***Official** West Indies in England***

[steds]

In his favour tho is his height (6' 6" if he's an inch)

Does that mean Yao Ming could play Test cricket?

 

[Pratters]

Does that mean Yao Ming could play Test cricket?

Yeah.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Does that mean Yao Ming could play Test cricket?

I dunno who that is, so I'm gonna go ahead & say yes. Yes, s/he could.

Chinese b-ball fella at a guess?

& I'm obviously oversimplifying, but height is often a fair asset for a quick or even a fast/medium bowler I'd say. Not the be-all, obviously, but it does help IMHO.

 

[Richard]

This was last season. Shreck was 74-80 range.

Lewis occasionally goes over 80mph, but it is occasionally. I'd reckon on average Sidebottom's a bit quicker. Def gets more carry too, probably cos he's got a bit of height on Lewis.

Heh. Can only say the stuff I was watching was different to what you must have been. Rare was the Sidebottom delivery that reached 78, never mind 80, mph.

Lewis' normal speed is the 77-78-79-80 sort of range. Fairly "Usual" bowler speed - ie, medium-fast.

 

[Scaly piscine]

I dunno who that is, so I'm gonna go ahead & say yes. Yes, s/he could.

Chinese b-ball fella at a guess?

& I'm obviously oversimplifying, but height is often a fair asset for a quick or even a fast/medium bowler I'd say. Not the be-all, obviously, but it does help IMHO.

Chinese basketballer with an interesting/mysterious background. Think he's over 7 foot (wikipedia says 7' 6") and was fairly abject apparently early on, but now he's a much better player and doesn't get brushed aside as easily (being physically strong-ish is fairly important).

 

[aussie]

Don't know what to say about Sidebottom's selection TBH, i guess the new coach i telling the likes of Mahmood especially that he is back down in the pecking order, but i guess he is one of those horses for courses picks since if any young bowler deserved a call-up it should have been Onions.

 

[Richard]

Indeed if you'd asked me before the announcement who I though was more likely of Onions and Sidebottom I'd have gone for Onions.

I'll add, though - I wouldn't have been surprised had Onions turned-out to be the next Plunkett.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Given that he hasn't played Test cricket since he last played Test cricket, we don't really know.

Unlike Caddick and Cork, however, he has continued to return pretty reasonable figures at the domestic level.

93 wickets @ 27.01, 3 five-fors
178 wickets @ 27.93, 7 five-fors, 2 ten-fors

These FC records belong to Cork and Gough since Test drop.

 

[Richard]

Surely - surely - the latter must be Cork, yes?

Overall, they're pretty similar. What you haven't mentioned there, though, is the current season, which is crucial.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Surely - surely - the latter must be Cork, yes?

Overall, they're pretty similar. What you haven't mentioned there, though, is the current season, which is crucial.

Yep. Guess the number of wickets was the clincher.

(And in the current season, we've played about three games...)

(and for comparative purposes: Sidebottom 180 wickets @ 24.40, 5 five-fors)

 

[Richard]

We have. And Cork, sadly, has been damn awful in them.

I'm, naturally, hoping his performances perk-up but right now, if he was picked for England, it'd be every bit as terrible-timing as the handling of him in 2002 was. Nor, TBH, do I see him really doing a heck of a lot of note if he were to be, because even while he's managed to maintain reasonable figures these last 4 seasons (this one inclusive), he's never got back to the form he showed in 2002. Leaving Derbyshire probably hasn't helped.

 

[Goughy]

I dont like the Sidebottom selection and I dont see the point as he will not play unless there are more injuries between now and then.

 

[Richard]

That thought occurred to me as well. It's a lose-lose situation. Unless someone gets injured (which, of course, you don't want) then you have to pick him next time the next part of the pecking-order is invoked... or you're being inconsistent.

 

[Bob Bamber]

That was a bolt from the blue wasn't it. Wonder how anyone could have speculated Sidebottom being picked. Its an interesting move. I don't expect him for one moment to be picked. Interesting to see that Lewis and Broad were mentioned as the other two bowlers , no mention of Tremlett and Mahmood.

I really don't see how the team takes shape for the next test. If Flintoff is fit , do they drop Strauss? , surely not. Vaughan needs runs quickly though , people (hopefully) won't be as nice this time.

 

[Richard]

That was a bolt from the blue wasn't it. Wonder how anyone could have speculated Sidebottom being picked.

Indeed. He speculated, but he didn't give us any reason.

Anyway - that's beyond all question the Lillee\Marsh for next week.

 

[FBU]

What is the point of picking a Performance Squad of 25 and not picking from that list.
I would go with Strauss, Cook, Vaughan (we don't have any choice), Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior, Harmison, Sidebottom, Panesar, Anderson.

for the Old Trafford Test when Hoggard is fit again - Hoggard, Harmison, Plunkett and Panesar.

We have the players that did really well in county cricket this season doing badly in the Test
Harmison, Plunkett, Shah, Strauss

and the ones that did badly in county cricket doing well in the Test - Prior, Bell, Panesar and Collingwood. Really Cook was the only one that did well in the county games and Test.

 

[marc71178]

Overall, they're pretty similar. What you haven't mentioned there, though, is the current season, which is crucial.

Not really, since one is now captain of his side and seems to be coming on when the opposition are 7 down with some regularity...

 

[marc71178]

I dont like the Sidebottom selection and I dont see the point as he will not play unless there are more injuries between now and then.

He provides variation apparently.

Left arm tripe to complement the right arm tripe from the other seamers.

 

[Richard]

Not really, since one is now captain of his side and seems to be coming on when the opposition are 7 down with some regularity...

And he's not ceased to be capable of taking top-order wickets either.

 

[Richard]

He provides variation apparently.

Left arm tripe to complement the right arm tripe from the other seamers.

Never know - his domestic economy-rates are better than Harmison's and Plunkett's - he might bowl less rubbish than them, even if he doesn't look any more like taking wickets.