@HolmerBlue said: @micra .. not once did I see Robinson shout "fuck off" to a batsman, I reckon your mate just doesn't like him, he celebrated no worse than any other bowler does. As for Anderson and Broad they are still 2 of our best bowlers and should be in the team in English conditions, as should Woakes in my opinion.
As for Robinson, I agree with others, he's been harshly treated and I think they are just trying to make it look like they have done something. I'm also glad social media wasn't around when I was 18 !
He definitely doesn’t like him @HolmerBlue and I’m starting to think that the alleged send offs are a figment of his imagination. We exchange emails on various topics and this week’s Test match has generated several. In one, I mentioned that we were fielding three debutants and were clearly missing Stokes and Buttler. Also, for my money, Woakes as well. He is by far the best batsman among the present crop of fast bowlers.
For those who were surprised that England didn’t go for the win, I can only say that it would have meant scoring at the highest overall innings rate of the whole game on a difficult pitch and Root wasn’t going to risk losing his 100% (?) home record in a two match “series”.
An England win at Edgbaston later this week would obviously please me immensely, especially if Trent Boult plays.
My mate made much of the fact that Boult (who he describes as their best bowler) didn’t play at Lords. He and Southee are more or less the same age and have virtually identical Test career records.but Southee is about 6” taller than Boult and therefore I would have thought likely to be more of a threat. Neither can hold a candle (recordswise) to our “geriatric” pair.
I think Stuart Broad might take offence at being described as in his late thirties @HCblue. He’s only 34.
One of the reasons why Anderson and Broad have had such long and successful careers is highly likely to be the central contract system.
Even Buttler has made more combined Test and ODI appearances than say, Mike Gatting.
Nowadays players play a lot more international cricket, and at a higher intensity. The fitness level of the current England team is vastly improved compared to the past. And we are a lot more successful than teams I remember when I was growing up.
As a supporter of a county side it is irritating when your best players are fit but not available for selection, but I do genuinely believe that the central contracts system has been of massive benefit to the England team.
I agree the the contracts system has worked well for England, @Chris - they've got a much greater proportion of the international players' cricket than in the past which likely optimises the team's outcomes, assuming they get the selection of who gets the contracts right (which I think is very much the case).
Buttler is a well-honed professional athlete, not a well-honed professional eating machine so your comparison is a bit of an apples and pears one! I remember going to watch Middlesex play Winchmore Hill in a testimonial game for, I think, Gatting himself. A very enjoyable afternoon. Gatting left his bat with us kids in the crowd at tea-time as he walked off, for us to play with. That was fun. I also well remember Cowans and Daniel opening the bowling for them. Cowans came in off his full run and was very sharp. Daniel came in off three paces and bowled at light speed. Except for the ball after he had been pulled for four. That ball, he came off his full run. Barely saw it pitch half-way down the wicket, clear the keeper's head by miles and go, one bounce, for four byes. And he couldn't get a game for WI. Jeez!
@HolmerBlue said: @micra .. not once did I see Robinson shout "fuck off" to a batsman, I reckon your mate just doesn't like him, he celebrated no worse than any other bowler does. As for Anderson and Broad they are still 2 of our best bowlers and should be in the team in English conditions, as should Woakes in my opinion.
As for Robinson, I agree with others, he's been harshly treated and I think they are just trying to make it look like they have done something. I'm also glad social media wasn't around when I was 18 !
He definitely doesn’t like him @HolmerBlue and I’m starting to think that the alleged send offs are a figment of his imagination. We exchange emails on various topics and this week’s Test match has generated several. In one, I mentioned that we were fielding three debutants and were clearly missing Stokes and Buttler. Also, for my money, Woakes as well. He is by far the best batsman among the present crop of fast bowlers.
For those who were surprised that England didn’t go for the win, I can only say that it would have meant scoring at the highest overall innings rate of the whole game on a difficult pitch and Root wasn’t going to risk losing his 100% (?) home record in a two match “series”.
An England win at Edgbaston later this week would obviously please me immensely, especially if Trent Boult plays.
My mate made much of the fact that Boult (who he describes as their best bowler) didn’t play at Lords. He and Southee are more or less the same age and have virtually identical Test career records.but Southee is about 6” taller than Boult and therefore I would have thought likely to be more of a threat. Neither can hold a candle (recordswise) to our “geriatric” pair.
