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England v South Africa - 1st Test

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How on earth does Tim Bresnan have a test average of over 40? He's only 1 behind Strauss in terms of averages!
 

S'land till i die! said:
the bowlers put the batters under a lot of pressure second time round, still there werent too many batsmen who were got out, they were just giving their wickets away at times, bells was a terrible shot

amla and kallis are fantastic players, but watching them bat for 2 days was like torture, not a flair shot between them, perhaps they should play it on loop at guantanamo. plus trott and cook batted long for us, definitely a game for the purists
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In the context of the game, Cook and Trott didnt bat long enough. 115 and 71 should have been turned into 150+ scores. When youre set on a pitch like that you have to cash in. They didnt and we lost as a result
 
Aberdeen Angus said:
In the context of the game, Cook and Trott didnt bat long enough. 115 and 71 should have been turned into 150+ scores. When youre set on a pitch like that you have to cash in. They didnt and we lost as a result
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Aye, they tried to accelerate and 'go through the gears' when they really didn't need to. If we ever get a pitch like that against a strong opposition lineup we should try and bat for 3 days and avoid defeat.
 
johnson said:
I think the bowling is irrelevant.

If we had got the par score for the wicket a draw would have been a guarantee.

Apart from the Ashes last year, I still think we are prone to a collapse, some of the dismisals in the first innings were dreadful. There is still only Trott and Cook for me who really make the batsmen get them out.
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This. We lost with about 2-3 hours to spare, that time (and those runs) should have been taken up and scored in our first innings.
 
Aberdeen Angus said:
In the context of the game, Cook and Trott didnt bat long enough. 115 and 71 should have been turned into 150+ scores. When youre set on a pitch like that you have to cash in. They didnt and we lost as a result
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Whist Id agree wholeheartedly, Id still foot the majority of the blame at the bowlers. Only taking two wickets was a crime.

Onions and Finn in for next one for me, not sure who'd I drop but i might get pelters but Swan seems to be flying under the radar with some weak performances.
 
I would pick Finn for Bresnan. It's hard to accept the argument that Bresnan strengthens the batting and his bowling was really mediocre in the first test.
 
Boo said:
I would pick Finn for Bresnan. It's hard to accept the argument that Bresnan strengthens the batting and his bowling was really mediocre in the first test.
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Better bet to play Finn and drop Bopara who is not good enough and contributes very little. We have to take 20 wickets and Headingley will provide stiffer batting challenges to both sides.
 
mickey said:
Better bet to play Finn and drop Bopara who is not good enough and contributes very little. We have to take 20 wickets and Headingley will provide stiffer batting challenges to both sides.
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Headingley is very seamer-friendly - so why weaken the batting by dropping Bopara?
 
Dreamboat said:
Headingley is very seamer-friendly - so why weaken the batting by dropping Bopara?
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Because his record against top class bowlers Bopara is likely to score about as many runs as Finn
 
Dreamboat said:
Headingley is very seamer-friendly - so why weaken the batting by dropping Bopara?
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One could be led to believe by dropping Bopara, you are strengthning the team by adding an in form bowler who is capable if helping us take 20 wickets. However, I'm not convinced Prior is the answer at 6.
 
Before everyone pushes the panic button cast your mind back to
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....anyone recognise the No3? :lol:
 
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Dreamboat said:
Every test I've ever seen at Headingley has had a team out for below 200 in their first innings, I think.
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Nah, there have been some big scores on that deck as well. Often the weather plays the biggest part at Headingley rather than the pitch.

We need the pitch to be prepared to suit our attack. Yes that will also suit Saffers but its our only hope of taking 20 wickets IMO.
 
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