[Cricket] Ashes 2021-22

[Jimmy Grimble]

Rubbish. We were genuinely playing positive football creating loads of chances and getting done by an oppositions single chance or inexplicable refereeing. We were rarely awful if at all. There were plenty of positives. Completely at odds with how England have been.

Yep, bizarre comparison.

 

[The Maharajah of Sydney]

First since 2006 and only the 4th time in history that a Boxing Day Test has finished before The Sydney To Hobart
Biggest ever margin too

 

[Biscuit Barrel]

I’d go Buttler and swap his gloves for the captaincy and bat him at at least 6, or even higher, then get Foakes back in and start looking for proper glovemen not batsmen who have learned to keep.

Butler should not be anywhere near the Test team. Let alone as a specialist batsman or captain.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Butler should not be anywhere near the Test team. Let alone as a specialist batsman or captain.

I can only assume the pro Buttler types didn't see his decision to try and smash Lyon out of the ground in the last over before lunch the other day ...

 

[big nuts]

Or a left field suggestion, a youngish captain like South Africa did with Graeme Smith - my suggestion, appreciating it is not without risk, Will Rhodes of Warwickshire given that they were County Champions as well.

He’s also captained England under 19s and MCC against the county champions so he is not entirely off the radar already.

I wonder if we’d ever go down the ‘Brearley’ specialist captain route, and pick Eoin Morgan until someone else is ready.

Ultimately you could have the best captain of all-time, but if you average 200 for first innings, you might at best win one in ten test matches.

 

[Eeyore]

I wonder if we’d ever go down the ‘Brearley’ specialist captain route, and pick Eoin Morgan until someone else is ready.

Ultimately you could have the best captain of all-time, but if you average 200 for first innings, you might at best win one in ten test matches.

Wilfred Rhodes ? Great cricketer, one of the best, but he's 144 now and a bit immobile.

 

[Don Tmatter]

Or a left field suggestion, a youngish captain like South Africa did with Graeme Smith - my suggestion, appreciating it is not without risk, Will Rhodes of Warwickshire given that they were County Champions as well.

He’s also captained England under 19s and MCC against the county champions so he is not entirely off the radar already.

What’s his character like though?

 

[OzMike]

Men against boys, go home now to save any more embaressment.

 

[The Tassie Seagull]

Just got back home to Tassie after going to the first two days at the MCG. Embarrassing as it was the atmosphere in the last hour on day 2 was electric. I also got tickets for days 2&3 in Hobart. Thinking I might get a refund for day 3, don’t think we will last that long! Apart from Root all our batsmen looked liked rabbits in the headlights when facing their bowlers. But when they all have FC averages in the mid thirties at best, what do you expect really?

 

[Bold Seagull]

Butler should not be anywhere near the Test team. Let alone as a specialist batsman or captain.

I can only assume the pro Buttler types didn't see his decision to try and smash Lyon out of the ground in the last over before lunch the other day ...

Buttler averages 47 batting at 6 when you at least have 1 or 2 batting partners to come. He got both his test centuries there. Keeping all day coming in at 7 when there’s already been a full collapse without a tail to follow - rock and a hard place for most players.

England need to learn how to nurture and accept white ball technique and style in tests, because the likes of Roy, Morgan, Rashid etc have been consigned to the short form far too swiftly.

 

[Steve in Japan]

There's so much wrong with English red ball cricket, I am genuinely not sure it can be sorted (even assuming the ECB want to). It's hard to argue with any of this.

https://beingoutsidecricket.com/2021/12/28/grated-expectations/

I also think our white ball squad, like a very fine wine, is past it's best. Worrying.

 

[PeterT]

Wilfred Rhodes ? Great cricketer, one of the best, but he's 144 now and a bit immobile.

Surely he’d slot into the team then no problem!

 

[Lower West Stander]

I wonder if we’d ever go down the ‘Brearley’ specialist captain route, and pick Eoin Morgan until someone else is ready.

Ultimately you could have the best captain of all-time, but if you average 200 for first innings, you might at best win one in ten test matches.

To be honest, if any of the 1981 Ashes team were still alive, they'd probably be worth a shout to get into this team.

Brearley could still easily captain from no 11. Boycott grind out an innings with the flair of Gower in the middle order.

I'd still pick Root and Jimmy for some youth though....

