England's Summer of Cricket 2024

by Duty281 Fri 05 Apr 2024, 11:27 am

First topic message reminder :

Now the County Championship has begun, it is officially summer once more. Don't let the rain tell you otherwise!

We can talk about promising county performances, the build up to the World T20, and Ollie Robinson's latest injury when it happens. Then, in just under two months, England start playing games:

England v Pakistan, four T20s, 22nd May-30th May
World T20 in June
England v West Indies, three tests, 10th July-30th July
England v Sri Lanka, three tests, 21st August-10th September
England v Australia, three T20s, 11th September-15th September
England v Australia, five ODIs, 19th September-29th September

It's a bit of a pressure summer for England. The ODI side made the most disappointing defence of a World Cup crown since France in the football in 2002, so there's pressure on the T20 side, and Mott in particular, to deliver something decent in the Caribbean.

For the test match side, it's been three series without a series win for England, so the expectation is on for England to get back to winning ways against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. The West Indies often cause England a few troubles, but England have won their last seven home series v the West Indies, dating back to 2000, and you have to go back to 1988 for the last time the West Indies won a series in England.

Sri Lanka are visiting for the first time in eight years for a test series, so it's well overdue. They've certainly managed to upset England in the past, very famously in 1998, but also in 2014, so it's a series that cannot be taken for granted.

And to round off the summer the ECB are making a dash for cash, with eight limited overs games against the Aussies in the fading September light, in games that will probably be forgotten in no time at all.

by VTR Fri 17 May 2024, 8:09 am

Duty281 wrote:Josh Tongue will miss at least the West Indies series, and possibly the Sri Lankan one as well, after suffering a setback in his injury recovery.

He hasn't played any competitive cricket since August last year.

Not that I don't think it's time to move on l, but all the Anderson and Broad replacements do appear to be made of glass!

by guildfordbat Fri 17 May 2024, 8:53 am

VTR wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Josh Tongue will miss at least the West Indies series, and possibly the Sri Lankan one as well, after suffering a setback in his injury recovery.

He hasn't played any competitive cricket since August last year.

Not that I don't think it's time to move on l, but all the Anderson and Broad replacements do appear to be made of glass!

Sadly nothing new! More than a decade ago Anderson and Broad's occasional fellow England seamer Chris Tremlett was nicknamed 'Pilky' by the Surrey mafia after the Pilkington Glass company.

by guildfordbat Fri 17 May 2024, 8:59 am

Following recent recovery from the knee injury that prematurely ended his tour of India, Jack Leach is named in a Somerset Championship squad for the first time this season. Shoaib Bashir is also in the 14 man squad for the game at Taunton against Kent. Who will play? None, one or both of them? My guess is only Leach.

by Duty281 Fri 17 May 2024, 11:08 am

VTR wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Josh Tongue will miss at least the West Indies series, and possibly the Sri Lankan one as well, after suffering a setback in his injury recovery.

He hasn't played any competitive cricket since August last year.

Not that I don't think it's time to move on l, but all the Anderson and Broad replacements do appear to be made of glass!

By the end of the summer, Anderson and Broad will be called out of retirement because they'll be the only injury-free bowlers!

by VTR Fri 17 May 2024, 11:46 am

guildfordbat wrote:
VTR wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Josh Tongue will miss at least the West Indies series, and possibly the Sri Lankan one as well, after suffering a setback in his injury recovery.

He hasn't played any competitive cricket since August last year.

Not that I don't think it's time to move on l, but all the Anderson and Broad replacements do appear to be made of glass!

Sadly nothing new! More than a decade ago Anderson and Broad's occasional fellow England seamer Chris Tremlett was nicknamed 'Pilky' by the Surrey mafia after the Pilkington Glass company.

Ha! What a talent he was as well. Fabulous bowling in the 2010/11 Ashes, played a big part in that win. But definitely a sicknote other than that, don't remember him playing many other Tests

by guildfordbat Fri 17 May 2024, 11:56 am

guildfordbat wrote:Following recent recovery from the knee injury that prematurely ended his tour of India, Jack Leach is named in a Somerset Championship squad for the first time this season. Shoaib Bashir is also in the 14 man squad for the game at Taunton against Kent. Who will play? None, one or both of them? My guess is only Leach.

As suspected, Leach plays and Bashir is benched.

by dummy_half Fri 17 May 2024, 3:50 pm

Duty281 wrote:
VTR wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Josh Tongue will miss at least the West Indies series, and possibly the Sri Lankan one as well, after suffering a setback in his injury recovery.

