creeeeeeeekeeeeeet

[TANGODANCER]

Lancy 302-1...Owd Keaton unbeaten on 124...

A"wow" statistic...

[Worthy4England]

Cruel luck for Jofra. I mean it was only a very outside chance he made the Ashes but now has recurrence of his elbow stress fracture... I fear at 28, we might be not be lucky enough, to see Jofra on the Test stage again...Poor Foakes, too, 400 Test runs @ 33 last year was pretty good but with Bairstow returning (hopefully as the one from 2016/2021 rather than the one in the intervening), the selectors clearly thought they couldn't do without Harry Brook and Jonny clearly couldn't just come back and replace him, so poor old Foakes got the chop.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Not long now to the first test.

[BWFC_Insane]

Cruel luck for Jofra. I mean it was only a very outside chance he made the Ashes but now has recurrence of his elbow stress fracture... I fear at 28, we might be not be lucky enough, to see Jofra on the Test stage again...Poor Foakes, too, 400 Test runs @ 33 last year was pretty good but with Bairstow returning (hopefully as the one from 2016/2021 rather than the one in the intervening), the selectors clearly thought they couldn't do without Harry Brook and Jonny clearly couldn't just come back and replace him, so poor old Foakes got the chop.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Not long now to the first test.

Yeah feel for Jofra but it’s not surprising he keeps breaking down.

As for Bairstow we want the 2022 version don’t we?

[Worthy4England]

Yeah 2022, my bad. The 2016 version would also be acceptable.

[Worthy4England]

Apparently a new bowler tomorrow - Josh Tongue...BBC said "Tongue is tall, powerfully built and bowls with good pace. He looked impressive in the nets on Monday, where he gave Zak Crawley a torrid time." I'm not sure that's a great measure of how good he is.

[TANGODANCER]

England 524-4 declared against Ireland's 174 and 40-2. Should be comfortable for a win. Josh Tongue a very useful find, 2 wickets in the same over.

[Worthy4England]

Yeah. Not really sure how this match is helping us much. I'm not suggesting time out in the middle isn't useful, but it's not been much of a test...

[BWFC_Insane]

It’s worrying ahead of the ashes that Leach is getting smashed round the park by the Irish lower order. We all know Leach is a huge weak spot but the Aussies will be watching this and getting excited.

The bowling tactics of loads of short stuff with medium pacers worries me too. That works sometimes when we have an Archer and Stokes is fit but on a flat pitch our bowling (albeit without Anderson and Robinson) looks far too benign. Wood obviously adds pace but is so brittle you can barely bowl him. Australian bowlers will be more dangerous in these conditions and that’s an issue.

[Worthy4England]

We're doing Bazball which is the answer to everything? Jack is not the greatest, but from others we've tried is probably the top of least worst..

[BWFC_Insane]

We're doing Bazball which is the answer to everything? Jack is not the greatest, but from others we've tried is probably the top of least worst..

Style has little to do with it - the lack of a top class spinner and a lot of fast bowler injuries is the worry coupled to stokes obvious knee problems.

It was concerning how easy the Irish found it to dominate leach - Aussies will have a field day.

The only concern is our attack with no real spinner of quality and Stokes restricted. It feels dangerous. Broad, Jimmy, Robinson all brilliant but if conditions are as per yesterday….who is our point of difference? Can’t turn to Leach. Stokes maybe not much if at all either. Wood can’t bowl too much…

Feels very brittle.

[TANGODANCER]

One game at a time....

[Worthy4England]

Well Leech got 8 wickets in his last test prior to Ireland and 3 for not too many in the first innings. Obviously you'd rather have a better spinner, but the ones we've tried recently haven't really ripped up any trees either.

On short pitched, for me, Broad has often shown more tendency to Jimmy although when they adopt that plan Jimmy joins in. Like you, I'd question how productive it'd be on English wickets at their pace..they're probably not scaring the top order much.

[Worthy4England]

I guess, it'll have to be someone else to identify as the weak link. Leach is out of the Ashes with a stress fracture of the back, which you'd suspect he had whilst bowling in the match...

[jimbo]

Leach isn’t the best, but he’s the best we’ve got, and our plans for the last 12 months have firmly involved him. He’s probably the player with the least obvious replacement and it opens up a huge weakness. Australia will target anyone coming in, which will then put pressure on our seamers to bowl more overs. Anderson and Broad obviously have age issues, Robinson previous fitness issues, Wood likely to break at some point, and Stokes on one leg.

Not sure who we’ll go for. Parkinson has dropped massively in the last 12 months and can’t get a game for Lancs. Ahmed as sole spinner at home feels too much. Is Dom Bess coming back? Will Jacks?

[BWFC_Insane]

I guess, it'll have to be someone else to identify as the weak link. Leach is out of the Ashes with a stress fracture of the back, which you'd suspect he had whilst bowling in the match...

I mean that’s not good. It’s not Leach’s fault he’s average but as you say he’s the best we had.

It was never about scapegoating but about the concern over our attacks fitness and balance, this hasn’t made it any better.

[BWFC_Insane]

Leach isn’t the best, but he’s the best we’ve got, and our plans for the last 12 months have firmly involved him. He’s probably the player with the least obvious replacement and it opens up a huge weakness. Australia will target anyone coming in, which will then put pressure on our seamers to bowl more overs. Anderson and Broad obviously have age issues, Robinson previous fitness issues, Wood likely to break at some point, and Stokes on one leg.

Not sure who we’ll go for. Parkinson has dropped massively in the last 12 months and can’t get a game for Lancs. Ahmed as sole spinner at home feels too much. Is Dom Bess coming back? Will Jacks?

Do you play another seamer instead?

[Worthy4England]

Leach isn’t the best, but he’s the best we’ve got, and our plans for the last 12 months have firmly involved him. He’s probably the player with the least obvious replacement and it opens up a huge weakness. Australia will target anyone coming in, which will then put pressure on our seamers to bowl more overs. Anderson and Broad obviously have age issues, Robinson previous fitness issues, Wood likely to break at some point, and Stokes on one leg.

Not sure who we’ll go for. Parkinson has dropped massively in the last 12 months and can’t get a game for Lancs. Ahmed as sole spinner at home feels too much. Is Dom Bess coming back? Will Jacks?

Do you play another seamer instead?

That was my immediate reaction, but take a look at the track first

[MattySlug]

My new followed team in Cricket didn’t do too well this Season we’ll go better next Season!
Carn Hyderabad Sunrisers
Go Great Always in the IPL!

[Worthy4England]

Just read an article by Athers and Nasser. They both have 4 options but with provisos. Rehman, Dawson, Jacks and Moeen (with Ather's also suggesting the "no specialist spinner" option to cover likely breakdowns of one of more bowlers) with Root to hold an end up....

No one really thinks Moeen would be a good pick to return to given his retirement from test cricket, and the observations about Rehman and Jacks is whilst they took wickets in their first outings, they were in Rawalpindi and Karachi and they're not exactly setting the Championship alight at the moment - which sort of leaves a "defensive" Liam Dawson - so don't be expecting the Aussies spun out in both innings, unless one of the tracks is a corrugated tin roof...

I think on balance, it might be an additional seamer...

[BWFC_Insane]

^BBC reporting that they’ve asked Moeen if he will play…he has yet to decide.