The last couple of days have given an eloquent answer. They were ahead in the first Test, yet squandered a strong position by inept batting. I'm sorry, but if you choose to try and win five-day cricket by playing T20 style, or hope to win 50- over cricket by not having your best players involved domestically, you reap as you sow.
Only three English innings in the match exceeded 42 balls. In a Test match...
Time was when tea on the second day often saw a declaration, the opposition put in for a tricky session before the close. You might get away with playing Bazball against lesser lights, but there has to be an understanding that a gung-ho approach has to be tempered with a modicum of common sense. Not to mention a lot less arrogance...real or perceived.
I mentioned that I felt the England side was a gentleman's club, an 'elite' group that was harder to drop from than should be the case. Zak Crawley, for example - is an average just north of 30 acceptable for a bloke who has played (checks notes) 59 Tests? Harry Brook is a great talent, but you can't play as he does against all opposition. It is disrespectful to opponents - not to mention supporters - to just think you can smack everything out of sight. No one is that good. None of this England team is in the same league as Barry and Viv Richards, the two best I have seen, yet even they didn't attempt to hit everything.
Unless there is a restraining order placed on the batting lineup, I suspect the loss today will not be the last of this tour. I feel for those who have spent a lot of money to go and support their team. You would hope for more than two days play in a scheduled five and to watch their team being bowled out in 33 then 34 overs is a disgrace. At least in that they are consistent...
Moving on, I was asked if I saw Derbyshire making a move for Dawid Malan, who has been released from his Yorkshire contract to take up an opportunity elsewhere.
My short answer is no. I doubt we could match what he was earning there and he seems to have wanted only to play T20 in recent summers. I am not a fan of single format cricketers and while he is a fine player and theoretically could have been a short term replacement for Wayne Madsen, the timing is wrong.
Logically he will be moving to the franchise circuit and earning himself a few last hefty pay days, because that's where the money lies, whether we like it or not.
Anyway, the Derbyshire squad for 2026 has been shaped quite nicely and I am happy with the look of it, as it stands.
Just need those overseas roles confirmed...
Total embarrassment. Can't see anything other than a 5 nil Australia win. England can't or won't bat sensibly when required. Ben Stokes says he doesn't like draws. He doesn't need to worry about that as there won't be any, they prefer to lose in 3 days (or less) than draw in 5 days. When the Andrew Strauss review was implemented it was supposed to be all about winning in Australia. I know it was not accepted, but the ecb decided to increase T20 type cricket and try to reduce first class cricket. They have reaped what they sow
ReplyDeleteMichael
As the fixtures are out this week, no mention this is the best week of the winter.
ReplyDeleteSoon be the time to book trips away and Chesterfield and to look forward to warmer days to come.
The cost of buying a standard membership to watch Derbyshire next season will rise from £239.00 to £259.00 as from the 1st of February 2026
DeleteI looked at some of comments on the bbc website after the first days play and most of them struck me as very odd. People saying how wonderful and exciting England are. It’s 5 day test cricket for a reason. It’s blatantly obvious that Englands approach will work against most countries because the smaller nations are now very weak sides through no fault of there own( lack of test matches + can’t afford to keep best players away from t20 all over the world) so we can bully them quite easily. But stoked and cronies haven’t unlocked a magic formula after a century of test cricket. You cannot rattle off 6 a over for 90 or 100 overs v really good sides very often. Most times you will be out after 30 or 40 overs playing that way. However as with most things it’s a race to the bottom so why not have 4 innings of 10 overs maximum. It can all be over in a day. A few fireworks and balloons and most people wiil go home happy
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the updates Peakfan. Zak signing is great news (a model professional cricketer in my view), and as you say the overseas will hopefully complete things.
ReplyDeleteI lost contact with Test cricket when it disappeared from the BBC (in the early 2000s?). This was a fundamental error compounded by the effective "Packerisation" of international cricket (a select few from "approved" counties can be selected and they don’t deign to play cricket on the normal circuit). I am glad to be able to follow county cricket via the free live streaming but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of the current England Test team play and I don’t therefore care about what they do. It is clear that the first Test was a debâcle and without a change of attitude England will not do better (personnel won’t change because it’s a closed shop). In the meantime I will look forward to the County season beginning: happily the winters aren’t too long here in Nice!
Best wishes to everyone and thanks again Steve.
Adrian, Nice
Agree it is a closed shop, it’s been that way for years I wonder sometimes who is actually picking the England team it would appear to me that the Sky pundits have a big influence on who gets picked, I personally am sick of listening to the likes of Atherton Hussain etc.and their constant talking up of franchise cricket,Ian Ward once described the away teams dressing room at Derby as nothing more than a toilet
DeleteI see that Caleb Jewell scored 102 for Tasmania today.
ReplyDeleteHe did, 5th highest scorer in the Shield this winter. Bodes well!
DeleteOn the subject of Crawley, am I correct that his Test average of 30 ish is only that high because of a massive double century he scored a couple of seasons ago?
ReplyDeleteChapel Guy. I also wrote the Jewell comment above.
Yes, he made 267 against Pakistan 5 years ago. His problem is that he either goes big or gets out quickly, there's no real middle ground. He has been very lucky that they have persevered, when there are other good openers worthy of an opportunity, scoring heavily at county level.
DeleteYes, he made 267 against Pakistan 5 years ago. His problem is that he either goes big or gets out quickly, there's no real middle ground. He has been very lucky that they have persevered, when there are other good openers worthy of an opportunity, scoring heavily at county level.
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