Ashes Second Test

[Newcastleclaret93]

England team:

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brooks
Stokes
Bairstow
Broad
Robinson
Tongue
Anderson

[Bordeauxclaret]

Clearly can’t risk Stokes, Anderson and Wood in the same team bowling wise.

[ChrisG]

Clearly can’t risk Stokes, Anderson and Wood in the same team bowling wise.

Yeah there's still clearly a few niggles knocking around.

Would have been tempted to play Woakes mind.

[FCBurnley]

Think the Aussies will be happy with that

[fatboy47]

Think the Aussies will be happy with that

I think they'll be delighted by it. Clearly a lot of vanity in selectors doubling down on their terrible call, from Edgbaston in doing away with a competent keeper.

[Clive 1960]

I just hope there is some swing in the pitch

[sjb]

I presume Robinson will bat at 8 but it's still a long tail.

[Andreshotboots]

I think they'll be delighted by it. Clearly a lot of vanity in selectors doubling down on their terrible call, from Edgbaston in doing away with a competent keeper.

Agreed but it's tough to get Foakes in. You could move JB up to open alongside Crawley, but that's really the only option. You can't drop Bairstow as he's a quality batman and worth his place with bat alone.

[Quickenthetempo]

I think they'll be delighted by it. Clearly a lot of vanity in selectors doubling down on their terrible call, from Edgbaston in doing away with a competent keeper.

You can't build a team to have total confidence if you drop them after their first bad game/mistake.

Do you remember Vinny dropping Cullen or Muric when we conceded playing out from the back?
No neither do I.

Bairstow should be better for the last test and it's far easier to keep with no spinner in the team.

[Silkyskills1]

I don't really understand what you mean when you say 'Bairstow should be better for the last test'. He is not a first class wicketkeeper by any stretch of the imagination.

[Bordeauxclaret]

On the plus side, he can’t be much worse.

[Quickenthetempo]

I don't really understand what you mean when you say 'Bairstow should be better for the last test'. He is not a first class wicketkeeper by any stretch of the imagination.

He's had a bad injury and long lay off. Playing 5 days of high pressure cricket will aid his recovery back to his best.

There's nothing like Test cricket for concentration levels.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Surprised they haven’t gone with a spinner

[fatboy47]

You can't build a team to have total confidence if you drop them after their first bad game/mistake.

Do you remember Vinny dropping Cullen or Muric when we conceded playing out from the back?
No neither do I.

Bairstow should be better for the last test and it's far easier to keep with no spinner in the team.

First mistake .

QTT..... Bairstow really truly isn't fit to keep in a test match and never will be, trust me....and as an aside, his batting when not keeping is I'm told, much better, understandably.

And can you mention to Root that there's no spinner in the team. I'd rather not.

[Casper2]

He's had a bad injury and long lay off. Playing 5 days of high pressure cricket will aid his recovery back to his best.

There's nothing like Test cricket for concentration levels.

But he isn’t a first class wicket keeper.

[Quickenthetempo]

Surprised they haven’t gone with a spinner

We haven't got a good enough spinner and whoever we picked the Aussies would go after. They would go at 5/6 an over when seamers have been going less than 3.

Plus, if you have watched the clip of Stokes bowling at Lords on SSN, it moved about 3ft off the seam.

[Quickenthetempo]

First mistake .

QTT..... Bairstow really truly isn't fit to keep in a test match and never will be, trust me....and as an aside, his batting when not keeping is I'm told, much better, understandably.

And can you mention to Root that there's no spinner in the team. I'd rather not.

I like Root as a spinner but he won't be brought into the attack early as Stokes has done with Leach and Ali.

Bairstow might not be a top class wicketkeeper but he can perform far better than he did in the last test.

And I have got used to the Test side picking keepers on batting ability.

[Quickenthetempo]

But he isn’t a first class wicket keeper.

Stokes and the selectors must disagree.

I just expect him not to make easy mistakes.