I think Stuart Broad might take offence at being described as in his late thirties @HCblue. He’s only 34.
Quite. I always think of him as effectively being thus, however, given he started playing for England when he was about twelve. So, I thought the categorisation was reasonable for both even though I knew it only really was true for Anderson.
The suggestion that batsmen like Buttler are being frequently rested with little obvious reason just isn't true though.
All the multi-format players were given time off to come home during the winter Sri Lanka/India series which makes perfect sense. Spending close to 3 months in the socially restrictive 'bubbles' would have been like a prison sentence.
And for the current NZ series all the players returning from the IPL had to complete a mandatory quarantine period and it was decided there wasn't enough time for them to start training and be ready for the early summer tests. A shame it hasn't worked out that way, but it would have been a great opportunity for Foakes who has proved he is deserving of a place in the side.
@Chris said:
Fred Trueman played 67 tests in his career. Broad has played 147 and Anderson 161.
And Fred must have played less one day games than Broad and Anderson. I accept the balls element mentioned by @HCblue, but this must at least be countered by the volume of games and the associated travelling involved. Trueman's test career only spanned 13 years (ending when he was 34) whereas Anderson has clicked up 18 so far and is 38.
@Wendoverman said:
I'm confused did no-one else know what was and wasn't racist when they were 18?
I get the point but time has moved on and there is a different lens on these comments now to when they were made. That's both in terms of views on what is racist and the profile of Robinson.
One thing for me on this is the obvious hit job on a young man as soon as he becomes media worthy. His posts were bad but those who talk about the victims of his post are both adding victims and bringing it back up for those hurt first time around.
It might be a simple view but in all my years of playing and watching cricket I have found it the least racist environment I have been in.
@Wendoverman said:
I'm confused did no-one else know what was and wasn't racist when they were 18?
I get the point but time has moved on and there is a different lens on these comments now to when they were made. That's both in terms of views on what is racist and the profile of Robinson.
Sorry @Right_in_the_Middle he didn't know as an 18 year back in the dark, un-PC olden days of 2012/2013 that what he was tweeting about Asians and bombers and women could be viewed as problematic? I don't buy it. I accept he may well be a completely reformed figure, and the investigation will exonerate him, but the idea that he is being hung out to dry for once being an ill-informed child is not credible. (I am aware other opinions are available.)
@mooneyman 40 years for me and luckily we knew what was racist from 1976 onwards because The Clash, the Tom Robinson Band and the NME told us. (It was mainly Eric Claption...)
Talking of Ollies (and we’re doing it quite a lot lately) I was struck by the sheer overthetoppery (OTT) of Ollie Stone when he took the wicket of Ross Taylor half an hour ago. Easily matched Ollie Robinson’s celebrations which me mate was so critical about.
The expression “catches win matches” was never so apt.
To say that I’m embarrassed by this England performance (after sticking my neck out the other day and predicting a much improved performance at Edgbaston) is something of an understatement. Maybe my mate was right when he described them as a bunch of no-hopers. Wrong though to disparage Broad and Anderson as ‘geriatric’. Far from it.
Exactly. I’ll advise my cynical mate not to stand too close to Darren Stevens should he ever describe him as geriatric. And the fellow he describes as New Zealand’s best bowler hasn’t exactly torn up trees (if that’s the right expression).
Just to keep up is this maye actually you @micra ?
Once more the England batting crumbles under the slightest hint of decent bowling. The decision to target one day success is coming home to roost with a lack of technique in the longer game.
Sadly think it is going to be a long year unless our bowlers can run through sides.
@micra said:
Advice please, guys. I have been trying hard to counter a mate’s description of the current England Test squad as “a bunch of no hopers”. He cites the selection of two “geriatric” opening bowlers (still as good as most, in my opinion) as evidence of how bare the cupboard is. He dislikes Robinson’s “OTT” celebration when dismissing a batsman and claims that he shouts “fuck off” in their faces. Has anyone else seen that? I watched footage this morning and couldn’t find any evidence. To me, that would be totally unacceptable and, listening to James O’Brien’s LBC phone in this morning, not one caller mentioned it.
