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Author Topic: Summer Cricket 2018  (Read 37476 times)
BambooToTheFuture

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« Reply #60 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 12:56:31 »

My opinion (not that it's worth much), is that Cook should never have been captain. While it is contradictory to say, he was actually captain material. I feel this took away from his game. His batting went down hill and I always felt he couldn't quite deal with the responsibility and the politics of the ECB. Now shoot me down but had he been a slightly lesser player or a wicket keeper (Alex Stewart comes to mind) then we might have had a perfect formula. Unfortunately Cook never truly recovered from his responsibilities, and his game suffered. Still a great player on his day and history will remember him for "that" Ashes series.

It's a nod to the adage that the best players (in many sports) don't always make the best captains, and vice versa. Let the best players concentrate on being best. Let the organisers/morale boosters/captains concentrate on cohesion. It is a rarity that these two things are prevalent, in one person all the way to an elite level. The exception maybe, in a solo sport but you generally have a team around you dong the managing/captaining, while everything is left to the individual to just go and do what they do best. Federer, Hamilton, Rossi, Ainslie etc are examples of elite individuals of this in a modern era.

Back to the series v India. Although we didn't play as consistently well, I think it's encouraging to have beaten India, who also were out of sorts and indifferent at times too. There were glimpses of new shoots coming through the set up because we really need to focus on building replacements for Broad and Anderson...when they finally go. We can't be scrambling around for a bowler or two when it's too late. The ECB really need to get their finger out in this respect. We must build on the positives though. The 4th test really was the Moeen Ali show, notched a few runs to boot with his bounty of wickets. The trouble is, I like Ali, but can he do it on a more consistent basis? Say 3 wickets per innings? Butter chips in and if Curran can keep that kind of all rounder form than that bodes well not only in wickets but also for ou middle order.

Lots of work to be done but promising signs. Be interesting how the approach to the 5th test will be. A chance for fringe players to tie down a place and surely Cook would like to go out on at least a 50 or 100. Will the Indian contingents have grace and allow him the time? or will they be ruthless and make Cook work for that final century? The latter would be much more satisfying and I'm sure Cook would agree.
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'Incessant Nonsense'

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You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #61 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 14:07:43 »

  Captaining a Test side, of any country is a uniquely difficult thing to do in sport.

  However captaining England, is probably harder than say New Zealand.  The captain of Australia, is the iconic job in that country, which is why Smith's fall from grace was so great.

 The way cricket is now structured, players don't get the captaincy experience of say a Ray Illingworth in the County Championship... so it really is the old Aussie model of pick the best XI then see who looks like the best egg.

 Cook was the obvious choice after Strauss... and he did OK. The likes of Botham, Flintoff, Pieterson were always doomed to fail.

 Root, similarly was the obvious choice.   I reckon it should be a bit lke US presidents... serve a fixed term say a max of 3 years and then someone else gets the gig.
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RedRag

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« Reply #62 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 14:15:22 »

just trolling really. Smiley

Did anyone think that after his failures with the bat, it was a bit premature of Cook to announce that the next test would be his last?
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RobertT

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« Reply #63 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 14:36:27 »

  Captaining a Test side, of any country is a uniquely difficult thing to do in sport.

  However captaining England, is probably harder than say New Zealand.  The captain of Australia, is the iconic job in that country, which is why Smith's fall from grace was so great.

 The way cricket is now structured, players don't get the captaincy experience of say a Ray Illingworth in the County Championship... so it really is the old Aussie model of pick the best XI then see who looks like the best egg.

 Cook was the obvious choice after Strauss... and he did OK. The likes of Botham, Flintoff, Pieterson were always doomed to fail.

 Root, similarly was the obvious choice.   I reckon it should be a bit lke US presidents... serve a fixed term say a max of 3 years and then someone else gets the gig.

One of Anderson or Broad should really have been the right choice, but neither seem capable of thinking beyond their own over I think.  Anderson is a real oddity, great bowler and seems exceptionally selfish on the pitch, sounds like a great bloke when interviewed off it.

