***Official*** England in Sri Lanka

[gettingbetter]

I would of thought the likes of Shah, Joyce and Bopara would/should have preference over Ramps.

 

[Richard]

As for the Test squad which was being discussed a little high up, time to put Ramps back in the squad for mine. I'll probably get slated for it, but his performances in the last two years have been too good to ignore IMO

Nah, if Butcher, Atherton, Hussain, Stewart and Thorpe were still around I'd be in favour, and even though it'd still be absolutely wonderful for him to have a blazing twilight as I was always impossibly disappointed he never made it back in ' day, his time and his fellows are gone now. It'd feel really, really strange to have him back in what's almost a different World. There's nothing left from the last time he played Test-cricket; even the two players still in the side, Hoggard and Flintoff, are unrecogniseable from the useless novices they were then. And Vaughan has gone from poor opener to (at last) middle-order batsman par-excellence. And captain.

 

[Richard]

Is there any need to unsettle a perfectly good middle order though? Pietersen has his place secured, as does Vaughan as a captain. Bell and Collingwood have both been in the runs and made a couple of scores against India, none of them really deserve to be dropped, particularly with Collingwood bowling more in Tests nowadays.

Is there any need to unsettle a perfectly good middle order though? Pietersen has his place secured, as does Vaughan as a captain. Bell and Collingwood have both been in the runs and made a couple of scores against India, none of them really deserve to be dropped, particularly with Collingwood bowling more in Tests nowadays.

Is there any need to unsettle a perfectly good middle order though? Pietersen has his place secured, as does Vaughan as a captain. Bell and Collingwood have both been in the runs and made a couple of scores against India, none of them really deserve to be dropped, particularly with Collingwood bowling more in Tests nowadays.

Wow, triple post, impressive work.

 

[pup11]

Richard always makes it a point to appreciate impressive stuff.

 

[Richard]

Welllllllllllllllllllll...












Yeah. I try.

 

[aussie]

It doesn't matter whether it's temporary. Vaughan has finally - for the first time since 2001 (that's nearly 6 years now) settled into and looked really, really, irrefutably good in, the role of middle-order batsman. The last thing we need to do is disturb things again, even if just for 1 or 2 Tests. If Strauss is dropped he should be replaced by an opener IMO, especially when there's a very clear option in Key.

I think you are over-rating Vaughan what i should say bit of instablity in the middle-order in recent years. I don't think it has been a major issue at all personally. He started batting in the middle-order after Strauss's rise in the 2004 home summer & yea his form from the NZ series to the Ashes wasn't that fantastic but it wasn't that worrying to me TBH he was always going to score runs as a #3 or 4 batsman eventually AFAIC.

Also its pretty obvious that he is a natural opener also, i would let him open in SRI ahead of Key and let another middle-order batsman like Shah or even Ramprakash (even though i believe the selectors will overlook that tempting option) come in because for one he has experience in those conditions scored a hundred back in 2003. Even though Key has done well this season i'm not sure of his play againts spin on those slow wickets, while i would back Shah to do well againts the spin.

 

[aussie]

I absolutely 100% agree with you tbh, I couldn't give a stuff how old he is and he should come into the team for Collingwood.

Cook
Strauss
Vaughan
Pietersen
Ramprakash
Bell

looks an awesome top 6 imo.

So you want to pick a batsman who have been dominating County cricket over the past few seasons over bowling attacks of varying abilities over a batsman who since the 2005 Ashes other the KP has been England's most reliable batsman in all conditions againts all bolwers who also happens to be also the ODI skipper?. No way yo.

But Ramps being picked in the squad would be interesting, but deep down i reckon the selectors will be willing to overlook his stunning county form & look to the future.

 

[Scaly piscine]

I absolutely 100% agree with you tbh, I couldn't give a stuff how old he is and he should come into the team for Collingwood.

Cook
Strauss
Vaughan
Pietersen
Ramprakash
Bell

looks an awesome top 6 imo.

Oh dear.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I love how people are getting on Mustards back ALREADY!

Give the lad a go.

 

[Richard]

I think you are over-rating Vaughan what i should say bit of instablity in the middle-order in recent years. I don't think it has been a major issue at all personally. He started batting in the middle-order after Strauss's rise in the 2004 home summer & yea his form from the NZ series to the Ashes wasn't that fantastic but it wasn't that worrying to me TBH he was always going to score runs as a #3 or 4 batsman eventually AFAIC.

I don't think it's been as major an issue as some have beat it up to be, but his 18-month absence made things appear worse still than they were. His form in the summer of 2004 was perfectly decent, and not anywhere near as bad either in 2004\05 as the bowling made it look. But after a poor 2005 and 1 poor game in 2005\06, then 18 months out, I worried, deeply. I was immensely relieved when he finally struck gold in 2007. There's no doubt this is the best he's looked as a middle-order batsman in his career, but quite a bit too.

