30 Test hundreds

[Xuhaib]

So many of the young players mentioned are likely to get closer to 3 Test tons, not 30!

If Umar Akmal gets 30 Test tons, I'll eat my IPhone42S.

gets a lot of 100's domestically as i said if he can sort out his temperament which i do agree is a huge question mark.

 

[amanuensis]

quietly backing Umer Akmal if he can over come his temperament issues. Virat is a certainty imo along with Ab.

Kohli a certainty?

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Kohli isn't even a certainty to play 30 tests never mind get 30 test tons. His flaw against the short ball could see him dumped early despite the obvious talent he has.

 

[amanuensis]

Bell is 2 years younger than Pietersen & less reliant on reflexes/hand eye coordination - surely the former is as good a bet as the latter?

 

[Xuhaib]

don't think he is hopeless vs shortball like Raina and he's one of those guys who imo will be very prolific in sub cont where he will plat 70% of his cricket as long as he makes himself adequate vs the shortball he will get there imo.

 

[Jacknife]

Bell is 2 years younger than Pietersen & less reliant on reflexes/hand eye coordination - surely the former is as good a bet as the latter?

You can never tell who's going to do what in the latter half of their career, some guys just seem to get better and others seem to lose it but if all things remain equal, it should be close between the two.

 

[Kohli_fan]

With Virat's talent and ability to play shots all around the wicket 30 Test Hundred should be a walk in the park.

Cook If he keeps playing has a shot at it.

I think Shiv Chanderpaul may well just about get there too as will Mahela and Sanga

 

[Furball]

Bell is 2 years younger than Pietersen & less reliant on reflexes/hand eye coordination - surely the former is as good a bet as the latter?

Depends where in the order he bats. He was denied at least 2 tons in the last Ashes because in Brisbane he threw the bat when he was batting with the tail and got caught on the fence slogging, got declared on as England pressed for the win at Adelaide and at Perth I'm pretty sure he ran out of partners in the first innings as well. That's going to affect how many tons he scores.

 

[amanuensis]

Depends where in the order he bats. He was denied at least 2 tons in the last Ashes because in Brisbane he threw the bat when he was batting with the tail and got caught on the fence slogging, got declared on as England pressed for the win at Adelaide and at Perth I'm pretty sure he ran out of partners in the first innings as well. That's going to affect how many tons he scores.

Indeed, which is one of the reasons why he should be pushing aggressively for a permanent berth at either three or four.

 

[Furball]

Indeed, which is one of the reasons why he should be pushing aggressively for a permanent berth at either three or four.

Except with Trott and Pietersen batting there there isn't the room for him. He's also had quite a big shot at 3 and failed, although his two tons in the last series proved he can bat there. But he certainly doesn't deserve to bat 3 in front of Trott, and Trott at 3 and Bell at 5 looks a far more balanced lineup.

 

[amanuensis]

Except with Trott and Pietersen batting there there isn't the room for him. He's also had quite a big shot at 3 and failed, although his two tons in the last series proved he can bat there. But he certainly doesn't deserve to bat 3 in front of Trott, and Trott at 3 and Bell at 5 looks a far more balanced lineup.

His "big shot" was years ago now - he's been comfortably England's best middle order batsman since his return to the side.

 

[Athlai]

Fair enough, that's your choice; but I think the numbers are meaningless unless you exclude the minnows.

One man has a pile of 30 coins, all of them are gold. His neighbor also has a pile of coins -- 20 gold coins and 11 silver coins. The neighbor has more coins. Meh

Another man plays sport against teams that have 11 players who all possess different levels of skill.

 

[amanuensis]

Except with Trott and Pietersen batting there there isn't the room for him. He's also had quite a big shot at 3 and failed, although his two tons in the last series proved he can bat there. But he certainly doesn't deserve to bat 3 in front of Trott, and Trott at 3 and Bell at 5 looks a far more balanced lineup.

I don't buy your remark about balance - Bell simply doesn't score quickly enough to bat big at five, but Pietersen does.

 

[Jacknife]

There's nothing to buy about it, the proofs in what both England and Bell personally has achieved since he got his place back, so there's no need to tinker with the line up atm.
Bell's shown at various times over the last 2 years that he can up the run rate when he needs to and along with Prior can bat very well with the lower order. I believe he's found his place in the side and has excelled in that position. Apart from that all the guys that come in after him all score at a decent lick.

 

[Cabinet96]

How do you define a minnow? I always though they were just non test playing nations.

 

[Howe_zat]

I don't buy your remark about balance - Bell simply doesn't score quickly enough to bat big at five, but Pietersen does.

Bell scored 950 runs at a strike rate of 67 in Tests this summer, all four hundreds coming at a strike rate of 64 or more, and he hit 57* off 43 balls to set up a declaration.

 

[amanuensis]

Bell scored 950 runs at a strike rate of 67 in Tests this summer, all four hundreds coming at a strike rate of 64 or more, and he hit 57* off 43 balls to set up a declaration.

But only 2 of those hundreds came down the order & they were both small ones. In fact only 1 of his 12 tons down the order has been a big one & that was a bit freakish, built on a very large stand with Pietersen. That's my point - he isn't "destructive" enough to consistently build big ones at five. I'd say the batting order has the potential to become a real issue, particularly as it looks increasingly likely that he'll be rendered a test specialist.

 

[Daemon]

Of all countries England need to worry the least about their 1-6 imo. Why try to fix non existent problems?

 

[amanuensis]

Of all countries England need to worry the least about their 1-6 imo. Why try to fix non existent problems?

They do have a problem - the guy who is arguably now their best batsman is coming in too low down the order. And the touring schedule this winter has the potential to bring it to a head - I can't see many juicy wickets in the UAE or Sri Lanka.

 

[Howe_zat]

But only 2 of those hundreds came down the order & they were both small ones. In fact only 1 of his 12 tons down the order has been a big one & that was a bit freakish, built on a very large stand with Pietersen. That's my point - he isn't "destructive" enough to consistently build big ones at five. I'd say the batting order has the potential to become a real issue, particularly as it looks increasingly likely that he'll be rendered a test specialist.

Explain to me a Test match situation where what you really need from your no.5, as oppose to your no.4, is a big hundred scored quickly.

When you bat at five, the only Test situations you're likely to get into more than if you were batting up the order is shepherding the tail or rebuilding after a collapse, neither of which calls for "destruction".