He hasn't played any competitive cricket since August last year.

Not that I don't think it's time to move on l, but all the Anderson and Broad replacements do appear to be made of glass!

By the end of the summer, Anderson and Broad will be called out of retirement because they'll be the only injury-free bowlers!

And since the cricket Gods love irony, Joffra Archer and Jack Leach will make up the rest of the attack.

by king_carlos Fri 17 May 2024, 5:08 pm

guildfordbat wrote:
guildfordbat wrote:Following recent recovery from the knee injury that prematurely ended his tour of India, Jack Leach is named in a Somerset Championship squad for the first time this season. Shoaib Bashir is also in the 14 man squad for the game at Taunton against Kent. Who will play? None, one or both of them? My guess is only Leach.

As suspected, Leach plays and Bashir is benched.

Great to see James Rew 94 red in that game as I'm having to switch off and head out. I was watching the live stream, hoping I might see him ton up. He had a lean Lions tour in India and a slower start to the season. It was feeling a bit second season syndrome-y. He's just looked a quality talent again today though.

In more pressing England watch. Stokes looks in the best nick he has for years. Bowling decent spells. It's hard to tell with the live stream angles and no speed gun, but he looks nearer full pace. No sign of pain. No grimacing and grabbing his knee. It'd all started to look a bit Flintoff in '09 where watching him run fet painful as a spectator. As said many times, I got the feeling that knee was properly cooked and Stokes would end up a batter. I didn't expect him to run in looking this comfortable again, that's for sure.

by alfie Sat 18 May 2024, 5:05 am

Good news re Stokes then , KC ! And thanks for your info re Pennington. His height perhaps just as likely to be a factor in Australia as actual mph so sounds promising. Will be interesting to see if he gets a look in seeing as there are a few contracted players ahead of him , several of whom have had a taste already.

Though with the usual England fast bowler injury rate showing no sign of disappearing I imagine that won't be a problem Smile

by king_carlos Sat 18 May 2024, 5:13 pm

It's been an interesting game at the Oval for discussion around England's keeper and the first reserve batter. 3 of the 4 players likely in that chat are at 4/5/6 for Surrey!

Lawrence was the unused reserve batter over the winter even with Brook absent. He's started the season reasonably well with a ton, two fifties (including a very good 84 out of 213 in the 1st innings here) and 3 low scores. Whilst Smith has got a ton, 2 fifties, a couple of low scores and is now 70* at a good SR. The other partner in this innings? Lawrence on 47*. From what I've seen of both on the live stream, Smith generally looks the more assured. The younger man must be edging closer to the reserve batting spot in a 13 or 14-man squad for the Test summer?

3 and 1 isn't the game Foakes needed with the bat. He went 10 innings without a fifty in India. Prior to this he'd only had 3 knocks for Surrey in 4 CC games due to weather and not being needed in the 2nd innings. Two fifties and a start in those three knocks was more positive than negative but hardly demanding continued selection prior to the two low scores here. It feels like he needs runs and soon.

Smith is just looking like a batting talent I can't see them leaving out for much longer. His offside play in particular reminds me a lot of Brook. The perfectly timed back foot punches through point and the very confident drives through cover and mid-off.

by king_carlos Sat 18 May 2024, 5:18 pm

king_carlos wrote:It's been an interesting game at the Oval for discussion around England's keeper and the first reserve batter. 3 of the 4 players likely in that chat are at 4/5/6 for Surrey!

Lawrence was the unused reserve batter over the winter even with Brook absent. He's started the season reasonably well with a ton, two fifties (including a very good 84 out of 213 in the 1st innings here) and 3 low scores. Whilst Smith has got a ton, 2 fifties, a couple of low scores and is now 70* at a good SR. The other partner in this innings? Lawrence on 47*. From what I've seen of both on the live stream, Smith generally looks the more assured. The younger man must be edging closer to the reserve batting spot in a 13 or 14-man squad for the Test summer?

3 and 1 isn't the game Foakes needed with the bat. He went 10 innings without a fifty in India. Prior to this he'd only had 3 knocks for Surrey in 4 CC games due to weather and not being needed in the 2nd innings. Two fifties and a start in those three knocks was more positive than negative but hardly demanding continued selection prior to the two low scores here. It feels like he needs runs and soon.

