***Official*** South Africa in England

[Jungle Jumbo]

I was just thinking, who is the best English bastman that can also bowl. Ie help out as 5th bowler

Is it as obvious as Collingwood? Are there other contenders?

Collingwood, Bopara... struggling after that. Certainly no spinner, which would probably be a bigger advantage - someone in the Jayasuriya mould. Yardy would be the closest to a spin-bowling batsman, and he is only a spinner by default classification.

I may have missed names though.

 

[Richard]

I was just thinking, who is the best English bastman that can also bowl. Ie help out as 5th bowler

Is it as obvious as Collingwood? Are there other contenders?

Worryingly, Bopara would be right up there if you started considering that.

 

[Richard]

Fletcher based his bowling selection on pace pace and pace.. thats why he had the likes of Jones, Mahmood, Harmison in the team at that time..

Well much as Pattinson is clearly a better bowler than Mahmood, it's hard to say definitively which one should have been furthest from a Test cap.

 

[Goughy]

Collingwood, Bopara... struggling after that. Certainly no spinner, which would probably be a bigger advantage - someone in the Jayasuriya mould. Yardy would be the closest to a spin-bowling batsman, and he is only a spinner by default classification.

I may have missed names though.

A Jayasuriya with the ball would be fantasitic.

KP must have some posibilities given he was a specialist spinner in SA.

The lack of specialist batsmen that can also turn their arm over is a real worry. It just gives an extra option for free. Bopara as the second most likely is both probably true and depressing.

Yardy isnt a specialist bat IMO and doesnt qualify. Ie someone who could bat top 6 in Tests and help out with some useful overs.

 

[Richard]

but with read and foster they can bat 8 or even 9 if Broad playing, and the top 7 should do there jobs and score runs

Ambrose can bat at eight too if you want Flintoff at seven behind six specialist bats.

Why would you pick an inferior batsman when you can have a superior one? It just makes no sense. Ambrose's wicketkeeping is not a problem. And he's the best batsman of those who can keep wicket well, better than Foster.

Read of course is ineligable.

 

[GIMH]

I'm no Rich Hingston and don't have a camera that has any special zoom features but just been doing some cut and paste on paint (don't have any photo edit software on this comp yet) and thought I might as well share the results with you lot. They ain't great but I'm happy with them (if anyone has me on facebook you can see the lot on there)

They are from yesterday

Stuart Broad

Team huddle after Prince got out

Flintoff bowling

Pietersen, doesn't look like him though

Monty Panesar

Pattinson nearly took a c&b off this one, if he hadn't had his arms by his side he might well have done

And a random one round the wicket

 

[Langeveldt]

The Thing with Stuart Broad is that his batting is keeping him in the test side but is a bowler

You could have said the same about Ashley Giles's entire career..

 

[BoyBrumby]

Collingwood, Bopara... struggling after that. Certainly no spinner, which would probably be a bigger advantage - someone in the Jayasuriya mould. Yardy would be the closest to a spin-bowling batsman, and he is only a spinner by default classification.

I may have missed names though.

Samit Patel would be a better shout for a batsman who twirls than Yardy IMHO.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Richard to reply in 10...9...8.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Richard to reply in 10...9...8.

I'll look forward to not seeing that.

 

[Goughy]

Samit Patel would be a better shout for a batsman who twirls than Yardy IMHO.

I cant say Ive ever seen him bowl. His record looks ok and a SLA in the top order would be a plus.

What is he like?

 

[howardj]

Unless Broad is good enough to bat at six, then he should be dropped for the next Test.

England can not afford to carry his bowling.

In short, they should avoid being seduced by his impressive batting so far in this series.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I cant say Ive ever seen him bowl. His record looks ok and a SLA in the top order would be a plus.

What is he like?

Steady at best. Higher arm action than Yardy or Jayasuriya, but doesn't give the ball much air.

The trouble is I've only seen him bowl in the shortened form, so this impression could be misleading. His big plus tho is that he's worthy of consideration on his batting alone.

