England's Summer of Cricket 2024

First topic message reminder :

Now the County Championship has begun, it is officially summer once more. Don't let the rain tell you otherwise!

We can talk about promising county performances, the build up to the World T20, and Ollie Robinson's latest injury when it happens. Then, in just under two months, England start playing games:

England v Pakistan, four T20s, 22nd May-30th May
World T20 in June
England v West Indies, three tests, 10th July-30th July
England v Sri Lanka, three tests, 21st August-10th September
England v Australia, three T20s, 11th September-15th September
England v Australia, five ODIs, 19th September-29th September

It's a bit of a pressure summer for England. The ODI side made the most disappointing defence of a World Cup crown since France in the football in 2002, so there's pressure on the T20 side, and Mott in particular, to deliver something decent in the Caribbean.

For the test match side, it's been three series without a series win for England, so the expectation is on for England to get back to winning ways against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. The West Indies often cause England a few troubles, but England have won their last seven home series v the West Indies, dating back to 2000, and you have to go back to 1988 for the last time the West Indies won a series in England.

Sri Lanka are visiting for the first time in eight years for a test series, so it's well overdue. They've certainly managed to upset England in the past, very famously in 1998, but also in 2014, so it's a series that cannot be taken for granted.

And to round off the summer the ECB are making a dash for cash, with eight limited overs games against the Aussies in the fading September light, in games that will probably be forgotten in no time at all.

I think they should reach out to Mo to glue the lineup together again

Refreshing to hear David Gower on Radio 4 this morning when discussing absence of Stokes etc calling them batsmen. He probably just slipped up and no doubt be warned about it but it just sounds better than batter.

I fancy they'll bring Cox in and rely on Lawrence/Root's spin a bit more...

I would quite like to see them bring in Stone however, who has improved his batting a fair bit. Probably not to the level of a Test 8, but definitely a Test 9 (to the point he can hang around, and pitch in with 20-30 odd).
I think you could get away with Woakes, Stone, Atkinson, Wood as your 7-10. Bashir obvious 11.

Unless they think the pitches won't spin much, and drop Bashir altogether and use Lawrence/Root as needed. Can't see that though.

Think I'd rather see Potts at 8 for now. Still a bit of a long tail anyway but needs must...

Am I the only one just a little anxious about how Pope will handle the captain's job ? Practically no experience in the role ; a lot to handle at three (especially with Trial by Spin on the menu again) ; and faced with a clearly reduced team with the injury absences of Crawley and now Stokes . Obviously they rate him highly to put him in the deputy role so it may be a good time to try him out ; but I can't help but fear his appointment is a bit "hopeful" so will be watching with both interest and a deal of nervousness.

Things change fast in the Test world , do they not ? Just two years and the "Bazball Originals" have changed massively (temporarily in some cases of course) Batting : no Crawley Bairstow or Stokes ; new keeper ; and the bowling has a gaping hole where 1300 Test Wickets once were... On the plus side Harry Brook and more recently Atkinson have arrived with a bang so win some lose some. Let us hope the professional job done on a keen but limited West Indies is a pointer to further success - at least ahead of the only two series that seem to really define a team these days.

Not sure why my comment about preferring the term batsman gets a dislike. It's not as if it's an offensive term and seeing as for ever that was how those batting were called.
Typical though that some prefer to make an anonymous response rather than discuss it. If only this was a forum to discuss things....

I'd probably go with an extra bowler as well and bump Woakes up to 7. Just feel that Sri Lanka's batting is better than its bowling, so England might require a little extra in the attack to get twenty wickets, and doubt Root/Lawrence can provide much impetus against the Sri Lankans with the ball.

It's certainly going to give Sri Lanka a boost and I wonder how highly they're backing their chances of scoring another upset over the English in England, with all these absentees of both the injured and retired variety.

