All a bit depressing watching England bat this morning.
Looking back at recent times, England have struggled to find anyone who has a) the technique and b) the patience/mental strength to be a front-line batsman. Cook and Root are the only ones with their places nailed on, and I have to wonder what it is that's going wrong.
Is this the state of the game everywhere, with T20 fundamentally changing everything around it? Is this something about the County system or beyond? Is it just bad luck?
It is disturbing that too many batters have such fundamental flaws that they will be found out quickly at the highest level. At the same time, I think our lack of investment in a proper spinner is really showing. If Moeen is going to bat at 7 or 8 consistently, then surely we should bring in Rashid and/or Borthwick. Rashid is a decent enough batsmen, and this over-reliance on batting over the primary skill is the wrong approach, IMO (for both bowlers and wicket keepers).