The Official England Summer Cricket Thread!

[Colemere]

You're really getting into this now.

[Neil Young]

Yes I am really and the annoying thing is I'm out all day tomorrow so won't be able to watch a moment of it.

[TheStig]

I quite like Strauss.

Don't particularly rate Bell mind.

Don't think England will be able to do it tomorrow TBH. If Hoggard was fit then maybe.

[captainfog]

Bell has been doing very nicely over the last couple of years, you can't drop him. He is developing into a great little player.

Strauss should be dropped, he's been scratching around and out of form for about 2 years now. Absolute ****.

If Vince Vaughan and Freddy come back at the next test then who will make way?

Strauss - **** for two years
Cooky - century and a 65
Baby Bell - unbeated century
Collywobble - century
KP - our best player FACT
Shah - two poor scores

Out of that lot Shah and Strauss should go, however, I fear that the selectors will play the safe option and drop Shah and Bell, despite Bell consistently outscoring Strauss.

Harmy is ****ing **** now as well. If all our bowlers were fit, then I would drop him.

[Colemere]

Bell has been doing very nicely over the last couple of years, you can't drop him. He is developing into a great little player.

Strauss should be dropped, he's been scratching around and out of form for about 2 years now. Absolute ****.

If Vince Vaughan and Freddy come back at the next test then who will make way?

Strauss - **** for two years
Cooky - century and a 65
Baby Bell - unbeated century
Collywobble - century
KP - our best player FACT
Shah - two poor scores

Out of that lot Shah and Strauss should go, however, I fear that the selectors will play the safe option and drop Shah and Bell, despite Bell consistently outscoring Strauss.

Harmy is ****ing **** now as well. If all our bowlers were fit, then I would drop him.

Obviously Shah should go he has had an opportunity and failed miserably. As for Strauss I tend to agree Vaughan is clearly a cabaple opener having got to no. 1 batsmen in the world batting in there. Also Strauss is the one of the older guys, I think it would be wrong to drop Bell as he is developing and clearly going to be one for the future. The county game is not good enough for him to continue his development.

Your Harmy comment is valid too, he has been **** for a while now, he always blames homesickness on away tours, I'm sorry but he wasn't home sick when he was taking 7 for 12 in the W. Indies three years back. Whatever the coaches decide to do with him, he should not play at Lords as he always bowls **** and blames the slope. Why not retire from lords Steve like you did the one day game?

Just want to say Harmy's comment about being Englands best bowler when he is firing is bull**** aswell, clearly Flintoff is Englands best bowler he is consistent in line and length and with his performances. His economy rate has been excelltent for the past 3 years.

[captainfog]

1143: Matt from Bristol has just asked me what the most boring match I've ever done a text commentary on was. It's a toss-up between Dott v Ebdon, Snooker World Championship final 2005, and the entire Cricket World Cup 2007. If I remember rightly, Dott was wearing some nice patent shoes in that final, so probably the cricket.

[captainfog]

Obviously Shah should go he has had an opportunity and failed miserably. As for Strauss I tend to agree Vaughan is clearly a cabaple opener having got to no. 1 batsmen in the world batting in there. Also Strauss is the one of the older guys, I think it would be wrong to drop Bell as he is developing and clearly going to be one for the future. The county game is not good enough for him to continue his development.

Your Harmy comment is valid too, he has been **** for a while now, he always blames homesickness on away tours, I'm sorry but he wasn't home sick when he was taking 7 for 12 in the W. Indies three years back. Whatever the coaches decide to do with him, he should not play at Lords as he always bowls **** and blames the slope. Why not retire from lords Steve like you did the one day game?

Just want to say Harmy's comment about being Englands best bowler when he is firing is bull**** aswell, clearly Flintoff is Englands best bowler he is consistent in line and length and with his performances. His economy rate has been excelltent for the past 3 years.

if it clear to us, then why isn't it clear to the men in charge?

[captainfog]

1119: Plenty of chirp from Prior behind the timbers. I can't say I've ever heard Prior speak, but he strikes me as a bit of a 'geezer'. In fact, if he had a row with his girlfriend, I reckon he'd make-up with her thus: "Sorry treacle. Here's some money [PULLS OUT THICK ROLL OF 20s], take yourself up West and get yourself something nice...[SMILES, WINKS, SLAPS TREACLE ON BACKSIDE]...and tight..." Harmison drops short and is flailed through the covers for four. Harmy then strays onto his pads and is flicked away for a few. Hmmm.... 21-0

[TheStig]

A draw unsurprisingly, but mostlay cause of the weather.

Ah well.

Agreed that Harmison needs to sort hismelf out, I do wonder if it's something wrong mentally rather than anything else though.

[Colemere]

if it clear to us, then why isn't it clear to the men in charge?

Maybe he has David Graveny to ransom

[captainfog]

A draw unsurprisingly, but mostlay cause of the weather.

Ah well.

Agreed that Harmison needs to sort hismelf out, I do wonder if it's something wrong mentally rather than anything else though.

He's gone crazy loco for sure

[Shaggy]

This is an interesting little statistic, lifted from Jonathan Agnew's 'blog' on the BBC...

Having said all of that, I am grateful to Alex, an emailer to Test Match Special, who has provided me with a fascinating overview of Harmison’s career. Breaking down his Test appearances into 10-match blocks, you will see a startlingly consistent pattern emerging.

Tests 1 to 10: 28 wickets at an average of 36
Tests 11 to 20: 59 wickets at 19
Tests 21 to 30: 34 wickets at 35
Tests 31 to 40: 34 wickets at 32
Tests 41 to 50: 34 wickets at 37

It does not take a genius to work out from those figures that, apart from his purple patch in 2004, Harmison is rarely a match-winner.

[captainfog]

This is an interesting little statistic, lifted from Jonathan Agnew's 'blog' on the BBC...

He's ****, get rid......at least when we've got someone to replace him with

[Jayesh87]

He's ****, get rid......at least when we've got someone to replace him with

Super Jon Lewis

[captainfog]

Super Jon Lewis

He's nearly as old as Neil