Needs to shift a few pounds too.

 

[Goughy]

Steady at best. Higher arm action than Yardy or Jayasuriya, but doesn't give the ball much air.

The trouble is I've only seen him bowl in the shortened form, so this impression could be misleading. His big plus tho is that he's worthy of consideration on his batting alone.

Needs to shift a few pounds too.

If he can bat then I dont mind him being fat. He should look to get in good shape but if he is good enough then it shouldnt be a factor.

Surely even as a fat lad he cant field worse than someone like a Panesar?

I dont know much about him apart from his record and rep. Not seen much of his batting.

 

[Neil Pickup]

If he can bat then I dont mind him being fat. He should look to get in good shape but if he is good enough then it shouldnt be a factor.

Surely even as a fat lad he cant field worse than someone like a Panesar?

I dont know much about him apart from his record and rep. Not seen much of his batting.

I think his fielding is pretty reasonable hands-wise from what little I've seen... his FC average is none too shabby at 46.02 - but 29 wickets in 36 FC games isn't that much to yell about.

In the CT provisional 30, so on the radar it seems. Also, from the Grauniad:

He can also bowl left-arm spin, although it receives too little airing because of his county's general emphasis on swing bowling. The recent inclusions of the left-armer Rob Ferley, to add to Graeme Swann's off-spin, will not help his cause. Patel may not turn the ball sharply but he has shown admirable nerve in one-day cricket. There is no reason why he cannot become a Sanath Jayasuriya-type option for his captain.

And if that is an area in which he needs to work, then so is his fitness. He has looked slightly trimmer this season but his diet always requires monitoring. Still, his fielding is decent enough and he always looks to get into the business areas in the helter-skelter of one-day cricket. And, as opposition batsmen have most likely already discovered, Patel throws with his right arm. Funny chaps these left-arm spinners. It is a genuine surprise he is not in the Twenty20 squad, and if he continues to improve there is no reason why his ability should not earn him, at the least, a place in England's one-day side.

 

[BoyBrumby]

If he can bat then I dont mind him being fat. He should look to get in good shape but if he is good enough then it shouldnt be a factor.

Surely even as a fat lad he cant field worse than someone like a Panesar?

I dont know much about him apart from his record and rep. Not seen much of his batting.

Played a great innings in a 2020 for Notts that was televised last year, but was visibly blowing by the end of it, so his fitness is potentially an issue. Judging by his appearance this year he's shifted a bit of blubber, but still on the chunky side.

 

[zaremba]

A Jayasuriya with the ball would be fantasitic.

KP must have some posibilities given he was a specialist spinner in SA.

The lack of specialist batsmen that can also turn their arm over is a real worry. It just gives an extra option for free.

I'm not sure why Bell doesn't bowl more.

There are lies, damned lies and FC bowling averages.
That said, here are some career FC bowling averages:

Panesar 30.77
Jones 30.81
Broad 31.39
Bell 31.70
Flintoff 31.72
Collingwood 38.42
Bopara 43.20
Vaughan 45.59
Pietersen 51.45

Yardy isnt a specialist bat IMO and doesnt qualify. Ie someone who could bat top 6 in Tests and help out with some useful overs.

Even as a one-eyed Sussex fan I wouldn't say Yardy is a Test player. He's also been in poor form this season.

 

[Langeveldt]

I'm no Rich Hingston

Haha.. "But I did get with his girlfriend tonight"

 

[Richard]

I'm not sure why Bell doesn't bowl more.

There are lies, damned lies and FC bowling averages.
That said, here are some career FC bowling averages:

Panesar 30.77
Jones 30.81
Broad 31.39
Bell 31.70
Flintoff 31.72
Collingwood 38.42
Bopara 43.20
Vaughan 45.59
Pietersen 51.45

Haha, Bell has a lower First-Class bowling-average than Flintoff? Atrocious.

 

[Richard]

Haha.. "But I did get with his girlfriend tonight"

Anyone who didn't?

Beginning to feel less conspicuous here...