England's Summer of Cricket 2022 as Joe Root Steps Down

First topic message reminder :

Joe Root has decided to step down from the captaincy. Main problem now is - who should take over?

Stokes is the only one really in contention. But should he be lumbered with the captaincy? His workload is immense as it is. But if he doesn't take the job, then who?

Let's hope Root's stepping down doesn't effect his batting! Captaincy cares hardly showed in his stats over the last few months.

Not as outraged about the toss as most of you. This is still the same team, with the same strengths and weaknesses; everything goes through the bowlers and either they get the early breakthroughs or they don't. Bat first and the top 3 is probably out by lunch, Bairstow and Stokes smash a few boundaries in T20esque cameos and we're staring down the barrel of watching NZ bat for the next two days.
The slip cordon definitely still needs attention.

I didn't say it wiped out all the good from Lord's, I said it will have nearly taken out the good feeling generated from Lord's. A bit like if a football team concedes two late goals to go in at HT 2-2, their morale would have taken a hit. England's morale has been hit by yesterday, and when you've won two out of 18 then it doesn't take long for negative feeling to overwhelm.

I also don't think McCullum has made any fielding improvements. There simply wouldn't be enough time for that. England's excellent fielding in the first test was mainly a coincidental factor, perhaps inspired somewhat by the fabled 'new manager bounce', and in this test they've just returned to normality.

Agree about the reviews. England have been terrible at them for a while. The ICC also needs to go back to two reviews per innings, not three.

On the toss - I don't think you can field first on the basis the batting's rubbish. You have to give the batsmen prime use of the batting conditions if available. They have to bat sometime and it's better they do it on day one than midway/late on day two after the opposition have made 400+ and can set attacking fields for longer.

Rather uneventful couple of overs from the veterans to start with. No sign that the conditions have drastically changed...

Well as to whether one bad day causes the confidence produced from the previous game to evaporate , we will have to see how well or badly they come back from it , no ?

I don't dramatically disagree with you on yesterday , Duty ...I am just not reading quite so much into it just yet. We will see...

In any case , reckon we both see this morning's session as pretty important for the future of this match. To state the obvious

First half-hour belongs to New Zealand. the overnight batters have seemed to be in control, and the ball hasn't talked much for Anderson and Broad.

Not much happening so far this morning...no scares for the batsmen - and no joy for England in their attempts to get the ball changed

Watching Mitchell and Blundell once again fattening their averages at England's expense does rather echo the Ashes experience of keeping Smith Warner and Labuschagne relatively restrained only to get seriously clobbered by Head and Khawaja

England are taking the Arthur Bliss with the amount of times they're asking for a ball change and with the over rate.

Nothing doing out there. No reason why New Zealand shouldn't exceed 500.

Hmm. Leach on already. Hang on to your beers...

Leach and Potts take over from Broad and Anderson. Thought Stokes should have given himself a go. He seemed the most likely to get one yestrday... Didn't give himself a spell late in the day, shouldn't let things slip here.
And a brilliant ton for Mitchell!

Hundred for Mitchell

Top knock. He owes Joe Root a beer or two for the let off on three ; but really didn't do anything wrong after that...and won't mind at all that he brought up the landmark with an edge through slips.

The New Williamson ?

Very good from Mitchell again. Got a test average over 50 at the moment!

Now needs to get his head down and keep going. Three tons but nothing in the 110s+ yet.

Duty281 wrote:
...

On the toss - I don't think you can field first on the basis the batting's rubbish. You have to give the batsmen prime use of the batting conditions if available. They have to bat sometime and it's better they do it on day one than midway/late on day two after the opposition have made 400+ and can set attacking fields for longer.

Not at all surprised that this morning David Lloyd was quoting former Lancashire captain and England batsman Cyril Washbrook - ''If you're thinking about bowling first, don't.'' 

Won't be shocked if Blundell gets to three figures today too. Batting is looking pretty easy for NZ at the moment and a really big score is definitely on the cards. Only problem for them might be that it could be a good batting pitch that just keeps getting better... Wasn't it here a few years back when India and England played a huge battathon including fifties for the Indian last pair and a Jimmy Anderson eighty ?

England wondering how they're ever going to break this stand let alone getting the other five wickets...

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:
...

On the toss - I don't think you can field first on the basis the batting's rubbish. You have to give the batsmen prime use of the batting conditions if available. They have to bat sometime and it's better they do it on day one than midway/late on day two after the opposition have made 400+ and can set attacking fields for longer.

Not at all surprised that this morning David Lloyd was quoting former Lancashire captain and England batsman Cyril Washbrook - ''If you're thinking about bowling first, don't.'' 

We don't need Washbrook though ...they just need to listen to you ,Guildford !

