***Official*** South Africa in England

[andruid]

Yes, but that is hardly likely to change in the next two or three years while Eoin Morgan decides whether or not to qualify for England (I'm not exactly sure if he plans to). And Ireland aren't going to gain Test status in the foreseeable future, meaning that if Morgan wanted to play at the highest level he would still be seeking to play Test cricket for England.

Why? Why should a decent talented batsman like Eoin Morgan have to go through the rigours of changing nationality for the sake of playing good quality cricket? Would it be an issue if say for example the Intercontinental Cup was a high quality money spinning T20 behemoth ala the IPL, and not some unwatched and under marketed strictly for development first Class tourney?
Does Ireland not having Test status right now and not having much hope of getting it in the near future mean they should just forget trying to get their best cricketers to play for Ireland on the International stage? And why England, he could just as easily decide to try qualify for any other old Test nation, couldn't he?

 

[Goughy]

The England line-up today, btw:

IR Bell
MJ Prior
OA Shah
KP Pietersen
A Flintoff
RS Bopara
LJ Wright
SR Patel
TT Bresnan
SCJ Broad
JM Anderson

ITSTL that a specialist Test bat bats at 10 in an ODI, that is if cricinfo have listed them in correct batting order. Wonder if this side is an experiment, a joke or the side they actually intend to field against the Saffies?

Obviously Colly will come in when his ban his up, hopefully in place of Wright and with a rejigged order

The is crazy depth. Patel at 8 and Wright as a specialist bowler.

Strange composition. I wouldnt swap Wright out for Collingwood as then he becomes the 5th bowler. Thats a stretch IMO.

 

[Goughy]

BTW, is this on Sky?

 

[superkingdave]

The is crazy depth. Patel at 8 and Wright as a specialist bowler.

Strange composition. I wouldnt swap Wright out for Collingwood as then he becomes the 5th bowler. Thats a stretch IMO.

Wright's the 6th or 7th bowler in that line-up for mine...Anderson, Bresnan, Broad, Flintoff with Patel the spinner and Bopara also there for a few overs.

 

[superkingdave]

anyway 93-5 after 31.5 with rain stopped pla, Patel 4.5-0-10-1

 

[superkingdave]

just read through the commentary and it seems we've had Patel and Anderson in the slip cordon. We've dropped 2 catches...Anderson at second slip and Luke Wright, and Patel got the run out. Bresnan got hit for 2 sixes

 

[Scaly piscine]

England set 159 by fighting Scotland

So err why the hell does some adjective like 'fighting' or 'brave' get thrown into every headline relating to an inept Scotland side?

 

[stumpski]

BTW, is this on Sky?

No, and nobody seems to be showing highlights either (don't know about BBC Scotland). They haven't missed much, because late afternoon rain seems to have put paid to any chance of a result, but very poor for an England ODI all the same - regardless of what you think of the opposition.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Why? Why should a decent talented batsman like Eoin Morgan have to go through the rigours of changing nationality for the sake of playing good quality cricket? Would it be an issue if say for example the Intercontinental Cup was a high quality money spinning T20 behemoth ala the IPL, and not some unwatched and under marketed strictly for development first Class tourney?
Does Ireland not having Test status right now and not having much hope of getting it in the near future mean they should just forget trying to get their best cricketers to play for Ireland on the International stage? And why England, he could just as easily decide to try qualify for any other old Test nation, couldn't he?

Proximity & the freedom of labour movement guaranteed by the EU make us the obvious option for any European cricketer who wants to play tests.

 

[andruid]

Proximity & the freedom of labour movement guaranteed by the EU make us the obvious option for any European cricketer who wants to play tests.

Do have a go at the other quetions...

 

[BoyBrumby]

Do have a go at the other quetions...

No-one's holding a gun to his head. I'm not a massive fan of England cherry-picking the best associate players as it almost punishes them for producing decent cricketers, but ultimately it's his choice if he wants to play for us. I've said previously that I would be in favour of a compromise whereby Irish (or Scottish or Dutch or Danish) players could play in the abbreviated forms for their country of birth, but qualify for tests for us if they so desire. Until such time as Ireland (or whoever) get test status it wouldn't be fair to stop a bloke trying to play at the highest level just because he was from Dublin rather than Dewsbury.

