England International Cricket Summer 2022

Strumms

So I’ve nothing to do tomorrow, looked forward to the next NZ vs ENG test but got my dates and fixtures mixed up 🤪 and instead it’s another NED vs ENG.. or in other words a nice competitive training session for the England lads..that just happens to be on TV…victories by 232 runs and 6 wickets for England and a debacle of a water damaged pitch robbing the cricket loving public and players of 18 overs… not too positive a series for the Dutch unfortunately…. Maybe ‘experience’ will stand them in good stead… England will be confident so unless the Dutch bowlers can sort themselves out, a hammering is incoming.

Doodah7

So Maxwell Patrick O'Dowd (born in Auckland) makes a fifty for Netherlands against England this morning. Judging by his name, surely he would have had an option to play for Ireland?

Fattybojangles

Are any of the Dutch players actually Dutch like what is the point of this?

Strumms

The Dutch have SFA to call on in their bowling department… load of medium pacers and a spinner Dutt.. who has 7 wickets in 8 matches, only 19 granted but the sort of half arsed looking technique that one might if they didn’t know better, think he had been picked up while standing at a bus stop on his way to sell lucky bags outside the zoo….

Strumms

Van Meekeren bowling a delivery that bounces twice on the pitch before getting to Buttler.. replay shows it didn’t slip out of his grip… Jos hits it and the next delivery for 6…20 from the over.

England win with 19.5 overs to spare.

this Dutch side is probably the worst international team that I’ve seen sadly in 30+ years of watching cricket…

bowlers are clueless, heaps of half trackers, full tosses, wides, all sorts of extras….

Strumms

Back to test cricket…

New Zealand being pummelled at Edgebaston. Henry Nicholls is out caught by Lees off Leachs bowling… a bizarre dismissal..as bizarre as I’ve seen since I’ve been watching cricket….

Nicholls slaps Leach down the pitch, hits his mates Mitchell’s bat on the full and ricochets up to Lees to take a simple catch.

mad dismissal… NZ 123/5 at tea… scoring no runs, run rate 2.2 and England two wickets from the tail.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239794#Comment_119239794

And now Blundell is given out to a very iffy LBW decision - but he can't review it because DRS isn't working!

Strumms

257/6…

from 83/4 then 123/5 this is a properly impressive and important comeback.

Mitchel with 83 from 196… watchful 😅

England will be hopeful of knocking them over for under 300 but if NZ can squeeze another 80 runs out of this partnership and the tail it’s really from down and out to having a chance of winning.

Strumms

Oddly defensive field to both Southee & Mitchel off Broad. One slip, even though the ball is doing a bit and has headed towards the slips from the edges of batsmen constantly throughout the innings….

a spell of poor bowling, bowlers not finding their lengths and being punished….and again…

Outstanding innings from Mitchell, again, in a fairly average NZ batting series.

His test average is hovering around legendary status.

Strumms

i didn’t realise that 59.7 is his average.. 🫣 incredible

England need these two wickets asap.

dinorebel

Delighted for Leach he's really had to fight to have a career in cricket.

nice bit of green

Anyone listen to the England games on Guerilla Cricket? I find it really enjoyable.

Strumms

That’s a hell of a delivery by Boult… far better batsmen than Pope would be walking back to the pavilion after been on the receiving end of one of those.. Pope will be disappointed only to score a handful but he got a good one there.

Boult Boult Boult! Met Eireann was correct to forecast lightning for this afternoon!

And Southee joins the party! England 21-4.

Crawley is a dreadful test batsman. Seems like he’s there on connections and how he looks rather than any substance.

The Stokes/Bairstow attack approach is probably England’s best but it won’t come off a good bit of the time.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243984#Comment_119243984

Correct! Now 55 - 6 this is fun!

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243984#Comment_119243984

only averages a shade over 30 in the first class game… 27.21 in tests…so one has to ask what he’s doing getting picked… so many similarities with his old man.

England’s best chance here is a deterioration in the weather forecast.

VillaMad

Jamie Overton looking a much more competent batsmen than expected and with Bairstow continuing his decent form, England are at the very least getting some sort of below par score.

Stokes played a bit too agressive for me and you can tell that he is almost trying to signal to the other players about how to play but trying to hit every shot for a boundary was a little silly. You can tell that he was trying to turn the pressure back on the bowlers and it was fine to hit out to try to get the field out and get the bowler off his lines, but to stay with the same tactic was always asking to get out.

Bairstow has played it perfectly so far. He is on the attack but is not losing his shape or playing massively risky shots.

Strumms

Bairstow has that mentality I’ve always liked… throw the kitchen sink at any and ALL bad deliveries no matter where they pitch, line or length… and just try and play everything else as efficiently as possible.

Strumms

From 55/6 to 264/6

sublime skilfull and accurate batting by both batsmen. Good entertainment.

England only 65 runs behind … intriguing stuff…. You’d have to imagine that they’ll at least match the New Zealand total from here.

VillaMad

Mental to score 264 off just 49 overs. That would be a half decent one day score.

Terrific entertainment as pretty much every ball was an event. It's test cricket but not as we know it. Similar to Trent Bridge where after tea, Bairstow and Overton set about the New Zealand bowlers and they had no answers with the ball or in the field. What looked like a day that New Zealand were set to dominate the test match turns into a game where both sides are pretty much even at the end of it all.

Jaime Overton's knock is probably almost as more important for him going forward than his bowling as modern teams love to have as much batting down the order as they can get.

Strumms

First session is massive, psychologically as well as in terms of the scoreboard…

England get to lunch still batting they will or should have a lead. Can’t see either of these two retreating into their shells so runs will be flowing freely if they stick around and it’s a lead of 90-110 perhaps by lunch.

New Zealand bowlers look frazzled and out of ideas, maybe a nights kip and a team talk at breakfast can lift their spirits and energy levels.

be nice to see Overton get a tonne. Not often a genuine tail ender reach that milestone, he’ll have deserved it.

Strumms

Well England got a slender lead in the end, 31 I think…. Considering they were 55/6 they’ll be delighted. Not too delighted about 7 of their 11 batsmen only scoring single digit scores…that’s a worry.

feel sorry for Overton he deserved a hundred there can be little doubt about that. Brave, fearless and entertaining innings.

VillaMad

Southee gets Pope in the first over after the rain delay this morning.

England still major favourites to win the test match.

Beasty

Alas Jonny B has lost his chance of getting the fastest century in this innings. Still 2nd fastest fifty for England in Test cricket is not bad to add to his previous 2 innings.....

nompere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244122#Comment_119244122

Zak Crawley is unrelated to John Crawley. So while it's valid to question why he keeps getting picked, it's not down to connections within the cricket establishment.

Beasty

Openers have been an issue for some time, and Crawley has been the only one that has shown anything remotely resembling consistency, until Alex Lees came on the scene. There remains a fundamental question as to who else there is to open up

Having said that opener may be the only place to squeeze Harry Brook in the team, and let's face it we cannot have enough Yorkies in the team at present!!

Strumms

I always thought those two Crawleys were related, or presumed it 🚨 oops

in fairness to Zak he’s only just turned 24, but he’s played lots of cricket without coming close to being consistent.

23 matches you’d want to be averaging more than 27.

but he has talent.

Tom Mann Centuria

Eoin Morgan standing down then*, what a One Day Captain he's been for England, he'll be a tremendous coach if he ends up going that way.

*Retiring from international cricket.