[nil_desperandum]

Hope I'm wrong, but the way he plays, (i.e. rarely leaving the ball), I don't see Duckett batting for very long in this series.
For me he's the man to make way for Foakes, but it would be difficult finding someone to open within the current XI.
FWIW, if Stokes isn't going to bowl - other than occasionally, I'd try him at the top of the order. He has proved to have a very solid technique, and he likes to influence the game. He can mix solid defence with measured aggression.
Opening the inning gives him every chance to do this.
Foakes and Barisow at 6 & 7 would give the lower middle order a solid look.
Not sure that Bairstow should open in red ball cricket.

[Silkyskills1]

I just hope Bairstow doesn't make easy mistakes but I expect him to do so.

[footballdiedin92]

Unfortunately I reckon there's a chance we won't see foakes for England again. He's done everything the England set up have asked of him. World's best gloveman and has averaged 39 with the bat under stokes, but they don't appear to value him.

Won't lose any sleep over it, just a shame. I really enjoyed watching him keep wicket and its not something I would normally pay attention to.

Anyway plenty to be positive about with the current team and win or lose it should be entertaining.

[IWOODLOVETT]

How about Bairstow to open and Billings or Buttler to take the gloves if Foakes’ face doesn’t fit.

[TheFamilyCat]

Worth remembering that Lords is a notoriously difficult ground to keep wicket on because of the slope.

[jrgbfc]

Rumours of a green pitch and looks like plenty of cloud/overcast conditions. Wouldn't be surprised to see quite a low scoring match here.

[claretburns]

Delay after the first over just to the "Just Stop Oil" idiots.

[Bordeauxclaret]

Good to see Bairstow catch one early…

[Lancasterclaret]

Five minute delay, no harm done, everyone talking about it

Job done by them I reckon

[expoultryboy]

He's finally caught something

[kentonclaret]

Sounds like a crucial toss to win, greenish looking wicket and cloudy overcast conditions, where the Australians will do well to still be batting at close of play.

[Quickenthetempo]

Five minute delay, no harm done, everyone talking about it

Job done by them I reckon

Job done by Bairstow, never been so popular.

[Nori1958]

Five minute delay, no harm done, everyone talking about it

Job done by them I reckon

Apart from it being illegal

[Lancasterclaret]

I reckon if he'd gone low to Bairstows right, he'd have dropped him

[box_of_frogs]

Delay after the first over just to the "Just Stop Oil" idiots.

How the feck do they gets tickets!?

[footballdiedin92]

Good to see Bairstow catch one early…

Yeah but Foakes would have caught both of them.

[claretburns]

Anderson to Khawaja, flicked behind, carried to Root but barely a tough one, question mark on whether Bairstow could have got down to his left.

[alwaysaclaret]

Anderson and broad in the groove, both very unlucky not to have taken a wicket already.

[FCBurnley]

Aussies will be delighted with the start.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Five minute delay, no harm done, everyone talking about it

Job done by them I reckon

How can anyone support these clowns

[Newcastleclaret93]

Anderson looks to bowling very well this morning.

[claretburns]

How can anyone support these clowns

The message they have is something I am sure everyone can support.

They then lose that support with the idiocy of how they do things.

[wilks_bfc]

Ironic that the mess left by the protestors was cleared up by a petrol run leaf blower

[claretburns]

Ironic that the mess left by the protestors was cleared up by a petrol run leaf blower

It was ironic a few weeks ago when they protested a Formula-E event as well.

[kentonclaret]

Having won the toss there is Increased pressure on the England bowlers to deliver on a pitch considered “perfect for bowling” with overhead conditions to suit.

[FCBurnley]

Bowlers need to put their backs into it. 1 half chance on a perfect seamers wicket

[wilks_bfc]

It was ironic a few weeks ago when they protested a Formula-E event as well.

I missed that one

[Newcastleclaret93]

Ironic that the mess left by the protestors was cleared up by a petrol run leaf blower

Got to love it.

I find it hilarious how there was not a single protest at Glastonbury one of the worst events in the calendar year for environment. But they decide to do it at Lords it blows the mind.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Looking forward to Seeing Tongue ball today.

[Bordeauxclaret]

Big chances going down again.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Two drops already

[ChrisG]

Two drops already

Saw the Pope one, which was the other?