Smith is just looking like a batting talent I can't see them leaving out for much longer. His offside play in particular reminds me a lot of Brook. The perfectly timed back foot punches through point and the very confident drives through cover and mid-off.

Excellent commentators curse from myself. Smith must've got out as I posted! Laugh

by Jetty Sun 19 May 2024, 10:19 am

County Championship stats

Duckett (3) 323 runs at 53.83
Crawley (4*) 305 runs at 38.12
Pope (5) 156 runs at 26.00
Root (5) 442 runs at 55.25
Brook (5) 388 runs at 77.60
Stokes (1*) 2 runs at 2.00 - 3 wickets at 29.66
Foakes (5) 137 runs at 27.40
Robinson (4) 15 wickets at 24.46
Leach (1*) 4 wickets at 32.75

by king_carlos Sun 19 May 2024, 3:41 pm

Ton for Crawley and Michelle for Stokes.

Potts has only bowled 3 overs in the innings though. Presumably due to injury...?

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 20 May 2024, 12:23 am

Ollie Robinson with a seemingly much better shift vs Yorkshire with the ball - delivery to get the set Lyth out looked handy in particular

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 20 May 2024, 12:36 am

king_carlos wrote:Ton for Crawley and Michelle for Stokes.

Potts has only bowled 3 overs in the innings though. Presumably due to injury...?

Wonder if it was workload for Potts - don’t think it’s an injury, he took the catch at deep fine leg for Stokes’s fifth, deep into the Lancs innings.

by Jetty Mon 20 May 2024, 12:57 am

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:
king_carlos wrote:Ton for Crawley and Michelle for Stokes.

Potts has only bowled 3 overs in the innings though. Presumably due to injury...?

Wonder if it was workload for Potts - don’t think it’s an injury, he took the catch at deep fine leg for Stokes’s fifth, deep into the Lancs innings.

Looked fit to me. Probably his three overs went for 25 and couldn't afford him.
Once Stokes starts bowling hard to get the ball off him. I think he bowled an 11 over spell and would have carried on if not for stumps.

by wisden Mon 20 May 2024, 8:56 am

Jetty wrote:
Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:
king_carlos wrote:Ton for Crawley and Michelle for Stokes.

Potts has only bowled 3 overs in the innings though. Presumably due to injury...?

Wonder if it was workload for Potts - don’t think it’s an injury, he took the catch at deep fine leg for Stokes’s fifth, deep into the Lancs innings.

Looked fit to me. Probably his three overs went for 25 and couldn't afford him.
Once Stokes starts bowling hard to get the ball off him. I think he bowled an 11 over spell and would have carried on if not for stumps.

Fingers croosed there's no reprecussions from the amount of bowling he has done in this game..big workload considering it's the first time he's properly bowled in a game for a long time...

by VTR Mon 20 May 2024, 10:31 am

Yeah, was thinking that myself, that's some serious workload in what is a likely lost cause

Also how Crawley-like is it to average about 9 then smash a double century

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 20 May 2024, 11:17 am

Yeah it's both promising to see Stokes bowl that much, but similarly worried about how he will pull up. It should be noted he did take that time off to have some work done, which he seemed to think this time would make more of an impact and he's been building up his workloads in the nets by sounds of it.

Would be fantastic if he can get to a point where he can be a viable 4th seamer in home conditions again. Don't think we need him bowling the ridiculous 11 over spells though....

by guildfordbat Mon 20 May 2024, 1:27 pm

guildfordbat wrote:
guildfordbat wrote:
Pal Joey wrote:
alfie wrote:
Any others I've missed ? Might be fun seeing how things play out ...

No, you've covered most of them, alfie.

Except for DJ Worrall of course... but you probably don't read the tabloids any more, or do you?

D J (aka Dan or Frankie) Worrall. More tonight.

Dan (also known as Frankie or Sir Frank after the late West Indian great) signed for Surrey from Gloucs at the end of the 2021 season. Going by their comments at the Oval when Gloucs played Surrey (Worrall wasn't playing) circa September 2021 and his imminent signing had already been announced, some of their supporters weren't sorry to see him go. Too often injured and/or not keen to play was their view. Have to say I had similar feelings and feared we had been sold a pup. However, a total transformation for me since then. Surrey's leading Championship wicket taker in 2022 and 2023 as we won the title both years, twice earning him my vote as Player of the Season (even ahead of Jamie Smith, PJ ).

