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The England Thread

tooextracool

International Coach
Ha, come on man, he clearly wasn't bowling as bad as you are making it sound. Maybe he did lose the plot in this game you are refering to, but he showed enough good signs rather than bad one's. He's young how many young bowlers do you remember coming in & being absolutely on the spot? Cut him some slack will ya mate...
isnt that what you said about liam plunkett? Look how he turned out.Too many people place greater emphasis on rare occurences rather than focussing on something that happens the majority of the time. The fact is that in Broads case the majority of the time he was rubbish whereas for a very small period of his career he was actually decent.



I'd give you that reason for Strauss, but not Collingwood at all yo. Collingwood is very good ODI player, he clearly has the ability to play 2 gears in that he can nudge it around and smoke it and the end when its required.
And hes been doing that with so much success recently? How many good series has he had since the last world cup? 2 to be precise. both against india.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
is it just me or do people not see that dalrymple is being wasted at no 7 and 8? Hes not much of a slogger, and hes certainly capable of scoring runs in the middle order. Beats collingwood coming in and scratching around for his entire innings.
It does seem bizarre to be honest - especially as he doesn't seem to bowl much either.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
so he temporarily recovered for about about a couple of months, failed miserably in both forms(bar the odd game) and then coincidentally decided to take time off instead of playing the champions trophy thereafter? We can clearly presume that he was doing perfectly fine mentally during said period.
Believe it or not random occurences do happen. Occasionally natural talent and brilliance overcome mental frailities and hinderances. We've seen it with billions of players before, even your beloved mark ramprakash had a successful stint in test cricket.
Yes, he did - a sustained period, over a good few venues, too. Ramprakash, like Trescothick, managed to banish his problems.

The two cases are hardly comparable, in any case, as Trescothick has a genuine medical condition, unlike Ramprakash who just had a suspect temperament.

Trescothick was generally thought to have recovered (hindsight revealed it was temporary) in that ODI series.
so if we dropped Andrew flintoff right now it would be the righ decision then? Hey hes only had success for a few years, hes been miserable in his few tests, lets not forget how many years he was rubbish for. He needs to be dropped so that he doesnt take his place for granted. Do you agree?
No, I don't, and maybe I'd not have done in the Hick case had I followed the game so precisely in 1996 as I did now.
and hussain didnt have 3 years of unparalleled success in the england side either.
No, he didn't. And as such, maybe he might've been dropped in 1997 had he scored a massive number of single-figure scores in a row.
Err yes and thats what i argued.The selectors did treat Hick poorly by selecting Butcher(who was clearly not good enough at the time) and even made him bat at 3(which was hicks position). Stewart batting at 3 made no sense, but it clearly proves that it had nothing to do with not wanting him to open the batting and what not, because theres hardly much difference in terms of resting time after wicketkeeping for a keeper to bat either opening or at 3.
There patently is. The idea of batting three is that you don't come in until the openers have played for a bit. I didn't agree with Stewart batting three, either, for that matter, but it is different to having him open.
and now you've gone full circle and call the same selectors who you said didnt treat Hick poorly as 'stupid' for not selecting hick over butcher? tsk tsk
How have I gone full circle? I've never said they made precisely zero errors.
and you think by bowling 20 odd overs that they put faith in his bowling ability? if they picked him for his bowling then he should have bowled far more than what he did, because the fact is that even hick can turn his arm over and would have probably bowled just as many overs had he played in the same number of tests at the time.
He would - Atherton evidently didn't rate his bowling, understandibly so, but that's different to the selectors who pick the team having the bowling in mind before the game.
you are once again using the hindsight for your selection reasoning. Its even more ridiculous than those that claim Pietersen should have played instead of Thorpe in the Ashes in 2005. Logically, when you have 2 players, one averaging 55 in county cricket with 3 years of brilliance in the test match arena, the other averaging 50 with not a single noteworthy international series, i know which one i would pick.
I'm using it to say I was happy enough with what happened. I'm not using it to say it was the right decision. As I say, though - Ramprakash had played a crucial innings in the final match of 1997. That, presumably, was what made the difference. Otherwise, Hick ahead of him would have been the only sensible choice. Yes, I know "so you'd prefer one innings over 3 years of brilliance"? Yes, if that one innings was recent enough and no more chances have been forthcoming recently, I would.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Go on then show me where i ever called him rubbish? Ive always maintained that he was a good enough bowler when he played but that there were better bowlers in England, referring to Caddick, Gough, Mullally and Fraser.
I'm glad you never called him rubbish in your memory (you might've done, but I really can't be bothered trawling through our countless hundreds of arguments in the past to find one example) but I do hope you also realise I never, ever called him better than Fraser, Caddick, Gough and Mullally.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Collingwood has been rubbish for a long long time now. His situation is a little less understandable given that before the 2003 world cup he was actually quite good and realy did look the part at one point.
Collingwood actually had his best spell in ODIs very recently, from that 93 at Goa to the 22* in the Champions' Trophy - that's 13 innings (Ireland don't count) of relative impressiveness. He now appears to have reverted to type since that duck against WI.

