Anderson Vs Khan

[BoyBrumby]

I mentioned it in the match thread, but will repeat it here too: I was quite shocked at Zak's obvious lack of conditioning that the sleeveless msucle top he was wearing whilst walking round the boundary made apparent.

To quote Luscius Sweet "Your boy looks a little soft."

 

[Prince EWS]

This is true, but at the end of the day, Zaheer has massively helped get India to no. 1 and win a ODI World Cup. You'll take him being a liability every now and then in a match, because he's going to win you a lot more than he loses.

There's no doubt he's a massive asset to India, injury prone or otherwise. I think he's the second best bowler in the world when fit, and having someone like that is always going to be a massive plus even if he only plays half your Tests. And, as far as I can remember, he hasn't been injured mid-way through a Test very often either, which is the only time he can actually count as a negative as such.

However, I'd certainly rather have Anderson or Swann despite the fact that I think they bowl (very marginally) worse when all are fit because they're going to play all the time - they're a lot more valuable. I'd even consider the likes of Morkel, Johnson, Tremlett depending on who the backup options were - Zaheer half the time and Siddle for the half is obviously more desirable than Zaheer for half the time and Munaf for the other half.

 

[kingpin]

Well u cant take Swann against India!!!

 

[silentstriker]

There's no doubt he's a massive asset to India, injury prone or otherwise. I think he's the second best bowler in the world when fit, and having someone like that is always going to be a massive plus even if he only plays half your Tests. And, as far as I can remember, he hasn't been injured mid-way through a Test very often either, which is the only time he can actually count as a negative as such.

However, I'd certainly rather have Anderson or Swann despite the fact that I think they bowl (very marginally) worse when all are fit because they're going to play all the time - they're a lot more valuable. I'd even consider the likes of Morkel, Johnson, Tremlett depending on who the backup options were - Zaheer half the time and Siddle for the half is obviously more desirable than Zaheer for half the time and Munaf for the other half.

I'm not really sure if I would tbh. Obviously a fully fit Anderson is another story but I'd rather have a Zaheer fit half the time than someone like a Johnson full time. Having Johnson is like having a good bowler half the time anyway.;

 

[GIMH]

I agree about Johnson, but in general I agree with Prince ****.

I was thinking about it when someone suggested Zaheer wouldn't make the England side. Given his fitness issues, I wonder if we would bother with him. It's pretty clear that since Flintoff retired we've had a lot more stability in the side, and I don't think Flower would want that jeapordised with a player like Zaheer. But of course, he is so good that it almost seems a ridiculous thing to say.

 

[centurymaker]

zaheer is over-rated
he's on verge of retirement because of useless fitness level

 

[Spark]

In the wider context of the thread I don't think either have acquitted themselves particularly well tbh.

 

[GIMH]

Zaheer definitely bowled better when he did bowl, tbf. But I'd have loved to have seen Jimmy have a go on day one. Even an out of sorts Anderson tears it up under those skies.

 

[Spark]

Yeah Zaheer has outbowled Anderson by a long margin based on when he did bowl, but then on the other hand his injury has badly hurt India's attack balance. So it kind of balances.

 

[John Blaze]

What good is Zaheer Khan to us if he causes us to be a man down on the first day of the series, and bowl against a good English batting line up with 3 frontline bowlers?

 

[Uppercut]

I agree about Johnson, but in general I agree with Prince ****.

I was thinking about it when someone suggested Zaheer wouldn't make the England side. Given his fitness issues, I wonder if we would bother with him. It's pretty clear that since Flintoff retired we've had a lot more stability in the side, and I don't think Flower would want that jeapordised with a player like Zaheer. But of course, he is so good that it almost seems a ridiculous thing to say.

It is a ridiculous thing to say .

The only way anyone would leave a fit Zaheer out of their side would be if they hated winning.

 

[John Blaze]

It is a ridiculous thing to say .

The only way anyone would leave a fit Zaheer out of their side would be if they hated winning.

Or if they hate blonde highlights

 

[Daemon]

Zak looks ****ing *** IRL. Saw him at the airport in Jo'burg, got his autograph too

 

[Cevno]

What good is Zaheer Khan to us if he causes us to be a man down on the first day of the series, and bowl against a good English batting line up with 3 frontline bowlers?

He doesn't get injured in the match too often(if ever) tbf, and Anderson also got injured in between a match recently. Can happen with every bowler,though is more likely with ZAK.

 

[GIMH]

It is a ridiculous thing to say .

The only way anyone would leave a fit Zaheer out of their side would be if they hated winning.

But when you've got a bowler likely to break down any minute, is it worth it if you have top-class seamers available?

I'm not trying to downplay Zaheer. It's like after a certain point, the selectors obviously decided they weren't going to pick Simon Jones.

 

[Prince EWS]

I'm not really sure if I would tbh. Obviously a fully fit Anderson is another story but I'd rather have a Zaheer fit half the time than someone like a Johnson full time. Having Johnson is like having a good bowler half the time anyway.;

Yeah as I said, that second group of bowlers depends on who the backups are.

Would you rather have Johnson the whole time, or Zaheer half the time and Munaf the other half? I'd probably take Johnson tbh. If your depth is good enough to have someone a bit better than Munaf then it changes, though.

 

[GIMH]

Jimmy's getting his groove on here. And he's at Trent Bridge next week.

 

[Prince EWS]

But when you've got a bowler likely to break down any minute, is it worth it if you have top-class seamers available?

I'm not trying to downplay Zaheer. It's like after a certain point, the selectors obviously decided they weren't going to pick Simon Jones.

Zaheer is a bit different to Jones though, who can go seasons at a time without playing and has had to cut his run up down considerably just to get on the field for T20 cricket.

Zaheer rarely breaks down in the middle of a match; this match has been an exception in that regard. He just misses matches pretty regularly. He probably wouldn't have played this match if it wasn't so important and if their attack didn't look sooo much worse without him, either. I do think England would use him; they'd be able to manage him a lot better due to their depth though.

 

[Uppercut]

But when you've got a bowler likely to break down any minute, is it worth it if you have top-class seamers available?

I'm not trying to downplay Zaheer. It's like after a certain point, the selectors obviously decided they weren't going to pick Simon Jones.

Zaheer isn't anywhere near that point tbh. Zaheer's been bowling off the back of an injury every time he's played for the last three years and he's been world class, almost without exception.

It's closer to the situation with Flintoff, in that it might not be completely ideal as far as team balance is concerned but you definitely aren't going to leave a player that good on the bench if you like winning matches.

 

[Spark]

Jimmy's getting his groove on here. And he's at Trent Bridge next week.

Been gifted a few, but that's sometimes what a bowler needs to get his rhythm back.