Sri Lanka's one and only warm up game starts today. It's a four dayer v the Lions at Worcester. The Lions have named a 12 man squad:

Farhan Ahmed (Nottinghamshire); Zaman Akhter (Gloucestershire); Kasey Aldridge (Somerset); Josh Hull (Leicestershire); Eddie Jack (Hampshire); Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire); Ben McKinney (Durham); Ollie Price (Gloucestershire); James Rew (Somerset); Hamza Shaikh (Warwickshire); Ajeet Singh Dale (Gloucestershire);Rob Yates (Warwickshire)

It's a first call up for the Lions for 25 year old Akhter, who was named by Key as one of the bowlers he was impressed by on the county circuit this season. Hull is in there. Still highly regarded because of his height and left arm angle, nearly 20, but a FC bowling average of 80 (!) with an economy of nearly five after eight games is a tad concerning! Farhan Ahmed, still only 16, is also in the squad.

Safe to say Akhter is taking his chance. SL made a solid start at 32/0, but Akhter came in and took three wickets in his first 19 balls, accounting for Madushka, Karunaratne and Mendis.

Hull now joining in with a trio of wickets against three men of great test experience - Mathews, Chandimal and Dhananjaya. Sri Lanka 81/6. Maybe England don't need an extra bowler after all?

139ao. No Sri Lankan batsman reaching 30. Akhter taking his chance with figures of 5/32, his best FC figures (I think this is a FC game), and backed up with Hull's 3/30.

Lions getting to 145/4 at stumps, off 34 overs. Lots of starts, none kicking on as yet, McKinney top scoring with 46 from 40 balls. But a small lead already and well placed to win the game.

Jayasuriya with 3/42 the only real positive point for Sri Lanka on day one. Kumara's control concerns coming to the fore with 0/43 from seven overs.

Lions finishing with 324, an imposing lead of 185. 18yo Hamza Shaikh top scoring with 91. Jayasuriya taking 5.

Sri Lanka's first task now is to avoid a humiliating innings defeat!

Sri Lanka on the mend at 113/2, largely thanks to a brisk 63* from Madushka. Lyndon James got two late wickets in the morning session, including that of Kusal Mendis, who will go into the tests off the back of scores of 12 and 3 in this one.

Lions closing in on a win.

Sri Lanka's promising foundation at 141/2 gave way to a rather underwhelming 306ao. Half centuries for Madushka, Mathews and Dhananjaya, but nothing much for Chandimal or Mendis in either innings.

16yo Farhan Ahmed, on FC debut, leading the figures with 3/87, including taking out two of the half centurions.

That left the Lions 122 to win and they've raced to 47/2 from seven overs, which is the closing score. Victory should be reached tomorrow.

Victory before lunch for the Lions.

Very nice for the Lions. Akhter probably taking the main plaudits, with 5/32 in the first innings setting up the win, but Hull took five wickets in the match and finally delivered something.

The worst possible prep for Sri Lanka. A convincing loss against a mostly inexperienced Lions side, two of whom had never played FC cricket before. Hopefully SL will be more competitive for the series proper.

First test starts on Wednesday in Manchester. Fair bit of rain forecast.

England: 1 Dan Lawrence, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk),7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Matthew Potts, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir

England's team for the first test. They've gone for the extra bowler, with Woakes up to 7 and Potts in for his first test of the summer.

Looks a very odd team!

Yep. A very odd team indeed. Even with his record in England, I'd have leant towards bringing Jennings into open. They're playing on flatter pitches without the ridiculous Dukes that were swinging conventionally for 60+ overs now. They've got the Pakistan tour in the winter too that he'd be suited too. Plus, if England, Oz and India are going to keep playing each other endlessly then we'll have more long series in India to contend with too.

If they really wanted that 5 bowler, which I do prefer England to have to be fair, then I'd have leant towards considering a recall for Surran.

That is an odd looking team, seems made for playing on flat pitches, which is exactly the wrong surface to serve up for Sri Lanka. Almost like they are worried that they might have to hide Bashir, so why is he in the team to start with if that's the case?