My mate reckons the Aussies must be laughing their heads off and he’s thinking of changing his name to Bruce and wearing a slouch hat, whatever that is.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking of sticking my neck out and suggesting that we will win the Edgbaston Test. I feel like glass half full to his half empty.
Not sure if this answers your question @Right_in_the_Middle. The mate in question’s contention that Ollie Robinson was shouting F off in the faces of batsmen he’d dismissed was something for which I could find no evidence. He clearly has no time for the current Test squad and is equally disparaging of the England football squad. If England lose to Croatia again tomorrow his pessimism may start to rub off on me.
Any suggestion or inference that I have the kind of psychiatric disorder that your question implied is definitely a big deal to me and not something to be shrugged off as inconsequential.
@micra said:
Any suggestion or inference that I have the kind of psychiatric disorder that your question implied is definitely a big deal to me and not something to be shrugged off as inconsequential.
Easy my oldest son.
Often when people tell a story about a "mate", of an embarrassing or comedy nature, it's actually their way of covering that it was actually their own experience.
That's all the biggest boy RITM means. No offence meant I'm sure.
Comments
He definitely doesn’t like him @HolmerBlue and I’m starting to think that the alleged send offs are a figment of his imagination. We exchange emails on various topics and this week’s Test match has generated several. In one, I mentioned that we were fielding three debutants and were clearly missing Stokes and Buttler. Also, for my money, Woakes as well. He is by far the best batsman among the present crop of fast bowlers.
For those who were surprised that England didn’t go for the win, I can only say that it would have meant scoring at the highest overall innings rate of the whole game on a difficult pitch and Root wasn’t going to risk losing his 100% (?) home record in a two match “series”.
An England win at Edgbaston later this week would obviously please me immensely, especially if Trent Boult plays.
My mate made much of the fact that Boult (who he describes as their best bowler) didn’t play at Lords. He and Southee are more or less the same age and have virtually identical Test career records.but Southee is about 6” taller than Boult and therefore I would have thought likely to be more of a threat. Neither can hold a candle (recordswise) to our “geriatric” pair.
I think Stuart Broad might take offence at being described as in his late thirties @HCblue. He’s only 34.
One of the reasons why Anderson and Broad have had such long and successful careers is highly likely to be the central contract system.
Even Buttler has made more combined Test and ODI appearances than say, Mike Gatting.
Nowadays players play a lot more international cricket, and at a higher intensity. The fitness level of the current England team is vastly improved compared to the past. And we are a lot more successful than teams I remember when I was growing up.
As a supporter of a county side it is irritating when your best players are fit but not available for selection, but I do genuinely believe that the central contracts system has been of massive benefit to the England team.
I agree the the contracts system has worked well for England, @Chris - they've got a much greater proportion of the international players' cricket than in the past which likely optimises the team's outcomes, assuming they get the selection of who gets the contracts right (which I think is very much the case).
Buttler is a well-honed professional athlete, not a well-honed professional eating machine so your comparison is a bit of an apples and pears one! I remember going to watch Middlesex play Winchmore Hill in a testimonial game for, I think, Gatting himself. A very enjoyable afternoon. Gatting left his bat with us kids in the crowd at tea-time as he walked off, for us to play with. That was fun. I also well remember Cowans and Daniel opening the bowling for them. Cowans came in off his full run and was very sharp. Daniel came in off three paces and bowled at light speed. Except for the ball after he had been pulled for four. That ball, he came off his full run. Barely saw it pitch half-way down the wicket, clear the keeper's head by miles and go, one bounce, for four byes. And he couldn't get a game for WI. Jeez!
Quite. I always think of him as effectively being thus, however, given he started playing for England when he was about twelve. So, I thought the categorisation was reasonable for both even though I knew it only really was true for Anderson.
The suggestion that batsmen like Buttler are being frequently rested with little obvious reason just isn't true though.
All the multi-format players were given time off to come home during the winter Sri Lanka/India series which makes perfect sense. Spending close to 3 months in the socially restrictive 'bubbles' would have been like a prison sentence.
