***Official*** England in India

[marc71178]

blind faith?, you mind explaining this crap.

Sorry, I missed out bias.

 

[Jono]

Marc, don't you think you pick on aussie too much?

 

[luckyeddie]

Marc, don't you think you pick on aussie too much?

I totally and utterly agree with these sentiments.

Marc, for shame, stop picking on the Aussies - stop trying to make them look bad for the sake of it.

Oh, you mean the wannabe Aussie.

 

[howardj]

Vaughan upbeat about his fitness:http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,17877402-23210,00.html

 

[aussie]

Sorry, I missed out bias.

shut up, you are such a pest.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Four days to mull it over, and you came back with that?!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Goose fraba boys and girls. Goose fraba.

 

[grecian]

Maybe this is the reason for waiting on the third spinner, could be both panesar and Blackwell will go

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/indveng/content/story/234442.html

 

[honestbharani]

wow, how many people are actually gonna be picked?

 

[wpdavid]

wow, how many people are actually gonna be picked?

That would be 3 spinners, which is fair enough if they're planning on playing 2 and want some cover in case of injuries. I'm staggered that Blackwell is the favourite to replace Giles though.

 

[honestbharani]

That would be 3 spinners, which is fair enough if they're planning on playing 2 and want some cover in case of injuries. I'm staggered that Blackwell is the favourite to replace Giles though.

yeah, forgot about Giles' not recovering well enough. But, to be honest, I don't think they should be picking spinners because they happen to be spinners. They should just select the best 7 bowlers in county cricket. Sometimes it helps when you keep things as simple as that.

 

[grecian]

Well Graveneys said Giles is not getting fit as quickly as they would of wanted. Now if the official reason for his average bowling in Pakistan was him not being fully fit, then this becomes a major worry. Are we going into the series with Udal as our frontline spinner?

Its a little worrying, and there is no doubt that Blackwell spun the ball more in the ODIs then either Udal or Giles, but thats just as worrying, considering he'll be third in line for Somerset next year.

Or are we suddenly going to give Monty his chance, I personally think its the best option, just can't see Udal getting Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag et al out. Hey I can't see him getting Kumble, Zaheer Khan and Harbajhan Singh out

 

[Neil Pickup]

Blackwell will get picked as a batsman who would fill a fifth bowler role blocking up an end. Bell could also fill a few overs. Alternatively, you remove Hoggard for Collingwood, bat right down to nine and have three front line bowlers plus three cover.

Trescothick
Strauss
Vaughan
Bell
Pietersen
Blackwell
Flintoff
G Jones
Hoggard
Harmison
S Jones

 

[Scaly piscine]

I can't see England picking Blackwell to bat at 6, even above Geraint would be a surprise.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Blackwell will get picked as a batsman who would fill a fifth bowler role blocking up an end. Bell could also fill a few overs. Alternatively, you remove Hoggard for Collingwood, bat right down to nine and have three front line bowlers plus three cover.

Trescothick
Strauss
Vaughan
Bell
Pietersen
Blackwell
Flintoff
G Jones
Hoggard
Harmison
S Jones

'Ah' says Mr Wankhede groundsman. Out of window goes the latest manual from over the border 'Pakistani Groundsmanship: The Art of Making A Flatbed', to be replaced by 'The Dummies Guide... To Building a Dustbowl'.

'Great' says Dravid, 'I choose Harbhajan, Kumble and Kartik'

'Fair enough' says Vaughan 'I'll pick Blackwell'

 

[Neil Pickup]

Mix and match the middle order to be honest, either way round 6-8 is strong on paper.

 

[Neil Pickup]

'Ah' says Mr Wankhede groundsman. Out of window goes the latest manual from over the border 'Pakistani Groundsmanship: The Art of Making A Flatbed', to be replaced by 'The Dummies Guide... To Building a Dustbowl'.

'Great' says Dravid, 'I choose Harbhajan, Kumble and Kartik'

'Fair enough' says Vaughan 'I'll pick Blackwell'

There's a subtlety to the Vaughan plan that you miss. There is nothing, I repeat nothing, that prevents batsmen from grazing on the pitch on a good length. Scuffing it up a la Shahid, yes, but a good ruminate? Fair cop, guv.

 

[aussie]

Blackwell will get picked as a batsman who would fill a fifth bowler role blocking up an end. Bell could also fill a few overs. Alternatively, you remove Hoggard for Collingwood, bat right down to nine and have three front line bowlers plus three cover.

Trescothick
Strauss
Vaughan
Bell
Pietersen
Blackwell
Flintoff
G Jones
Hoggard
Harmison
S Jones

well with Gilo seemingly very unlikely to go, i reckon this idea could well & happen.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I think, with Giles now looking incredibly doubtful, that Panesar has to go. I've seen enough of Udal in those 3 Tests in Pakistan that he's not going to get the Indians out. We haven't tried Panesar yet, if you don't try him, you'll never know.

The other option is, as Neil said, playing Blackwell. The problem with Blackwell is he'd need to be used as more than a 5th bowler to justify his place because I can't for the life of me see him making runs over there. However, he looked good in the Pakistan ODIs with the ball, so may be worth a try.

We need spinners.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

I think, with Giles now looking incredibly doubtful, that Panesar has to go. I've seen enough of Udal in those 3 Tests in Pakistan that he's not going to get the Indians out. We haven't tried Panesar yet, if you don't try him, you'll never know.

The other option is, as Neil said, playing Blackwell. The problem with Blackwell is he'd need to be used as more than a 5th bowler to justify his place because I can't for the life of me see him making runs over there. However, he looked good in the Pakistan ODIs with the ball, so may be worth a try.

We need spinners.

I'd prefer to see Panesar in over Blackwell, but I see your and Neil's points: play Panesar, and you're short on batting, play Blackwell and your short on bowling: looks like a lose/lose situation. On a real turner though, a more attacking spinner than Blackwell is a must.