Whereas earlier (ie in 2002\03) he had a massive 4 good innings in a row: 63*, 43, 25* vs Aus and 66* vs Pak. Before those even the misinformed majority never even called him an "integral part" of the ODI side. Since those 4 innings, he's never had his place seriously questioned, mainly because of scoring runs against Bangladesh.
 
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Salamuddin

International Debutant
is it just me or do people not see that dalrymple is being wasted at no 7 and 8? Hes not much of a slogger, and hes certainly capable of scoring runs in the middle order. Beats collingwood coming in and scratching around for his entire innings.


Is he ? I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts about Dalrymple....seems like another bits and pieces player the English are so fond of.....

Hey TEC, you're an ANglo-Indian right....should support a quality team like Pakistan instead of a bunch of no-hopers like England :p
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Why would an Indian support Pakistan...?

And why would one be a glory-seeker and turn his allegiances mid-life based on performance?

As for Dalrymple, his selection at the moment makes precisely no sense whatsoever. Picked to bat seven or eight and bowl 2 or 3 overs per game? What?

Either bat him in the top-five or don't pick him at all.

Or start fielding first. It's getting stupid Flintoff\Vaughan just batting first, getting knocked-over and leaving the opposition nothing to chase. At least make a decent length game out of things. 8-)
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Is he ? I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts about Dalrymple....seems like another bits and pieces player the English are so fond of.....

Hey TEC, you're an ANglo-Indian right....should support a quality team like Pakistan instead of a bunch of no-hopers like England :p
Dalrymple is better than a bits and pieces player. He's a good batsman and a decent spinner. Ideally he'd be a batting allrounder. The problem is that England are presently picking him as a bits and pieces player.
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
Why would an Indian support Pakistan...?

And why would one be a glory-seeker and turn his allegiances mid-life based on performance?

As for Dalrymple, his selection at the moment makes precisely no sense whatsoever. Picked to bat seven or eight and bowl 2 or 3 overs per game? What?

Either bat him in the top-five or don't pick him at all.

Or start fielding first. It's getting stupid Flintoff\Vaughan just batting first, getting knocked-over and leaving the opposition nothing to chase. At least make a decent length game out of things. 8-)
Could you really face 50 overs of Aus against an England attack led by Plunkett & Tremlett? :(
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
It's better than 25-30 overs of them and none of anyone else because the game's over.

I don't really take any displeasure from seeing Plunkett, Tremlett etc. slammed all over the park - the more it happens, the more it decreases the chances of us seeing them playing for England for too long.

It's not like we can sink any lower on this tour, we've just got to take what we can out of it.
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
It's better than 25-30 overs of them and none of anyone else because the game's over.

I don't really take any displeasure from seeing Plunkett, Tremlett etc. slammed all over the park - the more it happens, the more it decreases the chances of us seeing them playing for England for too long.

It's not like we can sink any lower on this tour, we've just got to take what we can out of it.
...preferably the next flight to Heathrow
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Haha...

Abandoning a tour before it's scheduled finish on the grounds of "unable to compete to standards required by opposition coach" would be the ultimate indignity, methinks.

As well as inviting fines of who-knows-what...
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Yes, he did - a sustained period, over a good few venues, too. Ramprakash, like Trescothick, managed to banish his problems.

The two cases are hardly comparable, in any case, as Trescothick has a genuine medical condition, unlike Ramprakash who just had a suspect temperament.

