You couldn't make it up!!!

[anzac]

Keys has been brought in via neccessity, and I would look at the likes of Irani as well (for White), with Flintoff possibly coming in for even Caddick or something, & even look at bringing Knight into the team to shore up the top order - something to change the mix, but not wholesale / panic / sweeping changes for the sake of changes - there needs to be some plan / purpose.

Mix it up a bit - it can't get any worse than it has re the Test series. If nothing else it will give the Aussies something to think about for a few minutes.

 

[marc71178]

The injury to Jones is unfortunate, but he was hardly an integral part of the attack

In my mind, Jones had shown he was our key bowler in that opening spell on the First day - and he was an integral part of the bowling attack.

 

[Bazza]

Originally posted by chris.hinton
Stewart,Thorpe,Butcher have done well havent they
Rikki Clarke will be good Only Brown,Rampakash and Salisbury have failed and two of them have been at other counties

You seem to be forgetting Ormond, Giddins, Bicknell, the Hollioakes, Ward.... the list goes on. I see Batty has been called up now. :rolleyes:

 

[Rik]

Gareth Batty, not Jon Batty their wicket-keeper...Gareth Batty is the Worcs Offie...

 

[Bazza]

Oh yeah, I forgot he'd moved on. He started his career at Surrey though, so I can still moan about it....

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by Bazzaroodoo
Oh yeah, I forgot he'd moved on. He started his career at Surrey though, so I can still moan about it....

Yeah but he only made people sit up and take notice when he played for Worcs and became established in the team...so it's pretty harsh if you do :P

 

[anzac]

Jones may have been an integral part of the attack for that match, and may be the design for the fututre - but what I was saying was that he has played less than a handful of Tests, has virutally no experience at that level and as such is still unproven & could not be classified a regular starter.

The NZ players that got injured were all experienced regulars that had established themselves as the preferred lineup for a couple of seasons.......a BIG difference......Jones is a good prospect just as Butler is for the Kiwis!!!!

 

[Tim]

I don't know if Jones is going to be able to continue with that bowling action on the wrong-side of 30.

It looks a very stressful action & as he ages & his body tires..I think he'll lose his action fairly quickly.

 

[Tim]

I'm still waiting to reserve judgement on Simon Jones, but I don't think you can call him an England regular yet...

A bowling average of 37 in 42 first class games along with an average of 175 in 5 OD games is not very spectacular for a player who's meant to be one of the best up & comers in the country especially on the county circuit. And it's not like he's had little experience either.

This really suggests that England picked Jones on pace rather than anything else.
Surely there are other bowlers in England who have pace & accuracy?

 

[marc71178]

Originally posted by Tim
I'm still waiting to reserve judgement on Simon Jones, but I don't think you can call him an England regular yet...

A bowling average of 37 in 42 first class games along with an average of 175 in 5 OD games is not very spectacular for a player who's meant to be one of the best up & comers in the country especially on the county circuit. And it's not like he's had little experience either.

This really suggests that England picked Jones on pace rather than anything else.
Surely there are other bowlers in England who have pace & accuracy?

Averges can be misleading - just look at Vaughan and Trescothick for that.

As for English bowlers with pace and accuracy, Harmison seems to be able to do it on his day, and for me he is one of the plusses of this tour.

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by Tim
I'm still waiting to reserve judgement on Simon Jones, but I don't think you can call him an England regular yet...

A bowling average of 37 in 42 first class games along with an average of 175 in 5 OD games is not very spectacular for a player who's meant to be one of the best up & comers in the country especially on the county circuit. And it's not like he's had little experience either.

This really suggests that England picked Jones on pace rather than anything else.
Surely there are other bowlers in England who have pace & accuracy?

Or on his performances during a season in which he took 33 Wickets at 26.36 in the Championship and 40 at 27.52 in all FC, best bowling figures 6-45. That's certainly better than Harmison's stats of 26 at 32.15 in the CC and 33 at 30.33 in all FC with best bowling figures 5-65. If you look at Jones' stats then you see their reasoning. Also he only missed the next Test after his debut as he was injured, I'm sure they would have played if he was fit. Although I would have prefered someone like Kirtley or Dean who have performed impressively for several seasons.

 

[Tim]

I've seen Kirtley & he's got a good action..why isn't he more in favour with the selectors?

 

[Tim]

Tresco is good, but he's been found out a little in the Ashes series against pace bowling.

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by Tim
I've seen Kirtley & he's got a good action..why isn't he more in favour with the selectors?

Because he has 6 Wickets from 7 ODIs at 50.63 with best bowling figures of 2-33. I rate him highly though and I think the only match in which he struggled was against Sri Lanka where Jayasuria slogged him around.

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by Tim
Tresco is good, but he's been found out a little in the Ashes series against pace bowling.

He's got to move his feet more, he gets caught on the crease or reaches for the ball as he cuts so much. The major problem for him is that he is an agressively-minded player and any ball which is there to be cut he will have a go at it, but he quite often hits it in the air and the gully fielders have had a number of chances against him, most of which they have taken.

 

[marc71178]

Although I would have prefered someone like Kirtley or Dean who have performed impressively for several seasons.

Neither of those players have the express pace we were looking for, and to be honest aren't any better than the bowlers of a similar style and pace we already have (although Dean has the advantage of being a left armer)

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by marc71178

Although I would have prefered someone like Kirtley or Dean who have performed impressively for several seasons.

Neither of those players have the express pace we were looking for, and to be honest aren't any better than the bowlers of a similar style and pace we already have (although Dean has the advantage of being a left armer)

Dean is quite tall and I would definatly rate him as a better left-armer than Sidebottom. Also Sidebottom has not done much lately except grow his hair, and Dean's done as much as he can. At least he deserves a place in the squad.

 

[Bazza]

It'll be a long time (or several more injuries! :rolleyes: ) before Sidebottom gets another game for England - he was woeful on test debut....

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by Bazzaroodoo
It'll be a long time (or several more injuries! :rolleyes: ) before Sidebottom gets another game for England - he was woeful on test debut....

He doesn't even have extreme pace...and Dean would be much better IMO.

 

[Bazza]

I haven't seen much of Dean to comment, but I would say statistically he is very sound. However, I get the feeling he's one of those players who is successful at FC level but wouldn't necessarily make it in international cricket.