England players and selection discussion thread

[Pothas]

Not really an obvious candidate for that though is there?

 

[ImpatientLime]

people speak highly of Abell no?

 

[wpdavid]

that has to be it for Root surely. I don't even think a 'specialist captain' being pulled into the side is a ridiculous idea given how there is only one serious batsman in the team already.

that "captaincy" in the morning session was probably the worst I've seen from a test match captain since shiv had the west indian job

Whoever was summarising for the Guardian tonight reckons the side has stopped fighting for him. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but maybe it's because his in-the-field decision making is regularly so poor that they just don't respect him. For me, the mounting evidence is that the culture within the side is absolutely rotten and maybe a new captain would improve that. There have been too many occasions in the last 9 months when the performance has been barrel scrapingly risible. I think we're at the point where no obvious successor is no longer an excuse for at least giving someone else a go. As you say, a specialist captain would struggle to weaken the batting to any serious degree, so why not. No idea who, but others will know more about the counties than I do.

 

[Chubb]

people speak highly of Abell no?

I’ve never really understood why that is though. With the Somerset squads he’s led they should have broken their Championship duck, and his batting has never kicked on from being promising.

 

[Pothas]

Vince captained the 100 winners. What more could you want. Get him in.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

If Root does the right thing and resigns I would expect Stokes to be captain.

 

[Prince EWS]

I’ve never really understood why that is though. With the Somerset squads he’s led they should have broken their Championship duck, and his batting has never kicked on from being promising.

Scored seven tons in one season for his private school, get him in there.

 

[Uppercut]

Where do bad selectors sit on the English list of cricketing problems? I always thought they made some puzzling decisions, but I didn’t think it mattered too much because they were generally always choosing between deeply imperfect options. But now that they’re leaving out two of their best players because they don’t like the olds, it’s fair to say they’re a pretty major issue.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah the selection has got a lot worse the last year or so, have got themselves in all sorts of problems since Covid.

Your first point still basically stands though.

 

[Chubb]

Scored seven tons in one season for his private school, get him in there.

well yes that’s certainly a reason why they see him as “officer material”!

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah the selection has got a lot worse the last year or so, have got themselves in all sorts of problems since Covid.

Your first point still basically stands though.

I dunno if it does. There was no possible selection that would have made England competitive in the Ashes but I think they probably win this series if Broad and Anderson play.

 

[Xix2565]

I mean Broad and Anderson even in this series would've been tight but not penetrative. And that's England's cricketing problem with them, especially away from home. Having them in means sacrificing some batting because neither of them can bat beyond holding the bat and England haven't so far assembled a bunch of wicket taking options who can make up for the economical bowling those 2 provide away from home.

Besides they were both here in 2019 and lost so it's not like history is that favourable for them.

 

[Prince EWS]

well yes that’s certainly a reason why he is “officer material”!

Fixed.

 

[Flem274*]

I've also noticed Crawley gets the compliments, though I put that down to his having aesthetically pleasing attacking shots. Realistically I don't think it is going to matter because I don't see either Crawley or Lawrence having long test careers as they stand.

Where do bad selectors sit on the English list of cricketing problems? I always thought they made some puzzling decisions, but I didn’t think it mattered too much because they were generally always choosing between deeply imperfect options. But now that they’re leaving out two of their best players because they don’t like the olds, it’s fair to say they’re a pretty major issue.

They're atrocious. England selectors behave like they have Waugh's Australia with the talent pool of Taylor's New Zealand.

 

[wpdavid]

If Root does the right thing and resigns I would expect Stokes to be captain.

I suspect this is probably what will happen.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

The only players I would say should definitely get picked for the 1st test of the summer are Root, Stokes, Bairstow and Mahmood. The other places are all up for grabs but I suspect we will see most of this shower retained.

 

[Pothas]

Anderson and Broad will surely be back.

 

[wpdavid]

Robinson plays if he's fit. He was streets ahead of any other bowlers in the matches that he did play over the last 9 months.

 

[CricAddict]

Mahmood, Robinson, Archer and Wood is actually a good attack. But England needs to find a spinner to be strong again. Root cannot be their main spinner.

 

[_00_deathscar]

Mahmood, Robinson, Archer and Wood is actually a good attack. But England needs to find a spinner to be strong again. Root cannot be their main spinner.

They’ll never actually play together.