NZ tour

[bwildered]

 Wheels come off the England batting.  Don?t do draws England, need to try one, has next winter it could become vital.

[Oldhasbeen]

Wheels come off the England batting.  Don?t do draws England, need to try one, has next winter it could become vital.

Quite!
I watched the  highlights this morning, it was a pretty painful experience. Duckett's shot should have shamed a 2nd XI player, and  although Crawley's LBW was marginal, I've no sympathy with him as he walked across his stumps and played across the line. Not the way to play late in the day.
As Ally pointed out, you should have a bit of sympathy for the bowlers when the batsmen can't last 40 overs.
Although there have been some big pluses over the last 12 months - Brook proving himself world-class, Smith, Carse and Atkinson showing they can do it at Test level -  big questions remain e.g.  the number 3 problem, whether Crawley is good enough, and which spinner we should select. Bashir may have a  "high ceiling" but is still bowling too much poop and his batting and fielding remain embarrassing. A lot to do next summer.

[nat]

McCullum and Stokes are doing massive damage to Test cricket. Two mad professors thinking it's a jolly jape to play Test cricket as if it's a beer match.

Why should I (and 000s of others) spend my pension on travelling to watch the Ashes next winter?!

Get these clowns outa here.

[Oldhasbeen]

McCullum and Stokes are doing massive damage to Test cricket. Two mad professors thinking it's a jolly jape to play Test cricket as if it's a beer match.

Why should I (and 000s of others) spend my pension on travelling to watch the Ashes next winter?!

Get these clowns outa here.

So, throw the baby out with the dirty bath water?
Did you prefer where we were before the Bazball era, 1 win in 17 Tests, turgid batting and still having periodic collapses?

[Andy]

The problem is that this England team swings wildly from pole to pole.  It seems that if the opponents are off form we do well, but when they recover the England team struggles.  It often reflects the personality of the skipper.  Mike Brearley mentioned how Tony Greig reverted very abruptly between defence and attack, suddenly scattering the field once a pair got set and vice versa when a partnership was ended. Similarly Brearley noted how Brian Close became easily frustrated in the field and would crowd batsmen who were set, rather than showing more patience.

Neither were ?bad? skippers, indeed both ought to have captained the side more often than those ?safe? public schoolboy options that selectors preferred.  However they perhaps needed an alternative perspective from a senior player and/or coach.

Kudos to the Kiwis for showing the value of orthodoxy in Test cricket.

[SirChef26]

The Kiwis have stunk the series out and are only winning this Test because England are effectively 'on the beach'. The majority of those players have one thing on their minds and that's Christmas at home with their families. Shouldn't have played more than a two-match series.

[bobw]

The Kiwis have stunk the series out and are only winning this Test because England are effectively 'on the beach'. The majority of those players have one thing on their minds and that's Christmas at home with their families. Shouldn't have played more than a two-match series.

There is more to it than what you say. England have thrown in the towel in the last test of the last three or four series. This is becoming a habit and one they must break to compete against the big boys.

[Andy]

The Kiwis have stunk the series out and are only winning this Test because England are effectively 'on the beach'. The majority of those players have one thing on their minds and that's Christmas at home with their families. Shouldn't have played more than a two-match series.

There is more to it than what you say. England have thrown in the towel in the last test of the last three or four series. This is becoming a habit and one they must break to compete against the big boys.

Agreed.  No golfing for these naughty boys. Sir Geoffrey would get them in tomorrow for some extra net practice.

[bwildered]

Set a fanciful 658, England were hustled out for 234 midway through the fourth afternoon to lose by 423 runs, their largest defeat by the Black Caps in terms of runs and fourth-largest by anyone.

 Aussies must be laughing.

[NotAMember]

Why should I (and 000s of others) spend my pension on travelling to watch the Ashes next winter?!

Don't go, then.

Professional live (in-person) spectator sport isn't designed for people to spend huge amounts of time and money on, travelling vast distances and staying in hotels, to watch. Its primary purpose is to entertain locally-based people.

Because your sports team can lose, bringing disappointment, it carries with it risk vs reward. When you live locally and your team gets hammered you can go home within an hour and quickly get over it and go again next week.

Travelling substantial distances and spending a lot of money on a sports match is a relatively new thing that has come with increased mobility, free time and disposable income.

If you choose to do it, that's absolutely fine. But the risk to reward ratio will then get seriously skewed towards the risk that you might face a huge let-down relative to the time and money you have invested. That's a risk YOU choose to take. No sports team in the world, not even Bayern Munich, can make the promise that they won't turn in a dud performance because a fan travelled across the world to watch them.

[vim]

At one time you wished to watch an overseas tour, you had to make your own arrangements. With them being organised, the prices have been gouged by some factor. I always say that these tours and associated functions must be good. As I have seen the prices and cannot stop laughing.

Also, there will be people on the tour, that you would not wish to meet at Chelmsford, and especially spend weeks with.

[Oldhasbeen]

Agreed.  No golfing for these naughty boys. Sir Geoffrey would get them in tomorrow for some extra net practice.

The shots Duckett and Pope played to get out suggest they need brain transplants rather than extra net practice.

Some of our guys need to learn some mental toughness. The Aussies seem to be born with it.

[nat]

Agreed.  No golfing for these naughty boys. Sir Geoffrey would get them in tomorrow for some extra net practice.

The shots Duckett and Pope played to get out suggest they need brain transplants rather than extra net practice.

Some of our guys need to learn some mental toughness. The Aussies seem to be born with it.

Duckett and Pope come from the 'silver spoon' brigade. Need a few players from the 'school of hard knocks'.

[nat]

At one time you wished to watch an overseas tour, you had to make your own arrangements. With them being organised, the prices have been gouged by some factor. I always say that these tours and associated functions must be good. As I have seen the prices and cannot stop laughing.

Also, there will be people on the tour, that you would not wish to meet at Chelmsford, and especially spend weeks with.

That's why I would never go with an organised tour.

[Oldhasbeen]

Agreed.  No golfing for these naughty boys. Sir Geoffrey would get them in tomorrow for some extra net practice.

The shots Duckett and Pope played to get out suggest they need brain transplants rather than extra net practice.

Some of our guys need to learn some mental toughness. The Aussies seem to be born with it.

Duckett and Pope come from the 'silver spoon' brigade. Need a few players from the 'school of hard knocks'.

There's something in that,  with Pope at least. He's had it too easy scoring easy runs by the ton on a friendly pitch in the county game, reminds me of Graham Hick in that respect.