Post by philh on Jun 14, 2021 10:23:16 GMT
The England Test team has got a pasting in the National Press for the performance against New Zealand. To be fair, New Zealand are arguably a stronger all-round side than they have ever been. The England batting line-up does look brittle on paper and, in this game, was brittle in reality. It would be nice if the struggling batsmen could get some time at the crease playing for their Counties, but that just is going to happen with only two red ball County games before September. When you combine together the schedule the top players have, the rotation system that is being used for selection and our lack of promising red ball batsmen, England could remain in the doldrums for a while. It's hard to argue with what George Dobell has to say:
At the same time, we've given the prime weeks of summer to limited-overs tournaments and prioritised white-ball success. Young batters have been encouraged to learn short-format skills and excel at performing in conditions where the pitches are perfect and the white-ball hardly leaves the straight. They can afford to be mediocre in the first-class game. Attack has been prioritised over defence.
Technical coaching has been replaced by something very close to cheerleading - correcting a player's technique is believed to undermine their confidence, though less than failing at international level, you would have thought - and a scouting system has been introduced which has led to such gems as Jason Roy opening and James Bracey keeping in Test cricket. Really, whoever thought those were good ideas needs to be in a different line of work.
At the same time, we've given the prime weeks of summer to limited-overs tournaments and prioritised white-ball success. Young batters have been encouraged to learn short-format skills and excel at performing in conditions where the pitches are perfect and the white-ball hardly leaves the straight. They can afford to be mediocre in the first-class game. Attack has been prioritised over defence.
Technical coaching has been replaced by something very close to cheerleading - correcting a player's technique is believed to undermine their confidence, though less than failing at international level, you would have thought - and a scouting system has been introduced which has led to such gems as Jason Roy opening and James Bracey keeping in Test cricket. Really, whoever thought those were good ideas needs to be in a different line of work.