[Cricket] The Ashes- England v Australia- 1st Test, Birmingham, June 16 - 20, 2023

[mikeyjh]

He’s never been great with the gloves. He’s an adequate wicketkeeper. Foakes wins you the test today.

When did England actually, regularly pick the best keeper? Back in the 90s maybe?

 

[pasty]

Big breakthrough

Robinson knocks Khawaja over

372/7

 

[Muzzman]

Game on!

 

[KZNSeagull]

The bonkers field setting worked!

 

[pasty]

Lyon gone. 377/8. Eng lead 16

 

[jakarta]

Robinson has some ticker, he's clearly not 100% on a road with ball doing nothing.

Would be ironic if the Convicts ended up on 393 ao....

 

[Triggaaar]

9!

How are we still in this with our shit feilding and Broad not knowing where the popping crease is?

 

[jakarta]

And that is why Boland has an average of 5.4!

378-9

 

[pasty]

386 all out

England lead by 7

 

[Muzzman]

Doesn’t matter when the wickets come, getting them all out before lunch is fantastic

 

[Eeyore]

Stokes is Mike Brearley's larrikin nephew. Cannot fault him on the fields he sets.

 

[pasty]

Was just moaning that we let Cummins take an easy single off last ball of previous over

 

[Si Gull]

England did well to get a lead in the end. Now to set a competitive total and bowl Australia out on a, hopefully, wearing pitch.

 

[Questions]

This could be a series defining session

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

When did England actually, regularly pick the best keeper? Back in the 90s maybe?

Even Jack Russell could bat pretty well, average in the high 20s and scored a couple of hundreds.
The last time we regularly picked a wicketkeeper without any notable batting ability at all was probably Bruce French in the late 80s, and Bob Taylor for a couple of years when Knott was at World Series Cricket.
It's pretty normal for England to pick the wicketkeeper for their batting, before Knott there was Jim Parks, and Les Ames before the war.
Ames' Wisden obituary claims some people at the time argued we should play George Duckworth (test and first class average under 15, no hundreds) instead. As it was he managed to be picked for 24 tests in the 20s and 30s.

 

[Eeyore]

Singles everywhere. You'd think England were 300-2 here.

 

[Eeyore]

Even Jack Russell could bat pretty well, average in the high 20s and scored a couple of hundreds.
The last time we regularly picked a wicketkeeper without any notable batting ability at all was probably Bruce French in the late 80s, and Bob Taylor for a couple of years when Knott was at World Series Cricket.
It's pretty normal for England to pick the wicketkeeper for their batting, before Knott there was Jim Parks, and Les Ames before the war.
Ames' Wisden obituary claims some people at the time argued we should play George Duckworth (test and first class average under 15, no hundreds) instead. As it was he managed to be picked for 24 tests in the 20s and 30s.

Taylor and Knott were astonishing keepers, and had it not been for Knott being the better batsman Taylor would have held those gloves for years. But I think batting was only a consideration when there was little to choose between keepers.

1981 was a good example. England started with Downton, pivotal in the Middlesex title winning side of 1980, not the best of batsman. He was poor and was replaced by Taylor. It wasn't until Old Trafford before they came for Knott. Geoff Humpage was a very good batsman, and decent keeper, at the time, but never played a Test.

 

[vegster]

Well, this could be interesting on resumption. Will the ball do anything after the rain I wonder ? ...still reckon a draw is more likely.

 

[Triggaaar]

How long are they expecting the rain to be for?

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Taylor and Knott were astonishing keepers, and had it not been for Knott being the better batsman Taylor would have held those gloves for years. But I think batting was only a consideration when there was little to choose between keepers.

1981 was a good example. England started with Downton, pivotal in the Middlesex title winning side of 1980, not the best of batsman. He was poor and was replaced by Taylor. It wasn't until Old Trafford before they came for Knott. Geoff Humpage was a very good batsman, and decent keeper, at the time, but never played a Test.

Humpage's chances of playing a test won't have been helped by him only scoring 11 runs in his two innings in the ODIs than summer, and then going on the rebel tour to South Africa.
Plenty of people at the time argued that Murray or Binks (for example) were better keepers than Parks, or Duckworth was batter than Ames.
To be clear, I think they should have picked Foakes. But that's as much because he's actually an excellent batsman in his own right as his superior keeping.