2nd Test - England v New Zealand (May 29 - June 2)

[budgetmeansbudget]

Bell's poor run continues.

[budgetmeansbudget]

England's tail gonna bail them out here.

Got to play positively because you can see wickets falling at regular intervals.

[meninblue]

It's not so much Ballance's average that's the problem, it's his technique.

Not sure what he was doing yesterday but everything was all wrong with him when he lost his wicket.

Cook has a rubbish technique and he's had a half decent career

I never liked Sehwags technique and approach in some matches but he has been one of the most successful players in test cricket. He cannot please every cricket fan and cannot average like that while batting like each cricket fan wants him to bat. The weakness of lesser footwork was compensated by extraordinary hand eye coordination, the self belief to take on any bowler in world and score 100+, 200+ and 300+ on his day. At the end of the day what really matters to me is that he average 49 for our country. I will anyday take that over a player with even 3 times good technique averaging 30-35.

Also i feel that Gary is technically well equipped than many batters rather than being technically weak as some feel. Can agree that he may have failed to implement the technique he has but do not agree that he is technically not well equipped.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I wonder if a similar thing isn't happening as it did with Eoin Morgan, Adi. Morgan did that dip as the ball was delivered (and still does it to a lesser extent) and it logically disorientated his judgement of length. Ballance jumps back into his crease as the ball is bowled (it's more than a trigger movement, his whole body leaps back into the crease)
and that must surely scramble his feeling for length.

Still, you're not a failure until you've failed, and that hasn't happened yet. But when he finds runs hard to come by, as all do at times, critics won't say it's form, they'll call it technique. So this criticism won't go away.

[braveneutral]

Some stated earlier technique was ok.

[budgetmeansbudget]

England's tail gonna bail them out here.

Got to play positively because you can see wickets falling at regular intervals.

As I say wickets going to fall regularly, but sadly they aren't playing positively enough, hardly any runs off the bat this morning.

Broad still at nine????

[Aidan11]

Going to have to get our heads down now.

[braveneutral]

Slips.

[Aidan11]

Are we trying to get out?

[budgetmeansbudget]

Great bowling and catching but poor from England, hit the bloody thing, don't hang your bat at it.

[sussexpob]

England are folding here

[Aidan11]

215/1 to 267/8.

[braveneutral]

One thing's for sure. KP wouldn't have been dismissed so tamely.

[budgetmeansbudget]

23 years ago England went from 270/1 to 320 all out against Pakistan at Headingly.

[sussexpob]

It's not so much Ballance's average that's the problem, it's his technique.

Not sure what he was doing yesterday but everything was all wrong with him when he lost his wicket.

Cook has a rubbish technique and he's had a half decent career

I never liked Sehwags technique and approach in some matches but he has been one of the most successful players in test cricket. He cannot please every cricket fan and cannot average like that while batting like each cricket fan wants him to bat. The weakness of lesser footwork was compensated by extraordinary hand eye coordination, the self belief to take on any bowler in world and score 100+, 200+ and 300+ on his day. At the end of the day what really matters to me is that he average 49 for our country. I will anyday take that over a player with even 3 times good technique averaging 30-35. Also i feel that Gary is technically well equipped than many batters rather than being technically weak as some feel. Can agree that he may have failed to implement the technique he has but do not agree that he is technically not well equipped.

Sehwag barely looked like a test player outside Asia, he averaged in the 20's in NZ, SA and England, and generally was never at his best vs Australia. As soon as the ball swung, seamed, bounced, his technique was inadequate. Had he been born in Leeds, he would have never made it.

That is why I dont think any of the examples you have mentioned are relevant. Ballance has a problem that English conditions, where he will play 60% of his career, cannot hide. ITs a problem that he will have to deal with a lot..... Sehwag was aboslutely fine smashing bowling around on the majority of slow, low bounce wickets and no seam movement, with no swing.