He qualifies for England at the start of the 2025 season and will be 34 midway through that season. A bit old for a usual Test debutant but I wonder how much that matters as the Ashes appear to be the Holy Grail. He's not as fast as some but still has a bit of nip and swings the ball to good effect either bringing it in on the stumps or leaving it out there for an edge to keeper or slips. Usually reliable and dependable whether bowling at opening batters or the tail. He's not a sophisticated batter but is a handy biffer who can make good and annoying runs at number 10.

Unlike his Surrey team mate and definite England contender Atkinson, for example, who is still learning his trade, Frankie knows his game.

Worrall had a match return of 10/57 from his 28 overs against Worcs at the Oval which finished yesterday whilst Atkinson sent down 17 overs to end with 1/59. Of the tenfer, 6 were caught behind, 2 bowled, one lbw and one caught at slip.

Having sidestepped the commentator's curse which tripped up Carlos at the weekend concerning Jamie Smith, I won't push my luck and will stick now with my plaudits about Frankie.

by king_carlos Mon 20 May 2024, 2:27 pm

VTR wrote:Yeah, was thinking that myself, that's some serious workload in what is a likely lost cause

They're doing their best to defy the odds there! 157 needed with 6 wickets in hand. Stokes just at the crease.

Not a bad time for the Ollie Robinson to crack a hundred. He had 5 consecutive fifties to start the season but hadn't got to a ton yet. Batting against Lyon on D4. In front of the skipper. It can't hurt.

David Bedingham with his second ton of the match, third ton in three innings and fourth ton of the season too. His summer so far is, 9 innings, 694 runs @ 87, a low score of 33 red. Nuts. It doesn't even seem out the ordinary either. Just a fantastic cricketer.

by Duty281 Mon 20 May 2024, 3:22 pm

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/england-jamie-overton-out-test-summer-back-stress-fracture-1434589

Jamie Overton will miss the entire test summer due to his back stress fracture injury. We knew he missed the T20 World Cup due to it, now just add the entire summer on top. He joins Josh Tongue and, I suppose, Jofra on the injury list for the test summer, with Mahmood also leaving the field prematurely in his county game earlier today.

Come back, Jimmy.

by king_carlos Mon 20 May 2024, 4:01 pm

I think Tongue is the only one there I was really hoping to see more of this summer. We'd already heard that Jof wasn't playing red ball until next summer, if then. I don't really rate JOverton as a bowler. Whilst there are others ahead of Mahmood for me.

Potts
Atkinson
Cook
(Stone - fitness pending)

Those are the 4 who I'd really like to see over these 6 Tests.

I'd probably even look at Carse over JOverton. I'm not particularly convinced by Carse as a red ball bowler either. He could offer something when the pitch flattens out that many English seamers can't though. Particularly if Stokes and McCullum want to persist with the Wagner-esque tactics in those scenarios. I'd much prefer Atkinson or Stone being looked at though, as they have more skills with the newer ball and some pace. Tongue also when fit.

There's also Pennington who's talented and bowling well. He's probably snuck ahead of Mahmood in my estimations just now. I'd view them as fairly similar bowlers. Sharp side of fast-medium. Good wobble ball. Pennington has that extra height and form on his side though.

I often think Australia are best setup to rotate their quicks. The Shield season is short and they don't play that much away Test cricket. It's also a more established thing for their stars to play very few non-Test FC games. Glenn McGrath playing 65 in his career for instance. There's also an element of their overseas cricket (Ashes aside) not getting that much focus from many fans, particularly when the Footy season is rumbling, so they can rotate heavily as needed. Even then, they had Cummins miss years of cricket. Pattinson retired early. Jhye Richardson is at the Jof level of injury problems. Billy Stanlake was bowling genuinely rapid outswing from Jamieson's height before his back went too. Bowling is just awful for the body.

by Jetty Tue 21 May 2024, 12:12 am

king_carlos wrote:
VTR wrote:Yeah, was thinking that myself, that's some serious workload in what is a likely lost cause

They're doing their best to defy the odds there! 157 needed with 6 wickets in hand. Stokes just at the crease.

Not a bad time for the Ollie Robinson to crack a hundred. He had 5 consecutive fifties to start the season but hadn't got to a ton yet. Batting against Lyon on D4. In front of the skipper. It can't hurt.

