It was one ****ing post at 5am and I just gave a full explanation as to my reasons for it.
Marcuss making a late running for the title of "CW's hardest poster" imo.
I agree, I have said for ages that the top 6 would be Cook, Root, Trott, Bell, Taylor and Bairstow once Strauss and KP had retired. Not convinced by Compton but to be honest he hasn't done enough to deserve being dropped yet.
Fire up.
He looked awful against spin in the one innings he played in mumbai . And unfortunate as him having to stay at home for the ODI for whatever reason is, your going to get overtaken by people if you say you can't tour.
Reading that article, it doesn't look like anyone has suggested he be captain other than the writer drawing his own conclusions based on Fulton being a domestic captain. Although if it's true and Fulton was part of the 'leadership group' in SA it may not be wrong.
Long term isn't really the priority right now, though. Compton deserved his call up because he got massive amounts of runs in division one, more than Bairstow I might add, and has kept his place because he did well in difficult circumstances (is there are harder place to make your international debut as an Englishmen than India?). Bairstow did well against South Africa, but he was really just filling in for KP. He hasn't looked a marvellous player of spin, so he was left out of the ideal XI for the India series, but still managed to get a go because of Bell going home, and failed.
If I were a new opening batsman I think I'd rather face the current Indian attack than any of Steyn+Philander, Pattinson+ one of Siddle/Bird/Starc, Roach+Rampaul, Boult+Southee. Of course if you aren't the best player of spin, it may be you will survive the new ball and get a start but then struggle to go on with it against spinners on supposedly spin-friendly wickets. Which is pretty much what Compton did. But still, I'd rather have had Compton's initiation into test cricket that Nasir Jamshed's for instance...
Good problem to have anyway. It wasn't that long ago with Bell and Strauss in extended poor patches of form, Pietersen having temporarily retired and #6 still being a revolving door that England's batting cupboard looked really bare. That situation has gave lots of players opportunities and enough of them have grabbed hold of them to now actually give the team one too many players worthy of more chances; it's healthy depth.
The ball that got Woakes was a bit of an annoying, 'Wagner won't offer this' wicket, late in the video on my channel.
You make a good point, and I admit I failed to really think about where he was batting when he said that. However, given England's year in Asia before hand, and the fact that Compton had been scoring his runs last season in the most different conditions to Mumbai imaginable, it certainly wasn't an easy baptism. Also, two seamers only opened the bowling in one innings for India, and Ojha and Aswhin aren't terrible, so having to go out as an opening batsman against decent spinners is pretty tricky.
Williamson to make a double hundred
I'd have to actually think he was going to hit runs to have my name in that spot. I just think Hesson is really keen to give him an extended run; that'll be at least this series and probably the start of the next one too unless Rutherford is considerably outperforming him when Guptill returns into the frame or Ryder returns and the middle order is scoring enough runs to force McCullum back to open (ha!).
Fulton's last test:
Dunedin -
Wellington -
Auckland - Kippax
Lord's -
Leeds -
Bangladesh -
Survives until next home summer - PEWS
Williamson prods outside off that carry to the cordon in the series:
6 - Kippax
Southee vs. Anderson, outswingers in new ball spells that beat the bat:
Southee by 10-20 - Kippax
