Warney will accuse Starc of not trying when he bowls to his wife!

The problems run deep and start at the top. ECB needs to stop chasing the money and start focusing on red ball cricket again. Begins with the format and calendar of county cricket.

Indeed, and that’s a rebuild that would take a number of years. I just can’t see it being a true priority while Harrison is in charge.

This article is spot on.

https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-new...-rooted-issues

A bit. But this tour was always going to be a pandemic plod.

Precious little time to acclimatise and play some warm up games.

Pretty heroic that we even traveled out there.

It's almost as if England no longer cares about test cricket

True but the batting has been poor for years and largely carried by Root. The county championship isn't producing players of sufficient calibre...blame the ECB for that one too.

Yes. I'm not sure we realized what a treasure we had in Alastair Cook. Technique and patience. The dull things.

It's a problem right through cricket. County academies focus on hitting power and variety of shots tather than technique. They are preparing kids to play short forms of cricket

Heroic?

Really.

We got on a plane. In the current climate that's pretty heroic.

The thirteenth time in 2021 that England have failed to score 200 or more in a Test match innings, this time for a score any Test batsman should achieve on their own

Straya got a score just over 250 and won comfortably by an innings

The team should fly home immediately to save further embarrassment

That’s a low bar you’re setting there Bob. Perhaps we need a bit more spunk.

It's when the County Championship is played - Freezing April, then May, maybe the odd game in the middle of the Summer, then September, when it's cooling down again - The pitches are not likely to be at their best on those months, either - Seaming wickets not encouraging quick or slow bowling and making difficult for batters to build an innings.

All so that T20 and this 100 nonsense, can rule the roost.

It isn’t just about the time of year red ball cricket is played. For years the quality of the CC has been going downhill. Reduce the number of counties so there is one division of teams playing each other once, say 14 teams and one relegation spot to Minor Counties. You’ll get better quality games and better quality players at the end of it.

So that makes me a hero too then,

I guess I should thank you, but your statement is too ludicrous for words.

EFA

Whilst we’re on the subject of the spackers at the ECB, arrows to them for scheduling four consecutive series against the best bowling attacks in the world (by a long chalk): India, India, NZ and Australia.

There will obviously be a fallow year to come when we pump SL and WI in May and June and Crawley bangs another double hundred in sub zero Durham to partially pay back Daddy’s investment.

Agers spot on in his BBC summary

Silverwood: "We have to find a way of moving forward”