English Cricket Thread

[Arthur Crabtree]

Maybe Broad thinks he should bat at four...

[alfie]

Maybe Broad thinks he should bat at four...

Early-Night Hawk ?

[sussexpob]

Maybe Broad thinks he should bat at four...

Early-Night Hawk ?

Day hawk!

[Slipstream]

Leach out of the Ashes with a stress fracture

[Durhamfootman]

good luck coming up with a replacement

[Durhamfootman]

I'm bound to observe that while I acknowledge how bad England are at preparing for any series, let alone an ashes one, this is rapidly degenerating into a monster fcuk up of Truss-like proportions

Maybe Broad can bowl off spin.... or Foakes.... or Bairstow. Maybe Stokes will have to bowl gentle offies if he can't steam in on his dodgy knee

[Slipstream]

Jacks and Lawrence can share spin duties. A good time to tell Crawley we have to drop you.....

[bigfluffylemon]

Root as main spinner?

This is a major problem, especially if Stokes can't take a full bowling load.

There don't seem to be any great options.

Meanwhile Hazlewood is struggling for fitness on the Australian side, but with Boland, Neser waiting in the wings, there are strong subs available.

[alfie]

Didn't see Leach as the main matchwinner - but losing him like this points up how important he was likely be to the team over a five Test series. Just isn't a particularly attractive like for like replacement around.

Might get away with four seamers plus Root in some conditions ; but they will need a spinner for several Tests. Who ?

Ahmed ? Did well in Pakistan ; but asking a lot of a teenager to step in : he's not done a lot with the ball so far in the CC and is likely to be expensive rather than a "control" option so as sole spinner would be a huge gamble. Wouldn't rule him out for later games but surely not the first couple ?

Moeen call up ? Please no : he's stepped away from Tests and not fair to him or England to try and drag him back in.

Bess ? Did OK when first selected - and has five wicket efforts against SA and Sri Lanka to his credit. But he seems to me (from a distance) to have lost confidence since being dropped on that India tour , and hasn't been tearing down trees in the CC lately.

Jacks and Livingstone : both capped in Pakistan. One got injured , one got six wickets ! But honestly they are both part timers with the ball ; so while they would be handy as bats I don't fancy either bowling 20+ overs on a day to Smith & co ...

Parkinson ? One super-sub appearance in a Test and since ... not much. Loaned out to Durham now I understand , poor chap Unlikely.

Dawson might be the favourite ; which is slightly depressing. 33 isn't ancient for a spinner , and he brings experience and recent good form : but 7 wickets in three Tests (six years ago) at over 42 average isn't exactly encouraging.

Anyone got any wild cards ?

[andy]

Talk of jack Carson getting a go maybe.......Ollie Robinson has bowled spin in a test before

Erm I honestly don't know where they go from here.......Callum Parkinson of lecistershire maybe? Decent left arm spinner....gutted for Matt Parkinson because a year ago this would have been perfect timing for.him....i hope they don't go Rehan Ahmed he isn't ready and hasn't done much in CC this season....

Matt critchley as an all-round option? Left field yes but solid with the bat and his leggies improving more and more offers more control than Rehan at this point of time....

[Slipstream]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxzGdKlaUAA ... me=900x900

[sussexpob]

Suggestions of Carson are mad, because he's not even justifying his place in the Sussex team atm, let alone England. He looked to have a lot of talent, but he's played exclusively on early season pitches in the last 2 years, and its impossible to make your mark on the game as a young spinner in April conditions.

[Durhamfootman]

Carson had a long injury last year and didn't make an appearance until about Sept if i remember correctly, so he hasn't had a huge amount of cricket in the last year and a half

[sussexpob]

Carson had a long injury last year and didn't make an appearance until about Sept if i remember correctly, so he hasn't had a huge amount of cricket in the last year and a half

Yeah, I had in my mind he he played a couple of games at both extremes of the year, but only in September. Still, watching him get carted and concede 200 runs in an innings vs Glamorgan not that long ago hardy made me think England was about to come knocking.

He is very raw, and if anything time makes him look less convincing as a prospect. Bowls all over the place at times, needs much better control if he wants to step up or even become a good county player

[Durhamfootman]

he does seem to take wickets though. He must have taken a fair few in 2021 because I picked him in my 2022 FL side, which is why I knew he missed almost the whole season