New England captain

[Cold Sober]

Root is not a Captains a-hole, but he can't be blamed for the inadequacies of the bunch of donkeys he's been given to ride over.

 

[Gethelred]

I definitely agree with a lot of this.

My biggest criticism with that approach to each of them though is that the two observations you’ve made of Buttler and Bairstow, while correct, directly contradict one another. Buttler is trying to be everything to everyone and shouldn’t, Bairstow is trying to be himself and shouldn’t, and when one sees the other being managed the way that suits him but not the other guy that would cause some issues.

Buttler SHOULD play naturally BUT, the only keeper batsman that could ever get away with always playing naturally was Gilchrist because his game was so good that even when things were tough he could destroy an opponent. QDK was the next best at doing it but even he failed a lot.
Buttler isn’t as good as either of them so he NEEDS to have another method for when it’s 5-80 and the ball is doing plenty.

That kind of reflects what I think of both players as men rather than as cricketers. Butler should be encouraged to play as himself because he's allowing himself to be subsumed by the pressure of being not 'the man', but 'the only bloke in the team who listens to the captain'. I have nothing to base this on other than watching them in the field for 5 days every now and then, but he plays as though he's the one who has to operate on some level as the vice captain, the conciliator. Bairstow, on the other hand, is a selfish entitled prick who has refused to listen to anyone who didn't let him do his thing. No wonder he wears the expression of the perpetually disappointed.

One of the tricks of captaincy for me is the ability to allow the individual to be themselves to the point where it becomes a negative. You cannot run a team like a micromanager or you're going to put an awful lot of people offside, but the tail wagging the dog gets steadily worse over time until a micromanager is needed to fix things.

I tend to think Anderson is entitled to a bit of free reign because he’s a smarter cricketer than Broad and less inclined to let his emotions dictate his game plan. He’s a tactically sound bowler and USUALLY, not always but usually, his way is the right way. I don’t think the same about Broad.

That's true of Anderson over the last 5 years, but there's always that element whenever I hear him talking to the press of 'I'm the highest wicket taker in English history, how many test scalps has the bloke arranging the bowling rotation policy got?' It's nothing quite about what he's saying, but more to do with his tone and his word choice; it hints that he'd like to say more but he can't.

While you let your good blokes run their thing, you cannot have bowlers in genuine "I don't agree with your plans or your fields, and I'm not going to put in for you" in your team. He's not done it often recently, but he has done it under Root and Broad absolutely cottoned onto the idea that he can get away with it. The attitude spreads.

 

[The Passenger]

For all of Broad and Anderson's brilliance with the ball in hand, one does get the impression that some point in the second half of their career they basically became self appointed pseudo captains in the field. No matter how good the bowlers are, once that happens it's going to be a prickly situation. Despite this impasse England's bowling wasn't the major issue.

The real problem came down to England's batsmen and it's going to be interesting to see if much changes here. One would think Stokes is going to portray are more hardened edge in comparison to Root, who is a very amiable character. Only time will tell if it works but England weren't left with any other option here. They couldn't keep going with Root at the helm any longer in the same way they couldn't keep going with Cook at the end of his captaincy tenure.

For an Aussie it's been quite fun to watch.

 

[PhatBoy]

Stokes celebrated his appointment pretty hard - smacked 166 off 88 in county with 17 sixes

 

[CrazyJoeFevola]

Stokes celebrated his appointment pretty hard - smacked 166 off 88 in county with 17 sixes

The best all rounder in the world smashed a ton today. So did Ben Stokes co-incidentally. (Darren Stevens)

 

[PhatBoy]

This is phenomenal hitting even allowing for the shoddy quality of the attack

 

[BarryMorgan]

McCullum set to be named England coach apparently.

Even if they don’t win a Test, at least they’ll be favourites in the sanctimony stakes.

 

[spike101]

Root's real problem happened a good 4-6 years ago, when Broad/Anderson essentially admitted to the media that they did their own thing. If they admitted it to the media then, then guaranteed they were doing it prior to Root being made captain, and probably were doing it from Cook's time if not earlier.

