r/EnglandCricket

Not about that batting performance on Sunday night, we all know that was a shit show but the wider picture.

Still think McCullum will be gone? Key gone? Complete reset?

Been interesting listening to the 10000 podcasts about this week but I think most interesting came from the Telegraph podcast, who said the ECB had already made the decision to sack Rob Key but Stokes’ retirement has sent it all into a bit of chaos so when that announcement…or if that announcement still comes we don’t know.

For me, I still think complete reset is the right move, it may mean we have an interim head coach and DoC for the Pakistan series but I think you’ve got to take the rough to hopefully eventually get to the smooth and this isn’t about one series. It’s about the future of Englands test team in the long term, we cannot afford to tread water for another year because the ECB don’t want to pay out McCullum.

On the positive, the game and a half against India confirm to me that I’d be happy for Baz to carry on as white ball coach but I also worry that he’s become such a massive figure in it all that he’s overshadow whoever gets the red ball job.

Overall, it’s just a fucking mess isn’t it, and there needs to be consequences beyond just Key and McCullum, the whole top level of the ECB needs to be held accountable…but who holds them to account? There’s no cricketing expertise on the board barring Ebony Rainford-Brent and it would be unfair to put this all on her to make a difference…I don’t actually know how the mechanisms at the top of the ECB work, do the government have to step in?

Saudi Aramco is basically the Saudi state, with ruling royal family members installed as key board members, and its oil income making up a large part of the governments budget.

So why on earth is a theocratic regime, with no democracy, that still requires women to obtain permission from a male guardian to travel anywhere, or even apply for a passport, allowed to sportswash its image with womens cricket?

Its a complete contradiction.

Sends very mixed messages to women and girls getting into the sport about whether women actually have human rights, or whether all that’s all out the window for a big oily cheque. Im sure some of the players feel compromised, but are scared to speak out.

I do find it disgusting, and wish the ECB would publish some basic ethical standards that it requires any sponsor to meet

Curious to hear from fans who've matched matches at Lord's before.

- Is there a chance the venue will release a fresh batch of tickets? Or the best bet now would be to buy one off Viagogo? I have been checking the Lord's site daily - but they are still Sold Out.

- If I end up buying from a resale site like Viagogo or StubHub, is it better to buy now or wait until closer to match day? Do resale prices typically come down, or do they usually go up?

It's plainly obvious for anybody who's aware of the English team that they really don't care about the WTC. Sure, they go through the motions because they are required to as per the agreements they have with other cricket boards, but it is extremely obvious that the English setup only cares about the Ashes. The English setup treats everything as a preparation for the Ashes, which they end up losing anyway in Australia or drawing at home in England. For a side that's so obsessed with the Ashes to the detriment of other test series', they aren't very good at it, which is probably the bigger insult I think to both English and non-English test cricket fans.

The English setup has got to understand that the WTC is here to stay. There is no point in living in some bygone era where it doesn't exist and thus pretend it doesn't matter, especially when the English setup also claims that they are trying to do everything in a modern way and not look at what the old and outdated cricketers from the past did. There is no point in complaining that England has to play both Australia and India in their schedules, because all the "Big Three" have already decided that they should play one of the other "Big Three" members at home and the other away for the purposes of making money. Similarly, complaining about how the WTC concept is confusing is ridiculous, considering that it clearly was not confusing to the 3 separate teams that have already won the WTC.

Finally this argument that the WTC is artificial because it is new is also nonsense because literally every single thing that has ever mattered was new at some point. When the Olympics were first restarted in the late 1800's, I am sure many thought they were just a gimmick that would be forgotten in a few years time. When the Nobel Prize started to be awarded in the early 1900's, I am sure many scientists didn't think it would become the most influential scientific prize later on. You can clearly see that winning the WTC meant a lot to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Why is it so hard for England to do the same? Hell, the WTC final has been in England for basically all iterations of the WTC. That alone should be enough motivation for England to do well at the WTC and thus by extension test cricket. They should be disappointed in themselves for the lack of effort and planning they have shown over the years.

