We dont like Cricket.....

First topic message reminder :

After the dust has settled on another amazing chapter in the life of MCFC my focus now turns to the busy summer of Test Match cricket. With the retirement of Collingwood all the early season talk has been about his replacement in the side, who can bring what Colly did? Grit, Determination, Impossible catches and some canny bowling when needed. The ECB chose Morgan, i'd have gone for Bopara personally because of the bowling option he gives, but no doubt Morgan is going to be a wonderfull player. so the line up for the 1st Test v Sri Lanka is likelly to be :

Strauss (c)
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Bell
Morgan
Prior (wk)
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Tremlett

This side should be capable of beating Sri Lanka on home soil, despite the talent they still have in their squad even with the retirement of Murali (thank fuck). Dangermen IMO are : Jayawardene, Mendis and, after a great start to his Lancs career, Maharoof (if selected).

Here's to a great summer, and a little reminder of our last succesfull Test series win

Too little too late, but at last showing some character, much more positive today. It would be nice to win by an innings and lay to rest some of the demons from the last 2 tests. KP will save his test career today....


Or he will be out next ball to a left arm spinner again......

Well we got what we deserved in the end, a humiliating whitewash, is it just the sub-continent excuse or does it go deeper?

Personally, i think we have too many 1 day players in the team, we have got set in our ways, and the management are too loyal to certain individuals. To start this series without Monty in the 11 was ridiculous, maybe Bresnan being fit again will give us another bowling option, he should replace Morgan, never a test player.

Back to the drawing board, and get ready for sri lanka, for years we used Murali as an excuse for not beating them, no excuse this time.

prior up to 6 and brezza in at 7.

belly has looked poor and may struggle against the lankans as well. wouldn't pick bopara in front of him though. not sure about kp, but maybe drop him too.

straussy
cookie
trotty
belly
root
prior
brezza
broady
swanny
jimmy
monty

Looks a well balanced side TD, Root is a good shout as i think he could be Strauss's eventual replacement. I'd be tempted to push prior further up the order and bring bell down to 5/6 on current form.

Do the lankans have a left arm spinner? that would be enough of a reason to leave out kp. On Morgan, no doubt a real talent, but needs to open in 1day for me. Him and Cook would compliment each other well, and he would learn a great deal.

i'm sure that the lankans will find a SLA if kp plays.

i'd drop him if morgan was playing better. wouldn't drop belly just yet.

Drop the lot......apart from Jimmy of course.

Bell, KP, Morgan and Monty (if we're at home) should be out imo. Don't know who Root is (probably should do) but put him in anyway, can't do any worse.

I'd always play 4 seamers and 1 spinner at home, 3 seamers and 2 spinners sub-continent, Prior at 6 and 5 so called batsmen above.

root scored a ton in the lions one dayer and looks like he'll be opener in a few years time so let him come in at 6 now for morgan.

you can't make wholesale changes and i suspect they'll just drop one batsman.

I just find the methods we use of playing spin ridiculous.The teenagers I coach have a much better technique,they use their feet and never let slow bowlers settle into a rhythm.I realise playing in the heat on turning pitches asks a lot more questions but the methodology is still the same.With the DRS system making it a nightmare to even play forward on the front foot without it being risky then we need to learn to adapt.
Wonder what vinces thoughts on DRS would be?

nothing wrong with DRS. most howlers are picked up now. the thing i'd change is that you don't lose your review if it was an umpire's call.

at least people have to play with their bat nowadays.

My problem with the DRS is that there have not been many howlers to pick up, and it is being used as a 'maybe he is wrong' solution. It seems to still be a work in progress, which a lot of people don't trust yet.

Not sure if anyone saw this - but what a brilliant documentary about The West Indies Team.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cqp77/Storyville_20112012_Fire_in_Babylon/

Check out around 37 minutes - you see 2 images of crowds baying for Greig's blood (what a nob he was)..........i swear that's SWP & Ian Wright!! Absolute spitting images.

15 years unbeaten in Test cricket series - 80 -95...incredible team.

That 70's & 80's team i grew up watching.........that's why i supported Somerset - with Beefy, Joel, Sir Viv.....it's brilliant watch on more levels than just cricket.

Yeah i saw that on the i-player blueboy, quality documentary, i never realised how political cricket was when i was growing up.

