You’re not going to like the Eoin Morgan piece.

Completely agree, just feel we need to acknowledge the new skills this approach needs. And maybe T20 has helped produce more clear thinking cricketers?

Root is on an extended run of glorious form, and Bairstow is batting well beyond the levels he has done before.
Are either of them (Bairstow especially) going to keep playing like this year after year? I wouldn’t think so. The Dukes balls won’t always behave the way they have been this summer and pitches won’t always stay flat enough to hit through the line late on day four.

Sorry, didn’t mean to respond to your comment, JJ. Whenever I dance like nobody’s watching it seems to lead to mocking laughter rather than awed admiration, but again, miserable bastard, etc.

Dukes ball thing does seem really weird – heard an interview with their boss a few days ago where he sounded genuinely at a loss to explain it, and was pretty much crossing his fingers that the problem would disappear next year. But even in the worst case scenario, hopefully recent results gives the team a bit of breathing space to bed down and really start improving.

I hope Stokes etc. are aware of the difference between taking the initiative, playing without fear, and forcing the other side to have to make decisions they don’t want to, on the one hand, and making bloody stupid decisions, on the other. Morgan always has been. It’s not about being aggressive all the time – this is slightly obscured by the fact that England’s limited over teams do in fact think it’s sensible to be aggressive all the time when batting, but they definitely don’t when bowling.

I fear that asking your test openers to attack at all times might be less like asking the same from your one day openers, and more like having four slips in place throughout a one day innings. Attacking, but cretinous. Always got the feeling Morgan had data and shrewd reasoning behind his decisions, and I’m not sure about Stokes. Is “we prefer chasing” a sensible argument for choosing to bowl first in a test? It makes me uneasy.

Then again, I’m a miserable bastard, particularly when it comes to cricket, so I’m probably wrong. Hope so.

Really enjoyed digesting this piece, KC. If I was going out to bat I’d want She Sells Sanctuary by the Cult. I reckon Brendon McCullum has The Safety Dance by Men Without Hats blasting out in the changing room.

More shots equals more options which can stymie things as per above. It makes simplifying players’ thinking even more important really.