***Official*** England in India

[viktor]

Show me where Tendulkar smashed Waqar and Wasim in their prime in Test cricket (they hardly met in their primes anyway, so you're just clutching at straws). Regardless that is of little relevance because the taff has gotten Ponting out twice cheaply - and honestly, do you think Sachin *now* is better than Ponting?

chennai 1999...
agree about the relevance part though....

 

[Pratters]

Swervy! Where have you been mate? Good to see you back.

Yep.. welcome back Swervy..

 

[tooextracool]

To drop bell now would be utterly stupid now that he is in form and starting to mature as a batsmen.

I mean in say 9 years time i could see Bell captaining the side easily.

any bunch of selectors that can pick a certain 36 year old off spinner not once but twice, can be expected to do absolutely anything no matter how stupid.

 

[tooextracool]

I think India will win the series 2-0, one test ending in a draw.

English bowlers will have a huge task of taking 20 Indian wkts, which is probably the hardest thing in the word.

The guys that will do well in bowling for England might be Flintoff (he's G-R-E-A-T) and Jones.For India Bhajji,Kumble and Pathan are likely to do most of damage, though Sreesanth might be a surprise in the series.

i cant see pathan taking more than a wicket an inning unless we see conditions like the ones we saw in the first inning of the final test in pakistan.

 

[tooextracool]

Kumble and Turbinator will pick up wickets, but not at the same rate just because finger spinners don't do a Gareth Batty (7-23) very often (Warne or Murali would be different).

obviously, i mean Harbhajan and kumble have only taken 38 5 wicket hauls between them at home.

 

[tooextracool]

Wasim and Waqar were better bowlers than anyone currently in the English lineup.

flintoff and jones have the potential to be at least nearly as good as those 2 provided they remain fit for the majority of the next few years.

 

[tooextracool]

chennai 1999...
agree about the relevance part though....

wasim and waqar in their primes in 1999? surely you werent watching?

 

[open365]

any bunch of selectors that can pick a certain 36 year old off spinner not once but twice, can be expected to do absolutely anything no matter how stupid.

Tbh,they didn't have a lot of choice,with Giles being injured. Udal isn't that great i agree,but again,it's all we can get.

 

[marc71178]

chennai 1999...

Waqar wasn't anywhere near his best by then.

 

[Langeveldt]

Tbh,they didn't have a lot of choice,with Giles being injured. Udal isn't that great i agree,but again,it's all we can get.

no spinner would have been an option, I think South Africa employed last time, unless Botha played..

 

[Xuhaib]

chennai 1999...
agree about the relevance part though....

1999 was the lowest point in Waqar's career, and even Wasim had started declining.

Wasim-Waqar peak would be 92-97.

 

[tooextracool]

Tbh,they didn't have a lot of choice,with Giles being injured. Udal isn't that great i agree,but again,it's all we can get.

theres no other option? surely almost any spinner in england is at least nearly as good as Udal without being 36 years old and having basically no future?
even the 2 spinners on the A tour would be better options.

 

[UncleTheOne]

theres no other option? surely almost any spinner in england is at least nearly as good as Udal without being 36 years old and having basically no future?
even the 2 spinners on the A tour would be better options.

Loudon may have missed out because of the rumours of him being a bit of a chucker, and Gareth Batty V Shaun Udal, that's enough to give anyone nightmares.

 

[tooextracool]

Loudon may have missed out because of the rumours of him being a bit of a chucker, and Gareth Batty V Shaun Udal, that's enough to give anyone nightmares.

as i said earlier, gareth batty v udal maybe equally miserable, but only one of them has time to learn the trade and maybe become international class.

 

[open365]

theres no other option? surely almost any spinner in england is at least nearly as good as Udal without being 36 years old and having basically no future?
even the 2 spinners on the A tour would be better options.

He's one of the top three spinners in England.

You don't know the other options,so stop questioning him and Giles ok?Once you've lived in England for 3 years and seen the spinners we have,then you can tell the selectors what to do,untill then,drop the spinner thing.

 

[open365]

as i said earlier, gareth batty v udal maybe equally miserable, but only one of them has time to learn the trade and maybe become international class.

I suppose,i don't know what's happened to Batty now,i haven't heard anything about him all of last season.

 

[UncleTheOne]

He's one of the top three spinners in England.

You don't know the other options,so stop questioning him and Giles ok?Once you've lived in England for 3 years and seen the spinners we have,then you can tell the selectors what to do,untill then,drop the spinner thing.

Sadly you may be right, was just looking at the leading county wicket takers last season and the only English spinners to take more wickets in the CC than Udal were Min Patel and Jason Brown.

 

[tooextracool]

He's one of the top three spinners in England.

You don't know the other options,so stop questioning him and Giles ok?Once you've lived in England for 3 years and seen the spinners we have,then you can tell the selectors what to do,untill then,drop the spinner thing.

so i have to have lived in england for me to realise that a 36 year old bowler with no future is the wrong choice?
ok since you are sensitive about the spinners in England lets get off that topic.
can you explain why chris read is currently not playing ODI cricket for England? or even why matt prior is currently ahead of him in the ranks? no maybe you can explain what liam plunkett(who cant bowl for durham) is doing in the test squad(and please no b/s about duncan fletcher liking his personality or what not, to play test cricket you have to have the required skill first, not the character)? can you explain why players like michael vaughan continue to be part of the ODI outfit despite the fact that tresco has proved to be just as suitable a replacement as captain? and lets not forget the bright idea of picking collingwood on the tour to SA, kicking him out without having him play a single game, and then replacing him with bell for the series against bangladesh, and for the ashes.
come on now,i presume you've lived in england for 3 years, maybe you can explain some of these?

 

[tooextracool]

I suppose,i don't know what's happened to Batty now,i haven't heard anything about him all of last season.

hes currently playing for the A side in the WI.

 

[open365]

so i have to have lived in england for me to realise that a 36 year old bowler with no future is the wrong choice?
ok since you are sensitive about the spinners in England lets get off that topic.
can you explain why chris read is currently not playing ODI cricket for England? or even why matt prior is currently ahead of him in the ranks? no maybe you can explain what liam plunkett(who cant bowl for durham) is doing in the test squad(and please no b/s about duncan fletcher liking his personality or what not, to play test cricket you have to have the required skill first, not the character)? can you explain why players like michael vaughan continue to be part of the ODI outfit despite the fact that tresco has proved to be just as suitable a replacement as captain? and lets not forget the bright idea of picking collingwood on the tour to SA, kicking him out without having him play a single game, and then replacing him with bell for the series against bangladesh, and for the ashes.
come on now,i presume you've lived in england for 3 years, maybe you can explain some of these?

I agree with the Read point,yes.
Again,name the alternatives and i'll listen.
Because he's the test captain,doen't take a genius to work that one out,yes,i wish he wasn't in the side but tbh i don't relaly care about ODIs.
Bell>Collingwood

And what's with all the questions?i was talking about the spinners,i don't have any problems with you criticising the selectors,but back it up,say the alternatives,and why they're a better choice.