Forum Topic

Cricket

I see England snatched defeat from the jaws of I victory yet again.

Tony Maxey ● 4629d9 Comments

What happened to the undefeated team of last Summer?That said, they have not had a break have they?Time to Mr Flower to consider his position methinks.

Nigel Brooks ● 4629d

At least a slightly better performance. The Aussies are just playing with limitless confidence.

Philip Slater ● 4629d

They are better than the sum of their parts which is a sign of a disciplined, focussed and well prepared team. On paper their players are no better and in many cases not as good as ours but the game is played on grass...it has been a disastrous tour, the worst I can remember England having anywhere and I grew up in the 70's.We have a potentially great fast bowler who has come home, another who should have been tried out before he came and who is a spent force and of course the lamentable Swann affair and the sad sight of Trott falling apart. Root has been up and down the order lion a spring, he should have been opening imo. and our best batsman thinks he's God. Cook can't seem to stop leaning over and getting his head outside the line of the ball forcing him to overbalance and try to play everything on the leg side. He needs to be rested as captain imo. Time for a clear out of 3 or 4 players. Not sure I'd oust Flowers tho'.

Keith Iddon ● 4629d

"Cook can't seem to stop leaning over and getting his head outside the line of the ball forcing him to overbalance and try to play everything on the leg side. He needs to be rested as captain imo. Time for a clear out of 3 or 4 players. Not sure I'd oust Flowers tho'."Well observed about Cook Keith and it's time for a rest.Flower can't seem to see that it's time to actually enable a 'refresh' although he has hinted as such, on that basis of activity he has to consider his position.

Nigel Brooks ● 4629d

Cook had the same technical flaw about 3 years ago and Gooch helped him iron it out. That it has come back hints that he is not happy imo.Too many of our batters (Bell, Root, Trott when he was there, Bairstow seemed to retreat into their shells. It's not as if they were gacing Warne and McGrath but when your opening batsmen don't perform and you are regularly finding your team 30 odd for 2 etc. it's hard to know whether to stick or twist. Pietrerson needs to take a long hard look (I nearly said in the mirror but he does too much of that anyway)at his attitude .We need a grinder, a Graham Thorpe,Paul Collingwood type at 5 and I don't think Bairstow is it. Anderson needs a rest. We need a year to regroup.

Keith Iddon ● 4629d

Keith, are you up for the job.A 'grinder' is exactly what is needed to bring stability to the middle order, but who?

Nigel Brooks ● 4629d

PS.And we need to be less 'professional' and make it more fun and have an atmosphere where the players can play their natural game, which is why they were picked in the first place, and not have their every move monitored, measured and assessed. That took us so far now we need 'less is more'. Players are too scared to fail imo. Lehmann has brought an old fashioned 'play together, cry together and laugh together atmosphere with the emphasis on the TOGETHER to the Aussie team.

Keith Iddon ● 4629d

I am not a big fan of Pietersen I think Cook is by far a better batsman than him and also has a better attitude. Root I would prefer to see opening but if he keeps failing who knows?  I like Morgan and I think a bit more perseverance from the selectors should see him cement a place within the test side. Now I defiantly don’t understand why Bopara is in any national side. It was the team as a whole that failed in the batting department the only difference between the two sides was Haddin and Johnson Australia’s top four struggled. Our main problem was Jimmy not firing we could not bowl out the middle and lower order which Anderson is usually very good at. Flower I believe is very good. One bad series is not a failure, on the whole he has done some really good things with the national side he is getting bad mouthed by mainly the Pietersen groupies because they have a clash of personalities.

Tony Maxey ● 4629d

Just an opinion, but I think the issue is less about coaching & players (although there certainly seems to be issues there, but more about flogging the players into the ground. Professionalism within the ECB to the players and coaches meant getting the right people centrally contracted so the England squad got the best out of the players (rather than the Counties). However, the ECB saw things differently and as the team became more successful, they started touring more and more. Cricket is an all year round game now and the players just seem knackered.The same has happened with rugby. England are touring New Zealand this summer (remember we are only one year off hosting the Rugby World Cup) and the RFU decide to have the first game of the tour kick off seven days after the top two teams in the Premiership play each other in the AP Final.So because of that, we will send a team of kids to the home of the best team in the world. As much as I like 'Bomber' as head coach.....he's onto a hiding.

John Bodman ● 4627d