 

[Biscuit Barrel]

Buttler averages 47 batting at 6 when you at least have 1 or 2 batting partners to come. He got both his test centuries there. Keeping all day coming in at 7 when there’s already been a full collapse without a tail to follow - rock and a hard place for most players.

England need to learn how to nurture and accept white ball technique and style in tests, because the likes of Roy, Morgan, Rashid etc have been consigned to the short form far too swiftly.

I get your point, but we are nowhere near having a top 5 batting line up that allows Buttler to come in at 6. Only 2 English batters have averaged over 40 in test cricket in the last 10 years (Root & SAC). A very depressing state of affairs.

 

[PeterT]

To be honest, if any of the 1981 Ashes team were still alive, they'd probably be worth a shout to get into this team.

Brearley could still easily captain from no 11. Boycott grind out an innings with the flair of Gower in the middle order.

I'd still pick Root and Jimmy for some youth though....

When I was at the Sydney test in 2007, and we had just lost 5-0, Boycott and Aggers were on the outfield near me and about to go live with a wrap up of the day. I shouted out ‘they could have done with you out there today Geoffrey’ and without hesitation he shouted back ‘they could have done with me at both ends’. Then Aggers joined in ‘oh no, not you batting at both ends Geoffrey, we’re trying to encourage people to watch, not put them off for life!’. It was really funny, and then, still guffawing, they went live with their broadcast. Probably the highlight of that tour, along with Collingwood’s 205 at Adelaide!

 

[Bold Seagull]

There's so much wrong with English red ball cricket, I am genuinely not sure it can be sorted (even assuming the ECB want to). It's hard to argue with any of this.

https://beingoutsidecricket.com/2021/12/28/grated-expectations/

I also think our white ball squad, like a very fine wine, is past it's best. Worrying.

Well, completely agree with the article, the problem isn’t red or white ball cricket, it is an organisational / institutional one. Taking free-to-air cricket away was always going to take a generation to realise we’re slowly losing a base of potential players. India, Nz, Aus cricketers aren’t coming from the marbeled halls of public schools, they’re coming from the streets or farms of gritty cricketers prepared to fight for every inch. England are still very much a side that looks like they all could be waiting for Mummy to pick them up in the Range Rover after the game…

 

[Bold Seagull]

I get your point, but we are nowhere near having a top 5 batting line up that allows Buttler to come in at 6. Only 2 English batters have averaged over 40 in test cricket in the last 10 years (Root & SAC). A very depressing state of affairs.

Yeah completely agree, even suggesting Buttler you realise you are scrapping the proverbial barrel.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

Yeah completely agree, even suggesting Buttler you realise you are scrapping the proverbial barrel.

Completely agree, I just don’t see Buttler as a test batsmen, more a one day specialist.
He always seems to be looking for the big shot and you can’t always do that in test cricket.

Unfortunately the culture of English cricket over the last 10 years has created a situation where the only batsmen available are this type of player.
Im not blaming Buttler at all, as this is how he has been developed. A destructive one day batsmen for which he can be considered one of the best in the world. It just doesn’t alway transfer to test cricket especially when your 40/5 when he comes in.


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[Bold Seagull]

Completely agree, I just don’t see Buttler as a test batsmen, more a one day specialist.
He always seems to be looking for the big shot and you can’t always do that in test cricket.

Unfortunately the culture of English cricket over the last 10 years has created a situation where the only batsmen available are this type of player.
Im not blaming Buttler at all, as this is how he has been developed. A destructive one day batsmen for which he can be considered one of the best in the world. It just doesn’t alway transfer to test cricket especially when your 40/5 when he comes in.


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I would counter that though and say that India, NZ and Aus have embraced what the short game brings to tests. They all open with big white ball hitters, Sharma, Warner, Guptil have all bought their attacking white styles to test match opening and with success too including others such as Devon Conway who took England apart earlier this year - he established himself in their T20 side.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

Yeah, valid point. I just feel like some batsmen feel the need to hit every ball and that’s where they come a cropper.
I can’t really lay the blame at Buttler’s door though as he has had absolutely no top order bar Root, so he’s come in with nothing to build upon and that’s not really his game.
I can see why he’s in the team, as if the top order make a score an hour of Buttler can take the game away from your opponent. We just don’t have the top order for that at present and he’s been exposed.
My biggest disappointment has been Burns who has been woeful.


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