This might be a crazy shout, but Sam Billings. I think Sam Billings would be great to have as captain. He has won three consecutive Hundred titles with Oval Invincibles and is also a great wicketkeeper, which we need right now. Now I’m not saying he should be captain for years and years, but maybe just a temporary captain because we all know that Harry Brook will probably be the captain in the future. However, I don’t believe he is ready for the Test captaincy.

For all hot takes, thoughts, chat and banter

The new ODI squad being announced has a few questions. Main one is around Bethell opening. Personally I am a massive fan and have been thinking they should do this for a while now as it allows them to balance their side way better.

With the new side, a potential XI is: Duckett, Bethell, Root, Brook (c), Buttler (wk), Curran, Jacks, Dawson/Atkinson (Overton when fit), Archer, Rashid, Mahmood/Tongue

Reason this is good imo is that our side has been a bowler light for a while with Bethell and jacks having to the fill the 5th bowler quota if we picked a specialist opener like Jamie smith or Crawley. Whilst theyre both handy spinners, they can’t consistently bowl 10 overs without going for a lot (as we saw against SA last summer) and also means our 8-11 bowlers have to bowl 10 overs each game (so what happens if one get injured or is having a bad day??). It worked in Sri Lanka cause they were slow turning pitches where we could bowl root too and also we had an extra all rounder anyway with Rehan opening, but that’s not a long term option.

With this balance, we return to the balance we had in our golden ODI years in 2017-19 with Stokes 6, Moeen 7. Whilst jacks and Curran are arguably both steps down in both bowling and batting at the moment, the balance still works. Curran has become, as many predicted, more of a batter who bowls and can give you 5-7 overs a game. He’s been batting at 3/4 in t20s for a while so 6/7 in Odis gives him similar time to build an innings then go for it at the end. Jacks is the same at the moment and his batting down the order has worked well so far as his tendency for cameos is much better at 7 then opening. It then puts less pressure on the main bowlers and allows us to pick an extra spinner like Dawson or Rehan at 8 instead of a seamer like Overton or Atkinson if it spins. It’s also nice to have the same all round pair at 6-7 in both Odis and t20s.

But what about Bethell. Well, there’s a few reasons this works for me. A) he’s opened before at U19 level and a little in franchise stuff so he’s clearly used to it. B) he’s got the technique - he needs to improve it at test level but he lines up well and has looked the part in the Odis he’s played so far. C) he has a tendency from what I’ve seen to struggle to rotate the strike early on (especially in tests) and often gets going with boundaries. This obviously works well as an opener in Odis as he can get set for a few overs and then like Roy and bairstow, him and Duckett can start motoring overs 5-10.

It also gives Brook more time in the middle which in Odis isn’t a bad thing (and he’s batted 4/5 for a while now anyway so it isn’t a change) and moves Jos up one which isn’t a bad thing given his experience and class.

Squad wise Coles for me is a jacks back up, Rehan is a drinks carrier and Rashid back up/Jacks back up and the pacers will be rotated. Dawson is slightly surprising but should bat 8 if it looks like a spinning pitch and could be swapped with Atkinson at 8 on a seamer friendly pitch.

Big ramble there but overall I’m happy with the squad and likely decision to open with Bethell. Way better balance for the side if Curran bats 6 and Jacks 7 (or other way round it doesn’t matter really). What do you guys think though?

For all hot takes, thoughts, chat and banter

Hoping someone here can clarify has he ever opened in a similar situation in a test match?

Is he ever used a Gilchrist type that can open up with a rush when you need it or come in down the order when you need a game breaker.

It’s my impression he’s never really played that role and this test didn’t call for that role either. Sounded like it was pure ego and attention in his retirement but I didn’t watch the match so maybe those impressions are unfair?