Australia v England, 2nd Test, Adelaide, 2-6 December, 2017

So 4 days to regroup for England.

The Aus XI will be unchanged (presuming no injuries).

What about England? Chef is struggling but how can you drop a player of his pedigree? England have a potentially high scoring batting side, but need the middle order to show application around the classy Joe Root.

The English attack is a worry for their supporters. Clearly Anderson and Broad are world class, but the bowling tails off badly from there.

Maybe Jimmeh and Sturat can do plenty under lights to get England back in the series. Or England may get smashed.

Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

England can't drop Cook - they haven't even bothered bringing another opener on tour.

I don't like James Vince being a sacrificial lamb at three - where he doesn't bat for his county - so that Joe Root (who does bat at three for Yorkshire) can hide from the new ball. I don't think that sends a very positive message at the very least.

It's all very muddled. Dawid Malan started his career as an opener. If Root's too chicken to take the responsibility, Malan has the game to play there. Vince should be at five, IMHO.

And Moeen shouldn't be higher than seven. Bairstow is simply better at "proper" batting.

I mean, it's just rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic, but we might well try and get the balance right.

F*ck knows what they can do with the bowling. I suspect Woakes is inked in for the series for his batting (!), so it'll just be down to Ball, Overton, Curran or Crane for the final bowling spot.

Given that Moeen's struggling with his finger, I guess Crane has to be favourite. Which would tally perfectly with England logic: pink ball cricket under lights, "let's play two spinners"...

If Jimmy Anderson doesn't pull up well, there's really no point in even turning up.

Desperate shambles already.

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

Very funny. I wonder if Colon Cowpats ghost needs thighpads because of the internal padding.

He faced Thommo in Perth with just a knitted woollen vest as protection for his ribs.

There was no shortage of internal fat to provide protection. Still the then old duffer earned much admiration. That period was the nadir of Pomgolian cricket, much like the recall of Simperson represented the low point of Oz cricket.

I don't think there is any argument on both points, h.

Even though he was an upper class twit, I always admired him. As a batsman, he was areal stylist.

My all time favourite pom bat was another chubby fellow. Colin Milburn batted with absolute relish. The current Pomgolian team could do with him in the top order.

Thinking about Pomgolian cricketers I had regard for, I read a lot about Walter Hammond and was always impressed by his feats.

That WG Grace chap was apparently useful.

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

Different class. I remember long ago thinking: Man he's fat and old, and far worse - a snooty soft Southerner. How prejudiced I was.

Yes, he did have a Michelin Man girth, rarer nowadays.

But he was a hugely elegant batsman - the best leg glide I remember seeing. And under the baronial look (he actually was made a baron later on!), he was tough too - as noted in the thread above. Not many bat with an arm in plaster. Always seemed a gentleman - hid severe nerves well under that apparent "Southern glibness" (it was the mask).

And a Test average of 44 in those days ain't bad.

horace wrote:Even though he was an upper class twit, I always admired him. As a batsman, he was areal stylist.

My all time favourite pom bat was another chubby fellow. Colin Milburn batted with absolute relish.  The current Pomgolian team could do with him in the top order.

Wasn't it Branston pickle?

More seriously, in his all-too-fleeting prime, Olly was a killer. Not the most reliable perhaps, but was like Warner with more weight and a slightly better eye.

Oh, That was not intended as the unfortunate pun it became. Poor Olly.

Absolutely lovely guy too, by all accounts.

horace wrote:Thinking about Pomgolian cricketers I had regard for, I read a lot about Walter Hammond and was always impressed by his feats.

The VD was a bastard, though. Seems to have marred him for life - extremely moody, morose, introverted where his batting style was anything but. He could rattle boundary boards as hard as anyone, it's said.

The professional/amateur divide also didn't help.

skully wrote:That WG Grace chap was apparently useful.

Bit of a rogue, though.

I just wikied Hammond. Didn't realise he was allegedly stricken with VD. Seemed to make him a miserable chap.

Infidelity is bad, m'kay.

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

Chris might get a call... or Graham, or Fabian... let’s have Nick Compton, Ben Hutton and Brett D’Oliveira...

David Steele is only 76. Give him a call up.

beamer wrote:

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

Chris might get a call... or Graham, or Fabian... let’s have Nick Compton, Ben Hutton and Brett D’Oliveira...

Richard Hammond? James May?

lardbucket wrote:

beamer wrote:

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

Chris might get a call... or Graham, or Fabian... let’s have Nick Compton, Ben Hutton and Brett D’Oliveira...

Richard Hammond? James May?

Or Philip and Theresa...

skully wrote:I just wikied Hammond. Didn't realise he was allegedly stricken with VD.

That's what they always say about the Hammond organ - it's often used where it shouldn't be.

skully wrote:That WG Grace chap was apparently useful.

And had a better beard than Moween Ohawa

skully wrote:I just wikied Hammond. Didn't realise he was allegedly stricken with VD. Seemed to make him a miserable chap.

Infidelity is bad, m'kay.

Though he was single at the time ...

lardbucket wrote:

beamer wrote:

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Ballance and Trott need to come in. And Batty. And Dernbach & Pattinson.

lardbucket wrote:Jimmy Ormond? Allan Igglesden? Richard Blakey to replace Bairstow?

Colin Cowdrey?

Chris might get a call... or Graham, or Fabian... let’s have Nick Compton, Ben Hutton and Brett D’Oliveira...

Richard Hammond? James May?

Get Clarkson out there to open. He'll be driving straight into the river in no time.

And making Jardine a popular fellow by comparison.