Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Arthur Crabtree wrote:The county game has fallen apart out of neglect. And there's no A team/Lions as a stepping off point.

I think even a newspaper headline writer with a deadline is going to struggle to nominate someone out of the county game to step in. Saving some kind of cricketing savant who can predict greatness out of those currently underachieving in CC, England are going to remain in mediocrity for the forseeable future.

But the unknown factor is how bad everyone else is. It looks like many countries are struggling with Test cricket at the moment.

Perhaps I am being melodramatic, but it does feel as though we are witnessing the beginning of the end for test cricket. Despite lip service being paid, it hasn't been the most popular form of the game, or the ones many players truly aspire to play, anywhere other than England, Australia and maybe South Africa for a good while now. White ball has been more popular and more successful in the West Indies and subcontinent for many years, and the IPL and other franchise leagues are now accelerating that trend. The Big Bash in Australia has grown and grown and is now drawing bigger viewing numbers than the marquee home series including the Boxing Day test.

The English game has been plagued by a succession of terrible administrators who lack the ability to see their plans in a 360 viewpoint. When the first of these caused massive fault lines in the national team, they commissioned a study from a golfing expert, then basically ignored half of what he said. I guess that sums up the ECBs attitude - they only see what they want to.

The whole plan has been to boost the national team at the expense of the county game - quite how the ECB cant see that wrecking the bedrock of what provides the national team with its talent ends with the national team suffering is anyones guess.

Its like cutting down trees without planting them, then wondering why you run out of wood after a few years.

On a more immediate level, I did read on twitter that the most FC balls faced by England's current top 7 since they last played test cricket - 70 odd. 4 batsman have not faced a single ball, and another only 5.

How can we expect them to do well in such conditions? Bumrah and Co bowled exceptionally.... cant expect to score runs against quality bowling if you arent batting

India gutting out a difficult period in this session with sensible and determined batting, but runs just starting to flow as England blink first. England looking like they are staring down the barrel here. They needed to run through the wickets quick, but so far come up with nothing.

Ollie Robinson breaks the stand... 97/1... Rohit is the man to go

Pujara goes early to an Anderson special... Kohli comes in and is out straight away...

100/3..... massive fight back.

Rahane run out now 112/4...

Just been putting up a pergola in the pouring rain all afternoon, so surprised there's been play.

Massive wicket to get Kohli. First baller too. Anderson yet again.

I see Sibley dropped Rahul on 52.

Covers are off. I'd better go back out and continue the job.

No resumption and I just got a soaking again.

Plenty of rain around tomorrow too.

There has been so little actual cricket in the last few weeks that I've just switched off completely for this series

I genuinely don't give a toss who plays or what happens

Cricket feels dead to me and I've moved on to other sports for the time being

I haven't read the thread, so this might already have been mentioned, but India have a pretty settled and largely successful side who have warmed up by playing cricket, whilst England are in disarray, have an underwhelming side and prepared for the series by playing rounders for the entertainment of schoolchildren and their mums who only went to watch because the tickets were free. Chuck in the enforced absence of a couple of their bankers with no obvious replacements ready to step in and with Vaughan on the outside throwing bombs at any player who isn't in his stable and it's difficult to see why England have gotten off to a dreadful start

If England have any sense at all, and they haven't, they'll return the rugby league favour and pull out of the Ashes tour, citing covid, because the Aussies will make absolute mincemeat of this shower over the winter

and we thought things were bad under Bayleaf the gardener and the focus on the world cup

this time the focus of the attention isn't even cricket related, it's about scrambling to recoup as much as they can of the 70 million quid they threw away on a stupid idea, before the liquidators move in

Guardians of the game?

my @rse!

Anderson does his best to dig England out of a hole, again.

He at least is a true modern great. Doesn't deserve his career to end with the losses that it appears likely to.

Fittingly with the wicket of Kohli, Anderson equals Kumble's career wicket tally. 3 wickets a game until the end of the Ashes will take him to 650, which seems possible.

Durhamfootman wrote:There has been so little actual cricket in the last few weeks that I've just switched off completely for this series

I genuinely don't give a toss who plays or what happens

Cricket feels dead to me and I've moved on to other sports for the time being

I haven't read the thread, so this might already have been mentioned, but India have a pretty settled and largely successful side who have warmed up by playing cricket, whilst England are in disarray, have an underwhelming side and prepared for the series by playing rounders for the entertainment of schoolchildren and their mums who only went to watch because the tickets were free. Chuck in the enforced absence of a couple of their bankers with no obvious replacements ready to step in and with Vaughan on the outside throwing bombs at any player who isn't in his stable and it's difficult to see why England have gotten off to a dreadful start

If England have any sense at all, and they haven't, they'll return the rugby league favour and pull out of the Ashes tour, citing covid, because the Aussies will make absolute mincemeat of this shower over the winter

My point exactly. If cricket nerds like us on these boards can't muster any real enthusiasm for this series, which should be marquee behind only the Ashes, something is deeply rotten in the state of the MCC.

I have thoughts on the Ashes administration, but not sure if here or the health thread is better for them.

I swear Vaughan is getting worse every game.

England get out playing daft shots. Vaughan: "England batsman need to learn to adapt to the situation and play the proper test match way."
Pant goes out to bat and plays a daft shot. Vaughan: "Isn't Pant wonderfully entertaining? I hope he never changes his style"