England name central contracts for the next 12 months - Vaughan included?!?!?

[Pheobe]

It will be interesting to see who gets a contract in September especially with a new coach and captain. Will they still have 12.

Since the last contract
Not at present in the team

Ian Bell - named in the ODI squad
3 Tests 81 runs at 16.20
4 ODIs 84 runs at 21.00

Stephen Harmison - omitted from all squads
3 Tests 5 wickets at 47.40 econ 3.13 s/r 90.8
7 ODIs 4 wickets at 78.50 econ 6.03 s/r 78.0

Monty Panesar - only plays Tests
5 Tests 11 wickets at 52.09 econ 3.03 s/r 103.0

Ryan Sidebottom- named in both ODI and 20/20 squads
3 Tests 1 wicket at 181.00 econ 3.06 s/r 354.0
0 ODIs or 20/20s

Michael Vaughan - likely to be dropped from Yorkshire if he doesn't get some runs soon.
0 Tests, ODIs or 20/20s

Flintoff 5 Tests 151 runs at 21.57 12 wickets at 29.75
8 ODIs 117 runs at 16.71 10 wickets at 30.60

Only Flintoff looks good there. He would get central contract for an additional 2 years even if he does not turn up in a single game for the Poms, if the precedent set by Vaughan is anything to go by.

Backing Swann to get a central contract this year. Richly deserved regardless of how he does in the Ashes.

 

[disco2000]

Rumours going round up here that Vaughan has retired with immediate effect.

 

[Pheobe]

Rumours going round up here that Vaughan has retired with immediate effect.

Yorks are 3 down and Vaughan has still not batted. Is he injured?

 

[disco2000]

Yorks are 3 down and Vaughan has still not batted. Is he injured?

According to a report on the game that has just been added to the Yorkshire website he has a hamstring strain.

Might just have been a rumour started after someone noticed that about the Yorkshire innings, but 2 different people have sent me texts about it.

 

[Pheobe]

According to a report on the game that has just been added to the Yorkshire website he has a hamstring strain.

Might just have been a rumour started after someone noticed that about the Yorkshire innings, but 2 different people have sent me texts about it.

Good lord. Not the way Vaughan have to end his career. It would take a massive Ashes drubbing to bring his name up again, although with England, one would never rule it out.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Wasn't selected for bowling at the start of his career though was he?

Arguably neither was Broad.

Fair to say if he didn't bat he wouldn't have had so much patience shown. Work in progress, but moving in right direction; bowling average now 38.67. Hardly cause for decking the halls with bunting quite yet, but it's not like there's loads of other young bowlers he's keeping out of the team either.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Craig McDermott had 49 wickets @ 37.79 at his 16th Test. Worked out all right.

 

[wpdavid]

Arguably neither was Broad.

Fair to say if he didn't bat he wouldn't have had so much patience shown. Work in progress, but moving in right direction; bowling average now 38.67. Hardly cause for decking the halls with bunting quite yet, but it's not like there's loads of other young bowlers he's keeping out of the team either.

All true. Call me easily pleased, but I though that averaging 30.5 on those Caribbean roads was a pretty reasonable achievement. And as you said, there really is no-one out there who's staking a better claim to a place right now.

 

[FBU]

Only Flintoff looks good there. He would get central contract for an additional 2 years even if he does not turn up in a single game for the Poms, if the precedent set by Vaughan is anything to go by.

Backing Swann to get a central contract this year. Richly deserved regardless of how he does in the Ashes.

I agree Swann should get one. I really can't see how Vaughan would get another one.

First class bowling so far this season

4 matches 9 wickets at 42.66 - Harmison
4 matches 23 wickets at 16.95 - Onions

 

[Uppercut]

OK Uppercut, this is the difference between Australian and English selectors, yeah he's performing now in helpful conditions (one good bowling performance in 4 tests in the Windies isn't really good enough for a test bowler regardless of surfaces) but do you think he'll trouble the Australians and other top sides? He doesn't have the swing, accuracy or pace to trouble the best and he hasn't really improved any of those significantly since coming into the side, he's merely decent in all those departments. You can't learn how to bowl in test cricket, he needs to go back to CC for a while IMHO. How many bowlers have gone on to great things starting with a record like his? Instead of resting on their laurels and then getting shocked at his inadequacy later on they have to take more initiative and find someone who will (there are some others with a better chance than broad, and his batting is very overrated), though I'm loathe to say it, someone like Mahmood might be better as a strike bowler for all condtions, but he needs a chance and it's series like these where you have the chance to try them. England will gain nothing from this series otherwise except maybe Bopara getting a place.

I was taking you seriously until you said the word "Mahmood".

Which broadly sums up the point. Stuart Broad may not ever be a top-class bowler, but he's sure as **** better than Sajid Mahmood. If that's the best you can conjure up as a potential replacement for him it shows why they're going to have to stick with him.

Too often selectors are criticised for picking bad players even though there's no good players to choose from. You could say that Broad doesn't really look test-class, and I'd agree, but what English bowlers do that aren't already in the team?

 

[oitoitoi]

I was taking you seriously until you said the word "Mahmood".

Yeah it was a bit desperate, I just fail to believe that there isn't another bowler in the country who can average less than 40? Why not give davies a go maybe (if he's ever fit)?

 

[BoyBrumby]

Mike Brearley on central contracts

From today's Observer.

Interesting article and I have sympathy for Brearley's contention that players shouldn't be allowed to cherry pick which games they want to play for England but, whilst believing on the whole that one man isn't bigger than the team, does anyone really think we would be better off without the likes of Flintoff or Pietersen?

Ditto the Windies and Gayle. It's not ideal that the test skipper returns from India two days before the game begins and plays with no cricket in English conditions under his belt at all but the problem is, as Brearley himself says,"The problem is that the IPL skews the system in monetary terms. The IPL – which, according to an analysis announced last week, is worth more than $2bn – is in a position to pay far more than others, including national boards."

It might be distasteful, but it's a stone cold fact that cricket is, ultimately, a professional business.