posted Apr 4, 2007

For the record, Trescothic is unavailable, Harmison has retired, You therefore have to reshufle your team to accomodate others. So collingwood isnt a worthy replacement? and i suppose Flintoff and Pietersen(the number 1 batmen in the world)shouldnt be playing, because they weren't playing in that match against Sri Lanka at Headingly?

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posted Apr 4, 2007

That still leaves the fact that Cook was considered ahead of Joyce in the summer but now, apparently, isn't good enough, Saj Mahmood and Jon Lewis were behind Bresnan and Ali, but now aren't, and Mal Loye wasn't good enough then, but was in the CB series, but isn't now.

We have the least experienced side, by a mile, in this WC. Why? Bad luck, partly, but mainly bad planning.

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posted Apr 4, 2007

Nice one Silk
That would be the game Solanki, batting 5, scored 44 not out off 34 balls...........
& then got dropped...........

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posted Apr 4, 2007

The irony is that I wouldn't have bought Solanki back for that series (his record didn't deserve it) but, having bought him back, he performed well, so they dropped him! Clueless.

I was never impressed with Solanki, but if he was part of the solution, why didn't he open every game, rather than getting shunted from pillar to post?

And if Cook was good enough to open then, why did they bring TWO novices (Joyce and Loye) in to the CB series?

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posted Apr 4, 2007

didnt cook get into the 40's on the only 2 odi innings he played then was dropped for a 36 year old slogger and a irishman who bats like he has just had a hip operation!!!

Solanki was constantly rubbish!! a batsmen who fails and cant bowl being classed as an allrounder pathetic!!

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posted Apr 4, 2007

Hey Silk, give the guy a break.

Just because he knew 10 of his World Cup XI didn't mean he was giving them a game.

It's all part of Fletch's master plan. It's something along the lines of Devon Malcolm's "if I don't know what the ball's doing, how the hell does the batsmen."

It' obvious to me that Our Revered Duncan Fletcher is merely toying with the minds of our opponents.

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posted Apr 4, 2007

looking at the team that you have said silk, out of the eleven, i would say that 7 are worthy of there place in the england set up, the other 4 aren't up to intermational standards plus adding to the 7, there was two players missing in that game, Pietersen and Collingwood and Flintoff wasn't able to play in the series, so that's 10 players, so all england need to do is include another player in the team that is international qualitiy

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posted Apr 4, 2007

You mean he had Nixon up his sleeve all this time, and when he steps out to open today the Sri Lankans won't know what's hit them?

Fiendish.

Nixon and Plunkett to score tons today, I think. Mahmood 4-19

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posted Apr 4, 2007

I agree in the fact the team should have been reletively settled way before now

But a lot of them players are simply not up to standard

ME Trescothick - We all no why he isn't playing
AN Cook - I agree would rather he play than Joyce but he had a tough Ashes and a rest might do him good
IR Bell - Playing
AJ Strauss - Out of form but rather see him play than some
VS Solanki - Enough chances
Dalrymple - Same as above
GO Jones - And again
TT Bresnan - Not good enough
LE Plunkett - Could play but fairly simialr to Anderson
Kabir Ali - Not good enough
SJ Harmison - Retired

So i think the fact the team has changed so much is more down to how poor this team was. The mistakes were back then and we are paying for them now

I think what has come from this world cup is that after this we should build from the next. The new generation and prospects should have an extneded go in the team i.e. Broad etc

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posted Apr 4, 2007

So by this it suggests that Strauss will not play nor will Plunkett, so it is likely we will have the same team that we had against the Irish.

For the record Cook played two one day games (his only 2) against Sri Lanka last year and got scores of 39 & 41 with a strike rate of 86.95 and he looked pretty good as a rule.

Also got opening partnerships both times with Trescothick of 77 & 82 with an opening strike rate of 80.39 & 106.95 between them.

Why one earth would Cook not be in the team with a pretty good start to his one day career all be it only playing 2 games against a strong Sri Lanka team.