Since that time, their form with the bat has plummeted, and while Anderson's form has improved with the ball it's been to the overall detriment of their bowling attack. Why? Because he's been both a crutch for them to lean on - no-one needs to step into the void if he's there - and a poisoned chalice for the captain to negotiate, because who's going to tell James Anderson what to do? And if you're not telling Anderson what to do, what's stopping Broad from putting his oar in? Broad has made it known multiple times when he's been dissatisfied with the leadership, for dropping him or for rotation. Now, you've two players in nigh open rebellion against the captain.

Then, you've James Anderson's early career petulance replicated in Jofra Archer's attitude towards Root. It's uncanny how similarly he behaves when being told to bowl in non-optimal conditions.

About the only players who looked happy to be there under Root was Woakes and Stokes. Bairstow always looks as though he's on the edge of punching someone, screaming "NO!!!" atop a pile of bodies holding his dead wife after he's smote his foes around him, or weeping; Butler looks as though someone stood on his foot; Rory Burns looks... like a typical insulated private schoolboy, and Malan not far from that either. And Leach looks like they walked into a pub, looked the first bloke over, moved on to the next one before reconsidering.

That's not a good changeroom to be a part of. That doesn't make for a good training setup, and doesn't make a relaxed zone to work through the problems that will be exposed at test level.

But then, the post you replied to wasn't really about the English team, but about captaincy. If Root wanted to be a captain, the very second Broad/Anderson began to ignore him he should've put his foot down. None of this "I'm bowling what I'm bowling, if you don't like it take me off or don't pick me!" He should've put his foot down. If they couldn't be brought to heel, they're a cancer on the team that needs to be excised. You toe the line, you opt in, you are either one of us or you're out. Being part of the team has its privileges, but never forget that you need the team to choose you to be a part of them and that's their choice, not yours to negotiate.

The whole thing has the feel of Root being a weak captain, subservient to the management and the coaching.

According to UK newspapers both Anderson and Broad are going to be picked again,p; I love them both but they can’t be selected again. What does this do to motivate younger bowlers? PS

Might be a nicer bloke, a better batsman sure. Nasser Hussan is light years ahead of Root who was an awful captain. Atherton was nothing great as a captain but still better. Root is not a leader.

Neitherof them had to deal with the pandemic? Easy to sit in the cheap seats and fire barbs.

 

[spike101]

Stokes celebrated his appointment pretty hard - smacked 166 off 88 in county with 17 sixes

I could make 100 in Div2 county and I am 70 years of age.

 

[spike101]

Root was a terrible captain

Drew v Australia at home with a terrible team and then went pear shaped due to covid + punishing schedule. English press including Atherton and Hussain were just after him non stop. Envy.

 

[Seedsfan]

Drew v Australia at home with a terrible team and then went pear shaped due to covid + punishing schedule. English press including Atherton and Hussain were just after him non stop. Envy.

Lol he was the furthest thing from a leader

 

[PhatBoy]

I could make 100 in Div2 county and I am 70 years of age.

Funny how everyone who isn’t Ben stokes doesn’t seem to be hitting 168 at a strike rate of nearly 200

 

[PhatBoy]

Drew v Australia at home with a terrible team and then went pear shaped due to covid + punishing schedule. English press including Atherton and Hussain were just after him non stop. Envy.

Lol. Envy at what? His status as one of the most unnatural leaders in world cricket? Hussain in particular might not have been in root’s class as a batsman but he was the definition of a captain who squeezed the most out of his side.

Root lost to the West Indies which in itself wasn’t even a surprise, and he wasn’t a strong enough leader to ensure his two best bowlers had been selected for that tour. Criminal from a leadership perspective

 

[Seedsfan]

Funny how everyone who isn’t Ben stokes doesn’t seem to be hitting 168 at a strike rate of nearly 200

Wow so he is slogging again.

 

[PhatBoy]

Wow so he is slogging again.

Yes as we all know if you score fast all you’ve done is slog. I’d suggest you familiarise yourself with footage of his innings x

At any rate we all know that runs scored if you slog don’t count anyway

 

[Gethelred]

Yes as we all know if you score fast all you’ve done is slog. I’d suggest you familiarise yourself with footage of his innings x

At any rate we all know that runs scored if you slog don’t count anyway

He did take an over in it for 34, and while it was clean hitting (and the bowler kept bowling the precise same length, letting him get under it) they were 2 or 3 down for 500ish at the time.

