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.

Lowlandbrit wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Very rough on Foakes.
(...)
I worried that if he started poorly that England would bring Buttler back.

I mentioned in the first Test that I had a conspiracy theory brewing that Bairstow and Stokes are batting the way they are to pressurise Foakes so they can drop him (presumably to make room for Brook) if he doesn't deliver with the bat.

That's quite a conspiracy!

Well that all finished quickly I see

I go out for 45 minutes and suddenly the bowlers have taken over !

NZ actually kept a lead , eh ? Minimal though it is. But England probably won't mind getting to bowl for a short time up to lunch. Might just give us a clue as to how this is likely to proceed...

Duty281 wrote:Latham left well in the first test, always a good sign for a batsman, and he's doing the same here.

That wasn't a good leave!

650 for Jimmy.

Good start for Jimmy : 650 now

Not so good for Latham . A worse leave than that one of Lees...

Duty281 wrote:That's quite a conspiracy!

I wouldn't call it fully formed, but I haven't seen anything forcing me to abandon it yet...

This particular new ball seems to be moving about a bit. They probably won't be trying to put this one through the rings any time soon

Lowlandbrit wrote:

Duty281 wrote:That's quite a conspiracy!

I wouldn't call it fully formed, but I haven't seen anything forcing me to abandon it yet...

Except if Bairstow keeps not scoring runs, he'll be the one dropped to make way for Brook.

A lot of excitement in the first five overs, then it died down. That session has moved the game on substantially and it was a good one for the Kiwis.

England really needed to get at least a couple in that session to inject some panic into the Kiwi batting, but it didn't happen. New Zealand should be able to build on that lead through the afternoon and put England firmly on the defensive, unless Leach turns up with a good spell of bowling. Conway looked in excellent touch in that mini-session.

I understand that every player of international quality has to be of elite talent etc, but Tom Latham has to be the worst player to average 40 in the history of the game

dummy_half wrote:Except if Bairstow keeps not scoring runs, he'll be the one dropped to make way for Brook.

The idea would be that it's between the two of them for the gloves, with Bairstow needing one good score and/or Foakes one bad score. Still not much more than a fleeting thought I had last week, but I'm giving it time to develop.

Lowlandbrit wrote:

dummy_half wrote:Except if Bairstow keeps not scoring runs, he'll be the one dropped to make way for Brook.

The idea would be that it's between the two of them for the gloves, with Bairstow needing one good score and/or Foakes one bad score. Still not much more than a fleeting thought I had last week, but I'm giving it time to develop.

Between these tests:

"We're not in a position to not select world-class players at the moment," said Stokes, "and Ben is the best wicketkeeper in the world. That's not just my own opinion, that's a lot of people's opinions
...
"He took some catches which he made look very easy but they weren't and to have a gloveman like Ben behind the stumps gives me a lot of confidence and it gives the bowlers a lot of confidence."

I doubt Stokes would have been saying that if he had a plan to shuffle Foakes out and give Bairstow the gloves

Lowlandbrit wrote:

dummy_half wrote:Except if Bairstow keeps not scoring runs, he'll be the one dropped to make way for Brook.

The idea would be that it's between the two of them for the gloves, with Bairstow needing one good score and/or Foakes one bad score. Still not much more than a fleeting thought I had last week, but I'm giving it time to develop.

If they were really minded to ditch Foakes , they could have done so at the start of the summer , as his form in West Indies wasn't much good. Pretty sure he was always set for a decent run in the job in the home matches as long as he performed reasonably well. He's made a good start in these two games with fine work behind the stumps and two good innings at seven , and I think he's safe for now.

Wicket keepers are never totally secure in the England team. Ask Bob Taylor or Jack Russell.

Soul Requiem wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:

JDizzle wrote:Big fan of Broad remembering how to play straight and get in line when England are 520-6, but not when they are 120-6.

Also holding the pose on the lap sweep shot. Superb player

That is shocking cricket from Potts - he definitely should've run himself out there. He's having a frankly 0/10 second test match here

I thought the same Olly, I think Foakes is a bit too nice sometimes. Stokes or Bairstow for instance would insist he runs himself out.