Also its pretty obvious that he is a natural opener also, i would let him open in SRI ahead of Key and let another middle-order batsman like Shah or even Ramprakash (even though i believe the selectors will overlook that tempting option) come in because for one he has experience in those conditions scored a hundred back in 2003. Even though Key has done well this season i'm not sure of his play againts spin on those slow wickets, while i would back Shah to do well againts the spin.

I think it's very far from obvious that Vaughan is an opener; in fact, I think quite the opposite. Vaughan's pattern throughout his 27 Tests as an opener was to get in and give a chance without scoring many... except the very occasional occasions where he'd keep going and get something massive, thus throwing-out any chance of properly rating him by conventional average. Vaughan was not a good Test opener and should never have batted there ITFP.

 

[Richard]

I love how people are getting on Mustards back ALREADY!

Give the lad a go.

They're not. It's 1 innings in a meaningless 14-a-side game. But Mustard's career to date has been exceedingly similar to Prior's.

 

[Perm]

Wow, triple post, impressive work.

Rectified.

 

[Nishan]

Nice to see Kapu score some runs, only problem is that he needs to score 200s in OD match to get selected over Muburak.

Must have been Kapu's best innings this year, so good to see him getting his game into order, but as you say it wont be mubarak i got a bad feeling it will be LPC silva or Tharanga who will make way if Kapu is to make the team, which to the normal fan is a nonsense

 

[Perm]

Chamara Silva has been performing though, it wouldn't make sense to drop him. Chamara Kapugedara is extremely talented, but doesn't deserve to make the side ahead of Silva. Replacing Tharanga is another option though, if he puts enough runs on the board.

 

[Nishan]

Chamara Silva has been performing though, it wouldn't make sense to drop him. Chamara Kapugedara is extremely talented, but doesn't deserve to make the side ahead of Silva. Replacing Tharanga is another option though, if he puts enough runs on the board.

Yup from the time i saw Kapugedra at the WACA he had the presence that he belonged at that level unlike Mubarak. However he needs more runs i dont know where his next innings will be cant see him playing against England.

 

[Perm]

Yup from the time i saw Kapugedra at the WACA he had the presence that he belonged at that level unlike Mubarak. However he needs more runs i dont know where his next innings will be cant see him playing against England.

I can't see him getting much of a chance against England either, not with a fairly established batting lineup. Tharanga usually scores against poor bowling attacks, while Mubarak's performances in the Twenty20 have almost ensured he won't be dropped. It's just a case of Kapugedara scoring runs consistently and putting his hand up for national selection.

 

[Prince EWS]

I love how people are getting on Mustards back ALREADY!

Give the lad a go.

My Mustard comment was very much satirical.

 

[chaminda_00]

Chamara Silva has been performing though, it wouldn't make sense to drop him. Chamara Kapugedara is extremely talented, but doesn't deserve to make the side ahead of Silva. Replacing Tharanga is another option though, if he puts enough runs on the board.

Silva didn't score many runs against Bangladesh and in Twenty20 WC. Considering his not an established player i'm not sure how what the thoughts are on him and how secure his spot actually is. There a few who always felt his not suited to ODIs cus he starts too slow as well. Samaraweera only had a couple bad series before he got dropped himself. I think his Test spot for moment is secure, but in ODIs i'm not sure how secure it really is.

 

[Perm]

Silva didn't score many runs against Bangladesh and in Twenty20 WC. Considering his not an established player i'm not sure how what the thoughts are on him and how secure his spot actually is. There a few who always felt his not suited to ODIs cus he starts too slow as well. Samaraweera only had a couple bad series before he got dropped himself. I think his Test spot for moment is secure, but in ODIs i'm not sure how secure it really is.

Chamara Silva scored the most runs for the Sri Lankans during that series, he only got two chances to bat and did well in both of them, scoring 65 and 36. He had a pretty quiet Twenty20, but in the context of the games contributed a decent amount, so I'd say he's done enough to get a little bit of a buffer, considering the sucess he has had in ODI cricket to date.

 

[JASON]

Must have been Kapu's best innings this year, so good to see him getting his game into order, but as you say it wont be mubarak i got a bad feeling it will be LPC silva or Tharanga who will make way if Kapu is to make the team, which to the normal fan is a nonsense

I can't see Either Tharanga or Chamara Silva getting dropped. It should be Mubarak who should get the boot but selection policy dictates that he gets automatic entry into SL Team , so I would seriously consider dropping Dilshan even though he contributes with his fielding and bowling a few overs , he really has not made a significant contribution with the bat where it mattered , ie in winning an ODI....Kapugedera has that potential...

At least for the First 3 ODIs -

Jayasuriya (consider Warnapura in the latter ODIs)
Tharanga
Sangakkara
Mahela
Chamara Silva
Kapugedera
Dilshan or Mubarak
Maharoof (or Lokuaraachchi)
Vaas
Dilhara
Malinga