If they were footballers or boxers talking as such I don't think it would be laughed off as "banter"... Looks like Trott is suffering from the stress related issues many cricketers do so wish him well. Compton to come back?
So when we lose this, we'll have to live with the Aussies lording it over us for 4 years, despite us winning back to back serieses. Doesn't seem fair to me. I waited my whole life for an era of England superiority over the Australians and now it's over before we've had long enough to enjoy it.
At least our woeful cricketing performance is making me feel better about the Bolton match. Or is our woeful Bolton performance making me feel better about the cricket? Oh - they're both making me feel worse.
All the best to Trott. Playing a Test match to it's full extent of thirty hours is the equivalent in time of twenty football matches filled with the utmost concentration every ball. Given Trott's lengthy preparations and mindset when batting it is unsurprising mental fatigue and it's associated ills have afflicted him. Meanwhile in the Associates T20 qualifiers Ireland, Afghanistan, the UAE have been joined by Nepal. This leaves the two remaining spots between the winners of Papua New Guinea or Hong Kong and Scotland or the Netherlands. It would be a real setback for both of the latter countries to miss out not to mention surprising. Overall the tournament has merely reinforced the gap in class between Ireland and Afghanistan and the rest (Ireland just dropping a point due to a rained off game) and the rest. What has been disappointing has been the performance of Kenya and Canada. Kenya still are in turmoil and Steve Tikolo batting highlights a paucity of talent to replace what used to be a pretty decent ODI side tipped at one time to become a real force in the game in the future.
So will it be Bairstow to replace Trott? Also think Bresnan or Finn should come in or Tremlett. Also get rid of Carberry, and put Bell in at 2 and Morgan in the team.
In the T20 qualifiers Ireland and Afghanistan unsurprisingly reached the final. The last two qualification spots have been taken by Hong Kong who beat PNG and Holland who beat Scotland minus ten Doeschate who wants now at a late stage in his career to play for England. The loss is very disappointing for the game north of the border even with a couple of young talents emerging in Matt Machan and Callum McLeod alongside Kyle Coetzer and likewise for PNG. To be honest I am not too thrilled with the idea of two countries filled with expatriates making the T20 World Cup namely HK and UAE who have no indigenous development programme compared to Ireland, Afghanistan and Nepal as well as Holland. Also worrying to an extent is the number of foreign born players that constitute the bulk of sides in the T20. Italy for example. The ICC or rather India with it's two main supplicants Australia and England need to do more instead of maintaining the sport as a parochial entity. The BCCI for example have done absolutely nothing in regard of helping the Nepalese develop or even try and integrate them into a lower tier of domestic competition. Granted the travelling requirements and altitude may cause a problem but a sport that remains limited in it's extent is hardly going to thrive in the long term.
Personally, I feel the best option would be Moen Ali. He is over there in the development side, got another big score (2 years of big scores now) and took another 5 for with his ever improving off-spin. He should have been in the touring side in the first place ahead of Ballance. Bairstow is only a reserve keeper in my eyes, he hasn't shown enough for test cricket in his appearances. Finn should be playing as he is a genuine wicket taker. OK, he may go at 4 runs an over but it doesn't matter if he get 4 or 5 wickets.
Ballance would be my choice. Tough start in international cricket but he's been superb for Yorkshire in county cricket for the last two years. Bairstow is not a test cricketer although he should play in the One dayers. Adelaide might suit Bresnan more than Finn or Tremlett plus he adds more to the batting. Perth will suit the other two where it's a lot quicker and bouncier.
When he went on soccer am he was in an Arsenal shirt. Basically admitted he didn't care much about Luton... Sums up Luton these days.
The RAF could use it for target practice. Might improve the place. A bit like Betjeman talking about Slough.
Ben stokes nearly with the first wicket of the day, but the initial joy was soon turned to disappointment as it was just a no ball Australia starting to set up a good score here, 368/5 at the minute
66/3, yet again Carberry the only player doing anything of note with the bat Looks like 2-0 EDIT: Carberry out for 60, 111/4 now
Didn't the press spend all Pre-Ashes hoping Johnson would be called up for the Aussies as they thought he would be a weak link? :doh: Apart from Bell and Carberry it was another shambolic effort. Monty put up more of a fight than most at the end.
really worried about a whitewash now. this england team needs restructuring. prior has to be dropped, pietersen needs a kick up the arse and cook has to play like a captain and put in some important runs. bell and carberry are playing ok, but they cant pick up the slack of the rest.
What on earth has happened? We looked below par in the summer, but we won. The thinking, surely was, that we would go to Australia and actually put our best foot forwards and win the series. Now the best we can hope for is to avoid a whitewash. Seriously - where has this come from? Not just our collapse, but the Australian quality. Nobody saw this and the worrying thing is that this will be the beginning of a reversion to the standard practice of Australian domination for the coming era. I am just gobsmacked. Who are this England? They are a shadow of the side of the summer and even then, they weren't great but promised so much more. Who is really standing up to be counted? Certainly not Pietersen. I'm only a casual cricket fan, but I can't remember the last time he was any use to us.
2 days to bat to save the test, captain of England, why not attempt a hook straight away, what could go wrong? I always knew a bloke from just outside Luton was a wrong-un!
