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Cricket 43: So long, and thanks for all the Finch


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3 minutes ago, Raja said:

I feel like the captain has to be at least a confirmed starter, though I suppose with England's batting woes, it's hard to find one.

The more I think about it the more Stuart Broad seems to be the best choice available. I'm not necessarily enthusiastic about him as captain but in terms of experience and place in the team it's difficult to find a better choice - I would agree with Hereward's assessment that Stokes who would have been the even more obvious choice could do without the extra pressure.

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19 minutes ago, williamjm said:

The more I think about it the more Stuart Broad seems to be the best choice available. I'm not necessarily enthusiastic about him as captain but in terms of experience and place in the team it's difficult to find a better choice - I would agree with Hereward's assessment that Stokes who would have been the even more obvious choice could do without the extra pressure.

Yeah, I think if we are to take the mental health of players seriously, which we should, he probably could do without having to be captain. Then again, if he volunteers it could be a different story.

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Yeah no surprises in the end.

I think it can work if he takes a break from a lot (if not all) of the limited overs stuff. I certainly wouldn’t bother with him in T20Is as England already have a lot of big hitters.

If he tries to be an all-format player, I think the pressure of the job could become a factor.

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Stokes just hit a century in his first match of the season. The last 46 runs came off EIGHT balls!

Edit: 147 not out at lunch, and he wasn’t even in at the start of the session.

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England have appointed Brendan McCullum as their test coach (they're splitting the coaching roles). Interesting one. You'd think he'd be a more likely candidate for the limited overs role and he doesn't seem to have much longer form coaching experience but I suppose England need to do something outside the box and he was that as a test captain.

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Poor Roy. He was a great cricketer, quite a larger than life character as well, but had his personal troubles and demons (e.g. with drink). If the IPL had been around during his prime, he would have been the perfect player for it and would have really found his niche in the international T20 scene as well - big-hitting batsman, could bowl both medium pacers and offspin, electric fielder.

McCullum as the Test coach is an interesting choice for England. But I take it they've decided to go with a personality rather than a pure coach. The Stokes / McCullum axis has the potential to be quite dynamic, charismatic and invigorating, but it could also go pear-shaped given that neither of them are known for their professional experience in those roles. In that case I think the second tier of support staff around the England team will be very important. If they get to play to their strengths, the bold appointment of McCullum could work really well. He has credibility with players and is quite a forceful personality.

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16 hours ago, Jeor said:

Poor Roy. He was a great cricketer, quite a larger than life character as well, but had his personal troubles and demons (e.g. with drink). If the IPL had been around during his prime, he would have been the perfect player for it and would have really found his niche in the international T20 scene as well - big-hitting batsman, could bowl both medium pacers and offspin, electric fielder.

He did get a pretty good run in the IPL, leading the now-defunct Deccan to their only IPL win. But yes, he would have been even more sought-after in the IPL-dominant era we now live in. 

One of the good things about fewer T20s in the 2000s was that we were able to see Symonds have a good run in the test team, which saw him average a very creditable 40 and pass fifty 12 times in 41 digs. I doubt that would have happened nowadays, as guys like Maxwell barely get a shot at test level, in part due to the primacy of limited overs cricket.

It is sad that we have lost some amazing former players this year. Another fallen star recently is Michael Slater, who went off the rails after the disastrous 2021 IPL and criticizing the Aussie PM via Twitter. He recently had charges of domestic violence dismissed on mental health grounds in court. I am pretty dismayed by these developments as Slater really seemed to have pulled things together after the ignominious end to his test career. 

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Sad new about Symonds.

England have announced their first squad of the new regime. Nothing particularly revolutionary so far. The big news is both Broad and Anderson back but it's not a huge surprise. I'm not really a fan of how committed Stokes seems to be to not playing Root at three.

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Surprised by them appointing McCullum given that he doesn't have experience coaching test match cricket, but I suppose they must have seen promise in the teams he has coached so far.

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  • 2 weeks later...

No real surprises in the England team for tomorrow's first test against New Zealand. Stokes had already made it pretty clear that he was going to pick Anderson and Broad but give those two and Potts are basically the only fit English seamers left it's not like he had much choice.

I still don't particularly like moving Root back to four. I know he prefers it there but England's top three without him tend to get out so quickly he's basically playing the role of three anyway, it's just England have lost an extra wicket.

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With all the tickets apparently left unsold I did think about going Sunday but I couldn’t find anyone available to go on short notice with me. Probably a good thing looking at the score.

ETA: And Potts has gone off injured. Are there any fit English qualified seamers left in first class cricket?

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New Zealand getting dismissed so cheaply was a bit of a surprise, although perhaps not entirely with Anderson and Broad restored to their rightful place opening the bowling. It's a great start to a Test career for Potts who looks like another classic English seam bowler, hopefully he can stay a bit healthier than some of the other recent bowlers. It'll be interesting to see how he does on less helpful pitches in future.

Less of a surprise is the England batting collapse, although at least this time the openers did make a decent start but then it was back to the usual procession. This could end up being a very short Test match unless some of the batting improves on either side.

2 hours ago, Raja said:

Nice collapse to one of the former colonies is a good start to the jubilee weekend :lol:

It is important to keep up traditions.

 

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