Agree. That's a song I've been singing for a while.

23 overs in and no further joy for the bowlers. Conway and Young not exactly racing yet either. Lead now 71.

Way too early to make a solid prediction ; but I suspect WINVIZ is probably ticking the "draw" option up a little...

Anybody else starting to feel a hint of nerves as an England fan?

NZ setting a platform and a tiring attack with an older ball could suddenly see NZ leading by over 200 with wickets in hand for a swing tomorrow morning.

I could see this pitch really breaking up tomorrow as well. Could be a very well judged Test match wicket.

Jamieson's fitness will be a big factor in a potential declaration and how aggressively NZ look to push on against the older ball though.

Conway finally showing some aggression on the last ball before drinks. Perhaps a sign of things to come?

Potts bowled an excellent spell after lunch, but no reward for it. Leach, not a good start, alas. Strike rotation too easy.

Pitch doesn't look like it's falling apart, so the draw is the heavy favourite from here. An England win has nearly vanished. We'll see how aggressive New Zealand go from this platform, they should be able to get the lead to around 220 by stumps. More intent could see it closer to 275.

king_carlos wrote:Anybody else starting to feel a hint of nerves as an England fan?

NZ setting a platform and a tiring attack with an older ball could suddenly see NZ leading by over 200 with wickets in hand for a swing tomorrow morning.

I could see this pitch really breaking up tomorrow as well. Could be a very well judged Test match wicket.

Jamieson's fitness will be a big factor in a potential declaration and how aggressively NZ look to push on against the older ball though.

I'd imagine the lead will be over 200 by close of play. But do you really think NZ would fancy setting England something like 280 in 65 overs on a ground as quick scoring as this ? And if they go on much further than that they're not leaving a lot of time to engineer a collapse. If the pitch is going to break up badly tomorrow it is not giving much hint of that yet.

I do think the lack of Jamieson makes an early declaration less likely. Boult & co did an awful lot of work over the last day and a half and asking them to back up a day later would be challenging.

But certainly they are motoring on against Leach at the moment so who knows ? What is Latham's record on declarations like , anyone ?

Bit of a test here for Leach (whether or not he is looking over his shoulders for Moeen )

NZ are going after him and that economy rate is looking a bit sick again. Comparisons with Bracewell aren't too flattering at this stage ; though to be fair the Kiwi part timer profited from some madcap run chasing late in the innings.

Could be they see him as a danger and want to keep him on the back foot...but probably more likely they fancy him as a source of runs.

Hardly a spinner's wicket , despite the odd ball keeping a bit low. But I do think Leach might feel he's not quite done as well as he might so far.

Fifty for Conway Very handy response to the early loss of Latham.

Ha ! I'm claiming that one

Conway on his way and Leach has a smile on his face...

Jamieson was ruled out today before the day's play, going for an MRI on his back - I highly doubt he will be fit to take the field again at any point, let alone be effective with the ball tomorrow.

Conway goes to fifty, and then is caught sweeping the expensive Leach - a much needed wicket.

Yeah, I don't expect Jamieson to feature again in this series, never mind the test.

Seems fairly clear from the intent New Zealand showed that they want to try and force a result. Some wickets from England in the evening may derail that, but the Kiwis will be pressing the attack for now.

New Zealand can have the lead around 260 if they score at 4 an over in the evening session. I think that's their aim, then a quick thrash tomorrow to push the lead over 300, before giving themselves around 80 overs to win the test.

Nicholls with a torrid 18 ball stay before cutting one off Potts straight to point.

Mitchell looks like a man who's made a hundred in two straight knocks - looks fully settled already!

Of course, getting run out by his partner...that'll help England!

131-4, Mitchell gone...door slightly ajar for England?

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Of course, getting run out by his partner...that'll help England!

131-4, Mitchell gone...door slightly ajar for England?

Oh it was Young run out...not Mitchell. Still, two new bats - the partnership England have struggled with so far though!

The door open for England all of a sudden.

