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mr_roscoe

Listed below are comments made by mr_roscoe between Thursday, 21st August 2008 and Wednesday, 19th August 2009.

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They think it's all Oval... 11:24am on 19 Aug 2009 I am quite sure that the TMS team will deliver, and the production will be up to their usual high standards - set over so many years. In the days before we could afford a television set, I used to listen to TMS on my 'portable' (it weighed more than a house-brick) radio.

I can still recall listening to John Arlott painting pictures of the English and Australian players fighting it out at Lords in 1961. His voice seemed to be synonymous with the game I was beginning to love as a boy. At the inaugural World Cup it was the great Arlott who described Clive Lloyd's four over mid-wicket as ".......like of a man hitting the top off a thistle with a walking stick........". Great stuff!

One of my other abiding memories is that wonderful Australian Alan McGilvray commentating with (summariser) the forthright Trevor Bailey. At the fall of a wicket, McGilvray was trying to describe exactly how the unfortunate batsman had met his end:

McG: "It was a good ball, which seemed to do a bit off the pitch, and I think it moved a little in the air - it could have done him for pace, but I think it was the movement which did for him in the end. It was one of those balls you hope not to get early in your innings - a dream delivery if you are a bowler - and by the time the batsman had got himself into some sort of position to play it, it had rapped him on the pads. Even then I thought he was a trifle unlucky to be given out, as it could have been missing leg..........what do you think Trevor?"

Bailey: "Straight ball, played down the wrong line - plumb!"

I think it was the unfortunate McG who was the victim of one of Johnners' pranks. BJ waited for Alan to take an enormous mouthful of cake, and then asked him to comment on the last delivery.

Happy memories and a proud tradition. I think Steven Fry will make sure the standard remains at least QI.
They think it's all Oval... 09:52am on 18 Aug 2009 I fear for England at The Oval. Before Headingly, the momentum was with them, but now.............oh dear oh dear.

With Flintoff in danger of breaking down at any moment, the selectors must be holding their collective breaths every time he comes on to bowl.

They must also worry about the batting of Cook, for his technique makes him look so vulnerable at times. Why the great concern? Because at No3 we have Bell: talented though he may be, he is no No3 - and certainly not against the Aussies. They have worked him over and worked him out.

After him comes the new boy Trott. AT 295-2 he could succeed, but 17-2 is another matter.

Then there's Colly. .....a whole chapter could be written about him at the moment. Which Colly will turn up? The fighter and the grafter, or the tentative and uncertain man we saw at Leeds?

I can see another batting disaster for England - even if they win the toss. All out for not many, they will do well to stay with the Aussies for more than 3 days. If the coin falls the wrong way for Strauss, the humiliation could be sad to behold. With the other bowlers getting nought for plenty, Strauss may well have to turn to a suspect Flintoff to gain some respectability to a team which has suffered from poor selection.
How England can win the Ashes 9:26pm on 10 Aug 2009 If we are serious about winning back The Ashes, we should pick a team to do just that. The selectors should make it clear that, win or lose, this team is purely for The Oval. After that, England have got to start looking ahead.

Thank you Messrs Bell, Collingwood, Harmison and Flintoff. You have, in the main, served us well. There are young lions waiting in the wings, ready to join forces with KP, Bopara (yes!) Rashid, and the rest of the present team. Together, given inspired leadership from captain and coach, they can make for a resurgent England.
England v Australia Fourth Test player ratings 7:28pm on 09 Aug 2009 Your markings were a trifle generous! England were terrible.

The following should be replaced at the Oval:

BOPARA - he'll come again, but he should make way for a reliable No.3;
BELL - has never inspired confidence (particularly against Australia); and
HARMISON - a bowler of his experience should not need to be told when to pitch the ball up. Line and length (as Fiery Fred used to say).

My Oval 12:

Strauss
Cook (only just)
Denly (showed the Australians his class at Worcester)
Key (taking a punt here)
Collingwood (has got to impart his character on the rest of the team)
Flintoff (heaven knows what we'll do after this, his final test)
Prior (a rose amongst so many thorns)
Broad (still learning, but worthy of a place)
Rashid (if he's good enough, he's old enough)
Swann (should start thinking of himself as an all-rounder)
Sidebottom (we have missed his control)
Onions (a 'thinker' who will only get better)

The heavy roller comes next, followed by Anderson.

I venture to suggest that this latest debacle would not have happened if KP were still captain of the side.

Finally, a word about Marcus North. At Worcester he looked as though he was batting with a piece of lead pipe - his feet tied together with a piece of elastic. At Cardiff he scored a century. A certain Mr Bell must take some responsibility for that - it was Benevolent Ian who fed him some bits and pieces bowling at the end of the match, allowing Mr North to have an extended net....just in time for the first test.

It showed our lack of awareness when it comes to playing at the highest level. The last two days at Headingly underlined that weakness. Wake up England!
Morning of mourning for shell-shocked England 11:41am on 08 Aug 2009 Appalling! Disgraceful! Rubbish!

