Andy Caddick to retire

[Richard]

Was Taunton as notoriously flat throughout his whole career? Or is it a more modern phenomenon?

It's always been one of the least bowler-friendly pitches in the country, though it has probably gotten a bit worse still in recent years, but (as Hingeh said) the thing that's so ****ty about it is the fact it's so ridiculously small, and the boundaries so short. It's difficult to prise batsmen out but it's almost impossible to bowl economically because even a decently-timed check stroke that misses the field will almost certainly go for four, and a mi**** can go for six even if it's a considerable mi****.

I can't help but doubt that Caddick would've been an even greater bowler than he ended-up if he'd made his home elsewhere from Taunton, though interestingly his record there in the 1992-2001 glory days was actually superior to that at other grounds combined, in terms of both economy-rate and strike-rate. Caddick, if anyone, could exploit what there was in the deck - it used to have more bounce than it does currently, so even though it was flat a tall swing bowler like Caddick could still be very potent, though it was as difficult as ever to bowl economically, especially as he was generally streets ahead of the rest of their attack so thus rarely had as many run-saving fielders as you'd hope for. I reckon a better career move from Caddick would've been to have stayed at Middlesex. Though if he had, who knows whether he'd have been accepted so joyously as he was at Somerset - and make no mistake, being made welcome was essential for Caddick's cricketing wellbeing.

 

[Richard]

None of those three had any case to be playing for England.

Well, Adams and Maddy didn't (not only were they wrongly picked ahead of Habib and Steve James, but Ramprakash was ridiculously ditched for them, and Thorpe was absent in the 1999/2000 winter as well), and Habib never looked remotely Test class (and only played the Tests he did because Atherton was injured). Nontheless, Habib had earned at worst the chance to be an injury fill-in and several inferior batsmen to him played more than he did. And if it was the choice between Adams and Habib to fill the spare batsman's slot in Test cricket under no circumstance, ever, should Adams have been the man of choice.

 

[Craig]

I don't think I have seen a bowler who went MIA in the first innings but turned up in the 2nd innings and was very good in my 13 years of watching cricket.

 

[Uppercut]

Haha, mentioned him mainly because he inevitably springs to mind when I think of "players who failed for England".

RE: Stewart, very sad indeed, more so than any of the other mentions for me personally.

Graham Thorpe the real tragic one for me, given how he missed out.

 

[Richard]

I don't think I have seen a bowler who went MIA in the first innings but turned up in the 2nd innings and was very good in my 13 years of watching cricket.

Seriously, what does this MIA stand for? And Caddick's first-innings failures are more than a little exaggerated, it's not like he never bowled well in one, nor that the fact that he bowled well in more second-innings' than first-innings' is really all that important.

 

[sledger]

Graham Thorpe the real tragic one for me, given how he missed out.

Yeah I suppose that is true enough, had he not retired immediately after the first test, something which seemed a bit petty to me, he would have played in the fifth test in place of Collingwood, though I suppose you could argue that he only has himself to blame.

 

[GIMH]

Think they might have gone with Colly anyway, for the bowling option

 

[sledger]

Think they might have gone with Colly anyway, for the bowling option

Possibly, personally though I think that would have been unlikely, as he was obviously primarily selected as a batsman,

 

[Pothas]

Was troubled with injury that summer as well so there was a good chance he would not have been fit anyway. Agree it was a terrible shame, one of favourite ever England players.

 

[sledger]

The kind of player England could really do with at the moment really. Despite Collingwoods match saving innings in the Cardiff test you still (or at least I don't) don't really have any massive confidence that he will be able to really dig in and scrap around for ages more often than not.

 

[Uppercut]

The kind of player England could really do with at the moment really. Despite Collingwoods match saving innings in the Cardiff test you still (or at least I don't) don't really have any massive confidence that he will be able to really dig in and scrap around for ages more often than not.

I dunno, Collingwood's a good player. I suspect he'll retire pretty soon too and everyone will suddenly realise in hindsight that he was really a very good player for England. Averaging 45 with a reputation for backs-to-the-wall runs is pretty good in anyone's books.

