**Official** England in the West Indies 2017

[flibbertyjibber]

I love all the hate for Moeen and Rashid, if anyone can come up with a credible replacement for either in any form of the game then go ahead. They are playing as they are the best we have, the cupboard is bare, not their fault it is what it is.

 

[theegyptian]

I'd stick with what they are doing and keep the two spinners. The time to reassess is after the champions trophy. England need the variation that Rashid brings and whilst he is a luxury they can kind of afford it. He is a wickettaker even if he does bowl badly. The rest of the bowling is too similar. Test him and Moeen again at the Champions Trophy. Last time around the wickets increasingly took spin and were tired so two spinners is not a bad option. bowling records since last wc http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...al1=span;team=1;template=results;type=bowling

holy **** Crane in the NSW squad for their shield game. that's incredible. ( i wouldn't be calling him up to the England odi side any time soon though).

 

[Tom Flint]

Still waiting for someone to come up with a decent arguement as to why morgan should qaulify to play for england

 

[MW1304]

Still waiting for someone to come up with a decent arguement as to why morgan should qaulify to play for england

Because he wanted to. Then he went through the required qualifications to do so. Nationality isn't some rigid ****ing thing based on where you were born, get over it.

 

[Tom Flint]

Lol im sorry but thats exactly what i thought it was. Our rugby team is just as guilty, its ridiculous, makes no sense and prevents weaker nations improving.

 

[MW1304]

Which is not the same thing as purposefully excluding a guy from your XI when he's eligible because you'd rather he wasn't. Of course in an ideal world he would stay with Ireland and help them develop, but the reality is they aren't a Test nation. To say you're not picking the guy when he made a perfectly understandable decision is dreadful.

Regardless, individuals should have the choice, I don't see it as a bad thing whatsoever.

 

[marc71178]

Still waiting for someone to come up with a decent arguement as to why morgan should qaulify to play for england

Because he basically learnt everything he knows about the game in England?

 

[Neil Young]

Still waiting for someone to come up with a decent arguement as to why morgan should qaulify to play for england

Because he could and because he wanted to.

Case pretty much slammed shut.

 

[Neil Young]

Lol im sorry but thats exactly what i thought it was. Our rugby team is just as guilty, its ridiculous, makes no sense and prevents weaker nations improving.

Rugby is changing the qualification period to five years.

But, ultimately, it's up to the individual. If they want to represent a different country than the one in which they were born, it's up to them.

 

[Howe_zat]

Rugby is changing the qualification period to five years.

But, ultimately, it's up to the individual. If they want to represent a different country than the one in which they were born, it's up to them.

no no we all have to listen to this one bloke's opinion of everyone's accent. it's the only fair way

 

[Beamer]

I don't mind the likes of Morgan making a choice to play for England. I never got the impression that there was a campaign to make him do so, he just chose too and it as the only way he'd play tests.

What I don't like and find unfair is their campaigning to get West Indian's to choose England. Chris Jordan was a classic (though I actually don't think he turned out that great anyway) and the latest is Joffra Archer. Both wanted to play for West Indies up until late teens and have had pressure from county and the ECB to choose England. Whilst I don't blame them for choosing the financial rewards, it really does irk that a country with over 60 million more people than the Caribbean is stealing our talent too when we do play test cricket and need all the help we can get.

It is a reality though, £££ usually wins as West Indies cricket fans know all too well.

 

[Beamer]

Anyway, I wonder what they will do with the Windies XI for the last ODI on what will probably be an excellent wicket with good pace and bounce? No idea if Shannon Gabriel will be around but a side strain is potentially serious and I don' think I would want to risk him anyway. So I hope they bring in another pacer, probably a Barbadian for logistical reasons. My side, which they never pick because they're routinely lacking in common sense, would be:

Evin Lewis
Kieron Powell
Shai Hope
Jason Mohammed
Jonathan Carter
Rovman Powell
Jason Holder
Ashley Nurse
Devendra Bishoo
Miguel Cummins
Alzarri Joseph

That's weaker in batting but has 2 140kph plus pacers, two decent spinners, 2 medium fast all-rounders and decent fill in bowlers in Carter and Mohammed. Of course I think they will pick Kraigg and only have one proper fast bowler again which will result in us getting England in trouble yet again but no killer instinct. Sigh.

