Test Cricket Spring/Summer 2022

[Tony C]

Well there seemed nowhere to put this so I opened up a new thread.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/61420661

General opinion seems mixed but I’m quite pleased about McCullum’s appointment as England red ball head coach. It seems unusually adventurous. His lack of experience is an obvious concern but he’s a well respected bloke with an attacking mentality and he clearly interviewed well. I can only assume Gary Kirsten goes to pieces in front of a panel or his PowerPoint didn’t load up. He was considered pretty much a dead cert for this, as he was last time.

A bit of a bold opening salvo from Key, this appointment. Good for him. Whatever happens it shouldn’t be boring.

[Ray de Galles]

Cricket really needs to up its thread title game.

[Tony C]

Well that’s me told.

I can only apologise for my lack of quirkiness.

[Ray de Galles]

Sorry, it was just a light-hearted aside, more aimed at the county cricket thread really. It's always nice to give these big, rolling seasonal threads something memorable as a title though.

On a perhaps related note, if t does seem like a very low-key build up to the international summer so far which is surprising given the very note-worthy appointments of Key, Stokes and McCullum.

Is this evidence of a post-Ashes malaise, over-familiarity with the opponent's because India and NZ were over here last year or is it just that it's still a few weeks away?

[Etienne]

Yeah, I think the threads often only get started as the matches start.

England have got some real selection headaches. With the exception of Crawley, basically every batsmen who has recently been picked for England or has hopes of getting picked is piling on the runs, while the bowlers are all injured or not doing anything exceptional to stake a claim. And there's not a Sri Lanka or Bangladesh coming along at the start of the summer to blood Brook or Bohannon in, it's straight to the two finalists from the World Test Championship.

[Etienne]

England vs NZ are usually interesting series, but I have to say I'm not that enthused by watching India again so soon.

[Tony C]

‘This Could Go Anywhere’

Maybe that could be added to the thread title?

[diggedy derek]

Excited to see what's next with McCullum. Pretty much Eoin Morgan by-proxy?

I didn't mention it earlier, but thoughts are with Graham Thorpe.

[Etienne]

• Nipun Dhananjaya Perera(c)
• Dilum Sudheera Thilakarathna
• Lasith Croospulle
• Nishan Madushka(wk)
• Santhush Gunathilake
• Dhananjaya Lakshan
• Udith Madushan
• Dunith Wellalage
• Ashian Daniel
• Nipun Ransika
• Nawanidu Fernando

This is the BBC list of the Sri Lankan development team playing Hampshire today.

And this is the list of batsmen who have batted so far.

Kenaththage
Croospulle
Fernando
Fernando
Lakshan

Croospulle and Lakshan are self-explanatory. But which one is Kenaththage? Which Fernando in the batting order is the Fernando in the playing XI. Who is the other other Fernando?

Why can't we click on the player name to find out?


Why do I have to go to cricinfo to find out.

[Etienne]

(it appears that it is Perera, Croospulle, Madushka, Fernando and Lakshan who have batted so far)

[Satchmo Distel]

Based on his previous statements, I think Key is committed to picking his best available players, with no experiments or rotation. Injuries will provide opportunities to put form players in from the county game. It's been suggested that they treat NZ as an inevitable defeat and thus use it to blood players but that would not look good for a new regime. In any case they may have enough bowling to perhaps nick a Test on a greentop.

[Etienne]

NZ are probably the worst team for England to play on a green top as they're batters are used to it, and their bowlers are just as well suited to it. I'm sure Key will want to pick his best eleven, it's just totally unclear who that is. Root and Stokes, Anderson and Woakes if playing at home. Beyond that I've no idea.

[ursus arctos]

Ooof

[https://twitter.com/FoxCricket/status/1525608958454403073?t=7KFFCLl6nVKTYcMb_dHqQQ&s=19

[nmrfox]

That's desperately sad. Shocking news.

[diggedy derek]

Jesus. RIP

[Satchmo Distel]

A very important cricketer. RIP.

[Gas In Name Only]

Andrew Symonds joined Glos as an England qualified player at the age of 20 in 1995 and lit up the summer with a series of astonishing performances, capped by his titanic 254* against Glamorgan at Abergavenny in which he hit a world record 16 sixes in the innings (and another world record 20 in the match). Of course he chose Australia - quite rightly - and he not only won two World Cups and became one of the most legendary limited overs players in history but also earned 26 Test caps and a batting average of 40 in a period when competition for a place in that side was unbelievably tough especially for someone pigeon holed as a white ball player.

Incredibly sad news which everyone at Gloucestershire is going to take especially hard. Far far too young to die anyway but he'll always be that precociously talented kid at Nevil Road

RIP Symo

[Duncan Gardner]

Sad news RIP

[Tony C]

Wonderful, exciting cricketer.

RIP

[Duncan Gardner]

Just heard a couple of pundits enthusing about England's new coach 'Baz' and wondered if they'd brought in the guitarist from now retired rockers the Stranglers. Of course his predecessor is a big cricket fan. Met him once in a queue at Lords where we both enjoyed a huge cornetto...

[Uncle Ethan]

Symonds had become a good commentator post playing career. He had two young kids. So sad - apparently his two blue heelers in the car wouldn't leave his side.

[Levin]

Ah man. Matthews falls for 199, Sri Lanka's 10th wicket

[Kevin S]

Just overheard the boy say, 'Alexa, play Soul Limbo by Booker T and the MGs.'

My work is done.

[Levin]

Ah bollocks, Saqib Mahmood is out for the rest of the season.

Stress fracture.

[ursus arctos]

Man

England bowler has become an incredibly high risk occupation