Yet another pitiful display. David Lloyd made some very good points in his Sky column. England need to wise up and get up to date with cricket post the twenty twenty era. A run a ball is the standard now for the 50 over game on all but the deadest of pitches. Today Stokes took nearly 40 balls to get 15 runs, that is as match losing am innings as a bowler chucking down no balls and wide.

We need to start playing attacking cricket, but that is not in Cooks gift. Caution won't work against the likes of South Africa or Australia. We need a team management structure where the likes of Morgan and Peterson are allowed the attacking room and the side runs at their pace.

All forms of cricket are changing and I don't think Cook is the captain to lead this, he needs to work on his batting.

Now that Cook is hinting at resigning that surely puts the spotlight on Broad as a future leader as he's already been given a taster in the 20/20 form.

Not my favourite, but he's got attitude - only thing is does he get on with KP and get the best out of him? IIRC he allegedly had something to do with the infamous text messaging a couple of seasons back.

Does he also have the cricketing mind necessary for imaginative field placement and other important decisions?
Bell, the other senior player, is not considered leadership material so I can't think who else the ECB will turn to.

This morning's display was a Groundhog Day of tired trundlers

The "slower" bowlers on each side (Maxwell and Doherty, Treadwell and Bopara) were by far the most effective bowlers on this Sydney pitch. Broad, Bresnan, Stokes, Pattinson and Faulkner all went for a run a ball and more.

When Australia needed all those runs with one wicket left why not throw the ball to Ravi, who had been the most effective bowler up to that time? Our quicker bowlers need to be given the opportunity to play in the Big Bash and IPL (if anyone would have them) and learn how to bowl at international batsmen who are intent on clogging them out of the ground on very flat pitches - Bresnan, Rankin et al have just bowled pies at these guys who are intent on whacking them.

Poor old Cookie needs a rest from the ODI captaincy - his batting is showing sparks, but he just appears frazzled in the field.

OMG we may actually win a game. And the secret is batting at a run a ball from the opening. This has put less pressure on the lower order and we have a total that require Aus to bat at a run an over too and they are ailing to match that.

1 wicket needed.

Or to put it another way....

63 off 19 balls.

Surely we can't throw this one away!!!!

Crack open the fizz! Get the bunting out! Kiss a stranger!

We've won a game of cricket downunder

Forgive my somewhat muted celebrations! But Yay! nonetheless.

Meh.

So (oops, apologies to Gripped), Cookie is rested after all, thin end of the sledge wedge methinks with Broad taking over the one-day captaincy in the Windies.

An experiment that didn't go according to plan, after Cookie showed unforeseen promise in the 50-over game when most thought him too slow.

I don't think he's shown enough flair as a captain in this series and the back end of last, especially noticeable in comparison with Michael Clarke's.

Crippling disappointment once again.

Can someone explain Jade Dernbach to me? How does he keep getting picked? I know today's total was never defendable, but he seems in a hurry to hand over the runs as rapidly as possible.

Utter pants.

Andy Flower has gone. Not sure I'm that pleased. You don't become bad players or a bad coach because of one poor tour. Then again, if his heart isn't in it, perhaps a change is a positive thing.

Tough one. However I cannot believe Ashley Giles is takeing over!!! Judging by the pathetic performance and strategy of the one day side he is NOT the man for the job. Flower and the test squad has had a bad tour but the 50 over team has had a bad millenium!

Arse, I hadn't read that bit! That does look like a poor selection...

Agree with the reluctance to have Ashley Giles in charge - I'd rather see Gary Kirsten be given a shot, at least someone with flair.

Well there we go, tails between our legs, let out of Oz at last like down-hearted convicts bound for Britain.

This festering cement of poor performance and flaky mindset is a real problem for the next coach, especially as they onlt have a fortnight before landing in the Windies. After a performance like this they could do with a complete break to refresh their systems, how about driving buses or gardening?

This is surely squad spring-clean time, favoured hands such as Dernbach, Bopara, Bresnan must be at the top of the list.
Bell and Pietersen won't have long left in their careers now so this next season is going to be a big ask for them.

Will James Taylor get a recall I wonder? Graham Onions?

Top of the list is the coach - it's amazing what Lehmann has done with a once-ragged crew on a losing streak.

Please ECB, get this one right, no crony-ism!

Pietersen gone.

I must say, despite his undoubted talent, he has always struck me as a very difficult person; confused in his loyalties (other than to himself), unable to play a team role and disruptive in the dressing room. It is as much a failure of England's management (over quite a number of years) that they haven't worked out a way to incorporate him effectively, as it is a criticism of Pietersen himself,
but I think it is the right move.

Although I have a lot of respect for Michael Vaughan (and I like the guy), I don't agree that Pietersen should have been retained at almost any cost. I thought Geoff Boycott (of all people) had a better take on it:

BBC pundits

And as for that , Piers Morgan, well, with friends like him, Pietersen will never be short of enemies. Despicable .

Here's hoping the swear-filter works!

Let KP go and be an IPL mercenary - I'm sure he'll forever be deperate to show what England have turned away, but I've been disappointed by him too often.

I have not changed my view since my last post on the subject of Pietersen. I think dropping him now is crazy for a number of reasons, including:

1. Why do this now? Shouldn't the new Andy Flower be involved? (Unless he was, in which case why not announce who he is?)
2. He was not bad in Australia when compared to the rest of the team.
3. If you wanted rid, there was a perfect opportunity in 2012, which I wholly expected would be taken. But it wasn't. Why?
4. He is still one of our best players

Perhaps the ECB would be kind enough to explain their take on this.

I'm quite sure he will now take the IPL money, and probably the Big Bash, and whatever other series. Good luck to him. One of England's problems, in my view, is that we continue to ignore the IPL - other teams are taking the best of those formats to improve their all-round game. We fail to do so at our peril.

Yes yes yes!!!

The game has shifted in the last 12-18 months. Batsmen have taken an attacking stance and some of the big hitters are making noise in test cricket too. Look at what NZ did to England last winter, and what we have just witnessed this winter. We beat Aus and India when those teams were in a state of flux, and don't forget we were beaten in the UAE by Pakistan.

The one game we did win this winter was due to the opeing batsment scoring from the off and not just saving wickets to use later, which we failed to capitalise on anyway.

Look at how England won the 20-20 a few years back. The game was decided in the opening 5 over powerplay. In the tests we just have not had anyone take the opposition appart. We need to review the tactics and not just the people. IMHO Flower and Cook combo was just way too conservative and defensive and got rightly stuffed.