 

[Tom Flint]

Haha we send scouts all around the world looking for good young irish, saffa's, zimbabweans, west indians ect, go through their family tree to see if they have any british connection then prize them away from their home country by offering financial rewards.
Am i seriously the only one who thinks this is wrong!

 

[grecian]

Jofra Archer is epic though,and I think that should be taken into account. Pick him England.

 

[Neil Young]

Haha we send scouts all around the world looking for good young irish, saffa's, zimbabweans, west indians ect, go through their family tree to see if they have any british connection then prize them away from their home country by offering financial rewards.
Am i seriously the only one who thinks this is wrong!

Well, what you say is wrong, Tom. Only not in the way you think it is.

 

[Beamer]

Well, what you say is wrong, Tom. Only not in the way you think it is.

But what he says isn't too far away from the truth when it comes to the Caribbean. Counties send scouts to Barbados every year, Jordan, Archer, Ruel Braithwaite all learned their cricket in Barbados. They are all Bajans through and through. I personally don't think it is right. But hey, it's a reality we have to deal with.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I actually somewhat agree with Tom there. The problem with recruiting extra-internationals into an international team is it rather reduces the point and purpose of possessing an international team in the first place. It rather turns that international team operationally into a domestic club which rely on outside signings (except Yorkshire CC of a certain period). Why do we have international teams when they increasingly resemble the United Nations? Are they not meant to represent the people of that country (and thus fans) in question? Are they not meant to then be pitted against another international team representing that countries people in order to basically decide, ''who is the best people'' in this respective sport. To have Pietersen wacking the South Africans around the park rather makes a mockery of the whole thing.

PS

I sometimes wonder if, the reason why England have been so conducive to recruiting overseas players (e.g. Ranjitsinhji), is historically connected to the fact that up until 1977 it was not really 'England' but 'Marylebone Cricket Club'. There is also that Welsh anomaly whereby it is supposed to be 'England and Wales Cricket Board' but just 'England' when the team play, yet Welsh players represent this England (e.g. Simon Jones and Maynard). Surely England should be re-branded to address this absurd state of affairs? The Welsh even lose their acronym (ECB)!!

 

[MW1304]

But what he says isn't too far away from the truth when it comes to the Caribbean. Counties send scouts to Barbados every year, Jordan, Archer, Ruel Braithwaite all learned their cricket in Barbados. They are all Bajans through and through. I personally don't think it is right. But hey, it's a reality we have to deal with.

I'm not aware of the extent of it, but yes it is somewhat underhand from the ECB. I know it happens in all major sports really, but the issue is that it occupies a somewhat grey area where the ultimate decision lies with the individual.

Of course this is a completely different point to the spurious one Tom Flint was offering initially.

 

[MW1304]

I actually somewhat agree with Tom there. The problem with recruiting extra-internationals into an international team is it rather reduces the point and purpose of possessing an international team in the first place. It rather turns that international team operationally into a domestic club which rely on outside signings (except Yorkshire CC of a certain period). Why do we have international teams when they increasingly resemble the United Nations? Are they not meant to represent the people of that country (and thus fans) in question? Are they not meant to then be pitted against another international team representing that countries people in order to basically decide, ''who is the best people'' in this respective sport. To have Pietersen wacking the South Africans around the park rather makes a mockery of the whole thing.

They're just meant to be comprised of citizens of that nation. That is it.

We could get into a whole mess about globalisation in here, which quite frankly I'm not willing to do, lest watson get dragged in.

 

[S.Kennedy]

They're just meant to be comprised of citizens of that nation. That is it.

We could get into a whole mess about globalisation in here, which quite frankly I'm not willing to do, lest watson get dragged in.

But when a player deliberately targets citizenship status of that country to further their career, the international game is surely not much different from the domestic set-up in most sports which have long since adopted the wandering mercenary, with their extra-local (British) signings, overseas and kolpack hirelings.