I think it’s more concern about Mark Wood playing in a three man pace attack. If he did break down, you have to win a Test with two seamers which would be a real Test of Pope’s captaincy.

I don’t think this is the side they would pick if they were playing Australia or India though, so you can argue they shouldn’t pick it vs SL either - and simulate the real thing.

Sam Curran is an interesting one. As personality wise he fits in the McCullun philosophy. But what he actually does with the ball is everything Key speaks against.

I don't think it's hiding Bashir. England have generally looked far better with 5 bowlers for a good while now. Most sides do in fact. India have gone down that route for a good while. The Proteas also with Jansen at 7 and now Mulder with him injured. The Black Caps golden period was 4 seamers and CdG. Even without CdG they are using Phillips to get 4 seamers in. The Windies with Holder.

Teams that thrive with 4 bowlers generally have generational talents in there who are near their peak. Australia with McGrath and Warne. The current Australia side with a potential all time great in Cummins alongside 3 Aussie greats all in the same attack. England with Swann, Anderson and Broad in the same attack.

Cricket settled on 6 batters, a keeper and 4 bowlers. Then if you have a 'genuine all-rounder' you get the luxury of the 5th bowling option. I do think there's an interesting discussion to be had on whether that is the best balance though. Does a 6th batter actually add more than a 5th bowler? Especially when bowlers regularly add important runs but batters impacting matches similarly with wickets is rare. I genuinely think it's an interesting debate in cricket. Is that default balance we think of as the best actually the best? There's a huge amount to be said for a 5th genuine bowler, hence a 4th seamer, improving the other bowlers by keeping them fresher too. Should the default balance be 5 batters, keeper and 5 bowlers? Then if you have a genuine all-rounder, you get the luxury of the 6th batter.

It's just Lawrence opening combined with the longer tail that looks like chancing it to me. If we are going bowling heavy, which I'd have leant towards I think, then I want a better opener.

I'd like to see Stone get a game or two this series if we're heading down the extra bowler route - he's worked hard on his batting, is back fit and having him and Wood in the same attack would be a lot of fun I suspect.

Agree on the balance - without Stokes I think you have to go extra bowler and trust your top 6 will do their jobs. Good opportunity for Smith to enjoy batting a place higher up the order too.

The "ideal balance" depends on the conditions though , surely ? If you have green seaming or spin crazy you don't need the extra bowler - and the batting needs be long. But if it is likely to be flat or neutral then I reckon better to have a serious fifth bowling option. And obviously a lot depends on the degree to which your bowlers can be expected to contribute with the bat - and/or whether any of the top six can actually bowl a few overs.

In the present situation I think the five bowler plan makes sense . Woakes can bat ; and Potts has some decent knocks in the CC behind him this summer so might be just about OK at eight (though I agree the tail is longer than I'd like) Trouble is without Stokes the side is massively impacted and it matters not what you do , the result will be weaker than desirable. Unfortunate also that Crawley is injured so already you have a "fill in" opener : not surprised they prefer not to add a new player as a batsman at this time ; and it might also be a useful test for Smith batting up one spot.

I am happy with this side as the best they could do in the circumstances.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:I'd like to see Stone get a game or two this series if we're heading down the extra bowler route - he's worked hard on his batting, is back fit and having him and Wood in the same attack would be a lot of fun I suspect.

Agree on the balance - without Stokes I think you have to go extra bowler and trust your top 6 will do their jobs. Good opportunity for Smith to enjoy batting a place higher up the order too.

Would imagine Stone will get his game or two . Bit of rotating Wood and maybe Atkinson ?

