The Giants left Thursday evening. | Forum
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Jun 17 '18
Perhaps it was fitting that it ended this way. Finland World Cup Jerseys .Perhaps it was fitting that a year that has been characterised by Englands positive style of play ended with a defeat brought about by reckless batting.As if Jonny Bairstows dismissal, caught at deep midwicket - yes, deep midwicket - was not bad enough as England battled for a draw, Moeen Ali then wasted his previous efforts with an absurd attempt to loft Ravindra Jadeja over the top. The ball only made it as far as mid-on.Suddenly, the door that was almost closed on India was opened once more. England lost their last six wickets for just 15 runs.Defeat means they have lost four Tests in succession, five out of seven on this tour and six out of their last eight. It also means they have equalled their record for most defeats - eight - in a calendar year. It cant keep being an aberration.Losing to India is no disgrace, of course. Just as losing to Bangladesh in Dhaka was no disgrace. Playing in Asia may well be the toughest test for England players and there was probably no combination of players available to England that would have won this series against a fine side.But the manner of some of these defeats is a concern. Just as losing 10 wickets for 64 runs in a session in Dhaka, or 10 for 83 in the second innings in Vizag or six for 15 in Mumbai should not be accepted with a phlegmatic shrug, nor should this collapse.It came, after all, on a surface on which England laboured for more than 190 overs for seven wickets. And it came with the hard work almost done.But England seem to have lost the ability to bat time. They seem to have forgotten that defence is every bit as important as attack in Test cricket. They seem to have concluded that the way to deal with every challenge thrown their way in Test cricket is to smash it into the stands.It wasnt just Moeen and Bairstow here. Joe Root was leg before attempting to sweep and Adil Rashid was caught at point attempting to flick into the leg side. Straight bat strokes might not have been as positive, but they would have been safer.You would have thought India had taught them by example. You would have thought they had proved that it is not 70s or 80s that win Tests, but 100s and 200s and even 300s. England have to be hungrier. They have to be greedier. They have to be prepared to grind and graft as well as thrash and bash.Why would Moeen be trying to hit over the top in these circumstances? Why, with no hope of setting India a target, would such an aggressive approach be appropriate or helpful? The answer is that it wasnt appropriate and it may well have been a manifestation of a lack of belief in his own defensive technique. It was a point picked up by Virat Kohli in mid-series. England try to run because they know they cant walk.It would be a mistake in such a situation to look for quick fixes. England have a structural problem when it comes to dealing with Asian conditions and it is probably beyond the whit of any individual in a captaincy or coaching position to change that. Alastair Cook may be the current target for those wanting change, but his sacking will alter almost nothing. It certainly wont conjure two brilliant spinners out of the ether and it might overburden Root, who already plays all three formats and is still learning his trade as a batsman.But it wont do to ring our hands and say nothing can be done. For half the Test world play in these conditions (the Caribbean, increasingly, offers low, slow surfaces). These pitches were far from extreme and England had the advantage of winning the toss in four Tests. Unless England are to settle for a future where they mug sides at home on green pitches - as they did for much of the Sri Lanka series - and struggle away, they have to find a way to combat such surfaces.Part of the problem here may well be the messages coming from the coach. Trevor Bayliss has made no secret of his view that he prefers attacking-style batters and that, at times this series, he feels England have suffered for being too defensive with the bat. When we have been a little bit more defensive, we look like wickets waiting to happen, he said in mid-series. As soon as were a little bit more positive, rotating the strike and hitting a boundary when the opportunity comes, it puts pressure on the opposition. Yes, it might get you out once or twice. But with the batting order weve got, theres going to be a number of guys that do score runs.This is puzzling. You would have thought that a coach would want to point out that each batsman has to take responsibility to get the job done. As Moeen proved here, life for the new man can be far more difficult. Bayliss somewhat gung-ho approach seems to risk leaving the job to the next man. It doesnt seem especially responsible.Indeed, increasingly Bayliss whole approach to Test cricket looks naive. It may well be fine for limited-overs cricket, where uncompromised aggression seems to have become the order of the day. But more subtlety is required in the longer-format and Bayliss hasnt demonstrated much of that.The problem with his laissez-faire approach - he is well known for saying little and interfering less - is that sometimes a coach needs to interfere. As Australia have shown in recent times, creating a cosy dressing room environment is fine up to a point, but when the ball starts to swing or spin, a coach also need to be able to help with technique. Otherwise they are just a bystander.It would be premature to say we are in this category with Bayliss. He really wasnt dealt a handful of aces on this tour and it isnt so long since England were a win or two away from becoming the top-ranked Test side.But, if he doesnt know the players from county cricket, he cant really select. And if he really is wedded to this aggressive approach with the bat, he