England vs India first test

Root to save us, again.

 

Can’t persist with this top three for much longer. I don’t know if Crawley should be dropped, or moved down the order.

 

I’d tell him to go back to county cricket for a couple of years and score some big runs.

Root is a class apart in the lineup it’s embarrassing for the others how easy he makes it look sometimes. Nearly caught Sibley up already.

 

India are a quality side

 

If only we had a few more like Joseph Edward Root. Sibley knows how to stick around but he's a Poundland Pujara as he cannot go up a gear or two. We need to give the likes of Anderson something to bowl at.

 

DRS reprieve for Sibley, who is still on course to make his hundred at some point tomorrow evening

 

You think it will rain that much? ;-)

 

Another half century for Joe!

 

Sorry, didn’t factor in the rain. Make that a half century at some point tomorrow evening

 

He's sticking around though. If he can keep wearing their bowlers out, it gives our sloggers more of a chance when they come in a little later. The positive, he's helped us get ahead with just 2 down. That's steady progress.

I don't think the top 3 works and Burns and Crawley are really struggling (though they at least had to play at the deliveries that got them out this time). I'm not sure I'd drop all 3 in one go, and not sure who we'd bring in and if they'd be much better either.

Oh for the days of the rapid scoring Atherton ;-)

 

With Sibley, I’d just like to see him get a few more singles, and get his strike rate towards 40. When you’re getting 25 off 100 balls, you need the other batter to do an awful lot.
He almost looks like a tail ender that’s hanging around for his batting partner.

 

I think with a bit more confidence and belief if he can sort his technical issues out, scoring may come. Hard to believe, he was quite a slogger for Surrey in T20!

 

Is Sibley the Keiffer Moore of test cricket?

 

To be fair on Crawley he's got 2 cracking balls in this test. In the first innings he played the Stokes role of advancing at their swing bowlers to mess up their length which left us in a decent position at 130-3. I've more concerns about Buttler and Lawrence at the minute.

Sibley has done a good job today but he's far too one dimensional for test cricket. Being able to avoid swinging outside off is useful at this level but you need something else. If he was a keeper (or could field at all) or he could bowl a bit of wobbly medium pace I'd be more interested. Otherwise I'd rather have dynamic players like Crawley or Blanton who might give up their wicket sometimes but have the ability to actually change a game.

Having said all that. For all this sides flaws, we're playing a very good India side and we're not out of it yet.

 

Sibley started at Surrey as a spinner who could bat a bit.

 

I appreciate that bit he hasn't kept up the bowling to a useable level. Only has 4 1st class wickets and has never bowled in tests. He needs to bowl, field really well or have some level of offside game to justify being the kind of player he is at top level. He doesn't even punish loose half volleys outside off. Even Anderson sends those to the boundary.

Seems a nice guy, but isn't good enough for me.

 

Bye bye Sibley!

 

I don't disagree. But neither are every other batsmen other than Root. And you do need players sometimes who can bat time (granted, more than he can). Thorpe, Atherton, Collingwood, Trott. All had grittier abilities that wore down bowlers for others to benefit.

 

At this stage, after that abomination of an innings and shocking shot that ended it, I'd bring Hameed into the fray.

I do find it odd that people keep saying we're short of openers yet we consistently play 3 and our first reserve batsman is also an opener. Not a number 3 in sight.

 

3 has been our problem position since Trott. But then aside from Root, you could say that about every batting position, that we haven't replaced world class batsmen from the previous generation, or one before that.

I don't think India are all that either. Certainly not against a swinging ball.