I honestly do not get it, I get the impression as he is so young they are wrapping him up on cotton wool a bit and don’t want to over play him, this is my only explanation to it…

I would play Cook or at least give him a run in the team over Vaughan, Joyce, Bell or Loye but………… I just don’t get it.

It just goes to show why our one day team is such a mess, yes we have had injuries but the one day team gets chopped and changed so much it’s unreal, our test team is settled and you could pick a squad of 15 pretty easily.

My mind boggles, it really does.

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posted Apr 4, 2007

What everyones favourite Fletcher selection decision?

Id go for Bringing Graham Onions into the odi team.... ive tried to understand why but just cant!

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posted Apr 4, 2007

Precisely Silk!

Who would have thought that what looks from the outside like embarrasing ineptitude is actually all part of a master plan to disorientate the opposition and shock them into meek surrender.

A bit like Shock and Awe in Iraq, and we all know how sucessful that was.

Nixon to open and score the ODI game's first double century and then Vaughan, in the side for his bowling, to clean up the tail with 5 wickets in as many balls, the last - in a beautiful twist of irony - will be Malinga the slinger, who will definitely not remove our top three with less than 50 on the board.

Can I borrow some irony off someone, I'm all out.

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posted Apr 4, 2007

I still think Loye is the best.

It's like a watching a bad run out.

"Yes! No! Wait. Yes!"

and then both batsmen are standing at one end and the ball is at the other.

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posted Apr 4, 2007

Well its a well established argument that England havent had a plan with selection in ODI for a long while!!

Too many quality players are bracketed as Test only by the powers that be and visa versa.... we therefore have this stupid situation whereby people like cook arent picked

if the aussies had the same ridiculous line of thought then Mike Hussey wuold have been bracketed as 'test only'- his strike rate of 90.90 and his average of 58 speaks for itself.

then we have these pathetic gambles that really havent paid off!! if a player like bresnan is capable of taking a 5 for or score a century then theres no point playing him!!

lastly there is the 1 or 2 match brigade which are picked with no thought and without instant success dont come back....

phil chappell's 24 ball ODI career is a perfect example, graham swann's 5 over career( after being touted as englands answer to a spinning all rounder for a number of years!!) if there is no faith to play them in 30 odi's to find there feet why play them at all!

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posted Apr 4, 2007

The most important thing is to have a nucleus of players who will always be selected. I was stunned when I read this article that turnover could be so swift. Were England experimenting to ultimately find the X1 turning up today ?

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posted Apr 4, 2007

Too many young heads in this team to do well.
Ramprakash and Gough, instead of prancing around the dance floor, should have been leading the troops.

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posted Apr 4, 2007

If Graham Onions gets into the team then i will stop watching cricket!

He is bloody usless !

Mr Ed the irish man must now be dropped, he is just not getting any runs , one thing that did make me laugh was when MV said it's hard to get motavated to play these lesser team ..... ah ? , when i play weaker people i like to destroy them and let them know they have been well beaten , not just give it away !

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posted Apr 4, 2007

Under what influence did Onions get picked??

this is a guy who is complete cannon fodder in county cricket!! no thought just of list of names on a dartboard surely??

Night in the bar...

''what did you get duncan??? onions?? who? oh him...s**t!!''

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posted Apr 4, 2007

is it the mgmts fault that so many have been cr'p for england?

when fletch said he knew his XI he didnt say they would be playing that day did he!

i think 5 of his choices are playing - MV, KP, Colly, FF, Bell/Strauss
4 are unavailable- Tresco, Harmy, Giles, SiJo
1 is crap - GO Jo
and one he didnt know anyway

so hardly fair to blame Fletch for this one- there are plenty of other things to have a go at him for though!!

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posted Apr 4, 2007

to be honest cant understand why u dont have a good one day side,surely it cant be that difficult .is fletcher trying to reinvent the wheel. but do hope its a good game tonight

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