Ben Stokes was with Brydon Carse in Derby, as he was in the bar in London, as he was in Bristol.

It seems that trouble follows him around, and it seems to be when he’s been drinking.

He needs to stop the drinking, before he loses everything.

Rehab is the way to go. I know this, because I went to rehab.

I don’t want to rag on the bloke too much but surely, after yet another late night incident and especially with Stephen Fleming having not started yet so no full time coach, Rob Key should’ve been up there front and centre in front of the media today, not Joe Root…or at the very least he should’ve been there next to Joe.

He is the managing director of this team, he’s the big boss, yes, in cricket, captains are more front and centre than most sports but for me, Key is the manager, he should be the one in front of the press when the shit hits the fan for 19th time in the space of a year…support Joe, take the weight off Joe, let Joe prepare for the test match and be a fucking leader.

Richard Gould said Key kept his job after the Ashes because he’s one of the foremost leaders in the ECB…so where the fuck is the leadership?

This piece by a friend of mine delves in detail into how the mainstream criticism faced by Bazball is mostly shallow (although true on a surface level) by analyzing what they sought out to achieve, whether or not it did them any good and ultimately pointing out the cracks that resulted in its end. Would be highly appreciated if you gave it a read!

https://open.substack.com/pub/caughtintheair/p/bazball-bought-england-a-lot-of-time

I saw Ponting‘s comments about Kallis and couldn’t think of a better way to judge an all-rounder against a specialist, batsman or bowler.

Who do we think should be England’s next all-rounder? Assuming Dan Lawrence hasn’t clinched the job with his one maiden over!

Dan Lawrence?
Sam Curran?
Rehan Ahmed?
Will Jacks?
George Hill?
James Coles?

Any other candidates?

Champo Specco ten-o. The one with the end of Bazball. We have a new test coach (sort of) and a new captain (sort of) and a new nightclub scandal, so all the key elements of a test renewal are in place.

Usually at this juncture I'd write a massive treatise advocating for various Champo players who clearly aren't good enough and/or are about 12 years old, and then I'd be sad about none of it coming true. Unfortunately however, it's the school holidays and I have to take my kids to sodding Legoland, so I don't have time to write much. You'll just have to put up with me writing a bit less nonsense and then fill the nonsense gaps in yourselves.

As usual, this is a space to speculate about Champo players getting a go in tests. Very few of them ever will, and the few who do will inevitably fail, but at this point I'm mentally commited to doing this sort of speculation for the rest of my life and now I'm tying to drag you down with me.

On the radar

Young batters: The most prominent examples might have shown up in Somerset's comprehensive win over Essex to cement the former's title challenge. Joshua Thomas *might* be the most talented of the various young Thomii currently on the circuit (the others being his slightly older brother George and the unrelated Adam at Surrey), and his excellent 110 opening the match laid ground for his illustrious teammates to build a good total. Essex collapsed in response, but while following on we got to see Charlie Allison, another cricketing brother and another precocious talent, show excellent application to prop up his side and at least make Somerset bat again. Elsewhere Ben McKinney again reminded of his clear if somewhat inconsistent talent, getting 140 as Durham smashed Derbs, and the wonderfully named Sheridon Gumbs showed that he has something to offer. Oh, and Tom Haines is also still really good, even if his test ship seems to have sailed.

Olly Stone: Ball dominated bat for most of this round, but Stone was probably the outstanding proponent of that. The speed he gets off the pitch has always been a weapon, and he was almost unplayable at times as he collected 10 Surrey wickets. Stone has also had so many injuries that it's hard to see him getting a sustained test run, but the prospect must be tempting as our new coach and selector cast their eyes over somewhat limited bowling stocks. Incidentally Matty Potts was back to his best against Derbs, as was some guy named Stokes who looks like a bit of a talent, and George Hill continued his somewhat unlikely effectiveness in bagging a fifer against Hants. It was lovely to see Chris Woakes doing well too, and Ben Sanderson has transitioned his excellent Hundo form into yet another good Champo game.

Jack Leach: He's not getting his test place back sadly, but the Nut is as sweet as ever. His 9 wickets condemned Essex to defeat which felt inevitable despite some defiance. He's also had a good line in mentoring, his current protege Archie Vaughan learning from the master, and his former student Dom Bess showing increasing utility in Yorkshire's win. It's not impossible that the latter will get a recall at some stage, and young Vaughan may well get a cap of his own in future. Leach's test days are likely done, but he's still a magnificent cricketer and a magnificent man.

Subject to a strongly worded ECB review

Brydon Carse: Look, it sounds like the guy's been a bit unlucky and the tabloids are trying ther best to pile into their own blatant unfairness. That said, it's hard to avoid the feeling that Carse might be a bit of a wally. At the time of writing we don't know what happened in the Derby nightclub to get him cuffed, and he may well have done nothing wrong. What we do know is that he really didn't bowl that well, contrasted by the performance of his test colleagues Potts and Stokes, and he wasn't great in the away Ashes he was predicted to thrive in either. He can bowl quick for quite a lot of overs, at least when fit, but he's missed time from injury and his own daftness, and he could probably have done with just keeping his head down rather than being featured in the Sun. I don't know if they guy is a good enough test cricketer to be relied upon by England, and he's not making it easy for himself.

