On the batsmen front I don't get

Why we dicked around with the great engine room of all rounders we had at 5-7 (Stokes, wk, batsman of Buttler/Bairstow/Foakes, plus woakes/Moeen).

We shunted those guys up and down the order to try and settle in the likes of Pope/Lawrence at 6 and all we've succeeded in doing is destroying all their form.

Jennings looks great on slow, turning, pitches. So we didn't take him on the subcontinent tour
...

I quite like the look of Sibley and Lawrence and Pope, but undecided on Crawley but I think he's got potential too. Just baffled as to why we've dropped them all in together (again, shuffling them around to accommodate Root, which would be fine if it was all working, but it's not).

Reeks of poor man management and indecision to me. Naturally, we're all guessing about what's going on behind the scenes, both in training and what they're being told about their rolea, but a lot of the chopping and changing seems to be as much of a mystery to the players.

India are a great side, and I'm not suggesting that we should batter everyone we play, just that the planning, from outside, looks chaotic and doesn't make sense from a building for tomorrow angle or a winning now.

Ed Smith's tenure looks poor.

Posted By: Cardiff Canary, Aug 5, 16:32:59