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2nd Test: England v South Africa at Nottingham, Jul 14-18, 2017

Bazal

Post Whore
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99,404
South Africa started really well but two quick wickets after tea have them in a bit of strife. De Kock and Amla looked good but fell when they needed to kick on.
 

Bazal

Post Whore
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99,404
Haha Nasser Hussain.

"Interesting to see Philander change ends here, he likes to swing the ball back in to the left hander and the breeze at this end is blowing the wrong way for that"

*Philander hoops the very first ball back through the gate via the inside edge and bowls Ballance*
 

hineyrulz

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Messages
148,287
Gee the Pommy top order is rubbish bar Cook and Root.

They are going to be packed raped this summer if we ever sort the pay dispute out.
 

Tommy Smith

Referee
Messages
21,344
Gee the Pommy top order is rubbish bar Cook and Root.

They are going to be packed raped this summer if we ever sort the pay dispute out.
I came in here to say this exact thing.

Our current batting line up is the worst I've seen in 20+ years of following English cricket.

It's f**king dreadful and I'll soon have nightmares about what Starc Hazlewood Cummins and Pattinson will do to them.

If the Ashes goes ahead then it'll be another 5 nil whitewash. Only the weather would change that.
 

Timbo

Moderator
Staff member
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20,270
All the praise that Stokes and Moeen are getting for their batting illustrates the problem. You should not need your 6 and 7 to be bailing you out as often as they do

Likewise even picking Dawson in the first place - he bats at 3 in country cricket and they've got him at 8 as a spinning all-rounder. It's to paper over plodders like Jennings and Ballance.
 

Tommy Smith

Referee
Messages
21,344
All the praise that Stokes and Moeen are getting for their batting illustrates the problem. You should not need your 6 and 7 to be bailing you out as often as they do

Likewise even picking Dawson in the first place - he bats at 3 in country cricket and they've got him at 8 as a spinning all-rounder. It's to paper over plodders like Jennings and Ballance.
100%.

The selectors know the top 6 outside Root sucks so they're trying to paper over the issue by picking bulk 'all rounders' or bit part players.

But that doesn't work in Australia. Or most places really but Australia especially where England won't be bowling Australia out under 300 like they would at home with the reversing ball.

If the top 5 or 6 don't score the runs then a 20 or 30 from no.7 or no.8 won't help you down under where Australia's flat track bullies will hit 400 every first innings.

Couple that with Anderson and Broad not getting any younger and England are on a hiding to nothing as obvious as any during the halcyon days of Waugh and Taylors leadership.
 

AlwaysGreen

Immortal
Messages
47,822
Not that I want to assist the poms too much but I'd ditch Ballance and bring in Buttler to keep and have Bairstow to 3 as a specialist batsman. The young guy Hameed who played in England looked a better opening prospect than Jennings too.

Cook
Hameed
Bairstow
Root
Ali
Stokes
Buttler

Still pretty wobbly but better than what they've got now.
 

Das Gupta

Juniors
Messages
977
Not that I want to assist the poms too much but I'd ditch Ballance and bring in Buttler to keep and have Bairstow to 3 as a specialist batsman. The young guy Hameed who played in England looked a better opening prospect than Jennings too.

Cook
Hameed
Bairstow
Root
Ali
Stokes
Buttler

Still pretty wobbly but better than what they've got now.

Hameed has been very poor in country cricket this year. I don't think he has passed 50 once and there is a concern about his technique against seamers moving the ball away from his body.That why the poms dropped him.
Ballance is rubbish at test level . Should never has been recalled so quickly after a dismal tour of Bangladesh.
Agree on Buttler back to the gloves and Bairstow up the order.
Even Stoneman would have been a better go at opener for Jennings.
 

Bazal

Post Whore
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99,404
If the top 5 or 6 don't score the runs then a 20 or 30 from no.7 or no.8 won't help you down under where Australia's flat track bullies will hit 400 every first innings.

Well you say that, but Hobart.....

I think England and Australia have similar issues in a lot of ways. There are a few blokes in both batting orders who are top shelf at first class level but just can't make the step up, or can only do so in favourable conditions.
 

TheParraboy

Moderator
Staff member
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66,136
if Warner and co are such flat track bullies here then why do poms cream their pants on the same deck?
 

mozza91

Coach
Messages
12,672
if Warner and co are such flat track bullies here then why do poms cream their pants on the same deck?
Because when the other team bats it's a minefield. It's a highway only when Australia is batting on it. Just ask our mates from New Zealand.
 
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Tommy Smith

Referee
Messages
21,344
Wait, you're denying that Warner is a home town flat track bully?

Everyone bats better at home.

But more than that Australia's endless battery of quicks almost always get more out of the pitch than their opposites as they know what works and where to pitch it - with the RSA series last year a rare example of an oppositions quicks out bowling Australia.
 

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