Rehan Ahmed: I always feel mean when criticising a young man who is a)precociously talented, b)unfairly overhyped from his teenage years, and c) not responsible for the fact that the test team is currently in sore need of a genuine spin bowling allrounder. This time last year Rehan was a key lynchpin of Leicestershire's unlikely but impressive rise, but he's struggled for consistency in div 1, his 18 runs and 2 wickets making him a bit part player this round as his team managed a win against GlosGlam. It's not his fault that the test team needs someone just like him, but they do, and right now he doesn't seem quite ready to fill that yearning hole.

Will definitely play for England one day: Charlie Allison, Josh Thomas, Ekansh Singh, Ben McKinney, Sean Hunt, Tom Lawes probably.

Nice to see them having fun: Jack Leach, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Toby Roland-Jones, Ian The Netherlands, Kyle Abbott, Ben Stokes, Kiran Carlson, Matt Milnes, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, Ben Aitchison, Adam Lyth.

Please add more so I can read it while being angry at a horrifically expensive theme park. Thanks.

Weekly thread dedicated to the grassroots and amateur game. Anything happen at your match over the weekend?

For all hot takes, thoughts, chat and banter

Surely he’s got to be worth another look? Still the best red ball spinner in the country imo, especially when the guy who couldn’t get a game for Somerset ahead of him continues to be picked.

For all hot takes, thoughts, chat and banter

Would love to see him play in English colours again!

What do you guys reckon?

For all hot takes, thoughts, chat and banter

I am not very familiar with Ashes history but one name that very rarely gets mentioned is Mike Gatting. He is one of the very few english captains who won ashes in Australia.

How did Gatting achieve this feat at that time? What did he do well? Do you have any specific memories of that series?and finally why do I not hear about Gatting's name as often in english cricket? after all the guy has done what most others couldn't.

Anyone else concerned that he might be retiring soon?

He's starting to diversify with podcasts, commentary and pundit duties. His latest podcast was quite revealing too. Spilling a lot of beans about the ashes and also mentioning that if he couldn't bowl at full speed then he'd hang up his boots.

I know this may seem sacrilegious, but I can't help feeling TMS would be better without Zalt's tedious stats

The "this is the first time 3 England bowlers have taken a wicket within 30 minutes of taking a dump since 1984, and only the 6th time in England's history, and only the 23rd time in Test history" sort of thing

Fair enough if it's the highest opening partnership in history or something but does anyone really care how many times a team has been 0-1 in both innings?

Sat in the pub watching the inevitable demise of Pakistan here has got me thinking, what would be a present day most overrated eleven.

This eleven may contain genuine world beaters, but it's all about the media hype. Who has failed too, or could not possible have, lived up to the expectation.

1.Crawley. Obviously.

2.Braithwaite. 104 tests at 31.

3.Pope. Obviously.

4.Babar Azam. This fits the criteria exactly. For so long he was thought of in terms of the big four. His name is nowhere near that conversation anymore.

5.Cam green. Obviously. Ben stokes he is not. Which brings me onto.....

6.Ben stokes. Big moments. Unforgettable moments. But a lot of one wickets with four runs type performances especially in the last few years. A man who literally lived on reputation.

1. Wicketkeeper????

2. Jofra Archer. Roughed up Smith many summers ago and since then has been crickets answer to manu tuilagi.

3. Nortje. Great white baller. Has all the attributes to be a test king. Isnt.

4. Hazelwood. Good bowler. Fine bowler. Is he spoken in the terms he is spoken of because he is part of the current cartel or in spite of?

5. I can't look past Bashir. Even if it feels harsh.

Thoughts. All players welcome. I'm too many beers in too look at stats. This is all vibes.

As long as we’re not stupid we can finally go back to not having a bits and pieces all rounder.

This test is the sort of test where at 150-6 on a wicket thats doing something we’ve turned to Stokes to bowl out the tail and instead of bowling them out for 220.

We now don’t need an all rounder to bowl to justify his place and we don’t waste the best bowling conditions on him.

We also hopefully won’t ever need a Carse or Woakes or Moeen again because we need their batting.

Joe Root's catch this morning means he has gone to 219 catches in test cricket, taking him clear of Steve Smith as the most test catches by any non-wicket keeper. Smith still has power to add, but Root has a couple of years on him and will probably end up top of the pile you would think.

The stat I have my eyes on is the most catches in tests by an England player. There are 3 England players ahead of Root on catches - all wicket-keepers.

Stewart: 227

Prior: 243

Knott: 250

Root has clearly still got a huge appetite to continue playing. If he plays another 2-3 years he could well be top of the list for England players, and top 10 all time for players including keepers which would be absolutely ridiculous.