Trescothick was generally thought to have recovered (hindsight revealed it was temporary) in that ODI series.
except that we were originally arguing about Hick who didnt have any sort of medical condition, his confidence was merely shattered to pieces by being dropped a dozen times for no reason. Like i said if Ramprakash could occasionally come in and play brilliantly while still by and large being mediocre then surely one cannot say that Hick wasnt affected because he scored a century in a certain period and he only fell away a lot after that. Certainly in Hicks case while he was still in his purple patch it might not have affected him as much, but as soon as he hit bad form, knowing that based on the way the selectors have treated him with disdain in the past he was only a failure away from being dropped again and that could not have helped his confidence once he lost his form.

There patently is. The idea of batting three is that you don't come in until the openers have played for a bit. I didn't agree with Stewart batting three, either, for that matter, but it is different to having him open.
We are referring to Stewarts situation. The selectors didnt move Stewart down the order because he was incapable of opening, in fact Stewart was most effective against the new ball when it was coming on to the bat in International cricket. And the fact that he was batting at 3 meant that it obviously had nothing to do with the workload. Therefore the only other solution was that they had another opener in the side that they wanted to accomodate.

How have I gone full circle? I've never said they made precisely zero errors.
You questioned how they could have treated Hick any better. and dropping him a dozen times from both forms of the game, not letting him score his maiden ashes 100 and dropping him for being 'soft' have all been used to change your opinion completely. Then again considering you merely read Atherton's autobiography, im not surprised at your rather rose-tinted opinion of the whole era.

He would - Atherton evidently didn't rate his bowling, understandibly so, but that's different to the selectors who pick the team having the bowling in mind before the game.
honestly if someone makes 2 test tours bowling very little from the very beginning its quite obvious that he shouldnt be picked for his all round ability. If Athers didnt use him in the Ashes, why on earth would they pick him to tour the WI as an all rounder yet again?

I'm using it to say I was happy enough with what happened. I'm not using it to say it was the right decision. As I say, though - Ramprakash had played a crucial innings in the final match of 1997. That, presumably, was what made the difference. Otherwise, Hick ahead of him would have been the only sensible choice. Yes, I know "so you'd prefer one innings over 3 years of brilliance"? Yes, if that one innings was recent enough and no more chances have been forthcoming recently, I would.
except that there was no reasonable explanation for having ramprakash ahead of Hick in for the Ashes 97 anyways.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Collingwood actually had his best spell in ODIs very recently, from that 93 at Goa to the 22* in the Champions' Trophy - that's 13 innings (Ireland don't count) of relative impressiveness. He now appears to have reverted to type since that duck against WI.

Whereas earlier (ie in 2002\03) he had a massive 4 good innings in a row: 63*, 43, 25* vs Aus and 66* vs Pak. Before those even the misinformed majority never even called him an "integral part" of the ODI side. Since those 4 innings, he's never had his place seriously questioned, mainly because of scoring runs against Bangladesh.
i prefer series by series:

2004-2005 SAF v ENG 7 5 0 0 0 40 87 17.40 3 0
2005 Natwest Series 7 5 2 1 1 *112 187 62.33 4 0
2005 NatWest Challenge 3 2 0 0 0 34 43 21.50 0 0
2005-2006 PAK v ENG 5 5 1 0 0 *34 115 28.75 5 0
2005-2006 IND v ENG 6 6 1 2 0 93 229 45.80 4 0
2005-2006 IRE v ENG 1 1 0 0 0 10 10 10.00 2 0
2006 ENG v SRL 3 3 0 1 0 56 89 29.67 1 0
2006 NatWest Series 5 4 0 1 0 61 132 33.00 3 0
2006-2007 ICC Champions Trophy 3 3 1 0 0 38 60 30.00 2 0
2006-2007 Commonwealth Bank Series 5 5 0 0 0 43 66 13.20

Over the last 2.5 years, hes had one good series, that being against India. If you remove that his record becomes absolute tripe. How in the blue hell anyone can claim that he has ever been anything other than such is beyond me.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Is he ? I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts about Dalrymple....seems like another bits and pieces player the English are so fond of.....
We'd only know whether he is bits and pieces if he were batting up the order. Almost everytime hes come in during this series, hes batted in a no win situation.