David Bedingham with his second ton of the match, third ton in three innings and fourth ton of the season too. His summer so far is, 9 innings, 694 runs @ 87, a low score of 33 red. Nuts. It doesn't even seem out the ordinary either. Just a fantastic cricketer.

Bedingham was unlucky to be given out caught behind in the second innings. He didn't even touch the ball. He and Robinson looked in no trouble at all and think could have won the game on their own.

After Foakes matches so far I thought Smith might be the next England keeper but after seeing Robinson in action I am going for him.

by alfie Tue 21 May 2024, 4:43 am

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:
king_carlos wrote:Ton for Crawley and Michelle for Stokes.

Potts has only bowled 3 overs in the innings though. Presumably due to injury...?

Wonder if it was workload for Potts - don’t think it’s an injury, he took the catch at deep fine leg for Stokes’s fifth, deep into the Lancs innings.

That would be a relief ! As I now see Overton has joined the Injured and Out for the Season list today.

Obviously the signs that Stokes is back in town as a bowler are very welcome ; but getting a regular "main three quicks" group together now that Jimmy is following Broad off the field has to be a priority - and the number that are sidelined at any time is really not helping ! Hope to see a bit of Potts in July...

by Duty281 Tue 21 May 2024, 8:33 am

Wouldn't be too excited about Potts. His county form has been dreadful, with an average of nearly 48 for his 11, and quite expensive too (over 3.5 economy). Maybe it won't matter come July.

The potential keeper battle is exciting. Robinson's scored 496 runs @ 82.66 with a SR of 87 and one ton. Surrey's Jamie Smith has put up 394 runs @ 56.28 with a SR of 85 and one ton. And the wildcard option of Clarke has scored 556 runs @ 61.77 with a SR of 56 and three tons. Only Rew hasn't delivered, with an average below 30.

But that's all to come. It's the T20s now. England start their summer tomorrow with the first of four T20s against Pakistan, the only real warm up before the World Cup starts. Jofra is expected to start. That's the good news. The bad news is Headingley is likely to be deluged by rain tomorrow, so prospects of play seem quite slim.

by Jetty Tue 21 May 2024, 11:09 am

Potts had a toe injury. He was exceptional with the England Lions in India.

I see the bowling attack as Robinson, Woakes, Wood, Stokes and Leach this summer with Atkinson playing when Wood is rested.

by JDizzle Tue 21 May 2024, 11:22 am

king_carlos wrote:I think Tongue is the only one there I was really hoping to see more of this summer. We'd already heard that Jof wasn't playing red ball until next summer, if then. I don't really rate JOverton as a bowler. Whilst there are others ahead of Mahmood for me.

Potts
Atkinson
Cook
(Stone - fitness pending)

Those are the 4 who I'd really like to see over these 6 Tests.

I'd probably even look at Carse over JOverton. I'm not particularly convinced by Carse as a red ball bowler either. He could offer something when the pitch flattens out that many English seamers can't though. Particularly if Stokes and McCullum want to persist with the Wagner-esque tactics in those scenarios. I'd much prefer Atkinson or Stone being looked at though, as they have more skills with the newer ball and some pace. Tongue also when fit.

There's also Pennington who's talented and bowling well. He's probably snuck ahead of Mahmood in my estimations just now. I'd view them as fairly similar bowlers. Sharp side of fast-medium. Good wobble ball. Pennington has that extra height and form on his side though.

I often think Australia are best setup to rotate their quicks. The Shield season is short and they don't play that much away Test cricket. It's also a more established thing for their stars to play very few non-Test FC games. Glenn McGrath playing 65 in his career for instance. There's also an element of their overseas cricket (Ashes aside) not getting that much focus from many fans, particularly when the Footy season is rumbling, so they can rotate heavily as needed. Even then, they had Cummins miss years of cricket. Pattinson retired early. Jhye Richardson is at the Jof level of injury problems. Billy Stanlake was bowling genuinely rapid outswing from Jamieson's height before his back went too. Bowling is just awful for the body.

Brydon Carse has a career average of 33 and a career of economy of 3.88 (!). He went at nearly 7 an over in an innings vs Warks this year. Possibly my only strong take on England’s bowling options this summer, bar that Woakes should lead the attack, is Carse should be nearer Durham 2s than England!

by VTR Tue 21 May 2024, 11:33 am

Yeah no thanks to Brydon Carse, that would be a Duncan Fletcher type pick based on supposed pace alone. Like the second coming of Saj Mahmood!

by Duty281 Tue 21 May 2024, 12:17 pm

Carse's season figures are 67-8-294-1! A lot of bowlers have struggled so far, but Carse has done more than anyone to bowl himself out of contention.

by Duty281 Tue 21 May 2024, 9:44 pm

Expected teams for tomorrow*. Wood and Livingstone are nursing injuries, but neither are thought to be serious. Jofra's back for England. And Babar is back as Pakistan's captain, while Amir continues his return to the international fold.

