***Official*** England in Sri Lanka

[Scaly piscine]

Haha Mustard doing a brilliant job of taking over Priors role
Still think they should have Prior back down the order, and if Mustard keeps failing he will allmost certainly get back in the team once his injury is better.

How has Mustard failed? He's done an OK job in both games. Scored relatively rapid 27/28, it's about a par contribution while most of the rest of England's batting has been below par.

I'll be quite happy if he averages 25+ at a very high strike rate this series. Prior has been averaging 20 at a Cook/Bell type strike rate. This is nearly as tough as it gets for ODI batsmen.

 

[Goughy]

I have issues with so many England selections (so Im not singling him out) but whilst we are on the subject of Mustard, what has he done to earn an England selection?

 

[Richard]

Had one season where he's done well. That's it.

 

[chaminda_00]

I have issues with so many England selections (so Im not singling him out) but whilst we are on the subject of Mustard, what has he done to earn an England selection?

Play for Durham, isn't that enough?

He hasn't got the worst List A record in the last couple seasons. But TBH I just don't understand why they try and make every English keeper an opening batsmen. First they go overboard trying to find the next Botham, now this trying to find the next Alex Stewart. Why can't they just let the Mustards, Priors, Jones etc be the Mustards, Priors, Jones not Stewarts

 

[gettingbetter]

I have issues with so many England selections (so Im not singling him out) but whilst we are on the subject of Mustard, what has he done to earn an England selection?

Who would you have picked?

 

[Richard]

How has Mustard failed? He's done an OK job in both games. Scored relatively rapid 27/28, it's about a par contribution while most of the rest of England's batting has been below par.

I'll be quite happy if he averages 25+ at a very high strike rate this series. Prior has been averaging 20 at a Cook/Bell type strike rate. This is nearly as tough as it gets for ODI batsmen.

Prior's been averaging 22.57 as an opening batsman, which is pathetic. Should Mustard average 25, that'd also be pathetic.

 

[Richard]

Who would you have picked?

Mascarenhas for a start.

Usman Afzaal for another.

 

[The_Bunny]

How has Mustard failed? He's done an OK job in both games. Scored relatively rapid 27/28, it's about a par contribution while most of the rest of England's batting has been below par.

I'll be quite happy if he averages 25+ at a very high strike rate this series. Prior has been averaging 20 at a Cook/Bell type strike rate. This is nearly as tough as it gets for ODI batsmen.

Haha thats exactly what Prior was doing most of the time and he was the devil incarnate...

 

[Goughy]

Who would you have picked?

To be frank, the issue is more about the chopping and changing of players than anything else.

How the selectors dont know who their best players are is beyond me. Even if they pick a guy I dont like, at least go with it and allow them the chance to grow into the position.

Chopping and changing just destroys careers.

They always said about the Aussies that its easier to get in the team than get dropped.

Meaning that once you are in the team the selectors back their judgment and place faith in their selections. Even a bad run of form doesnt mean you are dropped.

England pick people with no record of success and dump them when they fail at International level after a few games.

For te record, Ive wanted Pothas for a while now but despite Prior being poor, if he is Englands current #1 then he should be treated like it and be allowed to develop. Bringing 1 failure in for another never lays a foundation and players only perform when they are confident and comfortable in their surroundings and role in the team.

 

[Prince EWS]

To be frank, the issue is more about the chopping and changing of players than anything else.

How the selectors dont know who their best players are is beyond me. Even if they pick a guy I dont like, at least go with it and allow them the chance to grow into the position.

Chopping and changing just destroys careers.

They always said about the Aussies that its easier to get in the team than get dropped.

Meaning that once you are in the team the selectors back their judgment and place faith in their selections. Even a bad run of form doesnt mean you are dropped.

England pick people with no record of success and dump them when they fail at International level after a few games.