And for the current NZ series all the players returning from the IPL had to complete a mandatory quarantine period and it was decided there wasn't enough time for them to start training and be ready for the early summer tests. A shame it hasn't worked out that way, but it would have been a great opportunity for Foakes who has proved he is deserving of a place in the side.
And Fred must have played less one day games than Broad and Anderson. I accept the balls element mentioned by @HCblue, but this must at least be countered by the volume of games and the associated travelling involved. Trueman's test career only spanned 13 years (ending when he was 34) whereas Anderson has clicked up 18 so far and is 38.
I'm confused did no-one else know what was and wasn't racist when they were 18?
I get the point but time has moved on and there is a different lens on these comments now to when they were made. That's both in terms of views on what is racist and the profile of Robinson.
One thing for me on this is the obvious hit job on a young man as soon as he becomes media worthy. His posts were bad but those who talk about the victims of his post are both adding victims and bringing it back up for those hurt first time around.
It might be a simple view but in all my years of playing and watching cricket I have found it the least racist environment I have been in.
@Right_in_the_Middle said:
Sorry @Right_in_the_Middle he didn't know as an 18 year back in the dark, un-PC olden days of 2012/2013 that what he was tweeting about Asians and bombers and women could be viewed as problematic? I don't buy it. I accept he may well be a completely reformed figure, and the investigation will exonerate him, but the idea that he is being hung out to dry for once being an ill-informed child is not credible. (I am aware other opinions are available.)
That was 51 years ago for me so I'm not sure I did then particularly with programmes like Till death do us Part on the TV at the time.
I don't think Michael Carberry would agree.
@mooneyman 40 years for me and luckily we knew what was racist from 1976 onwards because The Clash, the Tom Robinson Band and the NME told us.
(It was mainly Eric Claption...)
Carberry would be disagreeing with me, too.
He’ll have to be Oliver if he’s any good. Ollie is no name for a pro footballer.
Quoi?
Ollie Watkins would like a word
If he was Oliver he'd be getting ready for the Euros right now.
Just realized this belongs on the thread about Olly (even worse) Pendlebury, not Ollie Robinson.
Thought I might have finally flipped, to be honest @floyd.
Talking of Ollies (and we’re doing it quite a lot lately) I was struck by the sheer overthetoppery (OTT) of Ollie Stone when he took the wicket of Ross Taylor half an hour ago. Easily matched Ollie Robinson’s celebrations which me mate was so critical about.
The expression “catches win matches” was never so apt.
To say that I’m embarrassed by this England performance (after sticking my neck out the other day and predicting a much improved performance at Edgbaston) is something of an understatement. Maybe my mate was right when he described them as a bunch of no-hopers. Wrong though to disparage Broad and Anderson as ‘geriatric’. Far from it.
Broad is after all 10 years younger than the best cricketer in England.
Exactly. I’ll advise my cynical mate not to stand too close to Darren Stevens should he ever describe him as geriatric. And the fellow he describes as New Zealand’s best bowler hasn’t exactly torn up trees (if that’s the right expression).
Just to keep up is this maye actually you @micra ?
Once more the England batting crumbles under the slightest hint of decent bowling. The decision to target one day success is coming home to roost with a lack of technique in the longer game.
Sadly think it is going to be a long year unless our bowlers can run through sides.
Don’t understand your first sentence @Right_in_the_Middle but agree with the sentiments that follow.
Please clarify your question.
Thanks
Not sure if this answers your question @Right_in_the_Middle. The mate in question’s contention that Ollie Robinson was shouting F off in the faces of batsmen he’d dismissed was something for which I could find no evidence. He clearly has no time for the current Test squad and is equally disparaging of the England football squad. If England lose to Croatia again tomorrow his pessimism may start to rub off on me.
Just wondered if the mate you kept mentioning was actually you but the moment has passed with a poorly typed post. No big deal @micra
My reply on 8 June to @HolmerBlue is also relevant in the context of my comment about Trent Boult.
Any suggestion or inference that I have the kind of psychiatric disorder that your question implied is definitely a big deal to me and not something to be shrugged off as inconsequential.
Easy my oldest son.
Often when people tell a story about a "mate", of an embarrassing or comedy nature, it's actually their way of covering that it was actually their own experience.
That's all the biggest boy RITM means. No offence meant I'm sure.