Pitch was hardly the most challenging surface I've ever seen. Made me want to get the pads on, and the spinner they had trundling was appetizing too.

 

[Bareth Garry]

Stokes has done that kind of show in test matches. His double century in South Africa comes to mind. I think the first hundred runs were scored at a fairly normal rate but the second hundred was an explosion of hitting the ball all over the park.

I think being England captain may unlock something within him to really become a world class batsman rather than a batsman who can look world class here and there. Average of 35 is not justice to his natural ability. Maybe he will put himself up the order so it will allow him to spend more time in the middle without having to consider the tail having to come in.

 

[corbies]

Stokes has done that kind of show in test matches. His double century in South Africa comes to mind. I think the first hundred runs were scored at a fairly normal rate but the second hundred was an explosion of hitting the ball all over the park.

I think being England captain may unlock something within him to really become a world class batsman rather than a batsman who can look world class here and there. Average of 35 is not justice to his natural ability. Maybe he will put himself up the order so it will allow him to spend more time in the middle without having to consider the tail having to come in.

Stokes has already said he'll be putting himself down the order as captain to 6. You can guarantee with McCullum as coach he'll be encouraged to "play his natural game".

 

[11kgm]

NZ fans might get their wish we will play 5 game against a NZ coach and captain

 

[The Passenger]

Made me want to get the pads on, and the spinner they had trundling was appetizing too.

Been to a few county games since living in the UK and I've seen a few spinners live (Ollie Rayner being one, the others I can't recall by name) and I couldn't see the difference between them and quite a number of spinners I've seen bowling in second grade premier cricket in Melbourne or Sydney. The conditions obviously don't help them but the spinning pool here is very dry.

But then you can take Ian Salisbury who had a very tough time of it in test cricket, had a fairly unremarkable first class career (although his longevity is impressive) and if you can track down old videos of him there isn't anything particularly impressive about him.... He played Sydney first grade (now Premier cricket) and absolutely dominated in the late 90's when Australian cricket, and by extension the underlying shield and grade cricket competitions, were exceptionally strong.

 

[Rabish Binney]

Stokes has done that kind of show in test matches. His double century in South Africa comes to mind. I think the first hundred runs were scored at a fairly normal rate but the second hundred was an explosion of hitting the ball all over the park.

I think being England captain may unlock something within him to really become a world class batsman rather than a batsman who can look world class here and there. Average of 35 is not justice to his natural ability. Maybe he will put himself up the order so it will allow him to spend more time in the middle without having to consider the tail having to come in.

It could go either way for him. Will the captaincy be a blessing or a burden for him? How will it affect his form?

He is a natural competitor, with a short fuse and has lost his s**t on occasions on the field (and of course off of it). As England Captain, will he need to curtail this (or will he made to tone it down by the ECB)?

This has a Ian Botham feel about it when Beefy was made captain way back in the 80's.

I imagine the Fleet Street scribes are ready and waiting to strike. They will tear into him if England don't improve and if his form deteriorates. On the other hand, if the Poms start winning and Stokes is making runs and taking wickets, then he will be the next messiah.

If nothing else, the next couple of years for the England side will be interesting.

 

[Rabish Binney]

I could make 100 in Div2 county and I am 70 years of age.

Alastair Cook still making runs for fun at Essex....

 

[Rabish Binney]

Been reported today in the English press that Archer has been diagnosed with stress fractures in his back and has been ruled out for the next 12 months.

 

[frankrizzo]

It could go either way for him. Will the captaincy be a blessing or a burden for him? How will it affect his form?

He is a natural competitor, with a short fuse and has lost his s**t on occasions on the field (and of course off of it). As England Captain, will he need to curtail this (or will he made to tone it down by the ECB)?

This has a Ian Botham feel about it when Beefy was made captain way back in the 80's.

I imagine the Fleet Street scribes are ready and waiting to strike. They will tear into him if England don't improve and if his form deteriorates. On the other hand, if the Poms start winning and Stokes is making runs and taking wickets, then he will be the next messiah.

If nothing else, the next couple of years for the England side will be interesting.

You could say he is in a mini form slump already though, batting average of 26 bowling average of 37 last 2 years, he had a shocking ashes as well making no real impact in the series with bat or ball.