***Official** West Indies in England***

[vic_orthdox]

No one should be satisfied with getting a 50. Once you get a 50 you have to get at least a hundred.

A bit different in one day cricket.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I guess with Fred out, the England heirarchy are happy to make the sacrifice of playing Mascarenhas at 7 even though he's not equipped for it, because that's more beneficial to the long term structure of the side than making a number of changes to make up for the imbalance of losing Flintoff. It's a fair call in my opinion, and if it does turn out that there is a straight swap when Flintoff is back (or maybe a slight reshuffle) that's probably better than making two changes to accommodate the loss of Fred.

 

[Richard]

Absolutely. Short-term problems require short-term solutions. Attempting a more long-term fix to a short-term problem can create more problems than it solves, be that a player being brought in before he's ready (or just plain not good enough) and then that being held against him later on; or be that someone else being brought in, doing well then creating the conondrum of "how do we accomodate him?"

The problem with England's ODI team in the last year-and-a-bit, though, is that there've been repeated short-term problems with the same players, and often what's thought to have been a short-term thing has become a longer-term one - or more accurately a succession of what's always thought at the time to have been short-term. Most unfortunately of all, those things have usually concerned the three most important players, Trescothick, Pietersen and Flintoff.

 

[aussie]

I dont think Freddie should bat higher than #7 TBH. The English keeper of the day can go in at eight, and you have three other specialist bowlers. Freddie gives you immense opportunity to play six frontline batsman (and if one of them can send a few overs down, all the better).

England can have the deepest lineup in the world if they do that.

An very inticing option without doubt. I have weighed up the option before but it has its under-cover glitches. Flintoff is one of England most destructive & free-scoring ODI batsmen & leaving him way down @ 7 is something i don't really like & i doubt the selectors would want to do either. Flintoff @ 6 & Prior @ 7 gives the lower-middle order enough strenght & would allow the bowling attack to have more variety which is also very key.

 

[Richard]

If, that is, Prior turns-out to be any use in ODIs, something that has yet to happen to date.

 

[Neil Pickup]

And his wicket keeping , don't get me started on that (two relatively easy edges off Panesar and he shelled them both). People critised Geriant Jones about his keeping ability , but he took most of them.

The second missed catch was bad wicketkeeping - there was very little by way of deflection and the gloves were completely in the wrong place: had there been no nick on that he'd have missed the thing anyway. The first catch however was a massive deflection off a big thick top edge and I doubt any keeper would have held it regularly or through skill rather than luck. Keeping wicket standing up, particularly to balls that pitch short and then turn/bounce erratically, is a fiendishly difficult task and people are often far, far too quick to criticise.

 

[Richard]

Absolutely. People as a rule tend to be too ambiguous with what they term "a chance" when it's often nothing of the sort.

 

[BoyBrumby]

He quite clearly has been. Bucknor signalled to the TV Umpire in a game a couple of years ago after a Samuels quicker-ball, and all the commentators muttered a bit. Nothing seems to have been done about it to date, though.

Don't recall the game or remember any mention of it in the media. The quicker ball's a shocker tho; of bowlers I've seen of late maybe only Botha's wrong 'un looked worse to the naked eye.

I'm still not convinced with the idea about Prior batting at the top (We'll Im not really convinced with Prior at international level at all), He doesn't seem to be able to work good bowlers. I can pull any number of players who can hit bad bowling , but he doesn't seem to be able to deal with it when its in the right areas. Sure he hung around today but he will continue to struggle at the top of the order. And his wicket keeping , don't get me started on that (two relatively easy edges off Panesar and he shelled them both). People critised Geriant Jones about his keeping ability , but he took most of them.

I think Prior has to have his role defined. If he's going to hang around & score slowly as he did on Sunday it's a total waste opening with him because others can do that role better than he can. If he is in to take advantage of the power plays we need to see more evidence of it. It would be harsh to judge him too much on that one performance tho as the ball was doing a fair bit early on.

 

[FBU]

Could this be the team at Edgbaston -

Cook, Prior, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Shah, Yardy, Plunkett, Sidebottom, Broad, Anderson.

 

[The Baconator]

Hope it don't rain too much today....
Heading down to Edgbaston, hoping for a full game.

 

[NZTailender]

Absolutely. People as a rule tend to be too ambiguous with what they term "a chance" when it's often nothing of the sort.

Quoted for posterity.

 

[Richard]

Why'd you need to?

I say that ATT - it's something that annoys a first-chancer like me impossibly, people saying "he was dropped" when a fielder got the end of a finger on something that he never had a hope in hell of catching.

 

[Richard]

Don't recall the game or remember any mention of it in the media. The quicker ball's a shocker tho; of bowlers I've seen of late maybe only Botha's wrong 'un looked worse to the naked eye.

Don't know why you say just the Wrong-'Un - Botha's action is a shocker full-stop. Samuels' quicker-ball was questioned by Bucknor, IIRR, against India last year.

 

[Richard]

Could this be the team at Edgbaston -

Cook, Prior, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Shah, Yardy, Plunkett, Sidebottom, Broad, Anderson.

Dids't thou have some inside info?

Certainly a hell of a Marsh-Lillee contender there.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Dids't thou have some inside info?

Certainly a hell of a Marsh-Lillee contender there.

10 out of 11 ain't bad.

 

[Richard]

It was the Yardy prediction that was so inspired, never mind the fact that he happened to get Plunkett for Mascarenhas wrong.

 

[wpdavid]

It was the Yardy prediction that was so inspired, never mind the fact that he happened to get Plunkett for Mascarenhas wrong.

I suppose he worked out that a last 5 of Mascarenhas, SB, Broad, Anderson & Panesar was not ideal, so something had to give.

 

[Pup Clarke]

@ Sidebottom's first ball.

Anderson ain't a million miles away from being a world class one day bowler imo. He looks to have improved out of site from the WC.

 

[Richard]

He's looked to have done that before, though, let's not forget.

 

[Richard]

Broad on, single 1st ball.