After 2013 (ave 33) and an uncenturied 2014 (ave 32), you might have thought he was on the way out. But he did come back again. For 2015, 2016 and 2017 he then averaged 54, 42, 47. This is one reason I’m still not keen on him going permanently now, though a break (perhaps to play some more county cricket or even overseas first-class cricket) might help.

It is rather remarkable how precipitous the drop is from 2017 – I hadn’t expected that.

Tavare would not have been a good idea at No 3 back then, whatever he would have preferred. He had a very good technique and was not quite as pedestrian as his urban myth infers.

Derek Randall was most certainly suited to the middle order and could only be described as a makeshift choice as opener, in the “try Buttler” or “try Moheen” mould.

Edit: When i wrote 16 and 17 – i meant 15 and 16 in the above comment. As you were.

The lazy eye has always bugged me; looking up straight therefore seems a tad far-fetched. How he’s managed so many runs is a testament to the immense mental powers of the man. Buttler is similarly afflicted.

The openers who were plying their trade when I was begat, are described by cricinfo thus:

“a twitchy starter, especially when there was movement for the seamers, and was at his most effective at No. 5 or 6”

and

“though he much preferred to bat No. 3, England forced him to open because there was no one else”

Both averaged in the early 30s in an era of great bowlers. What we wouldn’t give…

This is his year by year. http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Players/PlayerYears.asp?PlayerID=3349

Also whereas he has well documented fallow periods in the last 18 months in ’16 and ’17 he scored 5 hundreds and 15 50s.

Right hand opening partnerships are common and so i don’t think necessarily that two left handers are a problem – given especially that Strauss and Cook were a pair that made it work. They just have to be good enough and I think we probably have dropped a couple of the alternatives tried too quickly I think its really only in the last 18-24 months that things have been really grim from a Cook perspective.

That said i totally agree with Cook to 3 and we should have had Burns in for this test match.

(My) longest comment ever and overly serious – apologies…

I feel the same way. Yet, when I Google the first test series of my lifetime (1962/63 Ashes) the Wikipedia entry includes the following quote:

“The England middle order batting was its main strength, which with two wicket-keeper-batsmen and four all rounders made up for their lack of a settled opening partnership. [This remained] a problem between the retirement of Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook in 1956 and the emergence of Geoff Boycott and John Edrich in the mid-1960s. ”

Plus ca change…

I feel your pain, APW & Marees. The only waxing I have experienced is in my ears, not between them.

My pain, following yesterday’s thrashing by a pre-teen, is more physical than mental this morning.

Daisy tried to sort out the mental side of it by suggesting that I should be flattered that the pros thought I would give that kid a good enough game.

It’ll be a visit to the chiropractor this morning to sort out the physical pain.