India v England 3rd Test Rajkot

SAFC11 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1759307043893092355
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The fact he wanted us bowling again on day 3 because he didn't want us batting as much on day 5 is mental.

Not that it's an easy job but say we'd batted until after lunch on day 4.

Then India would have surely have still been behind on day 5.

This game had so much similarities with the Lords ashes. I don't get why he doesn't want our bowlers to have a day+ break and grind the opposition bowlers into the ground. It seems like he'd rather us chase than score enough runs batting second to win by an innings.
 


FatCat2402 said:
I love the way England are trying to play, it's very entertaining and as we've seen when it goes wrong it's just as spectacular as when they get it right....albeit you have to watch from behind the settee.

Root is probably the only one that I'm hacked off about. He's genuinely the only current world class batsman in the team. He needs to find a bit of form and sack off the quirky crap.

The rest of them....would it matter if they'd tried to dig in (Stokes apart) I'm not sure any of them have the technique to hang about for 50 overs and grind out 70 odd.

The issue with that is, of course, it looks utterly irresponsible to get out trying to twat the ball over the keeper's rather than nicking off to slip. However, you could argue the end result was going to be the same.

Mind Bairstow needs putting out of his misery sharpish and permanently.

I can't remember a test match where its gone from the teams looking quite even to a massacre so quickly. And someone made an excellent point that you can't expect bowlers to able to give their best when they are never getting a days rest. Stokes's inability to bowl does weaken the team balance substantially.

Whatever happens Id rather have a giggle at this morning's nonsense than return to the bad old days of the likes of Martin Bicknell, Phil Newport, Ian Salisbury, Derek Pringle etc, which was shit and never entertaining.
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Agree with that although the bad old days were actually a lot more recent than that - 1 win in 17 under Joe Root's captaincy. People have short memories and worth reminding ourselves of how far we've come in such a short space of time. Yeah bad result, yeah good to reflect and learn lessons but hell, Id rather have a bad test like this mixed in with thrilling other ones than what we've had not so long ago.
 
Turner the Cat said:
Agree with that although the bad old days were actually a lot more recent than that - 1 win in 17 under Joe Root's captaincy. People have short memories and worth reminding ourselves of how far we've come in such a short space of time. Yeah bad result, yeah good to reflect and learn lessons but hell, Id rather have a bad test like this mixed in with thrilling other ones than what we've had not so long ago.
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At least we scare the opposition these datys. India would have declared a hundred less runs a few years back.

I can see us - just - winning the next test. Last tour not a bloody chance.
 
TheRey said:
Nail on the head.

Has "Bazball" been very successful? Overall, yes.
Is it entertaining and enjoyable to watch? Yes.
Has it made English Test match cricket go from nigh on unwatchable dirge to enthralling, entertaining, excellent for the game - in this country at least - and thrilling? Yes.
Is it also true that it has empowered the players, made them stand a little bit taller, and let to some fantastic results? Yes.

But it has also led to some f***ing brain-dead cricket. Sport is about the pursuit for excellence, that is at its core.

So when the team not only fall short of excellence, but actually show complete ineptitude, an inability to listen or think or take stock of the situation, and bat like absolute f***ing prats, they deserve to be called out.

And when the team, captain, coach, whoever comes out with cultist, delusional nonsense that belies what we've watched with our own eyes, that deserves to be called out. And, perhaps, needs to be, to allow this England team to grow and improve.


And doing the latter doesn't make you any less fond of the former.
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Turner the Cat said:
Agree with that although the bad old days were actually a lot more recent than that - 1 win in 17 under Joe Root's captaincy. People have short memories and worth reminding ourselves of how far we've come in such a short space of time. Yeah bad result, yeah good to reflect and learn lessons but hell, Id rather have a bad test like this mixed in with thrilling other ones than what we've had not so long ago.
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Very good post. We have went from 1 win in 17 against all comers palsying shit, passive hopeless cricket to our last 7 tests which have been 3 wins, 2 losses and one rain effected draw which we would have win against the best 2 teams in the world. Yet you would think this was the death knell of the approach if you listened to some.
 
TheRey said:
Nail on the head.

Has "Bazball" been very successful? Overall, yes.
Is it entertaining and enjoyable to watch? Yes.
Has it made English Test match cricket go from nigh on unwatchable dirge to enthralling, entertaining, excellent for the game - in this country at least - and thrilling? Yes.
Is it also true that it has empowered the players, made them stand a little bit taller, and let to some fantastic results? Yes.

But it has also led to some f***ing brain-dead cricket. Sport is about the pursuit for excellence, that is at its core.

So when the team not only fall short of excellence, but actually show complete ineptitude, an inability to listen or think or take stock of the situation, and bat like absolute f***ing prats, they deserve to be called out.

And when the team, captain, coach, whoever comes out with cultist, delusional nonsense that belies what we've watched with our own eyes, that deserves to be called out. And, perhaps, needs to be, to allow this England team to grow and improve.