As for the intercontinental cup becoming a 2020 tournament (I think that's what you were proposing, you're kinda all over the place) it ultimately comes down to the bottom line: if there's a profit to be had in it it would happen.

 

[GIMH]

BTW, is this on Sky?

Nobody would pay for it IIRC. Seem to remember the BBC getting a bit of flak for missing a chance to show a bit of Cricket. Don't remember the Ireland game being shown a couple of years back either, could be wrong on that though

 

[Goughy]

Nobody would pay for it IIRC. Seem to remember the BBC getting a bit of flak for missing a chance to show a bit of Cricket. Don't remember the Ireland game being shown a couple of years back either, could be wrong on that though

Shocking noone would bid on it. Would be great expose for Scottish cricket and would be available for next to nothing.

Every International game England play should be on TV, no excuses.

If BBC had the opportunity then shame on them.

 

[GIMH]

Alex Salmond (****) on the matter

Don't quite know why Sky didn't bid, though

 

[andruid]

No-one's holding a gun to his head. I'm not a massive fan of England cherry-picking the best associate players as it almost punishes them for producing decent cricketers, but ultimately it's his choice if he wants to play for us. I've said previously that I would be in favour of a compromise whereby Irish (or Scottish or Dutch or Danish) players could play in the abbreviated forms for their country of birth, but qualify for tests for us if they so desire. Until such time as Ireland (or whoever) get test status it wouldn't be fair to stop a bloke trying to play at the highest level just because he was from Dublin rather than Dewsbury.

As for the intercontinental cup becoming a 2020 tournament (I think that's what you were proposing, you're kinda all over the place) it ultimately comes down to the bottom line: if there's a profit to be had in it it would happen.

True on most points but its the fact that without the opportunity that Morgan has to switch loyalty and effectively become a citizen of another country its virtually impossible for a cricketer of that calibre to play a level of cricket his talent merits. If every time a cricket player from an associate became test quality they defected to an already existing test team when would that associate ever have the critical mass of test quality players to deserve Test status in their own right? On an Individual level its great that Morgan has an opportunity to play tests, but if that became the status quo (as seems to be the case in your compromise) it would still leave the recipient Associates far away from the ultimate objective of maturing into test nations.

On the Intercontinental Cup I made the comparison on the grounds of Lucrativeness rather than merely the formats. If say for example some random eccentric millionaire suddenly discovered they had 200 million dollars they didn't want and decided to throw it at the players in the Intercontinental Cup as prize money would it make it more important even if the level of cricket didn't change?

 

[Magrat Garlick]

On the Intercontinental Cup I made the comparison on the grounds of Lucrativeness rather than merely the formats. If say for example some random eccentric millionaire suddenly discovered they had 200 million dollars they didn't want and decided to throw it at the players in the Intercontinental Cup as prize money would it make it more important even if the level of cricket didn't change?

No. Witness the Qatari football league.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Anyway, irksome we couldn't watch today's game, but Patel as a specialist spinner? Interesting decision for me. I might be getting ahead of myself, but could even be the beginning of the end for Monty as a guaranteed first test pick if he goes half fairly. A couple of articles I've read have hinted at disappointment at his lack of progression as a bowler & his batting and fielding haven't exactly blossomed either.

Patel's potentially good enough to bat top 6 & that would certainly help the balance of the team, but I remain to be convinced his SLA is up to being a first-choice spin option.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I remain to be convinced his SLA is up to being a first-choice spin option.

If you were feeling harsh, you could say the same about Panesar: Patel at least would not be carried for three innings per match.

 

[stumpski]

Agree with that ... he needs to be regularly taking 40-50 wickets a season, which I don't think he's ever done.

Would have no problem with Patel and Swann sharing the spinners' duties in India though.

 

[BoyBrumby]

If you were feeling harsh, you could say the same about Panesar: Patel at least would not be carried for three innings per match.

No, that's probably fair enough. Monty clearly has ability, those huge fingers of his means he gives the ball a fair tweak, but I don't think he's any more likely to run through a team now than he was when he was first picked. & I definitely don't think his bowling worth to the team justifies his non-batting & non-fielding.