For all that I'm not really of the view that the insertion was automatically insane . Both sides apparently misread the pitch and were maybe remembering Broad shooting Australia out for 60 seven years ago... I wasn't there to inspect it closely yesterday morning so can't really comment on their judgement...

If no one ever sent their opponents in we would be robbed of a great number of discussion topics

That's another simple one put down. Simply dreadful.

Oh dear ! Potts made a horrible mess of that ...Poor Jack Leach can't believe it was dropped.

Went on for four too to add insult to injury...

That's got to hurt.

Duty281 wrote:On the toss - I don't think you can field first on the basis the batting's rubbish. You have to give the batsmen prime use of the batting conditions if available.

You're not wrong, I'm just saying I don't blame them that much for hoping they'd get more out of that pitch early on. If the catches stick it's probably still not the right decision in hindsight, but they're likely batting by now with the match still feeling fairly even.

Poor overrate from England again, and solid run rate from New Zealand. And no sign of Stokes with the ball...

alfie wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:
...

On the toss - I don't think you can field first on the basis the batting's rubbish. You have to give the batsmen prime use of the batting conditions if available. They have to bat sometime and it's better they do it on day one than midway/late on day two after the opposition have made 400+ and can set attacking fields for longer.

Not at all surprised that this morning David Lloyd was quoting former Lancashire captain and England batsman Cyril Washbrook - ''If you're thinking about bowling first, don't.'' 

We don't need Washbrook though ...they just need to listen to you ,Guildford !

For all that I'm not really of the view that the insertion was automatically insane . Both sides apparently misread the pitch and were maybe remembering Broad shooting Australia out for 60 seven years ago... I wasn't there to inspect it closely yesterday morning so can't really comment on their judgement...

If no one ever sent their opponents in we would be robbed of a great number of discussion topics

Even I don't say it was insane, however it's a bit like my bugbear with night watchmen. An unnecessary gamble which far more often fails than it succeeds. Fair to say, yesterday's insertion hasn't paid off for England. Admittedly hindered by some ordinary bowling, dreadful catching and poor use of the review system.

A rare maiden from Leach. Deserves that at the very least, after all those drops and half-chances.

Stokes on at last! Hoping for some action, one way or another!

Stokes didn't quite get it right with his lines and lengths in that first over, but he still tempted Mitchell into some indiscretions, that boundary was straight out of the IPL playbook, and that first ball he played from half-way down the pitch.

Ton up for Blundell, making up for his near-miss in the last test. Fine innings...

Do think Leach has bowled better this morning...and rather unlucky not to have a wicket of course.

Continuing the toss argument : there's no doubt sending opponents in has become a lot more common in recent years. Pitches - generally - don't seem to deteriorate as much as they used to ; and the number of fourth innings chases that succeed against expectation also appears to have increased.

I haven't looked at the stats - probably should eh ? Have chasing teams got a better record this century overall ? And has inserting the opposition actually been a good % play ? Damned if I know ... In any case , agree we can say this particular gamble hasn't worked very well

Hundred for Blundell Good for him : deserved it after just missing out at Lord's.

Pushing 400 now and 500 plus now looks inevitable...

Some sharp singles here, at a point when a run-out seems the only way England would get a wicket.

Do Lees or Crawley or Pope bowl a bit at county level? Time to try something new as even Stokes is unable to find some magic. As lunch is 15 minutes away, perhaps he should bring Root on for a short spell, Mitchell was doing all kinds of stuff yesterday even in the period prior to the new ball.

Ha ! Held one at last ! Leach will be relieved ...but Blundell has done his job well and truly. Another excellent innings. 405/5.

Not a bad time for Bracewell to enter the arena for this (rather late) Test debut...

Finally, Leach gets on the board, gets the breakthrough as Blundell's gone. And a catch is at last held!

Well done to Stokes for keeping mid-off up. But it's another fine knock by Blundell to put his team in a strong position.

Debutant Michael Bracewell, coming from a strong cricketing family, with bagful of FC experience, at the age of 31, gets his first run in test cricket!

Pitches have definitely become more lively, and bowlers don't have to work as hard for wickets. One can argue about the fairness of modern Test cricket, but then you see how Tests actually look when teams are 425/5 and you realise you never want to go back to the days when Tests like this were de rigeur

New Zealand really beginning to put the foot down, on top of an already very healthy run rate! Leach taking a proper beating...

And Mitchell brings up his 150!

Stokes' not getting these bowling changes right. He didn't bring himself on when he probably should have. Now he's overdoing it when there is not much happening for him or anyone else on this track. Keep rotating, Ben!