Good signing for Lancs btw, Prince will add some depth to the batting and some valuable experience.

I didn't know that Si (just read up on it) but you're right, he's a tremendous signing for us. He knows the place and most of the players well, i've no doubt he's gonna slot straight into Chilton vacated position.

Glad we've got an overseas batsmen in, as last season (despite winning the CC), it was the batting that kept letting us down more often than not.

Yeah, right man for Chiltons job Den, i think he is there for most of the season aswell so no major changes midway through as we usually see with overseas players. We have quite a good balance this year, and still talk of another bowling option to come in for half a season, i hope its the Aussie lad pattinson, don't really want to give him the experience of english conditions, but he has the ability to change games quickly.

Agreed, it'd be nice to have a seamer come in as inevitably Chapple will get injured sooner or later, i think we have enough spin within the squad. Is there no possibility of getting Junaid Kahn back, i though he did a decent job for us, especially in the one-day games?

Pattinson is a top talent Si, but as you said, we don't really want to be giving him the experience of English conditions, especially at OT.

Junaid will have a busy time with Pakistan i think, they are playing a lot more games now and the asia cup is starting soon. I'd be happy to have him back Den, good player, just think with Chapple playing 1 in 3 we need a bit more quality to back him up, although Hogg will be the main man this year we dont want to be too reliant on him.

Another crap display from our batters results in another defeat. 193ao in the 1st innings and despite giving us false hope of a shock win in the 2nd (due to Trott and Prior), they once again snatch defeat from the possible jaws of victory, losing the last 6 wks for 31 runs or putting a slightly worse turn on it, the last 5 for 12 runs.

Bopara for Bell end me thinks.....atleast to start with.

no way is bell the worst batter there. he looked very classy the first innings scoring 40 off 41 balls. it was only when he was left with the tail that his scoring slowed down.

kp has been crappy these last 4 tests and i think he should be first in line for the chop as strauss is captain and keeps his place for only that reason

Glad i didnt waste 4 days watching that crap, time for the axe to fall and take some positive steps, KP, Bell and Broad first out, and if Monty doesn't catch 200/200 in catching practice he should get nowhere near the team imo.

We seem to have gone backwards since becoming no.1, we dont play as a team and are more concerned with 'making a statement of intent' and 'knocking the bowler off his stride'. If we had played every ball on merit, and stopped the attempted big shots, we would have won easily.

Chances of some major changes for the next test ??.......Zero imo.

well broad is out. who to bring in instead of cook, bell or kp? i wouldn't take bopara cos he just can't hack it.

i can see it staying the same team with bresnan in for broad

I'd like Finn to have a game after the way he bowled in the one dayers, i'd stick Bresnan in for Patel (wicket depending). What to do with the top order is the big question, Strauss has to stay, as does Cook, Trott is fine, just KP and Bell to sort out. Its a tough call as i know deep down how good they can be, and the coaches have made it difficult as no immediate replacements spring to mind as it has been a closed shop for so long. Bopara is the only one really, but as you say TD, he cant hack it, just like a lot of the team, when we really need him, he fails. Not looking forward to the 2nd test at all.

Its a tough summer this year, and with the saffers coming over i wouldnt want to throw anyone in against them with little or no experience, in a series that will be dominated by the ball imo, just had a fiver on it being the lowest scoring modern day series.

County season is back on us already with Lancs getting a good result in the curtain raiser in Abu Dhabi, Brown carried on as he left last year with a golden duck 2nd inns.

the problem england has is that they are already looking forwards towards the india series in the winter.

this england line up is the best for the saffers but can't do the business on sub continent wickets.

a new team just for sub continent wickets?!

Well that was a surprise, great win and proof they can perform when required. It must be very hard to play in that weather, i dont think i could to any good standard. Strauss says lessons have been learnt, but keeps going on about the India tour like thats what counts. We need to see the saffers off first, or no1 ranking will be out of the window and we'll have no confidence left for India, where they will be after revenge for their humiliation last summer.

Thanks to the weather and a shocking start for lancs there is not much to shout about. Even so this will be a close year again and loads of time for improvement, starting against somerset. Busy summer coming domestically and internationally. Windies 1st up, lets hope the Ipl keeps the best away.