem is the bunch of pansies like Swann & Trott who abandoned ship, the injuries/retirements/illnesses of Simon Jones, Tresco, Flintoff and Strauss etc. and of course KP who never cared about England anyway.

The team that's left has a few good players and a few mediocre ones, hence they're sinking as a team.
There is really nothing more to it.

 

[Twizzle]

His captaincy is very negative and he seems happy to play for a draw rather than a result.

 

[vvvrulz]

Cook needs to be sacked as captain, ASAP. That thing about Warne was pathetic, mate try acting like an adult.

Cook didn't handle it well at all, but I sympathise with him a bit.
Warne is an annoying twat and it was just a matter of time before someone snapped.

 

[vvvrulz]

His captaincy is very negative and he seems happy to play for a draw rather than a result.

Dhoni is no better as a test captain, and we saw the disgraceful South Africa vs India finish earlier this year.

Cook is negative but he's not alone.

 

[Timbo]

Bell is a famously reluctant captain but he's also incredibly highly regarded, when he did it at Warwickshire the reviews were glowing. Broads temper runs away with him, that's not what you need in a test side.

Cook is just comically negative. When he had Swann who could bowl sides out in the 4th dig and a firing Anderson who could exploit the new ball, coupled with the brutal counter-attacking batting offered by Pietersen and Prior it didn't matter so much. Now that it's just a run of the mill side, you need a proactive, tactical captain. And the only one that fits the bill is Bell.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Cook is out of form as a batsman but he isn't the real problem, the real problem is the bunch of pansies like Swann & Trott who abandoned ship, the injuries/retirements/illnesses of Simon Jones, Tresco, Flintoff and Strauss etc. and of course KP who never cared about England anyway.

The team that's left has a few good players and a few mediocre ones, hence they're sinking as a team.
There is really nothing more to it.

Your right England after a period of success are going through a changing of the guard. Losses will happen as will inconsistencies from young players and aging players like Anderson, Bell, Cook and Prior.
They have a few good young batsmen coming through in Robson, Ballance and Root who have all scored tons so far this series. Plus a real goer in Buttler who is not ready yet.
What they don't have is a good spinner. Panesar is off the rails again and Ali is alright but not a matchwinner.
The team will change again after next years ashes Prior and Anderson will probably go or be forced out.
For England to be successful in the short term they need Cook and Bell to anchor the batting with the young kids and Anderson and Broad to spearhead the attack.
Only 2 tests in but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Twizzle]

What do you think BB ?

Is Cooky gorne ?

 

[Buzzard Breath]

He is going through a bad patch right now. I think he will eventually bounce back with the bat. You don't make over 8000 runs being a mug. He is very frustrated right now and his footwork is all over the place.
He won't have a series like he did in Australia in 2010 but he will get back into the runs.
I think if he did resign from being captain his game would improve but I don't see it happening Bell is not keen on being captain.
As well as after the Lords test match England were very close to a win and half way through this match they were ahead so despite the calls from Boycott and others I don't think Cook will resign or get pushed.

 

[Red Bear]

Not sure why everyone is laying the boot into Cook, whatever he is doing as captain it worked when England were a success a few years ago. And I don't even particularly like him.

Cook is out of form as a batsman but he isn't the real problem, the real problem is the bunch of pansies like Swann & Trott who abandoned ship, the injuries/retirements/illnesses of Simon Jones, Tresco, Flintoff and Strauss etc. and of course KP who never cared about England anyway.

The team that's left has a few good players and a few mediocre ones, hence they're sinking as a team.
There is really nothing more to it.

Yet he performed incredibly well in a series of vital situations for them. He actually adjusted his game (unsuccessfully, admittedly) during the summer, compared to the rest of them.

Bell has occasional bursts of quality amongst a whole lot of rubbish as well. He was as bad if not worse than KP in Australia, for example, not just in terms of runs scored but in terms of shitness of dismissals. If he's the answer then lol.

 

[Horrie Is God]

It's too funny..

The great man Warnie is still destroying the poms, 8 years after he retired..

The poms need to bring back Simon "Dale" Kerrigan..

If they are going to be this pathetic, they may as well bring the lol's..

 

[Timbo]

One person who has vanished off the face of the earth is Scott Borthwick.

Called in for his test debut in January, snared a few wickets and dumped just as fast.

 

[vvvrulz]

Yet he performed incredibly well in a series of vital situations for them. He actually adjusted his game (unsuccessfully, admittedly) during the summer, compared to the rest of them.

Bell has occasional bursts of quality amongst a whole lot of rubbish as well. He was as bad if not worse than KP in Australia, for example, not just in terms of runs scored but in terms of shitness of dismissals. If he's the answer then lol.

Agree with all of this 100%, but my point still stands in that KP doesn't give a crap about English cricket.

I don't really get all the Bell love either, he's a decent enough player who warrants his spot in the side but he's nothing amazing.

 

[lockyno1]

One person who has vanished off the face of the earth is Scott Borthwick.

Called in for his test debut in January, snared a few wickets and dumped just as fast.

He is a Steve Smith clone bowler though, a batsman who bowls some part time leggies...I mean 3 of his wickets were junk that should have been belted into Paddington!

 

[lockyno1]

Issue is Joe Root is their next captain but he is hardly secure, and one innings against Sri Lanka doesn't change the fact that a few tests ago he was dropped!

 

[Red Bear]

One person who has vanished off the face of the earth is Scott Borthwick.

Called in for his test debut in January, snared a few wickets and dumped just as fast.

He's scored runs in the county championship I think

 

[Timbo]

I'm not saying he should be there, just puzzled by the logic of selecting him at all.