Their debacle in tour game notwithstanding Lanka has a good side on paper.
First thing I  look for  is if they can they take 20 wkts?
3 seamers that are FM to MF of which Ratnyake makes debut and can hold the bat it seems.
Jayasuriya is their prolific spinner & Kammindu Mendis the back-up spin allrounder who averages 100+ in 3 tests with bat

And then they have Matthews who can roll his arm over with seam-up.   If they find any dry grip & push match situation toward Eng with a 4th inning chase of 200+...they'd become favorites. Win the toss-bat-first-and-don't-crumble-in-first-hour of seam is the formula.

Lankan batting is good on paper, but remains to be seen how good it is it is there are ultra seaming conditions
They lack depth from 8 thru 11 though debutante Ratnyake is supposed to know how to hold the bat.


Although Eng's "tail" should be able to bat better than Lanka's..... Eng too have a relatively flaky batting.
7 thru 11 are all bowlers....No.6 scored runs only against WI and No.1 a make shift opener.
I would have added a batter and used Root as a 5th bowler or a Curran type batting allrounder.

In any case it should be a better contest than WI offered.

Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Prabath Jayasuriya, 9 Asitha Fernando, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Milan Rathnayake

Sri Lanka's team. Slight surprise that Milan has been picked for a debut ahead of Rajitha and Kumara. Jayasuriya, after a good display v the Lions, gets to go at an England team with 10 right handers! Very experienced top six who we're probably all familiar with. The number seven currently averages 107 with the bat, after three tests, so goodness knows what he'll average v England!

Ten years since Sri Lanka beat England in a test. Will they get over the line in this one?

Also quite a bit of rain around for these five days.

After the Lions win I feel the scene is just perfectly set for England to lose one of these. It's written in the stars somehow. England lose a Test. BBC HYS comments will light up with suggestions that the next XI should be the Lions side with Anderson and Foakes thrown in. Vaughan will make a dozen statements that contradict what he said just before the Test. Then the Telegraph will run 6 opinion pieces in a day about Bazball insulting the fabric of cricket. It just has to happen right?

Ha, I've already seen a HYS comment on the article about Potts playing demanding Anderson's return! On the basis that he's been taking bags of wickets in the county championship, which to be fair is a hell of an achievement when that's not even been taking place, and he's been commentating on the tournament that was

Would've won the first test if we picked Mo

Off topic with a Test looming.

I wonder if Dan Mousley might get a look for the T20s against Australia?

England have needed death bowling for a while. They could also do with fresh blood in the spin bowling all-rounder category with Mo aging out and Livi never quite convincing. Mousley's tactic of bowling Ollie Robinson paced yorkers off 3 paces looked oddly tough to hit. Then when you think about it, a 'spinner' bowling like that at the death could be very effective. The yorker has moved out the game a bit due to a mixture of the small margin of error and the scoop becoming so prominent. Mousley looked very accurate bowling those yorkers with the shorter run up and slower pace compared to seamers. Then if a batter shapes to scoop, the slower run up theoretically makes it easier to adjust and bowl an off-break, which doesn't have the pace on it to scoop. It could be a very useful option.

Whether Mousley or others, I hope they look at some newer blood in the 6, 7 and 8 spots. Be that bowling all-rounders or a batting all-rounder with some potential as a finisher. Jamie Overton was being considered for the World T20 before injury. Mousley's odd bowling has impressed. Jacob Bethell is meant to be highly rated but is inexperienced. Tom Curran's lower order biffing has come on leaps and bounds whilst he was injured but his bowling is still hit and miss - I wouldn't go back, but he's specialising in the sort of thing that England have been missing.

Surran has re-found his mojo. He'll almost certainly be involved. I do wonder if he'd be better higher up the batting order though. He hasn't suited the role England have used him in as a lower order hitting/finisher. His performances higher up the order have generally been far better in franchise cricket. Batting higher up could allow England to use his bowling when it suits a bit more as well. He can be very good in the right conditions and very bad in the wrong ones. Could you get Surran up as high as 5 with strong hitters also to come at 6/7/8? Effectively try to stack the XI with batting and bowling depth whilst we look at a few different faces to see how they go. A top 4 of Buttler, Salt, Brook and Duckett is still a lot of quality and firepower up top.