England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley

Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Azam Khan (wk), 6 Iftikhar Ahmed/Shadab Khan, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shaheen Afridi, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Naseem Shah

*That's a joke. Check the weather forecast. No game tomorrow!

by Duty281 Wed 22 May 2024, 5:39 pm

Game abandoned!

Next one is on Saturday. That's when England have to finalise the World Cup squad.

by VTR Wed 22 May 2024, 6:15 pm

An unbeaten start to the series, not bad at all!

by king_carlos Wed 22 May 2024, 6:56 pm

A shame. That's one hell of a Pakistan seam attack to test out what should be a very good England top 5. It should've been a good matchup.

by guildfordbat Wed 22 May 2024, 9:22 pm

Duty281 wrote:Game abandoned!

Next one is on Saturday. That's when England have to finalise the World Cup squad.

Duty - asking you as you appear to know all the detail (unlike passing lightweights like VTR Wink

) although a reply from anyone is welcome.

Once the squads have been finalised, can anyone be replaced in the event of injury or does the country concerned just have to soldier on one man down? I feel the latter should be the case as fitness is part and parcel of being a top quality player. However, with only 15 in each squad, there wouldn't be many options if two or three players get crocked. Thanks.

by Duty281 Wed 22 May 2024, 10:36 pm

guildfordbat wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Game abandoned!

Next one is on Saturday. That's when England have to finalise the World Cup squad.

Duty - asking you as you appear to know all the detail (unlike passing lightweights like VTR ) although a reply from anyone is welcome.

Once the squads have been finalised, can anyone be replaced in the event of injury or does the country concerned just have to soldier on one man down? I feel the latter should be the case as fitness is part and parcel of being a top quality player. However, with only 15 in each squad, there wouldn't be many options if two or three players get crocked. Thanks.

I think teams are allowed to replace players in the event of injury. If you look at the link below, Australia have named their 15 squad members and two reserves, and beneath that it says 'All teams are allowed to make changes to their squad until May 25th, after which any alteration will require approval from ICC's Event Technical Committee.'

And there's also a bit from the Australian chair of selectors saying: Australian chair of selectors George Bailey said Fraser-McGurk and Short made "compelling cases" for selection, and provide better than adequate cover should squad members go down during the tournament.

“As the tournament proceeds, the short turnaround between fixtures makes it challenging to get players in at short notice in the event of injury," Bailey said.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/t20cricketworldcup/news/reserves-added-as-australia-finalise-squad-for-t20-world-cup

by guildfordbat Wed 22 May 2024, 11:59 pm

Many thanks, Duty. Highly informative.

So I wonder if England will also take two travelling reserves. If so, that'll certainly hack off their county sides given they'll be gone from them to the World Cup but not (at least initially) allowed to play in it.

by **Pal Joey** Thu 23 May 2024, 12:39 am

guildfordbat wrote:Many thanks, Duty. Highly informative.

So I wonder if England will also take two travelling reserves. If so, that'll certainly hack off their county sides given they'll be gone from them to the World Cup but not (at least initially) allowed to play in it.

Smith and Worrall perhaps? Should be a no-brainer... surely, Guildford? Smile

p.s. Surrey will cope.

by guildfordbat Thu 23 May 2024, 12:53 am

Pal Joey wrote:
guildfordbat wrote:Many thanks, Duty. Highly informative.

So I wonder if England will also take two travelling reserves. If so, that'll certainly hack off their county sides given they'll be gone from them to the World Cup but not (at least initially) allowed to play in it.

Smith and Worrall perhaps? Should be a no-brainer... surely, Guildford?

p.s. Surrey will cope.

Ha! They could do a lot worse than pick Smith. Sir Frank too if only he were eligible, got to wait until next April for that.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Fri 24 May 2024, 3:42 pm

Encouragingly Stokes has bowled 15 overs and taken 4-53 today for Durham, following up his workload last week. Tentative steps, and with his knee I guess at any point it could go…but promising signs!

by king_carlos Fri 24 May 2024, 3:49 pm

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Encouragingly Stokes has bowled 15 overs and taken 4-53 today for Durham, following up his workload last week. Tentative steps, and with his knee I guess at any point it could go…but promising signs!