There isn't a captain in the side.  Right now, outside the two main bowlers, there isn't even a player who has a confirmed spot on form!  Root is a different player with the captaincy weighing on him.

Ali need to hold down  spot in the top four or five, otherwise his bowling is too erratic on it's own - he has games like the last one that give you hope then offers nothing.  Too many all rounders, not enough focus I think.  Even the batsmen are not focused on Test cricket as their main outlet, they are players of multiple forms.  Seems to be a problem for a few countries now as well, probably a result of the money in the shorter form.
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #64 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 15:15:56 »

 It's exceptionally rare to make fast bowlers skipper as bowling is so physically demanding. Ideally you want a skip who stands at first slip all day and manages to catch stuff.
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BambooToTheFuture

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« Reply #65 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 16:08:21 »

Agree, any out and out "specialist" be it bowler or batsman is always going to add extra pressure as a captain. As Reg says, you want a slips players who can keep his eyes on everything. I'm bias, I think Wicket Keepers generally make decent captains. I'm sure there are plenty who have failed miserably though.

On the notion of Wicket Keepers, who was your best England WK. For me it's Jack Russell to date. Always thought he was underrated by the selectors, even if a little on the quirky side.
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'Incessant Nonsense'

______________________________________________________________

'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #66 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 16:23:06 »

Agree, any out and out "specialist" be it bowler or batsman is always going to add extra pressure as a captain. As Reg says, you want a slips players who can keep his eyes on everything. I'm bias, I think Wicket Keepers generally make decent captains. I'm sure there are plenty who have failed miserably though.

On the notion of Wicket Keepers, who was your best England WK. For me it's Jack Russell to date. Always thought he was underrated by the selectors, even if a little on the quirky side.

Alan Knott by a long way. Jack ws good but he'll be the first to defer to Knotty.
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BambooToTheFuture

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« Reply #67 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 16:33:21 »

Alan Knott by a long way. Jack ws good but he'll be the first to defer to Knotty.

Of course, Russell learnt a lot of his trade under Knott but for me it's the fact Russell was overseen for Stewart (who was handy) way too much. Russell was probably one of the last of a kind of cricketer (and WK). Indeed he would be modest and tell us that Knott was better. I loved the way Russell, when batting, could hold of an ambush for hours. Perfect if you've got a decent opener or no.2 with you and great for holding out a score when the other team need wickets. Almost Boycott-esque, except Russell didn't even bother going for singles  Wink
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'Incessant Nonsense'

______________________________________________________________

'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
RedRag

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« Reply #68 on: Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 17:19:55 »

It's exceptionally rare to make fast bowlers skipper as bowling is so physically demanding. Ideally you want a skip who stands at first slip all day and manages to catch stuff.
Not really relevant but at my level, fast bowlers especially, were too engrossed with their own bowling to see the bigger picture. Keepers may have the best seat in the house but that is one taxing job physically also.  I happened to notice that Cook was having a little trouble with Jimmy and Broad about who exactly was setting the field in the last test.
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ChChNZRED

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« Reply #69 on: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 01:09:26 »

Not really relevant but at my level, fast bowlers especially, were too engrossed with their own bowling to see the bigger picture. Keepers may have the best seat in the house but that is one taxing job physically also.  I happened to notice that Cook was having a little trouble with Jimmy and Broad about who exactly was setting the field in the last test.

Broad Experimented with the t20 captaincy and struggled with it on many fronts, i have a feeling because of that we didn't really see him again in any short form team for England. Im glad Eng have gone with Buttler as the Vice in test's he has the brain and shown that in the ODI stuff. Stokes should never have been the VC and having meet Stokes while he was playing for Canterbury last summer and talking to him he has idea's but ones that maybe to far fetched for test cricket, decent bloke though and played a few times against his brother. I play for a club here in Christchurch and keep for them, i got made captain of the side last season and i found it the best to see the whole game and the fields you can set, it is taxing but the best seat in the house, and your always in the game.
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