For te record, Ive wanted Pothas for a while now but despite Prior being poor, if he is Englands current #1 then he should be treated like it and be allowed to develop. Bringing 1 failure in for another never lays a foundation and players only perform when they are confident and comfortable in their surroundings and role in the team.

Prior is injured. That's the only reason he's not playing. He was named in the squad originally but got injured in practice and was replaced by Mustard.

 

[Richard]

To be frank, the issue is more about the chopping and changing of players than anything else.

How the selectors dont know who their best players are is beyond me. Even if they pick a guy I dont like, at least go with it and allow them the chance to grow into the position.

Chopping and changing just destroys careers.

They always said about the Aussies that its easier to get in the team than get dropped.

Meaning that once you are in the team the selectors back their judgment and place faith in their selections. Even a bad run of form doesnt mean you are dropped.

England pick people with no record of success and dump them when they fail at International level after a few games.

For te record, Ive wanted Pothas for a while now but despite Prior being poor, if he is Englands current #1 then he should be treated like it and be allowed to develop. Bringing 1 failure in for another never lays a foundation and players only perform when they are confident and comfortable in their surroundings and role in the team.

Another thing that annoys me is continuously going back to proven failures like Shah, and they did it with Kabir Ali several times, and Solanki too, and Ian Blackwell (who was only picked as a bowler in his latest stint, before that it was always as a batsman despite him patently being possibly the worst batter of anyone ever picked for England in ODIs as a batsman). Hope the same won't happen with Strauss.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Hope the same won't happen with Strauss.

What, that they keep picking him?

 

[Richard]

That he'll keep getting recalled despite being a proven failure.

He's gone at the current time, but let's say he does well in Tests again sometime in future - I'd be very surprised, if the Shahs, Boparas et al fail this series, if we didn't see him back again, or at least loads of people calling for his recall.

 

[Goughy]

Another thing that annoys me is continuously going back to proven failures like Shah, and they did it with Kabir Ali several times, and Solanki too, and Ian Blackwell (who was only picked as a bowler in his latest stint, before that it was always as a batsman despite him patently being possibly the worst batter of anyone ever picked for England in ODIs as a batsman). Hope the same won't happen with Strauss.

Wow, major deja vu there. Almost like Id read the exact posts by me and you before, wierd

Anyway, I agree with you about trying to make players something they are not. Blackwell isnt a batsman but he is a useful and experienced spinner that can do a job late in the order with the willow. To expect a player like that (or Mustard) to bat like a top international batsman is crazy

 

[LongHopCassidy]

That he'll keep getting recalled despite being a proven failure.

He's gone at the current time, but let's say he does well in Tests again sometime in future - I'd be very surprised, if the Shahs, Boparas et al fail this series, to see him back again, or at least loads of people calling for his recall.

Strauss has proven at both levels of international cricket that he's capable, which is twice as many as Vaughan. I really can't see England picking anyone else when their apparent next best option is to shift men like Yardy up to 4. If anything, what Strauss needs is assurance - there's no way that his cricket's physically peaked at 30, so his problems logically must be cerebral. And it's a fair whack to suggest that the way to get him back to his best is to make him constantly on edge for his place. Which, in turn, is kinda farcical that he should be made to think so for such an underperforming top order. You saw what happened with Hayden, even I was calling for his head during the CB series - until he turned it around at the WC. There's no way that wouldn't have happened without a measure of faith from the Australian selection panel - whose policies in this have produced something more in the past 2 years than shell-shocked tyros. The ECB would do well to emulate.

 

[gettingbetter]

Mascarenhas for a start.

Usman Afzaal for another.

Fair enough, I was mainly referring to keepers though. Who would you have Afzaal in for? Shah assume - I already know that you'd have the Sidebottom/Dimi switch.

Another thing that annoys me is continuously going back to proven failures like Shah, and they did it with Kabir Ali several times, and Solanki too, and Ian Blackwell (who was only picked as a bowler in his latest stint, before that it was always as a batsman despite him patently being possibly the worst batter of anyone ever picked for England in ODIs as a batsman). Hope the same won't happen with Strauss.

