England squad discussion

[theegyptian]

Kieswetter in, Wright out. Didn't even realise that Bresnan had been batting at 7 in the last few games. Too high considering the batting that goes before and the fact England are 3 down before the powerplay ends most of the time. With Wright going home it kind of limits the options so I guess Bresnan will remain at 7. Neither Bell nor Woakes who are the two options left for today have played yet.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Seam up batting all-rounder goes home, so of course we call up a wicket keeper...

 

[theegyptian]

It's top 3 bat for top 3 bat really. As crap as Kieswetter is he is certainly one of the next best batting options.

Would be fun for Kieswetter to play if only just to disprove this notion that England need more power. They actually need more skill rather than power. They're not the most powerful team but there is power there. I don't think it's a big problem. It's more just a lack of general batting skills for t20 cricket. Kieswetter playing and scoring 50 off 50 with 5 massive sixes and plenty of dots in between would be great to emphasise the point.

 

[theegyptian]

The fact that Samit Patel hasn't been picked a this point seems incredibly harsh. Imo would stroll into this current team and make it better.. Clearly a persona non grata at this point.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Bedwetter?

I give up with this lot. Terrible selection.

 

[YorksLanka]

Bedwetter?

I give up with this lot. Terrible selection.

i think he will do a far better job than Hales who is a waste of space in the team imho..agree with the Egyptian that Samit Patel should be in the team as one of England's best players of spin- yes i know he is not atheltic but he does well....Good score from England today and shame the rain got involved in the decision of the game...

 

[Prince EWS]

Haha Hales fails once and he's a waste of space?

He has an excellent T20 record, both internationally and domestically. Really dodgy starter in all forms of the game but a real quality T20 player once he's faced a handful of deliveries.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Haha Hales fails once and he's a waste of space?

He has an excellent T20 record, both internationally and domestically. Really dodgy starter in all forms of the game but a real quality T20 player once he's faced a handful of deliveries.

Haven't been watching much recently, how has he gone with the spin stuff on early on slow wickets?

 

[Dan]

With the current injuries, I'd be going something like:

1. Lumb
2. Hales
3. Trego/Malan
4. Moeen
5. Bopara
6. Buttler
7. Woakes
8. Napier
9. Broad
10. Jordan
11. Tredwell

How could you not love that 3-7?

 

[Prince EWS]

Haven't been watching much recently, how has he gone with the spin stuff on early on slow wickets?

He's gone okay; played 12 games in the subcontinent/WI now for an average of 26 and a strike rate of 120 which is all about the going rate for a mid-range T20I player, in the conditions least suited to him.

Beyond the raw stats though I do think he's handled it better from a technical perspective than I expected him to which is why I defended him. He got out after getting set a few times in the West Indies which is uncharacteristic of him really but I thought it was encouraging overall that he handled those slow wickets and spin/cutter bowlers pretty well up front, given we know how well he goes after he gets in generally.

 

[Prince EWS]

With the current injuries, I'd be going something like:

1. Lumb
2. Hales
3. Trego/Malan
4. Moeen
5. Bopara
6. Buttler
7. Woakes
8. Napier
9. Broad
10. Jordan
11. Tredwell

How could you not love that 3-7?

Love me some Woakes but he's just not any good at T20 cricket at this point of his career. I'd much sooner pick Bresnan even though he's pretty average in general.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I'd definitely have Napier in the squad. Still the most reliable purveyor of yorkers we have and can smack a few down at 9 or 10 too.

As Poos suggests about Woakes in the previous post, our selectors are too often guilty of selecting players for formats they're desperately ill-suited to. Even now a part of me thinks the England panel still views the shorter formats as auditions for the test XI rather than entities in and of themselves.

 

[YorksLanka]

Haha Hales fails once and he's a waste of space?

He has an excellent T20 record, both internationally and domestically. Really dodgy starter in all forms of the game but a real quality T20 player once he's faced a handful of deliveries.

its only fair for me to comment on the games that i have watched him play in- a handful- but in all of those he has failed to do anything..maybe he is going through a lean patch, but from what i have seen of both players, i would pick Kieswetter over him personally..

 

[BoyBrumby]

In all honesty I'd probably have both. With Broad, Bres, Jorders, Dernbach & Tredders I think our XI is very bowler heavy, especially when one factors in Ravi's and Moeen's not terrible part time options.

 

[Prince EWS]

In all honesty I'd probably have both. With Broad, Bres, Jorders, Dernbach & Tredders I think our XI is very bowler heavy, especially when one factors in Ravi's and Moeen's not terrible part time options.

Going in bowler-heavy is one thing I think England are getting right in T20 cricket IMO. If you bat well up front in a 20 over contest then your players below #7 won't see the light of day, and even if you do lose a few early wickets then they'll still be highly unlikely to need to actually play a substantial innings. I don't think the difference in batting quality between someone like Keiswetter and players like Bresnan and Jordan will really be shown up much at all over the length of an 8-ball cameo, so as long as your bowlers can hit then you don't lose much at all by having them start at seven. Having lots of bowling options, however, is a proven tactic - so often you'll need to cover a bowler's bad day when he loses his length or just gets lined up, and even if you don't then having a couple of part-timers bowl single over spells just for variety has also been a big winner in the format.

 

[Furball]

Specialist bowlers are hugely important in T20; there's plenty of part time dobbers who have servicable records in ODI cricket that get utterly rag-dolled in T20s.

 

[YorksLanka]

i am big enough to admit when i am wrong and i recently commented on not rating hales from what i saw of him- i have been impressed with what i have seen from him so far today so i accept i may have been too quick to put him down...

 

[YorksLanka]

Can someone pass me the custard for my almighty slice of humble pie regarding my initial comments on Hales?FANTASTIC innings from him (and Morgan) and a thoroughly deserved win for England. Well done.

 

[Prince EWS]

Haha Hales fails once and he's a waste of space?

He has an excellent T20 record, both internationally and domestically. Really dodgy starter in all forms of the game but a real quality T20 player once he's faced a handful of deliveries.

Yessss

 

[YorksLanka]

lol good shout mate...