England Cricket Shambles

[Simster]

What would you do to reverse our fortunes.

For me, Gough has to be dropped. He's blatently not fit, has appalling test figures this series of 1 for 215 runs. Oh and he's not scoring runs either (although he did top score in our first innings in the last test with 34)

Also, it should be an opportunity to dispense with the services with Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain. Both have performed well for England over the years but are aging and now out of touch.

Of the others, Anthony McGrath doesn't look too bad although the manner of his dismissal last time round was shocking and Ashley Giles is a mediocre spinner at test level but unfortunately is probably the best we've got, unless we play Ian Salisbury which I think woud be a step backwards or maybe Robert Croft who at least is having a good season with the bat.

So I would retain the side, except for Gough, Stewart and Hussain. And for me, in would come super Jimmy Kirtley, Kent's Ed Smith and we'd need a new batsman-wicket keeper as well.

 

[JJ McClure]

Stewart has to go now. One of the great cricketers that this country has produced but is now long past his best. I found it almost embarassing to watch in the previos test when he was hobbling around after getting hit on the leg. Gough is also long gone. Giles also needs to prove himself.

I'd keep Hussain and Butcher as they are both extremely competant batsmen. The problem England have again and again is lack of patience meaning they give their wickets away cheaply.

That said it was superb entertainment yesterday afternoon watching Flintoff smash the boundries and his bat, Ntini getting the crowd going. Top notch stuff. Just a shame about that first day.

 

[Trigger]

M. Trescothick (Best opener we have)
M. Vaughan (Captain has to play)
M. Butcher (Steady number 3, no one better)
E. Smith (When we he get recognised)
G. Thorpe (Oops i forgot about him, edited)
A. Flintoff (He's crap... Joking)
M. Prior (Who better as wkt/bat)
S. Jones (When fit)
J. Kirtley (First name on team sheet)
J. Ormond (Fat, but having a good season)
P. Tufnell (Bring back the cat)

12th man M. Ball

 

[CHAPPERS]

The test match was a complete embarrassment apart from Freddies defiant stand in the second innings, a big shake up is needed i think.

Here's an idea, why not pick the leading Englsih run scorer and the leading English wicket taker and put them in the team, crazy but i reckon it will work.

Good bye Nassar, goodbye Gough, goodbye Stewart, goodbye Butcher goodbye McGrath in come Smith, Solanki, Read and Kirtles and Thorpe.

Trescothick
Smith
Vaughn
Thorpe
Solanki
Flintoff
Read
Giles
Kirtley
Harmison
Anderson

 

[CHAPPERS]

I can't wait for Jones to get back, the bowlers need some competition, Guogh, Anderson and Harmison need to knowe they are not guarunteed a place. Flintoff needn't worry, he's the first name down, love his passion.

 

[Simster]

M. Trescothick (Best opener we have)
M. Vaughan (Captain has to play)
M. Butcher (Steady number 3, no one better)
E. Smith (When we he get recognised)
A. Flintoff (He's crap... Joking)
M. Ball (Give him a go, seems to be firing for Glos)
M. Prior (Who better as wkt/bat)
S. Jones (When fit)
J. Kirtley (First name on team sheet)
J. Ormond (Fat, but having a good season)
P. Tufnell (Bring back the cat)

Prior doesn't even necessarily keep wickt for Sussex so he's not a realistic choice just yet. Give him a couple of years or so. Meanwhile, Kent's Garraint Jones is averaging 65 with the bat this season, better than Ed Smith...

 

[Simster]

Agree with Chappers, r.e Solanki. His last two one-day innings were superb although I don't think you can drop McGrath just yet. He looked entirely competent against SA but gave his wicket away (twice) when he didn't need to. What he does need is a run out in the team and if he hasn't learnt by the end of the series then it's back to division 2 cricket for him.

 

[Tooting Gull]

You could happily take out Stewart, Gough, McGrath and Hussain from that team and not worsen it. Giles is also lucky there's no half-decent spinner around, although his batting probably saves him at the moment. It all plays into Thorpe's hands for a recall, although personally I don't think he should ever play for England again after changing his mind about five times for the Ashes Tour. Kirtley must have been going spare watching the bowling in the last two Tests.

The really worrying issue is that you can't help feeling players of similar or even lesser ability that are born Australian or South African achieve more at Test level, mainly because of their attitude. I've got no idea what you do about that. Maybe a programme of mass hypnosis at the age of 10, telling talented young cricketers they can be winners.

 

[Italiaseagull]

I'd drop Gough, much as I admire what he's achieved in an England shirt, his time is up. Is Simon Jones still injured, or what about Alex Tudor, both young and promising.

Unfortunately there is still no better wicket keeper/batsman in this country than Alec Stewart. Chris Read did well in the ODI's but I'm not sure about his batting, and Jamie Foster isn't up to scratch in my opinion.

Tim Ambrose would be an ideal like for like replacment for Stewart, but he doesn't qualify to play for England untill September 2004. That leaves Matt Prior who I believe is good enough to play for his country now, but being a Sussex player he probably won't get a look in!

Nasser was a very fine captain, but that was the only reason he was in side. He's not captain anymore so surely he make way for a younger man. Graham Thorpe is one of the top batsmen in the world, and the selectors will surely recall him after our abject failure with the bat thus far.

Mcgrath is in the side as an all rounder yet can't bat or bowl, besides which Freddie Flintoff is in fine form, so Mcgrath should make way for another batsman, Ed Smith!

Kirtley is rubbish, never pick him for England, he simply can't bowl! Just let him play for Sussex, and go about his business of firing us to the div 1 title!


