Saqlain for England?

[gettingbetter]

Is that so? Thought he was a Shaun Pollock all-rounder: bowler who is rather good with the bat.

 

[Richard]

No, his bowling was barely even mentioned before said debut. I was rather surprised to see he'd taken 1-10 in the first-innings.

 

[silentstriker]

Is he a citizen of the UK?
Does he pay taxes, have voting rights?
Does the UK discriminate based on country of origin in other professions, if that person is now a UK citizen?

The answer is simple, he should without a doubt be allowed to represent England. It's not a mockery of sport at all. He is playing for his country, he took an oath of citizenship which gives him all the rights and responsibilities that come with it.

Now, the second question is whether he should be picked. The answer is no. But that's based on his performance, not because he wasn't born in the UK.

How many English here want Pietersen to stop playing? He didn't learn his cricket in the UK, but everyone is happy about him at the moment - and they should be.

 

[gettingbetter]

Well said, everything I have expressed before, but not as well. And for the KP comparison, the argument many on here that do not support is that he never represent 'South Africa.'

 

[FBU]

in the ODI team? .... we want a young vibrant fielding side of under 30s.

 

[silentstriker]

in the ODI team? .... we want a young vibrant fielding side of under 30s.

While I don't disagree with that - a bowler that averages 21 in ODIs is nothing to sneeze at. And you're not losing much in the fielding or batting department replacing Monty.

 

[susan.sexy.cric]

Saqlain is a gud test n ODI bowler if he plays it would be gud 4 england
with 2 spinners
LIKE INDIA

 

[Richard]

While I don't disagree with that - a bowler that averages 21 in ODIs is nothing to sneeze at. And you're not losing much in the fielding or batting department replacing Monty.

But there's almost no way Saqlain will be around in 2011.

In any case, Swann, not MSP, is currently the number-one ODI spinner in this country, and his record in recent seasons has been far, far better than Saqlain's.

 

[silentstriker]

But there's almost no way Saqlain will be around in 2011.

In any case, Swann, not MSP, is currently the number-one ODI spinner in this country, and his record in recent seasons has been far, far better than Saqlain's.

Agreed, that's why I said he shouldn't be in the squad. But he'd still be better than Monty in ODI.

 

[Goughy]

No, his bowling was barely even mentioned before said debut. I was rather surprised to see he'd taken 1-10 in the first-innings.

Rashid showed promise from a young age. Jenner spotted him as a 14-year-old, and in early July 2005, he took 6-13 for Yorkshire Academy against Sheffield United.

That is Yorkshire League cricket and is nothing to sniff at and that was way before FC debut.

I dont doubt that batting is his strongest suite, however its not that his bowling came from nowhere

 

[Richard]

No, I wasn't meaning to suggest he'd barely bowled a ball in anger in his career until that game or anything. Simply that all form of team-news before that game mentioned "18-year-old batsman Adil Rashid, who has recently scored 3 centuries in the second-team, will make his debut" (it was something along those lines). Not a whisper of "18-year-old batsman Adil Rashid, who also bowls highly promising legspin, will make his debut".

 

[Goughy]

No, I wasn't meaning to suggest he'd barely bowled a ball in anger in his career until that game or anything. Simply that all form of team-news before that game mentioned "18-year-old batsman Adil Rashid, who has recently scored 3 centuries in the second-team, will make his debut" (it was something along those lines). Not a whisper of "18-year-old batsman Adil Rashid, who also bowls highly promising legspin, will make his debut".

hmm, he was a spinner rather than a batsmen growing up. Im not sure you appreciate this.

From 2003 ESCA Under-15 Festival
Adil Rashid, a 15-year-old leg-spinner from Bradford, last night received The Daily Telegraph Award for outstanding player of the festival. Rashid, representing the North of England, took five for 22 yesterday in his team's four-wicket victory over the West.

Rashid, who has benefited under the tutelage of Australian leg-spin guru Terry Jenner, has taken 14 wickets in three matches this week, his development assisted by the ECB wrist spin development programme.

advertisementThe Yorkshire schools bowler is already showing good variety and is prepared to take the pace off the ball, often the hardest aspect for a young spinner.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2003/07/25/scbunb25.xml

Two young leg-spinner are to spend two weeks at the Australian Academy to receive personal tuition from Shane Warne's mentor Terry Jenner.
Bhargav Modha, 17, from Leicestershire and 15-year-old Adil Rashid have been part of an England and Wales Cricket Board wrist spin development programme.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3188342.stm

Four England Under-15 cricketers who excelled at the English Schools Cricket Association Bunbury Festival in Shrewsbury last summer have been given an insight into life at the ECB Cricket Academy through scholarships created by The Daily Telegraph.

Leg spinner Adil Rashid, a member of the Yorkshire Academy who attends Belleview School in Bradford, pace bowler Mervyn Westfield, from Chafford School in Essex, wicketkeeper Paul Dixey, from King's Canterbury, and batsman off-spinner Rory Hamilton-Brown, who is at school at Millfield but hails from Surrey, all spent a week at the magnificent facility at Loughborough University,

I think its fair too say that if anyone had followed his carreer they would know that it is his legspin that has been the primary skill before hitting the pro ranks and what he was defined as.

It certainly was no great suprise he did ok in FC cricket and not to consider him as a bowler is a little lacking in background info.

Not only was he a bowler, he was a highly regarded prospect and treated as such

 

[Richard]

Well given the first I heard of him was the day before his debut, no, I can't say I am full of background info on his childhood career. All I know is, as his first-team debut approached, it was as batsman, not bowler, that he was being talked of. He may well have been a good wristspinner all through age-group cricket - indeed, he clearly was. I've tried not to mention anything prior to the time immediately before and after his first-team debut, because that's all I know anything of.

 

[Goughy]

Well given the first I heard of him was the day before his debut, no, I can't say I am full of background info on his childhood career.

No, his bowling was barely even mentioned before said debut. I was rather surprised to see he'd taken 1-10 in the first-innings.

How and why on Earth would you be suprised if you had only heard of him the day before? Its not like you had a depth of knowledge that his debut performance contradicted and made appear unusual.

 

[Richard]

Because I didn't even know to what extent he bowled. I'd never heard anything about him bowling.

I probably shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.

 

[neville cardus]

Play him, I say! England hasn't had a good mystery spinner since ... ahem.

 

[shortpitched713]

Spin bowling is no gimmick. In Monty Panesar they have a more than adequate, stable Test spinner.

Saqlain, on the other hand, is no guarantee to come good.

 

[The Masterplan]

Monty all the way...

 

[andruid]

It may have taken 10 pages to bring this up but what about Mushtaq Ahmed?

 

[Richard]

4 pages ITBT, but nah, Mushtaq's recent Test record is abysmal, and I don't see that changing just because he's playing for a different team.