Hey TEC, you're an ANglo-Indian right....should support a quality team like Pakistan instead of a bunch of no-hopers like England :p
I doubt i'll ever be supporting any team other than England. I supported them even when they were in the dump during the 90s and i will continue to do so for as long as i live.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
except that we were originally arguing about Hick who didnt have any sort of medical condition, his confidence was merely shattered to pieces by being dropped a dozen times for no reason. Like i said if Ramprakash could occasionally come in and play brilliantly while still by and large being mediocre then surely one cannot say that Hick wasnt affected because he scored a century in a certain period and he only fell away a lot after that. Certainly in Hicks case while he was still in his purple patch it might not have affected him as much, but as soon as he hit bad form, knowing that based on the way the selectors have treated him with disdain in the past he was only a failure away from being dropped again and that could not have helped his confidence once he lost his form.
So in other words you should never have tried comparing the Trescothick and Hick\Ramprakash cases.
We are referring to Stewarts situation. The selectors didnt move Stewart down the order because he was incapable of opening, in fact Stewart was most effective against the new ball when it was coming on to the bat in International cricket. And the fact that he was batting at 3 meant that it obviously had nothing to do with the workload. Therefore the only other solution was that they had another opener in the side that they wanted to accomodate.
Batting three is a lesser workload than opening, when you have the wicketkeeping gloves.

You're picking a side not on the assumption that the openers will go early.
You questioned how they could have treated Hick any better. and dropping him a dozen times from both forms of the game, not letting him score his maiden ashes 100 and dropping him for being 'soft' have all been used to change your opinion completely. Then again considering you merely read Atherton's autobiography, im not surprised at your rather rose-tinted opinion of the whole era.
I certainly didn't "merely" do such a thing.

Yes, though - congratulations on showing a few examples of how Hick could've been treated better.
honestly if someone makes 2 test tours bowling very little from the very beginning its quite obvious that he shouldnt be picked for his all round ability. If Athers didnt use him in the Ashes, why on earth would they pick him to tour the WI as an all rounder yet again?
Because Atherton wasn't on the selection committee? It's not remotely unusual for a captain to - repeatedly - have a bowler "forced" on him and then not bowl him because he doesn't trust his bowling.
except that there was no reasonable explanation for having ramprakash ahead of Hick in for the Ashes 97 anyways.
Did I say there was?
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
i prefer series by series:

2004-2005 SAF v ENG 7 5 0 0 0 40 87 17.40 3 0
2005 Natwest Series 7 5 2 1 1 *112 187 62.33 4 0
2005 NatWest Challenge 3 2 0 0 0 34 43 21.50 0 0
2005-2006 PAK v ENG 5 5 1 0 0 *34 115 28.75 5 0
2005-2006 IND v ENG 6 6 1 2 0 93 229 45.80 4 0
2005-2006 IRE v ENG 1 1 0 0 0 10 10 10.00 2 0
2006 ENG v SRL 3 3 0 1 0 56 89 29.67 1 0
2006 NatWest Series 5 4 0 1 0 61 132 33.00 3 0
2006-2007 ICC Champions Trophy 3 3 1 0 0 38 60 30.00 2 0
2006-2007 Commonwealth Bank Series 5 5 0 0 0 43 66 13.20

Over the last 2.5 years, hes had one good series, that being against India. If you remove that his record becomes absolute tripe. How in the blue hell anyone can claim that he has ever been anything other than such is beyond me.
And his series record in 2002\03 was so brilliant?

He was poor for most of the VB Series and had 1 good innings and 2 poor ones in the WC.

And in 2001, 2001\02 and 2002 he had just 1 good performance too, that in Zimbabwe.

Simple truth of the matter is, Collingwood has never been that good at ODIs at any point in his career and he probably owes getting such a long go to Bangladesh being classed a ODI-team.

He did, however, have a run of reasonable scores starting in the middle of the India tour and going on until the 2nd innings of the Champions Trophy.
 

adharcric

International Coach
Strauss, Vaughan*, Bell, Pietersen, Flintoff, Collingwood, Dalrymple, Read+, Lewis, Panesar, Anderson ... looks like England's best bet at this point.
 

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