 

[sledger]

I dunno, Collingwood's a good player. I suspect he'll retire pretty soon too and everyone will suddenly realise in hindsight that he was really a very good player for England. Averaging 45 with a reputation for backs-to-the-wall runs is pretty good in anyone's books.

Yeah, i'm not saying he is a bad player, he does do a good job and is a nice guy to boot. But for some reason I just have never felt totally convinced by him, I certainly wish him well, and on occasion he plays a great innings, but whenever I watch him bat it tends to be with a sense of hope rather than expectation. Can't really work out why I feel that way.

 

[marc71178]

The kind of player England could really do with at the moment really. Despite Collingwoods match saving innings in the Cardiff test you still (or at least I don't) don't really have any massive confidence that he will be able to really dig in and scrap around for ages more often than not.

Personally of the batsmen in the side I'd say he's the most likely to dig in.

If only the likes of Bell had the same attitude as Collingwood in terms of making himself the best possible cricketer from what he's got, they'd be greats.

 

[sledger]

Personally of the batsmen in the side I'd say he's the most likely to dig in.

If only the likes of Bell had the same attitude as Collingwood in terms of making himself the best possible cricketer from what he's got, they'd be greats.

Yeah I agree that he is probably the best scrapping batsman England have, however, I find this fact alone slightly concerning.

 

[tooextracool]

He was 35 by the time he returned in 2004 from that horrible injury, and had already been past his peak for 18 months by the time of that SCG game in 2002/03. Only once after 2001 did Caddick ever really come close to recapturing the glories of his form 1992-2000/01, that being in 2007.

IIRR, his First-Class average from 2001-2006 was something like 36-37. Whereas 1992-2000/01 it was 22.something.

And isn't it just the slightest bit ironic that his dip in form coincides to the pill with the time period which you frequently have mentioned had seen a decline in the amount of swing in England? Sums up Caddick's career pretty well IMO, could be great when the ball was swinging or there was a bit of uneven bounce, and very poor otherwise.

 

[tooextracool]

Was troubled with injury that summer as well so there was a good chance he would not have been fit anyway. Agree it was a terrible shame, one of favourite ever England players.

Arguably the finest English batsman since Geoff Boycott, with only Gooch for comparison.

And no Pietersen is not even fit to lace his boots just yet, although that might change over the years

 

[BoyBrumby]

Yeah I agree that he is probably the best scrapping batsman England have, however, I find this fact alone slightly concerning.

Not necessarily a problem, I think Colly would be one of the more dogged batsmen in any current test team.

What is a concern is that most of the other batsmen are either soft ****s (Bell), have glaring technical issues (Cook) or both (Bopara). Even Strauss, who's head and shoulders above the rest, is only just over 18 months from being dropped v SL.

 

[Pothas]

Arguably the finest English batsman since Geoff Boycott, with only Gooch for comparison.

And no Pietersen is not even fit to lace his boots just yet, although that might change over the years

Would definetly say that if any England player deserved to average over 50 in the last few decades that it would be Thorpe and if he had been 5-10 years younger he may well have done so, and that is disregarding the personal problems that troubled him at various times in his career.
Having said that Pietersen is already at least his equal (already got as many centuries), his comeback from injury and the next couple of years will decide whether or not he will be an all time great.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, i'm not saying he is a bad player, he does do a good job and is a nice guy to boot. But for some reason I just have never felt totally convinced by him, I certainly wish him well, and on occasion he plays a great innings, but whenever I watch him bat it tends to be with a sense of hope rather than expectation. Can't really work out why I feel that way.

I think I know what you mean. For me, if he comes to the crease and it's 26-3, I'd back him to score runs. If comes in and it's say, 150-3, don't really expect much from him.

 

[sledger]

I think I know what you mean. For me, if he comes to the crease and it's 26-3, I'd back him to score runs. If comes in and it's say, 150-3, don't really expect much from him.

Yeah indeed, for me personally he isn't really the type of player you want in your side when you are trying to win a match, useful when you are trying to save one mind you. I certainly like him, but just find there's something about him that is far from convincing, despite all of his success I just don't have a massive amount of faith in him. Granted at the moment he is the best and sturdiest of the England middle order, however, I think that says more about the team than it does about him.