Gotta hand it to Stokes. Probably won't go down as a legend but there's very few counter attacking batsman that have come close. A one man wrecking machine.
Won us the World Cup finalGotta hand it to Stokes. Probably won't go down as a legend but there's very few counter attacking batsman that have come close. A one man wrecking machine.
A big thing Stokes made a deal of last year was that he didn't force players to train and practice. It clearly has a lot of positives, this would appear to be a growing negativeSpot on, although I can’t understand why our fielding has been so shit. It’s the key difference between the teams
Which is exactly how most people would see it. The negativity on this thread is very difficult to understand.Bookies have it about evens who wins this test match.
Win the Ashes from 2-0 down I guess!Won us the World Cup final
Won us the t20 World Cup final
Captained us to a 0-3 win in Pakistan
However many test wins he's played a crucial role in.
Even last season when everyone was saying "well the captaincy going well but he's not doing himself justice with the bat" he found time to score a match winning hundred against the arguably best attack in the world at Old Trafford.
What would he have to do to go down as a legend?
Its loose cricket at this level.It's just crap. Bazball, new dawn, whatever. It's shit cricket.
Yeah, I don’t like your photos as much as the ones you took yesterday.Harvey Nichols here we come
At home all day today, and was looking forward to doing little but listen to TMS. Out and about tomorrow with the Domestic Manager - which makes it a bit harder!Today a wash out I reckon, forecasters got it wrong with the bands thinking there would be some space inbetween bands for play, every time I look at the radar there is yet more rain.
Brilliant post.Its loose cricket at this level.
Hard and demanding. High levels of concentration and discipline. Tough opponents. Play the percentages.
However decent you are, you will lose some sessions to the best Test team in the world. Doesn't mean to say that you make it easier for them. We have and will continue to do so, playing like this.
Test cricket can be gripping and compelling watching without trying to smash the ball to all parts or hours of short pitched bowling. 2005 held the whole nation for all 5 Tests, without all this biff, bang, wallop. Two good sides going at each other, with respect and determination.
Bairstow's surly goodbyes to Smith yesterday were crass and inappropriate from a player who should be hanging his head in shame at his performances so far in this series, rather than strutting around like he has conquered the world. Bazball has created an attitude that racing to 30-40 and then getting out is ok. It aint and it never has been.
Test cricket has always demanded a different mentality to the shorter forms of the game but the new regime have blurred the edges and attempted to re-define the five day game. It got results against lesser opposition but you have to readjust and reset your sights against the best. They are the best because they are adaptable. You have to be, too.
When our backs are against the wall, we revert to tight, disciplined cricket, trying to fight our way out of a corner. A corner that has been created by Bazball and its incumbent attitude. It can work in some circumstances but not all the time and not when there is little room for error, which by its nature, it invites.