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

I thought about him and Anderson but they do have a history of being divisive characters.

Just to put things in perspective , England have only won once in West Indies in the last fifty years - and they've arguably taken stronger squads on the last couple of tours. They've also managed to lose series in other places (like NZ) by collapsing to defeat in one match and dominating others without actually forcing a win. So this is neither new , nor , on its own , proof that all is rotten.

But it follows a disastrous 2021. So I'd have thought one of the main aims for this series should have been to get a result - just to create a bit of confidence going forward. Perhaps Strauss & co thought otherwise ? Because leaving your two senior bowlers out signalled either that the result wasn't deemed of great importance , or that they thought West Indies would be a pushover. Wrong on both counts...

I do think this business of resting/rotating/experimenting with selection has been a huge factor in this awful run of winless games. I accept that covid bubbles , too many matches , etc have probably served to make some "unusual" selections appear necessary ; but I do fear that the message that is sent by not selecting your perceived best XI for games/series has had a detrimental effect - ever since the tour of India : which was , of course , the start of this dreadful run. Remember they went into that tour off the back of four winning series home and away. I don't suggest dodgy selection practices were the sole reason for failures - but it seems to me a bit too much of a coincidence that messing about with the team from match to match led on to 17 games for one win after the previous 12 had yielded 8 wins to 2 each draws and defeats.

I really hope this year sees a return to selecting the best XI to win the next game. Also hope Joe Root sees the light and steps down as skipper to let Ben Stokes see what he can do with the job - though I do not suggest this will be a magic solution in itself. (I don't dislike bfl's suggestion of Stuart Broad as an alternative : I just can't see them doing it ! Stokes may have some question marks ; but no one could doubt his passion ; and he has demonstrated in at least some of his innings that he thinks about the game and adapts to circumstances : I reckon he might be the man for the job - at least for the short term)

Long term there are things that need to be done with structure of the domestic game , etc ; but June is only two months away. And I would hope to see a team put out that will be able to compete with a very handy NZ outfit. Despite all the current gloom , I do not think that is impossible...

And looking forward to that prospective team : I see Wood is not expected to be fully fit after his operation until May , so may not be a certain starter. Might not be a disaster if he is eased back into action as you'd imagine early summer conditions might suit movement over pure pace ; and with Broad ,Anderson - both presumably recognized as still valuable (!) - Robinson ; and Mahmood whose promising debut was one good thing to come from the recent tour ; plus Woakes back on home soil... I think the bowling stocks are reasonable.

As for the batting it still seems to me the old problems persist . Top three. Crawley looks brilliant when he's playing his shots - but all too often it only last four overs. Lees looks honest but limited - almost Sibley-lite ? And I would prefer Root at four even if he did get a couple of hundreds in West Indies : he got a couple of ducks too. Lawrence showed some promise but still is another player averaging sub-thirty. Until a new Cook/Strauss/Trott emerges , may have to live with this I'm afraid...just hope they occasionally get a start and the later order all rounder types like Stokes , Bairstow , even Woakes , can dig them out of the odd hole ?

Two disappointments for me on this tour were (1) that Parkinson didn't get a try : Leach is an honest competitor but honestly he is never going to win England a Test other than on a bunsen ; and (2) that the much touted Foakes really didn't add anything much with the gloves- even apart from proving to be a hopeless judge of lbw reviews ! Positions in both areas still unsettled , I think.

Early county form might be interesting ; but we've seen too often that it doesn't always translate. I think the initial XI may not be that different from the one that just failed in Grenada . So they will need to lift their game : up to the new coach to make sure they know that ! Wonder who he will be ?

Arthur Crabtree wrote:I thought about him and Anderson but they do have a history of being divisive characters.

Making A&B c/vc would be such an audacious u-turn that I hope it happens.

Good summary Alfie. But England doing badly in WI in the past I don't take as a proviso for them doing badly again, as each result since 2004 has been a big underachievement. WI were there to be beaten every time.

Can't see any of those who played in WI not being in a squad this summer. Overton might not make it, if anyone.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:I thought about him and Anderson but they do have a history of being divisive characters.

They'd make the fielders formally apologise in writing every time they dropped a catch and then make them stand in the naughty corner facing the wall for the rest of the evening

Make them listen to anecdotes about stuff Swanny got up to ten years ago.

Durhamfootman wrote:

Arthur Crabtree wrote:I thought about him and Anderson but they do have a history of being divisive characters.

They'd make the fielders formally apologise in writing every time they dropped a catch and then make them stand in the naughty corner facing the wall for the rest of the evening

If it stops them shelling so many I'm all for it.

I wonder if Archer will be fit for the summer?

V disappointed in Foakes. I've been an advocate of his for a long time, but he did not have a great series.

it didn't work the last time this was normal practice. Embarrassing team mates isn't terribly conducive to building team spirit

with Foakes, he's been in and out of the side so many times that he probably feels the pressure to perform when he's in. Perhaps he just needs to be told he's going to get a run in the side, say the English summer, then assess his performance ahead of the next overseas tour instead of him being judged after every match he plays with alternatives waiting in the wings every time England are worried about the batting

If you wanted to be positive, you could say England could have been 2-0 up after the first two games and their batting provided 4 different centurions and another with a best of 90 plus, the sort of batting performance that hasnt happened in a long, long time. Although being equally negative, you could say both draws looked like nailed on draws after day 3, and England eventually imploded to a side that has been very poor in recent times. England's batters wont find many easier challenges, and their bowlers didn't take 20 wickets against a batting line up that would serve as a compelling argument for the worst ever a major, non minnow side has ever fielded. I let you choose where on this spectrum you put the final assessment (I am in the comfortable negative but not disaster part of the spectrum).