Sri Lanka winning the toss and batting first. Six of their top seven average 40+ in test cricket, but how will they fare in England's green and pleasant land?

So the dreaded Manchester weather relented and allowed a start on time...not much happening these first few overs. Not sure the Atkinson hair is an improvement. Pope off to mixed start as a skipper - lost the toss but may be pleased to have done so ...

Watchful start, then Karunaratne elects to take on a short one from Atkinson. It got up a little more than he was anticipating, and Smith takes a sharp reaction chance.

Ha...first shot in anger and Karunaratne edges behind .... bit out of the blue but Atkinson continues his good start to the Test scene

23 wickets already for Atkinson in his test career!

And there's the second for England, first for Woakes. Ugly old swish that one.

And now two as Madushka slices Woakes to slip.... might well prove a good toss to lose though not sure the pitch has had much to do with those batting errors

Woakes getting some good movement. Wicket was a bit of a gift but he has looked threatening...and here is number three ! Review , but...out

Oh dear, that's the star man gone. Made to look daft with that leave.

Reviews in pure hope...three reds.

I like seeing England winning, but I don't like to see teams outside of Australia/India get smashed in tests. 6/3...this ain't good.

Bit of a dramatic collapse after some quiet overs ! 6/3 not what you want after choosing to bat...suspect your reservations about those 40+ averages might prove justified , Duty

23 off the last three overs before drinks as Kusal Mendis leads a counter attack, backed by a couple of edges going safe!

37/3 looks a bit better, with the ball getting softer, but a heck of a lot more required from these two.

Wood is vicious.

Kusal Mendis and Chandimal playing admirably positively to stem the bleeding....37/3 at drinks. Lot more to do to get the innings back on a firm course. And now Wood has produced a brutal lifter to do for Mendis and at 40/4 Sri Lanka are in a precarious spot early on...

Where did that come from ?!! Absolutely running along the ground and Chandimal had no chance...bit alarming for day one

Yeah, not much Chandimal could do about that.

Might be alarming for day one, but don't think this one is going beyond day three.

They'd been repairing things quite well until that freakish delivery. Bashir as surprised as the batsman but he'll take it 72/5 as lunch approaches...

3 spin options in 11, win the toss, bat first, all good .
The only thing they were not to do was to crash in first hour when the ball seams.

How much can they recover from here?

Another one for Woakes.

Up to the captain to try and drive his team to 200. Only the tail left with him now and it doesn't look much of a tail. Jayasuriya test average of 9, A Fernando 3, V Fernando 8 and Milan has a FC average of 16.

Atkinson deprived of a wicket because he'd bowled too many lifting balls in the over...not that it matters as he has Jayasuriya two balls later anyway. Those 1980s West Indies would have been stuffed under these modern rules

Decent recovery going on here , Rathnayake backing up the skipper well. Once again England seem to be having some trouble dislodging the tail. If Sri Lanka can get over 200 it will be quite an achievement, given that first session - though I don't think there was as much in the pitch for the bowlers as some of those early shots made it appear. Will see when England get to bat I suppose.

This is the biggest partnership of the day so far. Bit too much in the way of short stuff. (48% of balls in the last ten overs have been bouncers)

Not a good day for Potts. Has mostly struggled this season, and 0/35 off 6 in an innings of 159/7 isn't helping on his return to tests.

Bashir getting the break at last with the aid of that well placed leg slip...needed that as the score was edging up. Tail really in now surely so they'll want to wrap it up now. Very good innings from De Silva Score would have looked very sick without him

Well worked dismissal, but the SL captain has missed out on a likely ton. Still a good innings, some very nice shots, and rescued his team from outright humiliation. Milan with good support, too.

Should be bowling SL out for sub-200 here. Hopefully not a barrage of bouncers after tea.