Tbh after the comments Boycott made saying are average is it any surprise three local lads(Holder, Dowrich and Roach) have made him eat his own words. I don't understand why we need to insult the opposition when we've won once in their backyard in 50 odd years. It beggars belief
We have mis read the pitch because it was tacky and heavily watered before the game I'm sure. Broad should of played because Curran is not an opening bowler anywhere in the world, good prospect but not a front line bowler. To compound that the wicket appears to be two faced and yes they are quicker than us and we are knackered but 18 wickets one day no wickets the next how often do you see that?For me if we play two spinners Leach has to be the other because he can hold an end, Root bowling Stokes and Anderson into the ground is criminal.....he can't turn to Rashid for 25 overs in a day because he is too loose.There's a big question thou over Rashid, does he play again after this match? Can Root trust him?Love to see what the forum thinks.
It seems to me that the selectors see a leg spinner as a key component of being able to turn around England's dismal away record in tests, and rightly so in my view. It is difficult to say whether England got selection wrong in picking two spinners as we won't get the chance to bowl on a day 4 or 5 surface due to an awful 1st innings batting performance, but given the way the surface has dried out by the end of day 3, I don't think they got that aspect of selection wrong. Given the options in the squad, it is only Broad coming in for Curran that I feel would have made a difference to the bowling.As an aside, I never understood why Plunkett was disregarded for test selection, he is England's best bowler for bang it in to the surface conditions. He won't be as effective at home in pitch it up conditions, but he provides something you need for certain parts of the world