Yes, we've heard it all before - and unless our selectors start visiting planet Earth more often, we're going to hear it again and again.

Surely one of them would have noticed before the fourth test that Bopara - looking sublime against a poor west Indian attack - has struggled against bowlers who put the ball in the right place. He may well turn out to be an international No3, but he is nowhere near it yet.

How many more times has Bell got to fail before it's acknowledged that (talented as he may be) his temperament is suspect when faced by the very best?

How many times has Harmison got to spray the ball all over the place (too short and too wide) for the selectors to forget his golden years (now sadly a long time ago) and bid him farewell?

What on earth is Stuart Broad doing at No7?

Yesterday morning, Strauss should have been saying to his team: "At this moment in time, we have the Ashes in our grasp - let us fight to keep hold of them."

What he shouldn't have had to say was: "The ball is swinging like it often does in England (where we live boys). Don't get out on the drive - don't get out playing away from your body - these English conditions mustn't get US out"

Pity..........he might have got through to a few of them!
Ashes hero Jones says hit the Aussies hard 09:49am on 07 Jul 2009 It is indeed a shame for this wholehearted and skillful bowler that once again he is sidelined. Though there must be clouds of doubt hanging over his future as a player, I would not write him off. How I'd love to see him back!

When the England team left for Australia in 2006, pundits were expecting a close series: I on the other hand feared the worst. Michael Vaughan had 'out-captained' Ponting in 2005, and he was not on the plane; neither was Marcus Trescothick. Most important of all though - neither was Simon Jones. Andrew Flintoff was the 2005 headliner, but without Jones, England would not have won The Ashes that year.

I remember of course his 18 wickets in four test matches, but my abiding memory will be of Jones hurling the ball at Hayden's stumps in an ODI and standing his ground as the burly Australian walked towards him. Hayden finally had to turn tail - the bully had met his match. That set the tone for the 2005 series..............wonderful stuff!
England left to absorb shocking defeat 12:24pm on 06 Jun 2009 England thought that Holland were there for the taking. Their team selection showed this. I am a supporter of Rob Key, but he hasn't been able to buy a run for Kent of late. He is also not a 'six-hit' man. So why send him in when big hits were required? Why were Dimi and Napier not even in the side? Why? Why? Why? Because we thought this would be easy. It wasn't..........and England deserved to be on the receiving end of a famous occasion.
Flower it is - but a cloak of secrecy remains 08:47am on 21 Apr 2009 Andy Flower was part of a regime which failed; he was the batting coach to a team of batters who failed; and he will preside over a team which ultimately fails.

When England chose Pietersen as captain, Hugh Morris proudly announced to the world that the ECB had picked a winner. That was the last accurate statement he made and it was the last accurate judgement to be made by the ECB. The disgraceful way KP was subsequently treated can almost certainly be put down to the fact that the powers-that-be were afraid that the new captain would be seen as the driver of a sad and tired old vehicle. At least the old guard took note of Kevin's opinion that Moores was not up to scratch and sacked him too. What a shambles - no wonder all the top coaching names decided to give this one a miss!

Now I'm afraid, we are all to witness a period of English mediocrity on the international stage. It is high time that Messrs. Lloyd, Hussain and Botham were listened to. We play too much cricket in too many competitions, and there are too many Kolpak players here. If our outdated system remains, England will sink lower and lower in the world pecking order....no matter who is coach.
England exploit SA failings 10:40am on 31 Aug 2008 "Pietersen has the Midas Touch - For Now".......Aggers is right!

This transformation of the England team's fortunes was to be expected. A new captain invariably inspires, and will often breathe new life into a team.

It is impossible to know the mind-set of the South Africans. Whether or not their winning of the test series signalled a 'job done' attitude can never be established. Whatever the SA scenario, England can do no more than win (and win well).

The return of Harmison has undoubtedly breathed new fire into the team, as has Flintoff's return to form with the bat and consistency with the ball.

As far as Pietersen is concerned, there can be no doubt that he has lifted this team, and captained them well. His field settings have (on the whole) been imaginative and supportive of his bowlers, and bowling changes seem to immediately get wickets. Long may if continue!

There will however come a time when the opposition are 450-3, and tired bowlers are all looking the other way when KP looks for one of them to achieve a breakthrough.

I think he will come through that test too - it's in the nature of the man to succeed, and we can only hope that on the road to success, he carries his team with him.
Confidence and consistency is key for England 1:13pm on 21 Aug 2008 I hope that the Pietersen era finally means a settled side, with every member of the team aware of his role.

I also hope that when we are beaten, we don't have to witness Peter Moores saying:

(eg after a bad fielding display) ".........these are the things we must go back and work on........", or

(eg after a bad batting display) "........the players know that work has to be done to improve their strike rate etc etc........."

The England players are professional sportsmen - they should be fit and able to perform for their country BEFORE matches! They should know how they are expected to perform at any stage during a match.

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