That he'll keep getting recalled despite being a proven failure.

He's gone at the current time, but let's say he does well in Tests again sometime in future - I'd be very surprised, if the Shahs, Boparas et al fail this series, if we didn't see him back again, or at least loads of people calling for his recall.

This argument from you Richard really does not hold much water, even you must admit that. You're going to tell me someone with a bright future such as Bopara, if he fails on this tour has exhuasted his chances to get a ODI jersey again? Please.

Not only that, but I've mentioned numerous times the come backs Flintoff, Hayden and Symonds have made, what to say someone like Shah (who out of everyone in this category) won't come back a stronger player? I remember back in the day when Symonds was labelled a pinch-hitter with an average of 18 and a SR the same as he has got now. I think he is averaging around 35 or so now, so to write off someone as you are is narrow-minded.

(And what also infuriates me about such arguements is that you on instances use databases to manipulate stats to make players look better than they are. I don't under how you (you might not remember this) can say that Btcher was a decent bat, then break his career up into 4 parts and say that his last 'part' of his career is just to label him a decent bat)

 

[Richard]

Strauss has proven at both levels of international cricket that he's capable, which is twice as many as Vaughan. I really can't see England picking anyone else when their apparent next best option is to shift men like Yardy up to 4. If anything, what Strauss needs is assurance - there's no way that his cricket's physically peaked at 30, so his problems logically must be cerebral. And it's a fair whack to suggest that the way to get him back to his best is to make him constantly on edge for his place. Which, in turn, is kinda farcical that he should be made to think so for such an underperforming top order. You saw what happened with Hayden, even I was calling for his head during the CB series - until he turned it around at the WC. There's no way that wouldn't have happened without a measure of faith from the Australian selection panel - whose policies in this have produced something more in the past 2 years than shell-shocked tyros. The ECB would do well to emulate.

Strauss just patently is not a one-day batsman IMO. He was only ever successful in ODIs for an incredibly short time, and that mostly against West Indies.

Since the start of calender-year 2005 Strauss has done nothing, be it at four or opening (that's another thing that annoys me - instead of is he in or is he out it's is he wasting a place opening, is he wasting a place at four [when he's never been anything but an opener all his life] or is he out) to show that he's a good ODI batsman, which is exactly what I always expected. His success in 2004 surprised me, greatly. You know why? Because when he was picked, he averaged less than 30 in domestic-OD cricket, having only got it up to 29 thanks to one semi-decent summer in 2003.

Strauss is the classic case of someone's Test and long-form credentials obscuring their complete lack of one-day virtues. Strauss struggles to pick gaps, is blatantly not a good improvisor, and what's worse, in attempting to do this he's got worse as a Test batsman IMO.

I really hope Strauss just writes one-day cricket off completely.

 

[Richard]

This argument from you Richard really does not hold much water, even you must admit that. You're going to tell me someone with a bright future such as Bopara, if he fails on this tour has exhuasted his chances to get a ODI jersey again? Please.

Not only that, but I've mentioned numerous times the come backs Flintoff, Hayden and Symonds have made, what to say someone like Shah (who out of everyone in this category) won't come back a stronger player? I remember back in the day when Symonds was labelled a pinch-hitter with an average of 18 and a SR the same as he has got now. I think he is averaging around 35 or so now, so to write off someone as you are is narrow-minded.

These cases are exceptionally rare. Shah may, conceivably become one of them, but I'd be really rather surprised if so TBH.

I've never suggested Bopara should be dropped if he fails in SL (though I will say I've not been as impressed by him in ODIs as some seem to have been), just that if he does, I'd not be surprised to hear calls for the return of Strauss.

 

[The_Bunny]

England might just manage a total that will give them a chance here.

 

[Athlai]

Jayasuriya to hit a 60 ball hundred TBH.