Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

And so to the traditional final test of the summer. Deadest of dead rubbers, with the Ashes gone and the whitewash averted, neither side has much to play for beyond a bit of pride. In fact, it has been so long since the Ashes have been on the line in the Sydney test, I am surprised the good folk of the Harbour City still attend in the numbers they do, rather than going on strike and demanding to be moved up in the calendar now and then (it's not just the Ashes, Australia have claimed nearly every series of the last seven or eight years well before the tourists have arrived in Sydney).

With little concrete to play for, both sides may consider bringing in some newer blood for a run out. Ashton Agar, a bowler most famous for his batting, has been added to the Australian squad, although threats of two spinners in Sydney are often made and seldom followed through (I sometimes wonder if the intent is to sucker the opposition). Should Michell Starc be fit, Jackson Bird will make way, after a poor showing in Melbourne (on an admittedly unhelpful surface for his style of bowling).

On the England side, word is that Moeen Ali may be dropped, and England may give young Mason Crane a game. Although Ali balances the side on paper, in practice he's been a walking wicket, so he won't weaken the batting to any noticeable degree. Other possible changes are Ben Foakes being given the gloves to strengthen the batting (meaning England would play three seamers and Crane, with Root and Malan providing backup). There has also been rumour of a batsman or two coming in from the Lions, with James Vince most likely to make way, although I will be surprised if England do go down that particular path.

The forecast for Sydney is not great, so if England can continue the batting revival that began in Perth and continued in Melbourne, another damp draw may be on the cards.

not a dead rubber at all... quite a few of us predicted 3-1 to Australia, and that is still on

decision on who to drop to fit Crane in might be irrelevant now as Woakes is a big injury doubt

Crane playing (so it's hinted) at least adds some interest. He had some success in state/grade cricket last winter, so that offers a little useful experience. Not sure if he bowled to Smith then, but chances are he'll do a lot of that starting tomorrow.

Vince almost certainly in the last chance saloon this week, suggestions that Stoneman needs a score as well to keep his spot for NZ

Doesn't feel right that another spin of the door is warranted in Stoneman's case. Who next?

Good news for England is that I feel like they finally woken up that they need to produce fast men and spinners.
Root mentioned that he hopes in 4 yrs time he has the spinners and fast bowlers to beat Australia in Australia.
Sense a 2011 india moment for England, question now is if ecb does actually listen to root like bcci did with dhoni and fletcher In 2011.

I do hope ecb start dictating county pitches and start making sure the pitches in county cricket help to produce the best batsman, best fast bowlers and best spinners which means the wickets need to be flat, dry and just hint of movement so only the best can score runs and take wickets at the moment the gap between county cricket and international cricket is very high.

That is probably because I feel the county pitches are not really that great and don’t nessarilly help the players prepare for test cricket.

Agreed, doc.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Doesn't feel right that another spin of the door is warranted in Stoneman's case. Who next?

Stoneman shouldn’t be dropped he did ok, if he getting dropped then england really need to have a good hard look at themselves and wonder what they actually looking for in an opener and wonder why they can’t seem to produce any openers they actually looking for.

Stoneman shouldn’t be dropped doesn’t seem to have any technical troubles or struggles to score runs, he looks a solid opener.

England selectors have woken up to needing fast men and spinners... That must have been a very long and deep sleep.

They probably saw this game the difference starc pace made for Australia.
Or how Cummins wasn’t the same when he was suffering from illness.
Or how Lyon outbowled ali and was a threat and tight at the same time.
Not sure why it took 4 yrs mind you, although to be fair Strauss did try and fix the pitches 2yrs ago.

Wonder if we will see Leicestershire winning the county championship in a back of a spinner or a 90mph bowlers just like how a rookie seam bowler won Vidarbha the ranji trophy couple days ago.

Actually surprised some of the smaller counties don’t try to develop raw fast talent or spinners they probably more likely to win games.
Do remember when England played Essex 2nd 11 on sky and England and sky were more impressed on tymal mills and craddock and both of them can’t even get to the Essex first 11 and both of them were causing England problems.
Far too many decent spinners and fast bowlers are getting lost in the system.
So what if they are expensive, they need to learn how to bowl.

So England replace the injured Woakes with Crane. No Overton, and Mo keeps his spot. The Aussies are likely to recall Mitch2 at the expense of Bird.

Looking through your posts Rich, it wasn't you who mentioned batters coming in from the Lions in Sydney (other thread). Sorry about that.

It was bfl in the first post of this thread.

Bloody sobriety.

Anyway, that didn't happen.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Looking through your posts Rich, it wasn't you who mentioned batters coming in from the Lions in Sydney (other thread). Sorry about that.

It was bfl in the first post of this thread.

Bloody sobriety.

Anyway, that didn't happen.

np

i had been thinking about what changes might be made for NZ but thought it was better waiting to see what the likes of Vince and Stoneman do in Sydney

personally whilst Stoneman hasn't shone i'm not really sure what we gain from dropping him given there is no standout option to replace him

for me Vince has to do something special in Sydney to have any chance of keeping his place, he is a poor man's Ian Bell, looks good but never really produces what he should considering the talent he has

Vince's feet always look in the wrong place. Every ball. Fine and unorthodox for limited overs, but I can't understand why he has been promoted for Tests, and why they went back to him after an ordinary county season. He's done a lot better in this series than I thought he would.

Just for a recap, these are the England openers since Strauss retired over five years ago.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... pe=batting

Updated stats, Strauss went in 2012. Blimey.