Ashes Series 2021-22

He might as well open if he's going to bat at 3.

I suppose he’s usually going to be in before the shine is off the new ball anyway, whether he bats at 1 or 7…

But yeah, as ever with England, the logical move is to change the one thing that’s been working over the past year or so!

It is suggested that Anderson and Broad are difficult to manage. Perhaps they recognise incompetent leadership when they see it and react accordingly.

Basil wrote:It is suggested that Anderson and Broad are difficult to manage. Perhaps they recognise incompetent leadership when they see it and react accordingly.

Yeah, though not sure they’ve ever really been leaders themselves on the field, even if Broad was seen as potential captaincy material earlier in his career. There’s often a bit of a batsmen-v-bowlers dynamic that goes on and with those two it traces way back to the KP era, even if they were only hangers-on to Prior and Swann’s twat pack. Now they’re also in a strange position of being relics of a past generation while still being the best at what they do. And the fact the batting side hasn’t pulled its weight in terms of runs either must really frustrate them.

Would be a shame if they don’t get to go out on their terms but maybe the time has come for a clean break. They’re not going to win us away series in future, and that’s what we need to be building a team capable of doing.

Root's average

Opener 41.7 (11 innings)
Number 3 38.66 (53 innings)
Number 4 51.2 (106 innings)
Number 5 67.77 (31 innings)
Number 6 40.16 (8 innings)
Number 7 0 (1 innings)

beamer wrote:

Basil wrote:It is suggested that Anderson and Broad are difficult to manage. Perhaps they recognise incompetent leadership when they see it and react accordingly.

Yeah, though not sure they’ve ever really been leaders themselves on the field, even if Broad was seen as potential captaincy material earlier in his career. There’s often a bit of a batsmen-v-bowlers dynamic that goes on and with those two it traces way back to the KP era, even if they were only hangers-on to Prior and Swann’s twat pack. Now they’re also in a strange position of being relics of a past generation while still being the best at what they do. And the fact the batting side hasn’t pulled its weight in terms of runs either must really frustrate them.

Would be a shame if they don’t get to go out on their terms but maybe the time has come for a clean break. They’re not going to win us away series in future, and that’s what we need to be building a team capable of doing.

Their central contracts expire on 1st October, so I doubt that they will announce their retirement in the meantime as they would lose money.

It would be good for them to have one final Hurrah together this Summer.

Surely they’d both still be effective in home conditions. Who’s touring this year?

JGK wrote:Surely they’d both still be effective in home conditions. Who’s touring this year?

If I'm reading it correctly, Eng play 3 Tests vs NZ, and then 3 vs South Africa. (and when are they supposed to make up that 1 Test vs India again?)

Nath wrote:

JGK wrote:Surely they’d both still be effective in home conditions. Who’s touring this year?

If I'm reading it correctly, Eng play 3 Tests vs NZ, and then 3 vs South Africa.  (and when are they supposed to make up that 1 Test vs India again?)

Yeah, it’s a pretty tough schedule (the India Test is in there somewhere). But then again, there’s probably plenty of seamers in the county game who can run through undercooked touring sides, so the way we’re going to win those series is by making scores of 300+, whether or not we pick those two.

The WI series is perhaps the one nobody really wants - when have we ever squeezed another Test tour in between the Ashes in Australia and the English season before? I can’t recall it happening. And having to do it with everything up in the air and a stopgap coaching/selection setup is far from ideal. Then again, it’s an opportunity for a few to make a name for themselves. It wouldn’t be a gimme even under “normal” circumstances, realistically we belong in the second tier with WI, SL and Ban at the moment, and we’ve won precisely one series in the Caribbean in half a century. So treat it as a free hit and hopefully there will be some things to build on for whoever comes in.

And personally, I’m willing to accept some home defeats as part of the project of building a side capable of winning in all conditions. Although the ECB would probably take being home-track bullies as we were for most of the ‘10s, in the interests of ticket sales. If we’re being skittled for sub-200 regularly that’s a moot point in any case, we’re not likely to win many Tests anywhere, even given how bad most touring sides are at batting in English conditions.

“The abject nature of the defeat… meant that change could wait no longer, and …the message was sent out to all and sundry. Reputations now count for diddly squat. When a side with as many expectations as England is faced with a third series defeat in a row, there's no room for living on past glories anymore.

Lately… England have been plumbing the depths, and you sense that rock-bottom is as good a place as any to start the rebuilding process.”

Fitting words for the current situation. Except that they were actually written 14 years ago, when Harmison and Hoggard were axed to give Anderson and Broad their opportunity!