isnt going to help many of the batsmen. Meanwhile, since he took over and dispensed with fielding coaches to take on the responsibility himself, England have dropped a series of vital chances. And with an attack that creates so few, that is costing them dearly. His recent comment that the team havent got a lot of natural athletes sounds dangerously like a workman blaming his tools.It is an irony that one of the positive of this tour for England has been the emergence of two new options for batsmen at the top of the order. Both Haseeb Hameed and, to a lesser extent, Keaton Jennings have impressed as old-school openers, not the aggressive type that Bayliss professes to prefer. It would be no surprise if both of them featured in the top three when England next play Test cricket in July.Bayliss cant really take credit for either of them. He had never seen Jennings bat until they reached Mumbai and he preferred Ben Duckett to Hameed at the start of the tour. Indeed, if you question which of the Test players have progressed due to his input, answers are not immediately obvious. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to consider appointing a different coach for the Test and limited-overs teams? Englands schedule is ridiculous. It might make life better for all concerned.There seems little chance that will happen in the short term. Andrew Strauss has too much staked on Bayliss and, to be fair, Englands limited-overs resurgence might vindicate his appointment. Its the main reason he was hired and he is making a success it.But Englands Test squad leave India with many more questions than answers. They need to work out how to bowl on flat surfaces - in particular, how to gain lateral movement - and how to bat against the spinning ball. They need to develop spinners and start thinking about replacements for an ageing seam attack. And they need to decide if their coach and captain are the men to lead their progress. None of the answers are obvious. Wholesale Finland Jerseys . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Cheap Football Finland Jerseys .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. http://www.cheapfinlandjerseysauthentic.com/ . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Josh Brown was placed on the commissioners exempt list Friday, and sources told ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen that the veteran kicker is done with the New York Giants.Multiple sources also expressed doubt that Brown would ever kick again in the NFL after documents surfaced this week in which the veteran kicker admitted to domestic abuse against his wife.NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch, in a letter sent to Brown, said the league wants to investigate further upon learning of the new documents, which were released by the King County (Washington) Sheriffs Office and stem from Browns 2015 arrest.?As you may be aware, the NFL made multiple requests of the Sheriffs Office for any and all pertinent information developed through its investigation, the letter to Brown stated. Because the Sheriffs Office was treating its investigation as an open matter, however, the NFLs requests were rejected and the materials first became known and available to us at the same time they were released publicly.The released materials appear to contain information regarding other incidents of abuse separate from the May 22, 2015 incident for which you were disciplined under the Personal Conduct Policy. As a result, further investigation by the league into those separate incidents is needed.?In an interview with BBC Sport, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, We take this issue incredibly seriously. This is something weve been working on with policy changes, to educating our players to make sure they understand how they deal with issues with their family, give them resources to be able to deal with this. But when it happens, were not going to tolerate it. So we have some new information here, well evaluate that in the context of our policy, and well take it from there. Cheap Finland Soccer Jerseys. Brown already?served a one-game suspension without pay to kick off this season for violating the leagues personal conduct policy.Asked whether Brown can expect further punishment, Goodell told BBC Sport, The policy the way its structured right now is for an incident. And it can be reduced or increased on the basis that first offense is six games, second offense is banishment. So its the only policy, the only issue where we have that type of penalty.Birchs letter to Brown said the NFL expects to conduct this review expeditiously and make any appropriate adjustments to your roster status in a timely manner.By being placed on the commissioners exempt list, Brown, who has three days to appeal the decision, will still be able to collect his base salary of approximately $1.15 million and is permitted to attend the Giants facility for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehabilitation, and other permitted non-football activities, the letter said. He is not allowed to attend practices or games.Earlier Friday in London, Giants coach Ben McAdoo said the team wasnt going to abandon Brown,?even after leaving him home as his team prepares for Sundays game vs. the Los Angeles Rams.Were not going to turn our back on Josh, McAdoo said as he was being peppered with questions. Hes our teammate.McAdoo said he went to each position room Thursday to inform players that Brown would not make the trip to London. The Giants left Thursday evening. Former Bears kicker Robbie Gould has signed a prorated one-year deal and will join the team Saturday in London.ESPN staff writer Jordan Raanan contributed to this report. NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Gear China NFL Jerseys White Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys White ' ' '
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