Credit to Potts. After bowling (being polite...) averagely in the 1st innings and then the Foakes runout he bowled very tight at a key time today.

Foakes still needs to assert himself some more as Guildford and others have said but he's been keeping superbly in these two Tests. Some runs seem to have helped his confidence and it's carried into his glovework.

Mitchell and Blundell establishing themselves and shutting the door again. This partnership may as well be Viv Richards and Don Bradman for all England struggle to get them out.

Wonder if they'll be able to play for the last hour and a half, with it looking somewhat gloomy out there.

Tickets apparently free for tomorrow. Have thought the ground looked half-empty and the atmosphere very subdued all through the game, which is very unusual for an England home test.

Big final 50 minutes or so. If England can prise out a couple more tonight, a victory push may still be on tomorrow morning, especially with Jamieson unlikely to bat.

But if Mitchell and Blundell are still there at stumps it'll just be a case of when do the Kiwis declare tomorrow. And that declaration won't be too early as the runs have been rather hard to come by since tea.

The crowd getting through a cheerful rendition of 'Ten German Bombers'. Odd place to do it.

Time to wake up, Blundell's out. A victory for Stokes' captaincy as that was down to a clever bowling plan executed by Broad.

Lead of 190. England one from the tail.

Think I heard on TMS that Jamieson will bat but unlikely to bowl.

I could see this being an exciting finish tomorrow. If NZ can get up to that 280-300 region then we are in the tantalising/terrifying (delete as per affiliation) of "does Joe have to score another ton?"

I think England will go for the victory if the equation is 280-300 from 80-90 overs.

Root's never made three consecutive test tons in his England career, so another one tomorrow would be asking him to go to uncharted territory...like he did at Lord's last week with his first fourth innings century.

A result does look increasingly likely. And Bracewell's kept the runs ticking since Blundell's dismissal. Just have horrible visions that Bracewell will end up with 4/39 tomorrow as part of a match-winning effort.

Bracewell goes for a rather bizarre quick 25...seems like NZ are gonna try add a quick 50-70 and get bowling early tomorrow?

Bracewell replicating what Stokes did yesterday. What a great test match. I think Stokes is getting his field placings bang on, and I like that he doesn't put the mid on/off in retreat as soon as a batsman starts swinging.

NZ need another fifty, at least, otherwise England become favourites.

With how the NZ tail bats this could go anywhere. They could be all out very quickly or suddenly add 50 for a healthy lead with Mitchell still out there. They NZ bowlers haven't tended to hang around.

It's been a really good Test match thus far.

It's just such a shame that Jamieson is injured as it really affects the equation with England batting last.

New Zealand have gone mad. I think they think they've got a lead of 327 on the board, not 227!

This is really pretty crap from New Zealand to be honest, two run outs in 7 wickets is quite pathetic

Yep, NZ blowing up a bit here. They need a very smart hand from Mitchell from here to guide them up towards a 300 run lead.

New Zealand being reckless here, setting themselves up for a loss on a still very good pitch. No Jamieson, and no quality spinner in the lineup. Southee absolutely wasted there.
I was not able to catch up with most of the action today, but as both sides showed intent on a flat pitch to try and push for a result, , the match remains pretty much open, and 70-30 in favor of England.

Someone tell Butcher that New Zealand are increasing in percentage chances to win, because the draw is reducing and England chasing anything over 200 on a day 5 pitch, in the fourth dig is not nailed on!

king_carlos wrote:Foakes still needs to assert himself some more as Guildford and others have said but he's been keeping superbly in these two Tests. Some runs seem to have helped his confidence and it's carried into his glovework.

Totally. 

Foakes' glovework has been outstandingly good in this Test. Blundell is no mug behind the stumps but has suffered here by comparison.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Someone tell Butcher that New Zealand are increasing in percentage chances to win, because the draw is reducing and England chasing anything over 200 on a day 5 pitch, in the fourth dig is not nailed on!

I suspect Butcher has it in his Sky contract to commentate on games immediately after Tudor so that he (Butcher) appears bright and knowledgeable.

