Matt Prior,will he be made a scapegoat for the shambles in Austraila ?

[Leekbrookgull]

Well let's face his replacement Bairstow,well what do you say ? Of course K/P was never at fault at any stage and as for captain chaos about as inspiring as a visit to Croydon,thats before we go to tactic's.

 

[mona]

errrr Prior was poor for Sussex last season. It was no surprise that he couldn't do much for England either.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Better than,the Tyke mind everytime.

 

[spring hall convert]

No, he won't be. The door will very much remain open for him, I think.

Flower & Cook will be copping it for this one, it's that bad.

 

[The Modfather]

He deserves to be left out after his performances on this tour.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

He deserves to be left out after his performances on this tour.

If we had taken a second keeper I would agree, but Bairstow isn't the answer so why bother? Blatant change for the sake of change. If we wanted to blood in a new player it should have been Ballance for Carberry (who isn't a long-term option either). Cooks captaincy has been awful as it was in the summer, and it may be time to hand over the armband to Broad

 

[BensGrandad]

He was an easy target as the media was on his back. He is better than Bairstow at both keeping wicket and as a batsmen and as they say form is temporary class is permanent. He will be back in the running to regain his place, but has paid for having a bad tour.

 

[Screaming J]

He's been pretty shite, but then most of the them have, so no. And hes not even played in the latest debacle.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Sticking with M/P THIS SHAMBLES IS NOT DOWN TO HIM.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Prior needs time to recharge. England need him more than ever, but he needs to regain his form.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

If we had taken a second keeper I would agree, but Bairstow isn't the answer so why bother? Blatant change for the sake of change. If we wanted to blood in a new player it should have been Ballance for Carberry (who isn't a long-term option either). Cooks captaincy has been awful as it was in the summer, and it may be time to hand over the armband to Broad

Broad

Jesus I hope not

 

[OzMike]

He did play like s**t, but in the last test did Bairstow do any better?
I think the results have all been down to the, 'let's club everything like Pietersen' school of thinking.
I don't remember the players playing this way in previous series'.
Lost all respect for Swann now, self righteous sod, should pull his head from his own a**e.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

The management and senior pro's have to take the blame in equal measure. The management for completely ignoring the warning signs in the summer and expecting key players to come good. They did nothing to prepare for this series other than just sit back and bask in reflected glory. It was obvious that Cook, Trott, KP, Prior, Swann and Anderson would all struggle for varying reasons but they were persevered with through multiple failures and until the series was lost.
Too many senior players on this tour decided early in the series that they didn't fancy the fight and the die was cast from the First Test onwards.
Anyone who understands cricket knows that Prior doesn't fancy quick bowling. It unsettles him and he can't play it. If you bowl just short of a length, on or just outside off-stump after tucking him up a few times, its a guaranteed wicket.
He was never gonna get any runs down under. The Aussies knew he was a gimme on their quicker wickets. He isn't a battler so his regular quick dismissal exposed the lower middle order and tail over and over again. Prior tried to drum up support with his ' fight fire with fire ' speech during the series but he wasn't kidding anyone. It was crying out for crease occupation. Time in the middle to try and blunt the Aussie euphoria. Instead we got the unedifying spectacle of KP and Prior giving their wickets away, rather than to try and fight it out.
Yes, Prior was to blame but he wasn't the only one. He has become part of the inner clique that kept getting picked irrespective of performance. Central contracts breed complacency amongst players and management. England have been humiliated by a very ordinary Australian team and in four Tests, not one player can claim to have performed to a level expected. It is clear that attitude and mindset have been all wrong and it is the captain and senior pro's who should be leading the way. Captaincy has been awful and has to change and the end of the road has now been reached for Trott, KP, Prior and Swann. Anderson is not far off.
Prior has lived on reputation for far too long. Most bowlers have now worked him out and don't give him the width he craves. There is no point in perservering with him any longer. He wrote his own obituary in this series by demonstrating his unwillingness to battle it out and there is no coming back from that.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The management and senior pro's have to take the blame in equal measure. The management for completely ignoring the warning signs in the summer and expecting key players to come good. They did nothing to prepare for this series other than just sit back and bask in reflected glory. It was obvious that Cook, Trott, KP, Prior, Swann and Anderson would all struggle for varying reasons but they were persevered with through multiple failures and until the series was lost.
Too many senior players on this tour decided early in the series that they didn't fancy the fight and the die was cast from the First Test onwards.
Anyone who understands cricket knows that Prior doesn't fancy quick bowling. It unsettles him and he can't play it. If you bowl just short of a length, on or just outside off-stump after tucking him up a few times, its a guaranteed wicket.
He was never gonna get any runs down under. The Aussies knew he was a gimme on their quicker wickets. He isn't a battler so his regular quick dismissal exposed the lower middle order and tail over and over again. Prior tried to drum up support with his ' fight fire with fire ' speech during the series but he wasn't kidding anyone. It was crying out for crease occupation. Time in the middle to try and blunt the Aussie euphoria. Instead we got the unedifying spectacle of KP and Prior giving their wickets away, rather than to try and fight it out.
Yes, Prior was to blame but he wasn't the only one. He has become part of the inner clique that kept getting picked irrespective of performance. Central contracts breed complacency amongst players and management. England have been humiliated by a very ordinary Australian team and in four Tests, not one player can claim to have performed to a level expected. It is clear that attitude and mindset have been all wrong and it is the captain and senior pro's who should be leading the way. Captaincy has been awful and has to change and the end of the road has now been reached for Trott, KP, Prior and Swann. Anderson is not far off.
Prior has lived on reputation for far too long. Most bowlers have now worked him out and don't give him the width he craves. There is no point in perservering with him any longer. He wrote his own obituary in this series by demonstrating his unwillingness to battle it out and there is no coming back from that.

