by sussexpob » Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:18 am
New Zealand show England how to bat on a day 5 pitch, and rightfully therefore take the series. Probably the difference in the end; in two matches where the draw was favourite, the Kiwi's managed to pluck a win out of England's terrible resolve, while England were unable to do the same against a quality line up happy to step up for the fight. But I am not going to go full barrel at England, because there was a step in the right direction with the bat; ok, the pitch might not have been much to bowl on, but since when has that stopped England folding like a deck of cards in a session before?
Take away for the series?
The positives.....
1. The return of Root; played some quality stuff in this test, and the old deft touch was back. Mixed hearty defence and patience with creative scoring, and occasional brutality to the looser stuff. Hopefully this leads to a renaissance for him.
2. Ollie Pope; I'd like to think that Pope was a little nervous in his first efforts, but his 75 in this test allowed us to have a better look at what he's bringing to the table. I think he looks a technically compact player, and once he got himself in he played a few wonderful strokes; most notably a few wonderful back foot drives into the offside that werent that wide, but which he cremated with very little problems. Showed patience; got out to a short ball trying to accelerate, but had he maintained a comfortable pace, 3 figures could have been on.
3. Rory Burns; he's not going to be breaking any of Alistair Cook's records, and he's still not the best technically.... but he turns up to bat as long as possible, and like all the best openers, when he makes a mistake and gets off the hook, he puts his head down and makes sides pay. He's slowly improving.... and lets be honest, an opener who can average in the 35 region after the last 5 years feels like a god send for our rabble (a pretty scathing conclusion, but one that is undoubtedly true).
4. Ben Stokes (Batting) ; continues to add useful contributions for the team, and his 91 kept England from collapsing in the first test.
5. Chris Woakes - If only he could get fit and a run going. Was the pick of the England bowlers in the test he played.
The undecided
1. Joe Denly - He's proving he can make 50s, but in terms of the business innings that win matches, we are yet to see one of 3 figures. I understand why Denly wants to play with extreme negativity, it might just be what England need; but its not playing to Denly's strenghts, and batting the way he does might be far less efficient in getting the most runs out of him. I'd like to see him get his eye in more and play his natural game. That's not to say slog or be reckless, but once he's set and got a start, not be so passive.
2. Jofra Archer - Bad series, quality player. I am sure he will bounce back and take this as part of his learning curve.
The negatives
1. Ben Stokes (bowling) - Average with the ball this year is creeping to 40, which is a marked step backwards in his career. I get the feeling that Stokes is currently transitioning from all rounder to batter who bowls, and that less attention is being paid off the field to making his bowling work. Thats a shame, because a bowler with his ability to move the ball either way, especially with the old ball, is the type of thing you want in series like this, where you have to make things happen on docile pitches. Stokes has a habit of bowling spells that bring other bowlers back into the match too..... but we are seeing it with lessing frequency as time goes by.
2. Stuart Broad - The game is a total different proposition when the ball doesnt move; as if to underline that point, Wee Davey Warner was wracking up 335 not out elsewhere in the hemisphere while Broad was struggling to do anything more than keep the scoring rate down. Is Broad the type of player who has any use outside of the swinging tracks of England? Maybe, its hard to lay into him full barrel, because it was hardly a disaster, but for batsman willing to show him respect and patience, there isnt a lot else to challenge them.
3. Jack Leach - Santner's wickets were the start of England's defeat in the first test, where he was able to get something out the pitch; Leach had toiled for 2 days asking no questions. He has to improve.
4. Sam Curran - There is obvious question marks about how useful Curran is when the ball stops swinging. When he has movement to play with, he can hit the right lengths and lines to utilisie it, when it stops, hes just a medium pacer sending down easy to negotiate stuff. With Broad already in the team, the two of them provide England with very little pace.
5 Jos Buttler - As I said before, once the luck runs out you are left with an average keeper and a batter than rarely makes big scores..... the luck has run out, and so has the runs. Time to go....
The "do we need to see anymore"
Dom Sibley - Ive said my piece; looks technically inept. Do we need another 15 tests of seeing his bambi on ice gig to realise this, or can we cut loose now?
Zak Crawley - Averages 30 in FC cricket. Should never have been picked, but as usual, the ECB propaganda was at hand to big up just how great a technical player he was; 6 balls into his debut, the footwork is missing, presumed dead, as he gets out thrusting his hands out with a massive gap between bat and bad.... turns out yet again, the propaganda line was a load of s***..... averages terribly for a reason, and that reason seems to be shots like that....... and that is after he tried to run himself out with his only run in tests.
Lets hope it remains his only run.
2010 French Open fantasy league guru 2010 Wimbledon fantasy league guru 2014 Masters golf fantasy guru 2015 Players Championship FL Guru 2016 Masters Golf Fantasy Guru
And a hat and bra to you too, my good sirs!