First Test

[eastsax]

I wouldn't bother getting Finn and Mills to bowl at Warner, if I were them, he'd be cleaning toilet bowls without the aid of a brush...

Has there been suggestion of bringing in Tymal ? If so that'd be a very good selection , imo. Probably too much innovative thinking though.

[pablo]

I must say if Trott has had this problem 'for some time' why was he selected to go in the first place.I have every sympathy for him but with England's army of therapists and psychologists one would have thought  that somebody somewhere might have suggested that a full tour of Australia might not be a good idea.

I may be wrong but this problem seems to be affecting the England team almost exclusively in that  Trescothick, Yardy and now Trott have fallen victim but I don't recall players from other countries experiencing the same trauma or maybe others' policy is to keep the news under the wraps.

[Andy]

Er, I wasn't advocating Tymal for his prowess on the field. 

No one has advocated TM for a full debut. However, I notice how the media are saying that we don't have the pace to trade like-for-like, which seems bizarre because they were saying that is why we'd picked 4 tall quickies in the squad!!!!!!!!

However, this got me thinking. Back in the mid-50s Hutton took an untried Tyson, who blew the Aussies away. Worth noting that we got caned in the first test back then as well...

[Andy]

I must say if Trott has had this problem 'for some time' why was he selected to go in the first place.

I may be wrong but this problem seems to be affecting the England team almost exclusively in that  Trescothick, Yardy and now Trott have fallen victim but I don't recall players from other countries experiencing the same trauma or maybe others' policy is to keep the news under the wraps.

Trott clearly has a form of OCD, which may or may not be linked. His Saffer team mate has raging narcissism. We take the rough with the smooth with our colleagues.

As for why doesn't it effect other team, well I don't know. As Trott is not a Brit born and bred, it can't be our education system or the usual Daily Mail diagnoses. I know that there was a diary by Paul Gibb of the post war Ashes tour that revealed the torment he was going through at the time, so this is not a modern phenomenon. A number of England players back in the day simply refused to tour.

In the past, ECCC players took their lives because they couldn't play any more - maybe this is a slightly different situation because they were facing poverty in middle age, whilst Trott & Tresco have more support nowadays

As for other countries, maybe we just don't hear about them. However, we all know the problems besetting a certain Kiwi international and Essex club player, who is slowly recovering...

[firehazard]

...
As for other countries, maybe we just don't hear about them...

I suspect that since Marcus Trescothick bravely went public, the game over here has been far more open about it.

It does appear that Trott's been managing his condition for some time now. But it's always hard to predict the way that such conditions can suddenly flare up, and in the circumstances he's done the right thing in coming home. Good luck to the bloke, I hope that things will improve for him. It's a tough and lonely place to be.

[Blocky]

Er, I wasn't advocating Tymal for his prowess on the field. 

No one has advocated TM for a full debut. However, I notice how the media are saying that we don't have the pace to trade like-for-like, which seems bizarre because they were saying that is why we'd picked 4 tall quickies in the squad!!!!!!!!

However, this got me thinking. Back in the mid-50s Hutton took an untried Tyson, who blew the Aussies away. Worth noting that we got caned in the first test back then as well...

I was.  I would personally wait till Perth and pick the 4 fastest bowlers we have available and take the convicts to the cleaners with horrible nasty short pitched bowling.  Sure, we may well lose, but we'll show some fight.  Bring back Firey Fred, Frank Tyson and Larwood....

The problem however is the ECB/Selectors won't want to do that.  Nice little bit of public school wouldn't have taught them to fight their corner.

[Diatribe]

  Nice little bit of public school wouldn't have taught them to fight their corner.

Wot Gooch, Giles, Flower et al, public school? In the case of the former, there's not many of the aforementioned in Leyton.

[Blocky]

I was more thinking of the ECB, but I think you'll find Mr Flower's Education in Zim was rather paid for.  (mind you, the comprehensive system under Zanu PF would have been a right chuckle).....

[Diatribe]

I tend to remember Boycott suffering some kind of mental block in the 1970's culminating in a 2 or 3 yr. break from international cricket. There were some cynics at the time, myself included who were of the opinion that it was perhaps a tad more than coincidental that the timing of his decision just happened to coincide with Lilley and Thomson being at their peak.

[Oldhasbeen]

I tend to remember Boycott suffering some kind of mental block in the 1970's culminating in a 2 or 3 yr. break from international cricket. There were some cynics at the time, myself included who were of the opinion that it was perhaps a tad more than coincidental that the timing of his decision just happened to coincide with Lilley and Thomson being at their peak.

"Boycott tends to be where the fast bowlers aren't" - Tony Greig

[nat]

I tend to remember Boycott suffering some kind of mental block in the 1970's culminating in a 2 or 3 yr. break from international cricket. There were some cynics at the time, myself included who were of the opinion that it was perhaps a tad more than coincidental that the timing of his decision just happened to coincide with Lilley and Thomson being at their peak.

"Boycott tends to be where the fast bowlers aren't" - Tony Greig

Both of you may be correct but ...the reason he went into exile was his problems with an Indian left arm seamer by the name of Solkar. His return coincided with the emergence of the great West Indian fast bowlers...which he faced with some success. So, not sure he was running scared of Lillian Thomson.

[Diatribe]

Both of you may be correct but ...the reason he went into exile was his problems with an Indian left arm seamer by the name of Solkar. His return coincided with the emergence of the great West Indian fast bowlers...which he faced with some success. So, not sure he was running scared of Lillian Thomson.

Wikipedia doesn't take us much further either.


''This period of exile coincided with the peaks of several fast bowlers' careers, including Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Andy Roberts, and Michael Holding. However, he later came back to face the West Indies pace battery at its most fearsome in the late 70s and early 80s.''

[IlfordEagle]

Another great day for the England batsmen today out for a pathetic 179 after being 85-1 & later 171-5, an incredible collapse. Whilst The Ego got runs in both innings I would still question his all out attack policy when a bit of sensible restraint might have helped, yet again our batsmen contributed greatly to their own downfall (sounds a bit like any Essex innings!!), I suspect Australia will win comfortably during the afternoon session on Sunday & 5-0 still looks on the cards.