The Winter Cricket Thread

[TheMajorSTFC]

Well the 10 wicket win this morning was pretty emphatic!

[Paolo69]

No scoreboard pressure on the batsmen. Much easier for them to have licence to show what they can do. The bowling/fielding won it for us for sure.

[Summerof69]

What should be worrying for the Kiwi's is that we now strenengthen our squad with Jimmy, Swanny and KP coming back into the fold.

[fittons_coaching_badge]

Kiwis win the 1st one dayer by 3 wickets with 7 balls to spare.

Englands 258 looked a tad short and so it proved.  With no KP the top 4 of Cook, Bell, Trott and Root looked one paced and Morgan and Buttler didnt get in until the 40th over so were under pressure to go form the off to make up for the slow rate from the start. 

[TheMajorSTFC]

Kiwis win the 1st one dayer by 3 wickets with 7 balls to spare.

Englands 258 looked a tad short and so it proved.  With no KP the top 4 of Cook, Bell, Trott and Root looked one paced and Morgan and Buttler didnt get in until the 40th over so were under pressure to go form the off to make up for the slow rate from the start. 

Agree FCB, I'd have sent one of Morgan/Buttler in at 4 to try and kick start the innings to make 270-280 earlier on! Jimmy Anderson England's leading all time wicket taker now as well...still think we'll turn it around!

[fittons_coaching_badge]

Agree FCB, I'd have sent one of Morgan/Buttler in at 4 to try and kick start the innings to make 270-280 earlier on! Jimmy Anderson England's leading all time wicket taker now as well...still think we'll turn it around!

My other issue I forget to mention is about bowling at the death.  England are fucking useless at it.  It either length or short.  What in gods name has happened to the yorker?  McCullum thought christmas had come early when Finn and Broad tried peppering him with such short boundaries.

When you watch Malinga bowl his ability to bowl 6 at a batters toes is incredible.  The England bowlers cant manage 3 yorkers in a row never mind 6!

[fittons_coaching_badge]

Up early to catch a flight and watching mccullum make mincemeat out of the England bowlers.  Fucking hell this death bowling needs re thinking

[DMR]

Piece of piss too easy.

The only thing that needs a re-think is perhaps letting the Kiwi's get 300 to see if they can make a game of it.

[TheMajorSTFC]

Joe Root looked quality! made that chase easy as fuck, still expect England to win all 3 formats out in NZ!

[Nemo]

New Zealand tests start shortly, whilst Australia are putting on a performance to make Audley Harrison look convincing in India- 237/9dec plays 311/1 (Pujara has 162- he's quite good) and have dropped their first choice spinner yet again in favour of Doherty (FC average 45) and Maxwell (a T20 specialist).

At the risk of setting myself up for a fall, 10-0.

[Summerof69]

The Aussies batting has been dire in the first test and a half. Their spinners have been dire.

I still cannot believe they actually declared their first innings, and said after yesterday's play that 237 was a competitive total batting first.

[Nemo]

Looking down their team I just can't get scared. Cowan is shit, Warner is alright but no Hayden, Hughes is dreadful, Watson for all his supposed importance to the team averages 36, Clarke is brilliant but amongst clowns, Wade is handy with the bat but a poor keeper, like Prior v1.0 and the bowling is either very average (Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Starc)  or very injured (Cummins, Harris, Pattinson)

[Summerof69]

Looking down their team I just can't get scared. Cowan is shit, Warner is alright but no Hayden, Hughes is dreadful, Watson for all his supposed importance to the team averages 36, Clarke is brilliant but amongst clowns, Wade is handy with the bat but a poor keeper, like Prior v1.0 and the bowling is either very average (Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Starc)  or very injured (Cummins, Harris, Pattinson)

And their spinning department, well, is non existant.

I've just noticed that you haven't even mentioned Mitchell 'He bowls it to the left...' Johnson.

[Nemo]

Mitchell Johnson dreams of the day he could be described as "very average"

One interesting aside on the spinning front is that they could be trying to give a Fawad Ahmed, Pakistani who moved to the country in January an Aussie passport in time for the Ashes. Makes any criticism of KP, Trott et al look a bit minor.

[fittons_coaching_badge]

I cant believe the amount of credit Clarke got for his declaration for it being imaginative and in the interests of aggressive cricket!  He strengthened the batting (on paper at least), sticking all his eggs in the win toss and bat first basket. He did win the boss and then the batting him and Wade apart looked more fragile than Nasser Hussains fingers!

Cowan is totally unable to maneovare the spinners. Think it was 29 dots balls then he got out.  Warner by his nature is going to have an innings where he goes mental and alot where he doesnt. Phil Hudges against inept against spin.   Watson is a decent batter but not being helped by being shifted everywhere in the batting line up.

I do think the pace attack .... Starc, Siddle, Pattinson, Harris, Cummins .... Could do some damage in favourable conditions ... Which they will get in England.  But the batting will be the achilles heel!

Also if it gets tight ... England also have the bunsen option and play Swann and Panesar!