It's better than I thought we'd ever see again. I just presumed it was a case of his knee having no cartilage. It happens often to fast bowlers and there's basically nothing to do at that point. You're just going to be in agony bowling and struggle to train because of it. The fact he's bowling well, in volume and looks as quick as ever is brilliant though. It suggests that it was a tendonitis issue and the surgery was successful.

Peak Stokes would balance the bowling so well. Not only did it add the 4th seamer but his strengths are different to most English seamers. Especially if they are continuing with the short ball tactic when it flattens out. Interestingly, Broad mentioned that on the Sky podcast. He specifically said they at doing it to players from 6 down and, "the stats show it works".

The only negative to Stokes bowling well is that it quashes my hallucination of Stokes the specialist bat moving to no 3 and Pope at no 7 but keeping. I'll find something else.

by VTR Fri 24 May 2024, 6:58 pm

Bowling seems promising but out for a duck again. Maybe he could replace Jimmy by opening the bowling and batting at 11. Recall Moeen to bat at 6 and provide a second spin option

by Duty281 Fri 24 May 2024, 8:06 pm

VTR wrote:Bowling seems promising but out for a duck again. Maybe he could replace Jimmy by opening the bowling and batting at 11. Recall Moeen to bat at 6 and provide a second spin option

*Duty goes into cardiac arrest*

by Duty281 Sat 25 May 2024, 2:10 pm

England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley

Pakistan: 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Shadab Khan, 6 Azam Khan, 7 Iftikhar Ahmed, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Amir

Teams for today. Pakistan's team is juiced with pace and that's without Naseem Shah! Jofra's back for England, it's like that long wait to see Wilkinson play rugby again for England after 2003, and that top five looks exquisite.

Looks a great match up. Pakistan winning the toss and bowling first.

by Duty281 Sat 25 May 2024, 2:25 pm

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Encouragingly Stokes has bowled 15 overs and taken 4-53 today for Durham, following up his workload last week. Tentative steps, and with his knee I guess at any point it could go…but promising signs!

2-0-7-2 in the second innings so far!

by king_carlos Sat 25 May 2024, 3:33 pm

Boy did Bairstow need that 6. He was doing a spot on impression of late career Aaron Finch. Looking like his eyes are painted on. In a short innings it feels like there's been a few pretty poor balls he's completely clothed that should've been deposited in the stands. Just not middling it at all until that.

by king_carlos Sat 25 May 2024, 3:47 pm

Easy to say when he's just got out, but I'd probably favour Mo or Livi up the order ahead of Brook in that scenario. They're players more accustomed to that role of going from ball 1. Which is what you're looking for with 5 overs and a good platform. Whereas Brook, insane a talent as he is, suffers from the usual curse of playing his domestic T20 in the top order then being in the middle order in T20is. It ends up being a completely different role. Which happens for a ton of the best players as almost all of them open in the domestic game.

Buttler's SR up to nearly 170 but it doesn't feel like he's fully opened the taps. The man is a freak.

by king_carlos Sat 25 May 2024, 3:54 pm

Fantastic over from Rauf given the game situation. It feels like England are needing that big over to get up to where they should. He's kept it tight and got Buttler as a result.

144/3 after 15 overs. 164/5 after 18. Good stuff from the Pakistan bowlers. Not so good from England.

by king_carlos Sat 25 May 2024, 4:08 pm

Of course Jof just slashes the first ball of his return for 4 Laugh

Then blasts a 6. Very useful runs too. They'd completely stalled for these last 5 overs until that flurry.

183 final score then. It's unders from where they were but still around par I'd say. Wasim was very effective and England have Dilly, Livi, Mo and Jacks. I think there's enough there that it isn't a 200 par type wicket. Getting in certainly looked tough on the whole.

by Duty281 Sat 25 May 2024, 6:03 pm

Good win for England. Pakistan struggled with their lengths and their fielding was a bit messy. England's batting not the greatest, except for Buttler (especially) and Jacks, who put together the match winning partnership. Was great to see Buttler back in form for England.

Bowling was pretty good. Excellent four overs from Moeen, Jordan put in some great yorkers, and Archer's final three overs went for just 13.

Yep, good win.

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