Savage Henry Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Would he f**k, for who for a start, never mind the stack on runs his opening partner has scored recently too.Bell will go for Shah, possibly Monty out for Swann, other than that there's not many changes they can make. Strauss is captain for the simple reason that there was nobody else. I still think KP will be captain for the Ashes series. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Strauss is captain for the simple reason that there was nobody else. I still think KP will be captain for the Ashes series. Not a change, but what's that got to with dropping him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 (edited) Not a change, but what's that got to with dropping him. He shouldn't be playing for England. He's far too limited, even as an opener. I can quite see why Pietersen was so pissed off about Vaughn not going on the tour. The simple fact is the two openers will play every test because frankly there are no other options. Edited to add; had Strauss not been captain, I am pretty certain the squad would have contained another opening batsman. Edited February 8, 2009 by Jim Pansy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 He shouldn't be playing for England. He's far too limited, even as an opener. I can quite see why Pietersen was so pissed off about Vaughn not going on the tour. The simple fact is the two openers will play every test because frankly there are no other options. KP wanted Vaughan to bat at 3, because there's nobody in the current squad who can. Strauss is a cracking opening bat at any level, but I'm not sure him and Cook can really open together. Cooks obviously got bags of potential but if there was test match tomorrow and I could only have one it'd be Strauss every time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I would not like to batting on day 5 trying to get 200/250 to win. Not a scenario i will see!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) Before slaggging off England, credit has to go to the West Indies who played very well, hats off.But still, that was a shambles and there needs to be a bit of an inquest. No need for knee-jerk reactions or wholesale changes but dropping Bell, at least, is not exactly going to be knee-jerk - his own mother would struggle to argue he hasn't had a fair crack of the whip. Whether there'll be any more changes, I don't know. The spell from Taylor was some of the best bowling I've ever seen and whilst it was frankly embarrasing to watch from an English point of view you have to applaud the Windies for getting it so right whilst the England team crumbled in front of them. As for changes well Bell is a certainty to go and depending on the next pitch I'd say Swann for either Monty or Sidebottom. ....and as for Vaughan well there is nothing in his form over the past year that suggests he'd make an improvement to his county side never mind the international team. You just have to look back to Ashes in 05 when Jones, Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff kicked convict backside and see that the bowling is probably just as major a problem as the batting at the moment. Sidebottom didn't look fit, Monty has had his magic coached out of him, Harmison is a busted flush, Broad is having way too much put on his shoulders for where he is in his career and Flintoff shouldn't be the go-to guy when things go tits up. At the moment the only people who should be guaranteed starting places are Strauss, KP, Freddie and Prior the rest must pull their pads up. Edited February 9, 2009 by drs 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoctor Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Not a scenario i will see!! This is going to sound bad, but I laughed my head off when I heard what happened in the West Indies on Saturday. I've never been a fan of the England cricket team, but after the way they celebrated the Ashes win in 2005 (one test match win out of five = Queen's honours), I really started to dislike them. Guys like Pietersen and Flintoff are the cricketing equivalent of some the football players you get down there where they are paid silly money for being, at best, mediocre. The IPL auctions showed that when these two clowns will be paid silly money in a country rife with poverty. And after the recent fall-out, Pietersen shouldn't be anywhere near the squad because I can't help thinking there were members of the team that backed the manager that lost his job. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 And after the recent fall-out, Pietersen shouldn't be anywhere near the squad because I can't help thinking there were members of the team that backed the manager that lost his job. Well Flintoff for one 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shengus Khan Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 This is going to sound bad, but I laughed my head off when I heard what happened in the West Indies on Saturday. I've never been a fan of the England cricket team, but after the way they celebrated the Ashes win in 2005 (one test match win out of five = Queen's honours), I really started to dislike them.Guys like Pietersen and Flintoff are the cricketing equivalent of some the football players you get down there where they are paid silly money for being, at best, mediocre. Two actually And to call Pietersen and Flintoff mediocre is a bit silly. Pietersen especially, is one of the world's finest players. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 They're 2 of the best players in world cricket at the moment. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 This is going to sound bad, but I laughed my head off when I heard what happened in the West Indies on Saturday. I've never been a fan of the England cricket team, but after the way they celebrated the Ashes win in 2005 (one test match win out of five = Queen's honours), I really started to dislike them.Guys like Pietersen and Flintoff are the cricketing equivalent of some the football players you get down there where they are paid silly money for being, at best, mediocre. The IPL auctions showed that when these two clowns will be paid silly money in a country rife with poverty. And after the recent fall-out, Pietersen shouldn't be anywhere near the squad because I can't help thinking there were members of the team that backed the manager that lost his job. First England won two tests in the Ashes victory, and anyone who wipes the smugness of the Australian team's faces is good in my book. Pietersen averages over fifty in test cricket over a significant period of time. That is hardly mediocre. Flintoff is probably the most complete all-rounder next to Jack Kallis. He's not necessarily a strike bowler, but he chips in with important wickets at a decent average. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Bell will go for Shah, possibly Monty out for Swann, other than that there's not many changes they can make. Bell will have to step down, sounds like Panesar may well escape the axe for now because they'll probably play two spinners in Antigua. (Be interesting to see which of the seamers miss out if so.) There's no one better than Strauss and Cook available to open though they've both still got something to prove. Like others, I'm hoping Vaughan (as well as Simon Jones) show a bit of form early in the county season. On a positive note, Matt Prior is settling into the role well at the moment. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Prior has made the position his own at the moment and there is only Foster who will be really challenging during the summer. I'd drop Sidebottom but I wouldn't be surprised if it was HArmison. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Prior has made the position his own at the moment and there is only Foster who will be really challenging during the summer.I'd drop Sidebottom but I wouldn't be surprised if it was HArmison. Is Prior not going home for the final test because his wife is due to give birth? An absolutely disgrace, if you ask me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Well the papers seem to be going for Shah to replace Bell and Swann in at the expense of Harmison, Cant really argue with that,maybe Anderson is Antigua going to turn? Interesting piece in the Telegraph in Boycotts column having a real go at the entourage that surrounds the team these days. I include the bit here. Let's go through the entourage out here in Jamaica. We have Andy Flower (batting coach), Ottis Gibson (bowling coach), Phil Neale (operations manager) Kirk Russell (physio), Mike Stone (doctor), Sam Bradley (fitness and conditioning coach), Mark Garraway (analyst), Mark Saxby (masseur), Reg Dickason (security manager), Andrew Walpole (media manager), Colin Gibson (senior media manager), Hugh Morris (managing director) and Geoff Miller (chief selector). I make that 13 people. And if they hadn't sacked him, we would have had Moores as well! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Boycott is old-school, he's always been against all these new-fangled coaching methods; but bowling in particular puts a greater strain on them as athletes nowadays than Boycott had to put himself through, and that needs more care than gruff Yorkshire "in my day ....". Football clubs have much larger backroom teams too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Next deck is meant to be flat as a pancake, so that pretty much rules out JA playing, I'm guessing Shah in for Bellend and Swann for Hamrison. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Boycott is old-school, he's always been against all these new-fangled coaching methods; but bowling in particular puts a greater strain on them as athletes nowadays than Boycott had to put himself through, and that needs more care than gruff Yorkshire "in my day ....". Football clubs have much larger backroom teams too. To be fair to Boycs, he's very much from the "in my day" school, but he usually supports technological advances such as the referral system. He can also put his finger on exactly where the batsman is going wrong, though very rarely where he is going right. I do wish he'd shut up about uncovered wickets and stop pimping his Yorkshire spin protege on TMS. And am I the only one to notice his curious habit of humming and hawing on mic whilst the commentator is describing the action? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Boycs is ace! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Wasn't slagging him off, I like him too, but he's a bit set in his ways in some respects. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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