This is how to build an innings. Don’t lose lots of wickets early. Stay in, take the shine off the ball, put overs in the bowlers legs and build a platform.
Apart from the 4th innings against Essex that must be our best start to an innings all year.
Just do the same after lunch. They can’t let this turn from 95-1 to 150-5. Because of the weather, looks like we’ll lose a whole day, you’ve got to think the best chance of forcing a win is batting once, put up a huge score and try to force the follow on.

I do hate the rotation policy. I could slightly understand it with the bubbles. 12+ months living in a bubble must have been very tough.
But then some imposed it on themselves going to the IPL.
Also, with rotation now everyone loses. England lose because they don’t get their best side, counties lose because they don’t get their best players even if they’re not playing, and the players lose because they risk losing their place to someone else even if they’ve been playing well.
The test side has very little cross over with the T20 squad so I hope it stops this summer.

I just saw a report that both Woakes and Billings have left India and will be back in the UK today or tomorrow to begin 10 days of quarantine. Which, assuming he's allowed to play, would mean he'd be available against Essex on May 20th.

You'd have thought it would be in the ECB's interests to let him play. The match would finish a week before the New Zealand series, if he was selected, and he'd get some red ball cricket in. As they won't be in bubbles this summer, I'm assuming players could return to their counties too unlike last year.

I do also wonder if he's slipped down the red ball pecking order for England, and Warwickshire might have him during the test series. Archer, Anderson, Broad will all start if they're fit which it seems they will be. Then Curran was preferred to Woakes over the winter, plus you've now got Robinson at Sussex who was in the squad last summer, he's getting a lot of wickets again with the England coaches watching him twice this season already, so it's tight for the 4th seamers spot.

Agree. Put out the strongest batting line up. Play Stone. Trust the 4 bowlers plus Rhodes will take the wickets.

Don’t forget the good steps that they made against Notts and Essex. Just fine tune it to get some consistency.

Andy wrote:

There's been some pretty brutish deliveries. We know Wood is rapid but this Carse is bloomin sharp too. Extra pace seems to have been key on this deck. This has been an education, onto the next one.

I'm still more annoyed about the way we bowled as opposed to how we batted, odd as that sounds looking at the scorecard.

I can definitely understand this. But I feel like being able to bowl 85+mph is a real asset on this pitch. Apart from maybe Norwell, all our bowlers are more 75-80mph. You need a Stone or a Brookes to change it up. It wasn’t an 87 all out pitch but it wasn’t a 400 pitch either.

My biggest thing with the batting, it’s happened again today, is how regularly we’re very little for 2. When was the last time we had an opening stand of 50? How often do we get to 100 only 1 down?
All too often we start on the back foot, lose a third and then 5 and down are exposed to a new ball against bowlers with their tails up. To me I think Vihari was on a hiding to nothing, in 3 games he was never going to have an impact. And I can understand why they wanted an opener or number 3 to prevent these situations.
Get early stability, build a platform, and you’d also get more runs out of the likes of Hain, Lamb, Burgess and Bresnan.

Let the batting marathon begin......

SC_Bear wrote:

Notwithstanding all the above I'm very concerned about Burgess. His keeping looks pretty acceptable but his contributions with bat have been dismal. Not really up to date with our other wicket keeping options but I do wonder how much longer they can perservere with Burgess in this form.

I think you're doing his keeping a disservice, as glovemen go, he's excellent. I'm not sure I've ever seen him drop a catch. He also looks like he's a popular member of the team.

Agree batting wise he's in poor form, but it's hardly like everyone else is tearing up trees currently. What I don't understand is that for the majority of his career Ambrose would always bat 7, I'm not sure why we bat Burgess at 6. Burgess played as a batsman only in 2019 and he looked good. Since he's taken over the keeping full time, he's found it more difficult. Not excusing the form, but most keepers bat at 7 for a reason. I think we need to give the likes of him, Bresnan and Lamb a proper platform for once, they're supposed to be attacking batsmen, not digging us out a hole batsmen.

I personally can’t understand the team selection in general. I think Briggs has done well, but do you really need a spinner in a 4 day game in Durham in April? Would you not rather have Mousley or Hose batting 6? Expect it’s going to be tough, and give yourself a better chance to put a total on the board?

Think this is one of those days that just happen in cricket. You learn the lessons from it and move on. If they get bogged down in it then they stand no chance. Come back tomorrow and start again.

Not convinced we’re bowling particularly well, or have got our tactics right so far. We’re bowling on this pitch like it’s a normal pitch. It’s a newly relayed wicket, it has a settling period, especially when it’s rained recently. We’re looking for outside edges, but I’m not sure there’s the carry in it for that.
They need to do what Raine did, go full and straight, stump to stump.

Relief, Carse and Rushworth have bowled some rubbish at Miles and Norwell.
They’re searching for wickets, when it looks like all you have to do is bowl stump to stump and the pitch will eventually do it for you.

I do appreciate that, but I suppose my issue is that if you’re going to rest them, rest them all in the same round. Otherwise you could end up having hypothetically (all being fit and available) the Roses match and Yorkshire have to rest Bess, Bairstow and Root, but Anderson and Butler can play for Lancashire.
I know fitness and availability effect this, but if they said all fit ECB bowlers can play rounds 2, 3 & 5. Everyone knows where they stand, if a player isn’t fit for then, so be it. But I suppose it’s a case of the ECB comes first.

It’s absolutely bizarre to watch. Briggs got one that popped. Burgess’ looked like it went below his bat whilst playing forward. Bresnan played a long way inside it. Hain left it. I’d get it if they were all edging behind but so many bowled and LBWs is odd. Even the way the watch was offered was odd.

One another note however, I do have to ask, why in the same game do we have to rest our England fast bowler, but Durham can play theirs? I understand load management and the ECB will be sending down orders, but seems a bit unfair.

Durham have announced their squad, including Mark Wood.
If he does play as you’d assume, the Bears will have faced Harmer, Porter, Rushworth, Wood, Chappell, and Broad in the first 4 matches. That’s a formidable list of some of the best bowlers in the championship/international cricket.

This will be a good test for this side. Playing Durham in Durham in April, is the cricket equivalent of a cold Wednesday night in Stoke.
Rushworth, Raine and Coughlin are all good bowlers, especially in conditions you traditionally get up there.

GerryShedd wrote:

I agree that we can't complain; but I suspect that it won't be too long before someone on here rises to the challenge!

It’s been refreshing to see the optimism on here. Though I did see a comment on Facebook under Will Rhodes interview complimenting the side on the final innings chase saying “you only scored 11”. It’s a shame people feel the need to say such things.

That Vihari decision looked very dubious. I really hope that’s not costly.

They can’t afford to lose more than 1 early wicket.
Because they need to get that ball soft, and then deal with Harmer.
They need wickets in the bank for Harmer on a fourth day pitch.
I wonder if they might consider trying to hit him out the attack.

This is the key now. Don’t let them off the hook. Don’t let them get 200.

Must admit it's bizarre they can have 4000 people all over each other at the BRIT Awards, a full crowd at the Crucible both being indoor events, then 35,000 for the FA cup final.
But they won't let 5000 into Edgbaston? Cricket grounds and championship cricket are surely the perfect environment for these sort of test events. Plus you know the ECB will want to have evidence they can let fans into Tests and The Hundred.