Australia/England/India Tri Series Jan/Feb 2015

[rich1uk]

does concern me a bit how little flexibility we have in the squad , especially when the guy who is meant to be the one to provide that flexibility, bopara, is the guy who is struggling the most

its almost like we cant drop him because doing so leaves us with only joe root for bowling cover

[The Waugh Twins]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

[The Waugh Twins]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

You mean super bowl party right Mark?

[rich1uk]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

i'm scared to ask what a black panther party is

[The Waugh Twins]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

You mean super bowl party right Mark?

Oh yeah I was just watching Forrest Gump.

[rich1uk]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

You mean super bowl party right Mark?

you must start your superbowl party early , the cricket will be finished a good 10 hours before the game starts

[The Waugh Twins]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

i'm scared to ask what a black panther party is

I'm just reading about it now. Fortunately it no longer exists, but someone should make a movie about it. Sounds like a crazy bunch of blokes.

[The Waugh Twins]

Am I reading it correctly that the final on Sunday is a day game smack bang in the middle of my black panther party?

You mean super bowl party right Mark?

you must start your superbowl party early , the cricket will be finished a good 10 hours before the game starts

Oh yeah of course it's Saturday here.

[ianp1970]

does concern me a bit how little flexibility we have in the squad , especially when the guy who is meant to be the one to provide that flexibility, bopara, is the guy who is struggling the most

its almost like we cant drop him because doing so leaves us with only joe root for bowling cover

Bizarre decision to take two spare batsmen out of four available slots. Names suggested on here at the time IIRC, included Stokes/Samit/Rashid/Willey.

[shankycricket]

I am not too worried about our teams batting if Rohit is fully fit and we get the Rohit-Ajinkya combo at the top. Then Virat is one who can come to form any time in this format. Raina and Dhoni are top class ODI players who can pace their innings as good as others. The concern is about the bowling. There is no world class pace bowler who can bowl a consistent line and length and the two spinners. Unlike batsmen, the bowling attack might not get in form.

I'm not worried about Virat at all. He is one of the greatest batsmen in the history of ODI cricket and has been in terrific form in the Tests. 3 bad games don't amount to loss of form. If anything, I'd rather see it as the Law of Averages getting out of the way before the WC starts. 100% sure he'll be in the top 3 run scorers in the WC. Others though, apart from Dhoni and maybe Rahane (who is steady but not a game changer), don't inspire much confidence in these conditions.

[Arthur Crabtree]

If Steve Finn bowls well in the middle part of the games, as he did when England improved in the ODI rankings, then they may have more joy. He was at his best when England won 2-1 in NZ, and when they didn't get whitewashed in India. I don't believe England will be successful, but they may lose a little better.

[Making_Splinters]

We're still not great at the death overs and just shutting out the game. Smith made a good point on Cricinfo that England aren't used to taking control of games, there are some horrific stats about England batting first. Interestingly we have the best bowling average of any side in the first ten for the last few years.

[rich1uk]

We're still not great at the death overs and just shutting out the game. Smith made a good point on Cricinfo that England aren't used to taking control of games, there are some horrific stats about England batting first. Interestingly we have the best bowling average of any side in the first ten for the last few years.

yeah our policy always seems more akin to containment than trying to finish games off

if we get a good start with the ball rather than go for it and try and bowl the opposition out even if it means conceding the odd boundary we take the safety first approach and wait for things to happen

[Arthur Crabtree]

NZ were putting their main wicket threats, with catchers, before the second PP and bringing the field in, in an attempt to put pressure on the opposition when they wanted to accelerate. Taking wickets at that time of the game could be key to keeping runs down in the last ten. Which is partly why I was mentioning Finn, who may not be that quick now, but he is taking wickets.

[The Waugh Twins]

Do England have a team world cup in anything at the moment?

I think they have a chance in Oz. I can't imagine the euphoria on cricket match special if they were to win. When you look at the reactions when the Ryder Cup is won, and that's against a single country.