Martial

Astle's cut to Lara's swagger and Shoaib's pace!

[Martial @coverpoint_]

How to take wickets on a flat road.

Shoaib Akhtar.
Intimidating. Fire. Aggression. Passion.

Always gave his all for country.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Gets undone by a top delivery from Josh Tongue. A short stay where he looked composed most of the time. Not an easy wicket to bat.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Williamson is assured outside off so far. Playing it late and soft hands. That is where he is at his best usually.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Williamson is assured outside off so far. Playing it late and soft hands. That is where he is at his best usually.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@SamRoy84 Much like Starc's one, who developed this ball over the last few years, and that has given him great rewards, especially against the left handers.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@SamRoy84 Rubel Hossain used to do that at times. Just to probably put doubt in a batter's mind, and create a different angle from wider release with odd one to get straighten vs RHB.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

I have always admired Jamie Smith since I first saw him bat. He has reduced his front foot trigger. Looked very assured today on a tricky pitch before that ball which kept so low.

A player with huge potential.

Just needs to abit more tight on off stump.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Inzamam at his best. As effortless as it gets. Look how late he opened the bat face.

Perfect example of picking the length early and get into a solid position.

Inzi's lazy elegance against pace bowling was always a good sight.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Looks extremely attractive when he caresses the ball through the off-side. Not trynna over hit, just a follow through.

[England Cricket @englandcricket]

We've reached tea on day two - with Jamie Smith good value for his 3️⃣1️⃣*

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1️⃣6️⃣6️⃣-6️⃣

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@SamRoy84 Except that Anderson has a wider index and middle finger with loose wrist action [ much like Asif ]. Nathan probably has a grip similar to Broad or say Atkinson.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Runs against a quality NZ seam attack when there is variable bounce and enough seam movement on offer.

[Tom Dean @tomdean93]

@coverpoint_ Worried about that front pad when he starts facing quality fast bowling and not div 2 medium pacers

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@DeafMango His ball to Root was better. Stokes played way inside the line against a ball that angled in from wide of the crease. That ball didn't straightened or nip away. More of Stokes' fault in that dismissal.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Playing the ball late is what I noticed when I first saw Emilio Gay bat.

Impressive knock on debut at Lord's in tough conditions.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Emilio Gay has strong basics and what's notable is that he plays the ball a touch late. Could be a making of another fine opener for England.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@ChatilPandi Masood gets caught in the crease way too much even now. Emilio Gay plays the ball a tad late which is his major strength.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Not the kind of pitch you expect to see at Lord's. That 2016 Test v Pak was one of the best supporting decks I've seen at this venue.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Emilio Gay has similarities to Cook with those drives. Will he change his guard to leg stump with a back foot trigger in future? standing on middle and ending up on off [ bowlers targeting his outside edge ]. One thing goes in his favor is that he plays late.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@englandcricket Robinson fifer on his come back. The length he bowled last evening was spot on, along with wobble seam. Tongue was at his best. Should have played at Perth and Gabba in Ashes. Both are currently the most skillful England seamers in Test cricket.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@englandcricket Angle of his ball release makes it hard for right hand batters to negotiate if it does straightens or nips away ever so slightly. That is his best delivery. Josh Tongue is a skillful bowler and more importantly a genuine wicket taker in Test cricket.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

Hit the pitch hard factor and height of O'Rourke makes a great combo to extract extra bounce off a length, and then add little bit of nip either way.

[? @_bruce111]

so lovely

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@DeafMango Kuhnemann was giving it a rip by putting enough revs on the ball. Side spin with good amount of revs on a turning pitch means you just need to keep it simple and bowl within the stumps, which he did very well.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@Ejaz180 Inzi was more brutal in hitting the ball down the ground vs spin and those cuts but Anwar overall was better and more prolific. Warne rated him very high. Saleem Malik was another one who was a fine player of spin and perhaps a touch underated.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

This never gets old. When Saeed Anwar launched Kumble for 3 consecutive sixes in that historic 194 at Chennai.

This was the other aspect of his batting where the bottom hand power came in play.

Stand and deliver stuff. What a player.

[Martial @coverpoint_]

@Fancricket12 Tongue has the habit of producing very good balls. That release point, use of the crease and his general skillset makes it hard for batters. England are fortunate to have a genuine wicket taker in Test post Anderson.