But what about his wicket keeping?

 

[keaton]

Well let's face his replacement Bairstow,well what do you say ? Of course K/P was never at fault at any stage and as for captain chaos about as inspiring as a visit to Croydon,thats before we go to tactic's.

You're right we should definetely be blaming Pietersen our highest run scorer

 

[KZNSeagull]

He shouldn't do, no. There are far too many other things that have gone wrong.

I think we have to look away from the team. Darren Lehmann has taken a poor team and turned them into a half decent unit without making wholesale changes. We have to look at this and see what can be learnt from it.

Cook - great batsmen and our best player, but poor captain. I do not think, however, that we have anyone better. Certainly not Broad and the only other candidate in the side at the moment is Bell, and he does not strike me as being the most inspiring person on the planet.

Cook is carrying out team orders on the pitch - when they do not work, he seems unable to change it on his own. So perhaps the team orders need amending or he needs to be given a freer reign, if he is capable of that. He is getting too much flack and we have to look at Flower and Gooch for copping more.

If Australia can take a poor team and make them better in a very short time, then we can too. This is not the worst Australian team ever anymore.

But Prior should not be the scapegoat - the whole team and coaching staff need to look at themselves. And English cricket in general - we do not have the strength in depth and there are no more Saffers to steal at the moment, as they need to find a replacement for Kallis.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Oh, and if KP is going to carry on, he needs to learn that the answer to batting with the tail is to farm the strike and piss off the opposition. Not try to smack everything as soon as Bresnan is out.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

But what about his wicket keeping?

Below par for this series, I'm afraid. Just part of the general malaise.

 

[Arkwright]

They are all in it together and collectively have let themselves down.

With reference to Prior his form with bat and gloves has been poor so yes it was the right time to drop him, Bairstow as the replacement not too sure, horses for courses and Bairstow is not the best replacement behind the stumps.

No doubt we will see big changes but in all honesty the selectors picked the strongest squad available, maybe Compton should have been part of the tour party but who else would you have selected? I think the problem is the gap between good County players and Test players is getting bigger and bigger, to make the County Championship a harder test for our home grown players I would bring back two overseas players and ensure that we are playing the best players worldwide week in week out then the threat of 90mph bowler is not so challenging.

 

[Gwylan]

No doubt we will see big changes but in all honesty the selectors picked the strongest squad available

Really? The idea of a squad should allow choices if players lose form or to pick players for special conditions.Picking three tall fast bowlers who can't even get a game on the fastest, bounciest pitch in test cricket. If they're not good enough to play in Perth, they shouldn't be in the squad. Tremlett, Finn and Rankin were described as "three tall drink waiters" in the Observer yesterday - a perfect description.

There's also no specialist alternative opener in the squad, so Carberry (who's been worked out by the Aussie bowlers) has to struggle on and no real reserve wicket-keeper - it's clear that Bairstow isn't trusted (and with good reason).

I'd say the opposite of you: I think the selectors should be getting much more flak. This was a poorly thought-out squad. Onions should certainly have gone - the best bowler in England last year, criminal that he was omitted. Compton should also have gone, he'd done little wrong. They should have had a proper reserve keeper - Davies probably - and should have had a closer look at whether Trott was up to it. Flower admitted they knew he was struggling so it seems ridiculous that it was thought that Ashes series was the right place for him.

Yes, Australia have been better prepared and better managed, but they spent the summer tour tinkering with the team until it was as good as it could be. England selectors chose to ignore the problems and are now paying the price