My selection for the next test match would be

Trescothick
Vaughn (C)
Butcher
Thorpe
Smith
Stewart(WK)
Flintoff
Giles
Tudor
Harmison
Anderson

 

[Trigger]

I think the simple solution to this problem is to get that useless David Graveney as far away as possible from the England selectors job...

 

[Italiaseagull]

I think the simple solution to this problem is to get that useless David Graveney as far away as possible from the England selectors job...

Here here

 

[Mr Popkins]

we will never have a good cricket side as not enough people are intersted in the game at an early age.

in my school we played cricket 6 weeks of the year and that was only if it didnt rain!.

in Australia, south Africa, india its their main sport ,ours is football.
we just have to except we will never be any good at the game.

 

[Simster]

Tooting, the reason that young Aussie and yar-yar bowlers come into the game with the right frame of mind is that steaming in from the other end are Glen McGrath and Sean Pollock, the two best fast bowlers in the game.

This means that all they have to do is keep it tight and nag away outside off stump. Batsmen will try and play shots against them because they sure as hell won't keep the scoreboard ticking over at the other end. Therefore, good bowling is ultimately rewarded.

England haven't had an outstanding fast /seam bowler since the '80s - and Gough is no Pollock, so poor old Harmison/Anderson are being asked to perform as "complete" strike bowlers. Yet Anderson is just 20 years old.

In addition, there appears to be no patience in the way England try and eak out wickets. It's wayward rubbish, which somewhat negates the point of playing Ashley Giles who has looked excellent this series. If you're going to give runs away at one end, then batsmen are not going to take a chance against the spin bowler at the other.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Agree with Chappers, r.e Solanki. His last two one-day innings were superb although I don't think you can drop McGrath just yet. He looked entirely competent against SA but gave his wicket away (twice) when he didn't need to. What he does need is a run out in the team and if he hasn't learnt by the end of the series then it's back to division 2 cricket for him.

Solanki is a genuine class act, he just needs a bit of faith from our all too fickle selectors. Its obvious to me that McGrath will never reach the standard required to make good runs in test cricket, he hasn't got the spark or confidence when he goes out.

Italia - Jones has started bowling again i believe, won't see him for a while yet though.

 

[Beeneys gloves]

I think Mcgrath has had it, I reckon the selectors felt they had to back him after his Zim performances but have been waiting for him to cock up ever since.
Gough looks way past his best as does Stewart who had a nightmare with bat and gloves last week. Giles isnt doing well but have we realistically got anyone else who can spin the ball?
Harmison hasnt a clue how to get wickets and when will the selectors learn that being fast doesn't mean that much at this level

Butcher wont be dropped and shouldnt be either, hes one of our better players, Hussain will probably be kept on too despite that awful shot yesterday but cant seeing him lasting past this series

Ed Smith should get a go but have the selectors every picked anyone purely on form before but I dont think Solanki should be near the Test side yet, OK hes good at getting quick runs but his technique isnt tight enough for the Test Arena yet

The main problem is the mindset of the players, OK we scored 400+ and Freddie batted superbly BUT these runs were scored in a day and our main priority was to bat for 2 days. Gone is the thought of batting long periods for not many runs as its just not sexy anymore, occupation of the crease just isn't in anymore!

Trescothick
Vaughan
Butcher
Thorpe
Smith/Ramprakash
Flintoff
Read/Foster
Giles - there is no-one else!
Johnson
Kirtley
Anderson

 

[Italiaseagull]

Italia - Jones has started bowling again I believe, won't see him for a while yet though.

Brilliant, he scared the shit out of the Aussies untill he got injured!

 

[CHAPPERS]

Beeneys - surely Solanki and other batsmen can only improve their technique if the are playing regular international cricket. Not once have the selectors taken chances and let these players improve in that way. The county system just isn't good enough to improve our players to the statndard required to be successful at International level. Now Vaughn has been made captain he needs to be consulted about how he wants to lead the team, somehow i think it will be very different to the team that Graveney wants to play.

 

[Simster]

we will never have a good cricket side as not enough people are intersted in the game at an early age.

in my school we played cricket 6 weeks of the year and that was only if it didnt rain!.

in Australia, south Africa, india its their main sport ,ours is football.
we just have to except we will never be any good at the game.

Two points mate - cricket is going to be on the up in this country very soon. We now have a national cricket academy and 20-twenty cricket is a format that if exploited properly will get youngsters through the turnstiles.

Cricket is a marginal sport played at a national level in almost every test playing nation, but apart from the Indian subcontinent, it nowhere near the number one sport. In Australia, Rugby League is number one in Queensland & NSW, Aussie Rules everywhere else. In SA, football is the game of the people amongst blacks, and rugby amongst whites.

 

[Tooting Gull]

One other thing about the Flintoff innings, it was great entertainment but utterly meaningless both in the context of the match and his still largely unproven pedigree as a batsman at Test level. From about 40 onwards he was either standing away to leg and carving it away on the off side, or hoiking it to leg without moving his feet and getting away with it. Cheering, but eight times out of 10 in either a first innings (when it matters) or when the result was in doubt, he'd have got out. A minor blush-sparer, and no more. Innings played like that will lose you more Tests than they win, but to be fairer to him there should always be serious runs on the board by the time he gets in anyway.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Lot of people seem to want Butcher out of the side - I thought he looked in decent nick this Test. He was the only batsman to get out to a quality delivery in the first innings, not hooking/pulling right into the less than subtle trap set for exactly that.