Wow, what a day. What a test. What a game. Kiwis lead by 238. Seven down after a mad final fifty minutes.

Wouldn't like to call it from here. Bet365 has it - England 2/1; Draw 10/11; New Zealand 4/1.

I think I'd actually make the draw the least likely outcome (excluding a tie) as I can't see New Zealand batting more than an hour tomorrow with that weak tail, and that should leave enough time for a result. England will go for it. New Zealand will obviously have to go for it.

In England's favour - good batting pitch, fast outfield, no Jamieson, Root's in the form of his life, Henry and Southee have been inconsistent in this test so far.

In New Zealand's favour - Boult's brilliant, the part-time spinner has plenty of footmarks to work with, Root is statistically unlikely to succeed three times in a row, the general brittleness of England's batting, the long tail, some overcast conditions tomorrow.

I think I'd favour New Zealand if they can push the lead beyond 275. But it's fantastically set for a thrilling conclusion.

So New Zealand has a lead of 238 with effectively 2 wickets remaining. Unless they manage to bat close to an hour, and build another 30 40, this could be it for them. Too reckless at the end, and their bowling is undermined with the injury to Jamieson. Only thing is that the new ball won't be available for most of that first hour, and that's the only time when the ball really has a chance against the bat. Else it has to be stupid slogging or mindless run-outs more often than not. England well placed to make it 2-0, rather than New Zealand making it 1-1.

Unless NZ get to a position where they want to declare, I wouldn't bet against Jamieson batting. He's a determined and willing guy. 

He signed a short term deal for Surrey last season, suffered a back injury very early on in a match which prevented him bowling again but still insisted on batting.

I don’t know what they were saying on Sky, but Jeremy Coney on TMS reckoned he had seen Jamieson with his pads on - so looks like he is going to bat.

Yes it seems like Jamieson will bat (likely come out at 11) - can’t imagine he’ll be much use if he’s nursing a bad back mind!

Think NZ must be worth a few quid at 4/1 to win tomorrow - know they’re down Jamieson, but all it’ll take is Boult/Southee to get a few with the new ball and Englands long tail may have some serious batting to do late in the day.

Fascinatingly poised

guildfordbat wrote:Unless NZ get to a position where they want to declare, I wouldn't bet against Jamieson batting. He's a determined and willing guy. 

He signed a short term deal for Surrey last season, suffered a back injury very early on in a match which prevented him bowling again but still insisted on batting.

Jamieson might after all, come out to bat today. But it has to be said, that going by his performance in this series, that may not make a world of difference. From someone who seemed capable of evolving into a number 7, he has regressed into a bit of a mindless slogger. At the moment, Tim Southee seems a better bet with the bat as he's better at slogging. Jamieson is far better than a slogger, but he seems to have lost that focus, that touch about his batting.

Well, the game moved on more than I expected yesterday - gone from what looked close to a nailed on draw to a position where a positive result is probably more likely than not. I think mostly NZ have batted poorly in this innings, and have almost all just given their wickets away - two run outs, catches at point, mid on, square leg (x2) don't suggest the wicket has suddenly turned into a minefield, so a target of 250-275 should be within England's capacity if they bat reasonably sensibly. Obviously, if NZ can push that out to 300+ an England win becomes less likely, but the draw odds improve as NZ will only have just over 2 sessions to take 10 wickets.

Has Jamieson ever looked like a potential number 7?

First-class average comfortably under 20 but a high white ball strike rate for a lower order batter suggest to me a player who can hit a long ball but can't build an innings. As such his Test batting seems exactly as you'd expect just with a tiny bit higher average than his F-C record due to the small sample size.

He's very much a bowler who can hit rather than a bowling all rounder.

I think i'd make New Zealand favourites from here, England are notoriously dreadful batting on the fifth day of a test. Most of the recent successful 150+ chases were on the fourth day, in fact I can't think of any that happened on the final day.

Australia Headingly 2019- 3rd and 4th
Pakistan Old Trafford 2020- 4th
Sri Lanka Galle 2021- 4th
New Zealand Lords- 3rd and 4th