4th Test England v Pakistan, The Oval, Aug 11-15

[hopeforthebest]

Bayliss is saying all four all rounders will play, by which he means Stoke,Woakes, Moeen and Rashid.

[backfootpunch]

Depends if he considers Root as a spin bowler I suppose, Ansari could come in, but three spinners is really over kill given we don't have one Test class one in the side at present!

We don't know if rashid and Ansari are test class, all we know is moeen isn't

Rashid already has a five wicket haul and should have won us That game

I thought he bowled well in the UAE to most of the pakistan team, but misbah played him brilliantly, hitting balls of a good length that turned plenty for six after six

[backfootpunch]

Bayliss is saying all four all rounders will play, by which he means Stoke,Woakes, Moeen and Rashid.

So

Cook
hales
root
ballance/vince
bairstow
moeen
stokes
woakes
rashid
broad
anderson

[Dr Cricket]

If were to believe Bayliss Rashid is a probable but this coach seems to deal in red herrings all the time. I wonder if he's seen any other spin options play or, will he rely on advice from others when the squad for the winter tour is discussed.

If the india pitches are anything like the south africa series we will need 3 spinners

So Ali, rashid and Ansari I suppose

All are capable with the bat as well

3 spinners would mean no stokes though and we now Bayliss rates stokes very highly (anderson, broad and Woakes are undroppable)

According to his recent statement, Stokes, Woakes, Moeen and Rashid are already on the team sheet for games in India. He then talks of possible 3 pace and 3 spin bowlers playing. Gives something for the media and us to talk about I guess.

Anderson/Broad are guranteed picks which means one of ballance/Vince misses out.

[Dr Cricket]

Hales saying england will try to improve over rates for the game which is good to hear.

[Aidan11]

Hales saying england will try to improve over rates for the game which is good to hear.

The key word there is "try".

[Dr Cricket]

Hales saying england will try to improve over rates for the game which is good to hear.

The key word there is "try".

yep hopefully england show more urgency in the field.

[bigfluffylemon]

Depends if he considers Root as a spin bowler I suppose, Ansari could come in, but three spinners is really over kill given we don't have one Test class one in the side at present!

Quite. There's no point in playing two or even three spinners if those spinners are not very good. They'll just get murdered by the likes of Kohli, even if the track is turning a bit. There's even less point in picking a mediocre spinner if you have to bench a world-class quick bowler to do it.

You play the bowlers who are most likely to take you 20 wickets. You don't play bowlers because they are of one type or another and tradition says you have to.

[Making_Splinters]

Interesting achievement possible for England at the Oval.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-p ... 44221.html

[Arthur Crabtree]

County stalwart offie Shaun Udal spun England to a victory in India against a batting side probably better than the current one.

[backfootpunch]

County stalwart offie Shaun Udal spun England to a victory in India against a batting side probably better than the current one.

Sehwag, dravid and Sachin were decent players much better than anyone in the current side

If the pitches are raging bunsens like most expect we could do with an accurate spinner

[Aidan11]

I had to check this was a Thursday start.


Like wheelie bin day,it keeps changing.

[hopeforthebest]

Bayliss is praising his batsmen as if they had battled against top bowling on a pitch that was full of threats. In fact the bowling was from mediocre to poor and the pitch was as docile as any seen in England in the last decade. Michael Vaughan says Vince and Hales have earned the right for further investment from the selectors. If they have it shouldn't be because of their play at Edgbaston but because it's probably too late in the day to make changes and no one is kicking down the door to get in.

[Aidan11]

England likely to be unchanged according to SSN.

[Alviro Patterson]

England naming an unchanged side for the final test, good news for Yorkshire as this means Adil Rashid is in the Vikings T20 squad against Glamorgan (touch wood)

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but England could go top of the test ranking if England win the last test and India fail to beat West Indies at St Lucia.