England's work on playing spin
England turned up in Asia trying to overcome their problems against spin. It hasn't worked.
Joe Root is averaging 79 against spin on England's Asian tour. Jos Buttler has him covered with 81. Including those two, England are averaging 28 as a team. The non Root and Buttler England batters - if you pardon my #RootMaths - average 17.5.
The next best was bowler who can bat a bit Dom Bess (33). That's nice, but if your top seven can't play spin, your eight being good at doesn't mean as much.
Lawrence - 31ave
I have already covered Lawrence in a previous piece. I think he has some good instincts against spin, but he needs to play on these kinds of pitches against top-quality tweakers more to learn. But he had a clear plan; that was not the case for everyone else.
Sibley - 27ave
This is going to sound weird, but I think this is a good record being that Sibley has had to face left-arm finger spin in every Test. And he doesn't have a technique for it. He wants to hit to the leg side, and his bat comes from an angle. He's comically legside, with his feet and where he wants to hit. This he…
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