Anthony McGrath??????

[Rik]

I think McGrath, if selected will bat at 6 and be the 4th seamer (5th bowler)

As such he doesn't really need to do a great amount of bowling, and I think you'll find that looking at his county record, he's equally as good as Freddie, and his slightly slower pace may be a godsend in overcast conditions.

Right, McGrath, at best a part-time medium pacer, is equalily as good as Flintoff who has a FC average of 33 as well as 44 wickets at 28 in ODIs?

Come on Marc, are you on another planet or something? McGrath is like Butcher, useful medium pacer but nowhere near an all-rounder. If you want an all-rounder you go for someone who isn't a part-time bowler.

 

[Rik]

Since 1998, FC:

1998: 17 matches 3 wickets at 53.00
1999: 16 matches 9 wickets at 22.66
2000: 10 matches didn't bowl
2001: 17 matches 3 wickets at 17.66
2002: 14 matches 18 wickets at 27.49
2003: 4 matches 4 wickets at 24.00 so far

78 Matches in the last 5 years in which he has taken 37 wickets...

So this is our new all-rounder eh? Better than Flintoff? Looks like underachieving batsman who bowls occasionally to me.

 

[luckyeddie]

Looks like Sherlock was right - nothing the ECB do in the future will ever seem a surprise again.

 

[marc71178]

McGrath only started taking his bowling seriously last year - but his career average is under 30, and he goes at under 3 an over, so as a 4th seamer (and 5th bowler) he looks a good option to me.

Incidentally, since you quoted averages, have a look at Flintoff's:

1998: 17 matches 7 wickets at 61.28
1999: 13 matches 15 wickets at 27.93
2000: 10 matches 14 wickets at 14.78
2001: 14 matches 19 wickets at 38.73
2002: 7 matches 14 wickets at 54.85
2003: 3 matches 5 wickets at 27.00 so far

Suddenly, McGrath doesn't look quite so bad does he?

Added to the fact that I'd much rather have McGrath batting for me than Flintoff, and there's a chance that yet again the Selctors have made a good call.

 

[Tim]

but he's bowling in County Cricket as a 4th or 5th seamer, probably at the middle to low orders where the batting is not so good..so those averages aren't that good unless you can prove to me that he's dimissed alot of top class batsmen.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I say we should give hima chance. We seem to have a history of premature criticism here at Cricketweb. Remember what happened with Hogg and India and Bala.....well maybe not that one.

 

[marc71178]

but he's bowling in County Cricket as a 4th or 5th seamer, probably at the middle to low orders where the batting is not so good..so those averages aren't that good unless you can prove to me that he's dimissed alot of top class batsmen.

If he plays for England it's as a 4th seamer and 5th bowler, so he's possibly going to have the same sort of people to bowl at.

In modern cricket, it's important to have batsmen who can put a few overs in - look at the Aussie side - there's 8 there you can call on.

Had Collingwood ben fit, he'd probably be in that role, but he isn't, so they've gone for the next best thing.

 

[Rik]

To be fair I'd rather see Irani in there than McGrath, and that's saying something. To be fair to Irani he even deserves a place in the Test side more than McGrath.

 

[marc71178]

Flintoff's withdrawal makes it almost certain McGrath will play on Thursday...

 

[Tim]

Generally Marc, international batsmen from 6-9 are much better than players in county teams because even English players like Craig White & Ashley Giles are batting way up the order on occassions to fill the gaps for their counties. So McGrath is probably taking wickets thinking he is developing into quite a good bowler.

Maybe against Zimbabwe though it won't matter but i'd be worried if McGrath was selected as an all-rounder or even as a batsman who bowls, batting at 6 for matches against one of the top 4 test nations.

 

[marc71178]

It all depends on what you're picking him as.

If it's a number 6 who bowls, then he's only the 5th bowler in the line up (unless you're playing 7 batsmen), so he's in the team predominantly for his batting, but his bowling can add an extra dimension to the attack after the frontline 4 have done their job (maybe it's keeping it tight for a few overs, maybe it's rushing through to get to the new ball)

If you're picking him as an all-rounder at 6, you're now going in with 5 bowlers, and one of them is bound to not have the workload of the other 4 (unless there's an injury)

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

110.4 Price to McGrath, two runs, drifting down leg, and McGrath clips it away to midwicket to get to a fifty on Test debut

 

[marc71178]

Won't go overboard, but he certainly looked good today.

 

[Rik]

I've got to say although he batted well, his dismissal was rather worrying, he looked totally clueless and missed a straight ball comprehensively. Still a good knock, unlike Key he's actually gone on.

Key has got himself in a lot and not gone on, maybe unlucky today but he didn't take the game by the scruff of the neck again.

 

[Langeveldt]

I still dont like the decision at all but he definitely looked to have more in him than Key... Batted really well today...

And Trescothick and Vaughan were both mediocre county batsmen when they started out...

Although Sean Ervine does look like some of the stuff i face at school

 

[JAB]

well played to mr mcgrath today. I still cant really see that he deserved his selection though, and i get the feeling that pretty much any batsmen in county sricket would have fancied getting runs against that attack.
but he did show good composure, maybe he is a big game player (he did do quite well in the c&g final last year i think) so maybe he will step up to test cricket + wildly exceed my expectations. i certainly hope so.

btw can anyone tell what exactly mark vermeulan was doing today? that was one of the worst shots i have ever seen from an opening batsman at any level.

 

[luckyeddie]

Can't knock what McGrath did today.

Can't really knock Key either - I thought he was on the wrong side of a pretty mediocre decision, although conversely you cannot blame Bucknor because from the bowler's end it really looked as though he had edged it.

I can blame Hoggard (a bit) for standing his ground - I really hate that sort of thing.

 

[masterblaster]

Its quite sad to see really, that WE as people who have never, ever gone close to representing International Teams in cricket can drag down those who genuinely try.

I think McGrath did a good job today, and good on him. All the best to him in the future too.

Okay, so he doesnt have the best average, so what? If he tries, hopefully his dream of a long career as an English International Cricketer will come true.

 

[marc71178]

Well I know the C4 commentators were very impressed with the way he settled in, and Fletcher does seem to have a knack of pulling these selections out of seemingly left field.

 

[luckyeddie]

Well I know the C4 commentators were very impressed with the way he settled in, and Fletcher does seem to have a knack of pulling these selections out of seemingly left field.

Hit the nail on the head there, marc. Bit of a masterstroke by Fletcher - credit where credit's due.