He's had a few injuries recently
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Gus Atkinson
- Thread starter PeteFTM
- Start date
rentaghost
Striker
He’s got a very good record so far but I’m not sure about him. I thought when he first came in he was bowling 88mph on average but he seems to have lost a yard and is no quicker than Potts now.
FatCat2402
Winger
Looks like another Ollie Robinson unfortunately, which is a shame because he's clearly a very talented cricketer.
Hopefully, it's just a bit of a lull until he gets himself fit again
Hopefully, it's just a bit of a lull until he gets himself fit again
mackembhoy
Striker
Because he's been someone who struggled with injuries for many years and hasn't played much cricket beyond T20.
Then his body has broken down from the amount of longer form cricket he's played.
He'll end up like all the other quicks we've had. I said this last year when we turfed out Jimmy prematurely, that we'd regret it when Wood, Archer, Stone, Atkinson, Tongue are inevitably injured for the Ashes. I didn't expect Carse at the time to get picked for test cricket and do as well as he's done but same applies to him.
Then we end up with Woakes in Australia for the third series in a row when he's just cannon fodder out there. Not that Jimmy record is particular great over there, but in some grounds it is. Then his experience, plus him being miserly even when not taking wickets would have been useful.
Fingers crossed I'm wrong and we end up taking a number of those people I mention and there somehow fit and firing.
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Inside Forward
Winger
Yeah or he starts off genuinely quick for a few overs but then it tails off to the low to mid 80s.
rentaghost
Striker
I think we will take the likes of Atkinson and Potts but don’t think they have the attributes to be successful there unless Atkinson can get back to bowling genuinely quickly.
The Breen Machine
Striker
Was listening to the Talksport podcast yesterday and Harmison got on his high horse about England bowlers breaking down simply because they don't bowl enough. Alfonso Thomas was also on and said that Josh Hull had played every game this season and was getting better the more he bowled. I think there is some merit in this, by the time bowlers like Atkinson are asked to play longer format, their bodies aren't used to it. Then on the other hand you have someone like Potts who can cope with this workload, not bowling for a month whilst he carries the drinks for England and his county have to sign 16 bowlers on loan and James Rew can pop off down to Somerset to play at a few hours notice.
Bri
Striker
I agree. But the irony is we're looking for quick bowling close to 90mhp, who then break down with injuries and the answer is a quick who extended his career by bowling closer to 80mhp than 90mph.
Maybe the measure to pay attention to is not raw speed but consistent wicket-taking.
I was listening to an Aussie, I think it was Jarrod Kimber who said Aussie pitches are not what they were, pace-wise. And even in the old days there were bowlers like Alderton and McGrath. Even Siddle took a hatful and he's hardly express.
It seems we're aiming for fast pace and the result is broken bowlers.
mackembhoy
Striker
Yeah the wickets in Aus have been green in the shield and bowlers have been running riot.
Last three series in Australia and scores not like they used to be. Even if there are a fair few 400+ scores, so many low scores from Aus as well as Pak,WI and India.
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The Breen Machine
Striker
The pitches do offer more to seam bowlers than they used to, but there is always the chance that the pitches will dry out and leave them less potent so you need that extra bounce and pace. The Kookaburra ball generally does less too.
It would just be nice to have a bowler who you feel could get through the 5 tests at the moment.
It would just be nice to have a bowler who you feel could get through the 5 tests at the moment.
rentaghost
Striker
Its not so much fast pace but even tall bowlers who can get a bit of extra bounce ie a Robinson type. As well as being high class McGrath was a very tall, hit the deck bowler which is perfect for over there. Our bowlers in my opinion either dont have the attributes (Pottsy / Atkinson / Woakes / Cook) or if they do they are either unfit or unreliable or unproven (Archer, Wood, Tongue, Carse)
Some of these bowlers could go well over there Carse especially but I would be surprised if we can put together an attack that will consistently do well across the series.
The Breen Machine
Striker
Good post and largely agree. I think Carse is the bowler most likely to cause problems over there, but doubts would remain over his ability to play 5 tests. I had high hopes for Tongue but have tempered them a bit after the Zimbabwe test, and again 5 tests seems a stretch for him. Wood obviously is the most dangerous but more chance of me playing 5 tests out there than he.
I think Potts is a better option than Woakes, fitter, stronger and hits the deck a bit harder. He has a knack of getting good players out too.
Overall, I think we have no idea what our bowling attack is going to look like and that is a concern.
chopsfc007
Striker
Can't see anything other than a pasting in aus we have struggled there with better bowlers than we have now
TheRey
Striker
Not helped by the brains trust playing him in back to back to back Tests when he's always struggled to play a couple of CC games in a row. Braindead - no wonder he's down on pace.
We'll struggle to take 20 wickets in a test but our batting should save us from pastings.
The trouble is, the majority of test matches are back to back now. Four of the five in a typical English summer or Ashes for instance. It’s one thing managing a 40-year-old in decline. But if you are supposedly at the peak of your career, and are not fit enough to play back-to-back tests it’s arguable you are simply not fit enough to play test cricket.
The Breen Machine
Striker
This is where the scheduling come into it though. Back to back tests are not a new phenomenon, but cramming 5 tests into 5-6 weeks is and the administrators need to take responsibility. There is too much meaningless cricket played - lets face it, T20 cricket at international level is pointless and the bilateral 50 over series are scheduled poorly, they should be scheduled at the start/end of a test tour with that nation. The 16.4 has totally fucked it for test scheduling in this country too. Part of me thinks our bowlers play too little red ball cricket and their bodies can't cope with it when they do, but there's no way they should be expected to play so many tests in such a short window of time.
Prior to central contracts players returned to their counties to play cricket the next match; they were playing a back to back games throughout the season.
The more sedentary lifestyle appears to be a reason for more frequent breakdowns and players played through stresses and strains which in the past went undiagnosed.
The retired old bowlers when returning to club cricket were bandaged head to foot to protect their ageing limbs.
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When was his last michelle, had a quick look and not recently?
