just read mccallum is new red ball coach, appointed by 'cricket chief' rob key who appointed captain stokes

now, i get that i must be asleep and never see a paper, but fucking hell, ive missed all this happening

2 hours ago, L/H White said:

cricket fella on talksport reckons stokes will be stripped of the captaincy

Another mon just said he's going to retire.

4 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Another mon just said he's going to retire.

I don't think there's much left for him to prove/do

An Ashes victory would be one but we don't play them until next year

23 hours ago, Traf said:

Ah, well, he'll get another crack at getting it right later in the "summer" whilst grounds like OT don't get one test match.

Exactly this, if this was say Trent Bridge, they wouldn't get another test for years.

All this 'Home of cricket' bollocks - I just don't get why we would choose to play at a ground where there's no atmosphere and our record is poor in comparison to the other options.

London should get one test per series between them IMO.

51 minutes ago, BoltonPro15 said:

Exactly this, if this was say Trent Bridge, they wouldn't get another test for years.

All this 'Home of cricket' bollocks - I just don't get why we would choose to play at a ground where there's no atmosphere and our record is poor in comparison to the other options.

London should get one test per series between them IMO.

There's no way the MCC is missing out on it's annual payday

The night after the Test in Hobart in Tasmania in 2022, both the England players and Aussies mixed together in the harbour bars. There were also many England fans including us. A lot of drink was consumed. I was waiting in the queue for the bar and Stokes had ordered a tray of shots. I thought it was amusing and was about to take a photo when his ‘minder’ stuck his hand out and said “no photos”

I had no intention of putting the photo on social media so was a bit annoyed at the time. On reflection, the big guy was right.

It goes on. We all laughed at the antics of the Bolton players in Fanny’s and beyond.

Ps. Stokesy is a smoker! 😳

Proper Test Match this. Always enjoy playing NZ.

Getting battered here.

5 hours ago, BobyBrno said:

Proper Test Match this. Always enjoy playing NZ.

Aye it’s a good one. Be interesting to see if the “young” players can step up in this situation

I think Bethell's a big talent but I don't know what he's done to deserve batting at No. 3

22 minutes ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

I think Bethell's a big talent but I don't know what he's done to deserve batting at No. 3

There are reasons for and against but I guess his 154 at the SCG in his last but one Test is reason enough. I’m sure they’ll push him up/down the order if he doesn’t produce the runs. Root and Brook might have a say in that though.

Edited Saturday at 14:453 days by BobyBrno

1 hour ago, BobyBrno said:

There are reasons for and against but I guess his 154 at the SCG in his last but one Test is reason enough. I’m sure they’ll push him up the order if he doesn’t produce the runs. Root and Brook might have a say in that though.

A good counter argument

I'd still have him batting lower down the order though

Stokes bowled 25 overs yesterday for Durham. 1 for 80.

Today he scored 95.

1 hour ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

A good counter argument

I'd still have him batting lower down the order though

I just don’t see Root, Brook, Stokes (assuming he’ll be back) or even Smith moving up for the sake of Bethell.

So far, he’s done well in that slot and I think he wants and is happy to play there.

Men vs Boys today sadly

Poor bowling, poor fielding and batting that was….well, up against a good Test bowling team

Full credit to NZ. Good test team.

Like watching a League 1 team of youngsters against a mid table Prem team

Hopefully some lessons leaned

Woeful

Stokes, Atkinson, Robinson and Smith back for the Trent Bridge Test. Should even things up for the decider.

On 20/06/2026 at 21:32, MancWanderer said:

Men vs Boys today sadly

Poor bowling, poor fielding and batting that was….well, up against a good Test bowling team

Full credit to NZ. Good test team.

Like watching a League 1 team of youngsters against a mid table Prem team

Hopefully some lessons leaned

Yeah, it's very easy to forget just how good this NZ team is, and have been for a long time now.

Bowling attack probably as good as any.

I'm glad Stokes is back, he's served his punishment. Talk about his losing his captaincy or even quitting the game because of something which happened on the field seems mad for me.

I'd sooner see McCullum and Key go before Stokes.

7 hours ago, BoltonPro15 said:

Yeah, it's very easy to forget just how good this NZ team is, and have been for a long time now.

Bowling attack probably as good as any.

I'm glad Stokes is back, he's served his punishment. Talk about his losing his captaincy or even quitting the game because of something which happened on the field seems mad for me.

I'd sooner see McCullum and Key go before Stokes.

What has happened?

Other than the nightclub incident, I wasn't aware of anything in the game.

I think it was a typo and he means off the field, so basically that incident

It does seem to me that the relationship between Stokes and McCullum isn't as strong as it once was and sometime soon one, probably Stokes, will go

1 minute ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

I think it was a typo and he means off the field, so basically that incident

It does seem to me that the relationship between Stokes and McCullum isn't as strong as it once was and sometime soon one, probably Stokes, will go

Ta.

If Stokes did go, then it would be his own fault.

As captain, he knows better.

As a player, he's got form and isn't setting the right example off the field.

Some discipline required throughout the squad it seems.

Surely there's more to the decision to leave Robinson out of the decider