Leach taking some significant punishment. Just possibly a stumping chance will arise. Although I want him to be more assertive with reviews, Foakes' excellent glovework has continued today and I would bank on him to take anything offered.

Sadly though, probably too late now to make serious difference.

Bracewell's done a perfect job coming in against a tired fielding team. Nothing extravagant, just the right shots to push the score along to 500+.

Wonder if the Kiwis will make it 600?

New Zealand do have enough time to try and push for 600. Think they should try to bat big and possibly bat once. If they don't get bowled out, no reason to declare any time soon.

Been off the air since lunch but I see not much has changed...

Guess NZ can get as many as they want from here. Question then will be whether they can take twenty wickets on this. I know we don't judge the pitch until both teams have batted on it but you'd have to think there are a few potential scores for England's batsmen in it...though of course scoreboard pressure can make that a somewhat different proposition.

That run rate is extremely impressive ! Bracewell seems to be doing a good job of cashing in on the good position he came in at - 40 from 62 is a decent start to his Test career.

Whence came this ? Rain ? Thought we were on for five warm dry days...

I think NZ will take twenty wickets on this. Reckon it'll be one of those tests where it does a lot more for the team with 500+ on the board, due to psychological factors and the variety of the Kiwi bowling attack.

Unexpected rain indeed!

A shower gives England some relief. Will New Zealand be able to maintain the momentum after the resumption? Will this have an impact on their game plan?

So will they take an early tea? Or will it be start in half an hour, only to then take a tea break 5 minutes later?

Duty281 wrote:Bracewell's done a perfect job coming in against a tired fielding team. Nothing extravagant, just the right shots to push the score along to 500+.

Wonder if the Kiwis will make it 600?

Yeah, I was thinking earlier that Bracewell won't get the headlines but he's played a more than handy role for his side.

Duty281 wrote:I think NZ will take twenty wickets on this. Reckon it'll be one of those tests where it does a lot more for the team with 500+ on the board, due to psychological factors and the variety of the Kiwi bowling attack.

Unexpected rain indeed!

Oh yes , always harder to respond to monster first innings scores , even on bland surfaces. And NZ have scored so fast they have a lot more time than might otherwise have been the case. However I reckon an awful lot of Tests in which one team opens with five hundred plus still do end in stalemate. (One of the reasons I don't like them : apart from the fact that piles of runs day after day gets a bit boring) Depends a lot on how conditions vary as the game progresses - and whether the weather remains fair.

Has to be said though that England don't have a great recent record in responding to big scores against them...so NZ will fancy this.

Back on in twenty minutes , I'm hearing.

So they resume, and for once, they got it right with the time management side of things! Will still be another day where we won't get the day's quota of overs, but at least the game didn't make a ridiculous spectacle of itself with outlandish time/break rules!

As England continue to toil fruitlessly against a NZ side that looks capable of chasing the World Record score had they a desire to do so , I see all the usual moaning about the deficiencies of the attack taking up BBC comment sections...

Need a deadly wrist spinner , extreme pace , blah blah blah... All rather missing the point that all the express pace bowlers are currently injured ; and the wrist spinner played last week and probably isn't quite ready to take the world by storm just yet.

Certainly it all looks a bit flat at present. Anderson bowling dry now , which seems a sensible tactic. Unfortunately he's really been the only bowler to exert any sort of control over the scoring rate - and how often we've had to say that over the years !
I suppose the same people who were anointing Potts as the new hero a week ago will now be calling for his head and dismissing Lord's as beginners luck for a county trundler ; I hope the management shows a bit more faith in him.
Leach might be wishing the concussion protocols had been a bit more stringent and kept him out of this ! Probably not the ideal time to play his first home Test in three years.

Root apart , the bowlers won the Lord's Test. The batsmen will have the responsibility of salvaging a draw from this one. Seems fair : their turn to do some work , eh ?

So they are bowling wide to Mitchell, and short to Bracewell. Mitchell's staying disciplined, and Bracewell handling things well.

Wouldn't call this 'Dry' bowling from Anderson. He's just bowling it very wide and just hoping Mitchell will do something outlandish... Waste from, and of Anderson...

Good bowling from Anderson does for Bracewell one short of his fifty... Could see that coming , to be honest . Had been probing away nicely there last couple of overs.

Root will be pleased to hold on to that one .

Expect Jamieson to swing the bat...

Small shout out to Foakes - over 500 runs conceded but not one bye. 

500 up as a Potts short ball is hooked for another boundary...tough test for the young man after everything came up roses for him at Lord's. Long as he keeps his head , it will be a valuable lesson for him.

Anderson's figures stand out in this ; and they don't lie. You can see why the new management are determined to use him as often as they can while he's healthy and willing...

He probably won't relish having to hammer away for two days in a row like this too often though !