And doing the latter doesn't make you any less fond of the former.
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Yeah think most of that more than fair good post
However got a feeling the pursuit of total excellence and balance you after may not happen with this side.

As don’t think player for player we as good as some sides of the past, However I do think we have a management team and captain very much capable of getting the best out of the players ability and winning more test matches than losing them

And thoroughly entertaining us on the way, whether that sufficient for some fans, guess that up to them.

Personally after watching England test sides for last 40 odd years I am enjoying this hell of a ride!
 
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I just want to echo others views that you can be totally behind the regime and the new ethos and still call the team out on brainless cricket.

We have to take the rough with the smooth, granted, but that doesn't mean the team and captain are immune from criticism.

That batting 3rd morning was as bad as it gets tbh. Dropped catches and shit DRS reviews didn't help either but the damage was done before the 4th innings.

The middle orders form is alarming.
 
I’m happy with all the positives that Bazball brings - entertaining cricket, confidence, better results etc etc.

They (all of them)just need to reign it in a bit when the match situation dictates.

When Bumrah is threatening to run through a batting order - just see him off rather than try to blast him out of the attack.

When two quick wickets fall, just take it easy for 15 minutes, so that two doesn’t become a major collapse.

Bumps in the road are fine as long as you learn from them and don’t rush headlong into the next one
 
Nasser Butt-Head said:
I just want to echo others views that you can be totally behind the regime and the new ethos and still call the team out on brainless cricket.

We have to take the rough with the smooth, granted, but that doesn't mean the team and captain are immune from criticism.

That batting 3rd morning was as bad as it gets tbh. Dropped catches and shit DRS reviews didn't help either but the damage was done before the 4th innings.

The middle orders form is alarming.
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We're likely going to end up with the same results under Joe Root as captain in the home Ashes and Away India series.

We will have just got the same results in a more entertaining way.
 
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mackembhoy said:
We're likely going to end up with the same results under Joe Root as captain in the home Ashes and Away India series.

We will have just got the same results in a more entertaining way.
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Yeah it was a big ask to replicate bazball against these 2. I'm happy that they've at least given it a go though. Definite positives alongside a some negatives.

Happy to crack on the way we have though, we're still in this series and you never know!

Just need Root to be Root again. He's the lynch pin that we've been missing all tour.
 
SAFC11 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1759551307340259497
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I'd take normal Joe Root atm which is good enough to be the best batter England's ever seen.

He was already striking at 70-80's and scoring daddy tons for fun, I don't know how much better you can get. Why can't he just play his natural game with a few ramps chucked in? This version of Root seems very confused. He used to come in and before you knew it, he was on 30-40 without playing a shot in anger. Then he used to kick on from there. V2 just wants to twat it from ball 1.
 
Personally I think it’s down to Root to realise that and go back to his normal game, think this regime just trusts the players to make their own decisions and backs them.

Guess Mccullum comments put to bed that ridiculous comment by a poster the other day saying Root ‘ should be dropped to teach him a lesson’
 
Voice of fair play said:
Personally I think it’s down to Root to realise that and go back to his normal game, think this regime just trusts the players to make their own decisions and backs them.

Guess Mccullum comments put to bed that ridiculous comment by a poster the other day saying Root ‘ should be dropped to teach him a lesson’
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Very true on the first point. Wasn't expecting any other comments from McCullum, even if their is valid criticism he's always going to back them.

On the second part I just ignored that posters comments on Root, as they were of course just nonsense.

Root plays every test match until he decides he's had enough. Just we all want to see Joe Root play the game that makes him the best we've had since messrs Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond etc
 
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Thunder Road said:
If he's fit then it'll be brilliant for the side but I'd rather he didn't rush back and risk another injury
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No me neither. Even a couple of over spells just to ease him back?
mackembhoy said:
Very true on the first point. Wasn't expecting any other comments from McCullum, even if their is valid criticism he's always going to back them.

On the second part I just ignored that posters comments on Root, as they were of course just nonsense.

Root plays every test match until he decides he's had enough. Just we all want to see Joe Root play the game that makes him the best we've had since messrs Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond etc
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100% I had hoped that common sense would have prevailed with him by now. Surely he must have realised that what the team needs is the old Root, averaging over 50 and being the rock which all the batters bat around?

I might be being a bit harsh and stating the obvious, but I do believe that if Root and the rest of the middle order had turned up this series even for one of the matches we'd lost we'd be 2-1 up instead of 2-1 down.
 
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Nasser Butt-Head said:
100% I had hoped that common sense would have prevailed with him by now. Surely he must have realised that what the team needs is the old Root, averaging over 50 and being the rock which all the batters bat around?

I might be being a bit harsh and stating the obvious, but I do believe that if Root and the rest of the middle order had turned up this series even for one of the matches we'd lost we'd be 2-1 up instead of 2-1 down.
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Yeah all 3 tests this series have been pitches that if he’d had in 2021 in tests 2-4. He’d have likely ended that series with 4 double hundreds!
 

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