**Official** Pakistan and England in the UAE 2015/16

[GIMH]

Yeah no way should Stokes not go but ideally he wouldn't be batting six. But there are enough other problems with the batting that there aren't really the personnel to move him down.

I'd probably keep the batting as is on the basis that it's hard to see the replacements. Except Lyth, so yeah stick Hales there

This does leave us in a situation spin wise though as surely we will need two so unless you want Root bowling a stupidly high amount (which is not a sensible option) then it seems it leaves us with Ali and Rashid. Means we will bat deep of course but neither give you confidence that you'd want from a frontline spinner.

Harsh on Finn and Wood but reckon Stokes is worth the third seamer slot there, given what he could bring to the side with the bat.

But yeah the problem is we will have three 'all rounders' none of whom are necessarily worth the place on one discipline alone. Fine to have one player like that in the side that you can slot people around, two is problematic as we've seen at times in this series. Three is crazy.

Balance is a huge issue for us. And I don't mean Gary.

 

[hendrix]

Bit weird to compare Moeen Ali to people like Hafeez or McCullum i.e. accomplished international batsmen with bags of experience right through the order in both formats

Not really. The professor is a bit of a troll batsman.

I would definitely try it out, just as a one-off. You don't win in the UAE and they have a chance to get an attack which might do the job. It's worth it IMO.

 

[hendrix]

I would probably go:

Cook
Ali
Bell
Root
Taylor
Stokes
Buttler
Rashid
Broad
Anderson
Finn

I'd ideally have Taylor and Bell swap places as I think Taylor is the long term 3.

Hales comes in for Ali in South Africa.

 

[Cabinet96]

Yeah, leaning towards Hendrix here.

 

[grecian]

Ali is opener is definitely a thing I'd do, but it's partly because I think Hales is further from being a Test batsman as I am from shagging Maria Sharapova.

Would really like Bell to retire tomorrow, he probably doesn't deserve dropping because so many others are awful, but honestly it's been a dire couple of years.

Taylor should play at 3 and possibly bring in Hildreth, I know his age is against him, but he's been on the fringes for a long time and is having a great season.

 

[mullarkey]

Ali is opener is definitely a thing I'd do, but it's partly because I think Hales is further from being a Test batsman as I am from shagging Maria Sharapova.

Would really like Bell to retire tomorrow, he probably doesn't deserve dropping because so many others are awful, but honestly it's been a dire couple of years.

Taylor should play at 3 and possibly bring in Hildreth, I know his age is against him, but he's been on the fringes for a long time and is having a great season.

wow James Hildreth? I have seen him bat twice he's class. Would love to see him play for England but wonder if he really wants it. Age? he isn't so old is he?

 

[grecian]

wow James Hildreth? I have seen him bat twice he's class. Would love to see him play for England but wonder if he really wants it. Age? he isn't so old is he?

Coming up to 31, not many succesful debutantes at that age I'm afraid. Mussey the obvious one I'd think.

 

[mullarkey]

wow James Hildreth? I have seen him bat twice he's class. Would love to see him play for England but wonder if he really wants it. Age? he isn't so old is he?

James Hildreth has great class but I have always doubted his desire. He is truly a class act and I wonder if he was Australian?

 

[mullarkey]

please tell me Adam Lyth's is history. Worst player since Ian Ward.

 

[Viscount Tom]

Much as it pains me to say it I'd open with Hales in the UAE instead of Ali, at least partly on the fact that I don't think England would play Ali as an opener against South Africa and I'd rather not just throw whoever in against South Africa after using a makeshift opener in the previous series.

 

[we're yorkshire]

Cook
?
Taylor
Root
Bairstow(wk)
Stokes
Ali
Rashid
Wood
Broad
Anderson

The opening spot is a hard one. Lyth is probably due a bit of time back at Yorkshire, but there really is no one better in the English county game. Hales isn't even opening for Notts so shouldn't be anywhere near, and Lees has dropped off since last year. No one right now is really deserving of a game.
Taylor deserves a chance and Bell has been disappointing for years-did his usual of making a score when his back was against the wall then did nothing again. Its embarrassing really-with the amount of skill hes got Bell should be amongst the all time greats, but hes never had the heart for it.
Theres no reason whatsoever for Buttler to play-he isn't good enough to play as a batsman, and isn't as good a keeper as Bairstow.
For the opening spot you either stick with Lyth, or you put Bell up to the top and give him a final chance. Neither is a great option, but we don't have much else right now.

 

[Howe_zat]

Hales isn't even opening for Notts so shouldn't be anywhere near,

Why do people keep repeating this? He's been opening for months now.

 

[91Jmay]

Cook
?
Taylor
Root
Bairstow(wk)
Stokes
Ali
Rashid
Wood
Broad
Anderson

The opening spot is a hard one. Lyth is probably due a bit of time back at Yorkshire, but there really is no one better in the English county game. Hales isn't even opening for Notts so shouldn't be anywhere near, and Lees has dropped off since last year. No one right now is really deserving of a game.
Taylor deserves a chance and Bell has been disappointing for years-did his usual of making a score when his back was against the wall then did nothing again. Its embarrassing really-with the amount of skill hes got Bell should be amongst the all time greats, but hes never had the heart for it.
Theres no reason whatsoever for Buttler to play-he isn't good enough to play as a batsman, and isn't as good a keeper as Bairstow.
For the opening spot you either stick with Lyth, or you put Bell up to the top and give him a final chance. Neither is a great option, but we don't have much else right now.

Hales scored 189 two days ago as an opener.

 

[Howe_zat]

Not to mention that it never seemed to be held against Compton

 

[GIMH]

Not to mention that it never seemed to be held against Compton

That's because if Compton had never been dropped he would now average 102. Do keep up.

 

[Daemon]

Bell in the UAE brings back memories of.. CWB10312453 was it?

 

[TheJammyTurtle]

Bell contemplating retirement apparently.Id get out while that test average is still above 40 fella.

 

[GIMH]

Great seeing what the urn means to the younger players

Third Ashes win for Finn but first time he's been in the side for the end of the series

 

[91Jmay]

Bell retiring would mean James Taylor in. Plays spin well, has had a slightly down few years but his overall first class record is excellent and makes big hundreds.

 

[TheJammyTurtle]

What I would go with if Bell retired
Hales/Compton
Cook
Root
Taylor/Bairstow
Moeen
Stokes
Buttler
Rashid
Broad
Anderson
Finn/In UAE another spinner maybe (If that happened Kerrigan would be mine,already got a leggie and an offie)
If it was me,would go with Taylor over Bairstow every day,seems to be tailor made for those slow low decks