posted Jan 8, 2007

why he is not playing can you elaborate.

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posted Jan 8, 2007

I think his wife's ill poor guy. He hasn't exactly been dropped...
'Yousuf, you only averaged 99 last year! You're out of the team!'

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posted Jan 8, 2007

Yes I know he averaged 99 but it was also interesting to see our Kp. was second to Yousef as far as the most number of runs scored in the last year is concerned though one has to admit Ponting, sangakkara and few others had a higher average than him.still a great effort keep it up!

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posted Jan 8, 2007

Hoggard and Giddens to open the Batting, Chris Adams and Darren Maddy to open the bowling, Mal Loye must be a bit miffed he hasnt got a sniff at the top of the order. On one knee to sweep Brett Lee, Beautiful. With a name like that he should be playing for Scotland in the World Cup though.

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posted Jan 8, 2007

Yes I agree I have seen him since he was about 19 I still cannot believe he has not played for england I just donot know what has gone inside Fletcher's head he looks clueless as far as strategies are concerned in onedayers.

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posted Jan 8, 2007

Why do England insist on picking unfit players? I have had a similar problem to Michael Vaughan's knee injury. You feel great for a while after the operation but the damage is never really healed - you exert yourself too much(or too soon) and you are back to square one. Each subsequent operation just creates more scar tissue and extends any rehabiltation process.
Michael should have been left in England and told to get fit with his native Yorkshire and only be considered when he has a lot of runs under belt for the second or third test against the West Indies.
What England need is an unchanged team with a captain like Strauss, a batting line that can score runs and give the bowlers something to defend.
Pietersen should bat at number 4 but be told to prepare to bat with the tail if necessary.
Flintoff at number 5 should be given the licence for a cavalier innings.
Collingwood at number 6 and any runs from the wicketkeeper/bowlers should be considered.
It is about time that the current team produce a performance that matches Flintoff's sound bites about the team's commitment and spirit

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posted Jan 8, 2007

AlrewasDave has it right. Where are the credentials - desperation apart - for picking Vaughan...neah...for blindly and quite crudely rushing him back into the fray?
Yes, Vaughan is a very good captain. Yes he was sorely missed as Flintoff's (lack of) direction went AWOL throughout the drubbing. Yes we need him back. BUT...........

Is he in form and match hard? Probably not. Last seen getting 0 and 9 respectively in an academy match. Fletcher says he's been playing a lot of tennis. Crikey I bet Lee and Mcgrath will barely dare let go knowing that. Andy Murray's played quite a bit of tennis recently too, are we going to call him up next?

I hope Vaughan DOES reignite the players. I hope his captaincy IS one step ahead of Aussie thinking. I hope he HASN'T been listening too much to Fletcher's out-of-date and pretty useless anyway one day thoughts. I hope he does have THAT much of an effcet for everyone to up their game. He'll have to, because I don't think he'll be making much impression on his mediocre one day batting average.

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posted Jan 8, 2007

I am pleased that Vaughan is making a welcome comeback. But why is he coming back to a one-day series?
Is this another sign that Fletcher has lost the plot? Vaughan is a bloody good test captain, and is head and shoulders above Flintoff.
You could argue that is sufficient reason to include him. However, his batting form is not too hot and ODI's are not his strong point.
I believe, Fletcher understands it was a mistake to appoint Flintoff as captain, but finds it difficult to hand over the reigns to Strauss, which is the sensible move.
The captain selection has been as foolhardy as the inclusion and selection of Giles and Jones and the exclusion of Panesar.
I will watch with interest how well Vaughan performs with the bat. I wish him well, but believe we should have two teams:
1. ODI under a new coach and captained by Strauss, or a new captain (not Freddy)or Vaughan if he can justify his inclusion based on his batting prowess.
2. The test team under Fletcher with Vaughan as captain, Strauss as vice.
Fletcher continues to use the ODI's as practice for tests. WRONG ATTITUDE!
Also the review has its aims of beating Australia in the 2009 ashes series. WRONG!
The aim should be to become the No 1 team in the world. There is more to cricket than the ashes!

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posted Jan 8, 2007

To those who advocate Fred or KP as pinch hitting (or non pinch hitting openers. Consider this. They do not face the new ball very often unless its the second new ball when they usually have got a decent score. If they face one when they have just come in they are very ineffective against it. EXAMPLE when we have seen Strauss Tresco Vaughn and Bell get us to 300-for 3 or 4 (and they have) - the following day with a NEW BALL we have seen the famous 60 runs for 6 wickets collapse. It can work but not with these two because if you lose one cheaply you usually dont make a winning score. We tried it with Botham in the world cup final v pakistan and it cost us the match. You need proper 1 day openers e.g
Ally Brown Mal Loye Craig White TYPES of player. Jayasuria & others mentioned can open in both forms of the game Gilchrist could if Aussies needed him to but they dont. We have not currently got good enough players. Tresco and strauss are the best but I would never pick Tresco again. bit of a ramble but.....

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posted Jan 8, 2007

I've changed my mind overnight. We need to open the batting with at least one player who is capable of making the most of the field restrictions in the first fifteen overs. With the World Cup coming up I think we should open with both Flintoff AND Pietersen. It would be a massive gamble and it could backfire spectacularly but if they get it right we could be 150-0 after fifteen overs, in which case they will have done their job.

My team for the first ODI would be:
Flintoff
Pietersen
Strauss
Vaughan
Bell
Collingwood
Dalrymple
Nixon
Tremlett
Lewis
Anderson

Such is the nature of one day cricket that the batting order is often changed according the match situation, but if Flintoff and Pietersen open, Dalrymple and Nixon are the ideal men to score quickly and heavily at the end of the innings.

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