Is it time for Bell to go

BillN_33

BillN_33

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No
time after time the question is asked

following England is really nerve racking ... you think that they have a chance then it just goes ...........

Bell, bloody Bell, does it again

"He won't retire and they won't sack him because they haven't got anybody else," former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott told BBC Test Match Special.

"He's got all the talent in the world but he's flaky in the head."
 
Think it might be, but as you say, who replaces him?
We haven't got a decent opener to partner Cook.
The middle order is missing apart from Root.
Wicket keeper in this match can't keep wicket. The one in the last match can't score runs.
We haven't got a spinner of quality if you take the best bits of the three we are playing.
That just leaves Broad and Jimmy, and this tour isn't suited to them. SA will probably be better for them.

So in summary we have four decent players.Who else is there?
 
mickledore said:
Think it might be, but as you say, who replaces him?
We haven't got a decent opener to partner Cook.
The middle order is missing apart from Root.
Wicket keeper in this match can't keep wicket. The one in the last match can't score runs.
We haven't got a spinner of quality if you take the best bits of the three we are playing.
That just leaves Broad and Jimmy, and this tour isn't suited to them. SA will probably be better for them.

So in summary we have four decent players.Who else is there?
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I know - bloody nerve racking
 
No, the more England are s***e the happier I amo_O
 
Bell in 2015:
143, 11, 1, 0, 0, 1, 29, 12, 1, 1, 60, 1, 11, 53, 65*, 1, 10, 13, 63, 5*, 4, 46, 40, 0.

24 innings (2 not out), 571 runs, average 25.95
1 century, four 50s, out in single figures (including ducks) 10 times

Not good enough.

But - who would you replace him with? And it's not as if he's the only dud in the England batting line-up. Here are the averages for 2015:

Root ....... 1288 runs at 64.40 (24 inns)
Cook ....... 1311 runs at 59.59 (24 inns)
Ballance .... 465 runs at 35.76 (14 inns)
Stokes ...... 681 runs at 30.95 (22 inns)
Bairstow .... 252 runs at 28.00 (9 inns)
Ali ......... 547 runs at 26.04 (21 inns)
Bell ........ 571 runs at 25.95 (24 inns)
Buttler ..... 430 runs at 23.88 (21 inns)
Lyth ........ 265 runs at 20.38 (13 inns)

I think you normally want your top 5 to average 40 or better. The way I see it, Cook and Root have been doing the job of 3 men between them, but nobody else is pulling their weight.
 
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I find it rather ironic to see Boycott speaking of anyone else being flaky in the head!
 
viv1969 said:
I find it rather ironic to see Boycott speaking of anyone else being flaky in the head!
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Eh? Boycott was one of the least flaky batsmen of all time, surely. He had a well deserved reputation for being hard to get out.

Funnily enough, Boycott's and Bell's test career stats are surprisingly similar.

Boycott: 193 inns (23 no), 8114 runs @ 47.72, 22 centuries, 42 fifties
Bell: 205 inns (24 no), 7727 runs @ 42.69, 22 centuries, 46 fifties

But one noticeable difference is how many times they were out in single figures. Boycott 49 times (one innings in four) versus Bell 73 times (one innings in three). That can make a big difference psychologically.
 
Sadly it may be time for Bell to be dropped, though he may get one more shot against the saffers ... but when he is on song there is no better batsmen to watch. As to who replaces him, well firstly we need another opener, I didn't think Carbery did too badly down under, he should at least have been given a shot against India (I think it was ...) - maybe now is the time just to take a punt on Hales, put him in and subject to injury give him a year. Move Root to 3, drop Bell and play Taylor ...
 
Just look at the second innings - it is just difficult to understand - Bell, Root, Taylor, Bairstow and Patel got 8 runs between them
 
Boycott summed up the England team on TMS just now. We only have one opener, we don't have a number 3, we don't have a settled 5 or 6, we don't have a wicketkeeper who can bat, and we don't have any spinners who can put pressure on the opposition. Apart from that, not a bad team!
 
Delete Bell, insert Wenger.
That way, we can swap similar levels of managerial experience, frustration and (often) incompetence.
This will keep the board happy as a change has occurred, but establish the incredibly low standards which they often fail to maintain.
Ruddy spo...
 
Maybe Bell is not that bad

  • The total of eight runs scored by England's number three to number seven is their joint-lowest, equalling the Sydney Test against Australia in 1887
  • England's numbers three to seven scored only eight runs between them - the fewest for 118 years. Going back to the fourth evening, the total collapse was six wickets for 25 runs.

they can't bat, can't bowl, can't keep wicket and drop catches in the field ......... presumably they are only there for the sandwiches

I am surprised that Lord Boycott has not mentioned his mother and a stick of rhubarb

It is really so bad that I may start watching football - ......... never
 
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StewartR said:
Boycott summed up the England team on TMS just now. We only have one opener, we don't have a number 3, we don't have a settled 5 or 6, we don't have a wicketkeeper who can bat, and we don't have any spinners who can put pressure on the opposition. Apart from that, not a bad team!
Click to expand...

I said that in post#2. Don't say Boycott and I agree on something. Help!
 
mickledore said:
I said that in post#2. Don't say Boycott and I agree on something. Help!
Click to expand...
Maybe he read your post and agreed with you.

No shame agreeing with Boycott in my opinion. He's a very knowledgeable and observant commentator, and he calls a spade a spade.
 
Yes. He's usually right. Except when he kept on that Adam Lyth was the answer to England's woes.
 
he can get on your nerves ........ and does most of the time ...........
 
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