English off-season 13/14

[Scaly piscine]

Overton out and replaced by Wood for the Lions tour.

How the hell was Wood not in the original Lions squad anyway? Massive prospect who hasn't played many games, need to see more of him.

 

[91Jmay]

Yeah I really like what I've seen from Wood. Another good county season and he should be in the running for our Test attack, he has a yard of pace doesn't he?

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Seems a load of young potential pace men but the trouble is we have nobody in the 23-26 bracket with enough experience to come in now. Plenty of raw prospects who probably need another year or two though. Just hope Anderson can hold on till they are ready.

 

[Dan]

You have Finn, who IMO will do a serviceable job alongside Broad and Bresnan for a few years. Not going to be a world-beating attack, Broad aside, but capable enough of churning out decent performances until some of these younger guys get themselves into the frame. As you say, there's no shortage of 20-24 year old prospects running around.

 

[theegyptian]

Div 2 and Worcesteshire getting even weaker. Alan Richardson retiring to take up the bowling coach position at Warwickshire. Welch leaves that position to take over at Derbyshire as head coach.

Worcestershire were extremely reliant on Richardson as it was. They're almost going to be as bad as Leicestershire this year. Moeen Ali and Mitchell aside the team is pretty trash. Mooen could do with a move in all reality to a first division club or even a stronger second division team but iirc he signed a 5 year contract with worcs last year.

 

[Pothas]

Seems a load of young potential pace men but the trouble is we have nobody in the 23-26 bracket with enough experience to come in now. Plenty of raw prospects who probably need another year or two though. Just hope Anderson can hold on till they are ready.

Problem is that is is always easier to look better when your 19/20 than is when your 24/25.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Problem is that is is always easier to look better when your 19/20 than is when your 24/25.

Yeah but it seems there are far more good youngsters around now than when the current 24/25 lot were 20ish. So obviously you would hope a few more make it.

 

[theegyptian]

I think it's a bit of shame that Swann has retired from first class cricket and I wonder if he might make a comeback for Notts. Strikes me as the kind of bloke that loves the game, the camaraderie of the dressing room and the competition of playing but just fell out of love with the game being on the road all the time.

A couple of months and he may decide he wants to play a year or two of county cricket. Would be great for those playing on the circuit to come up against him. I know players like Strauss really couldn't bring themselves to carry on in county cricket after giving up international cricket but Swann is a different character

Notts have Sam Woods who is a promising 20 yr old spinner *** lower order batsmen who has done well for the 2nd xi and england u19s so maybe they'll want to promote him but they'll be plenty of suitors and a great addition to any team. He wouldn't have to bowl masses of overs either so his elbow could probably hold up.


Be a shame if Swann is lost to the English game and goes straight into celebrity or whatever. Need different characters especially those with slightly unconventional thinking. Nasser Hussain has a column for the dailyfail and whilst discussing Cook and his own captaincy he said he often consulted with Athers and Tufnell. Now i've listened to Tufnell on the radio and he's pretty decent and actually talks really well on occasion so I can see why he discussed with Tufnell - it's just I was shocked at the time at the mention of tuffers as a confidant

The current English setup within the county setup for coaching is pretty structured and samey and doesn't really allow for mavericks or unconventional thinking - or at least that is what it appears to me. That creates clone coaches and clone players. I just hope players like Swann and Tuffers aren't dissuaded from taking up coaching in some form because of having to get some qualification or following some strict guidelines. Cricket needs all types and views.

Saying that I'm strongly against the people recommending people like Vaughan or Butcher becoming england coach on the back of the views which some journalists or former players have been suggesting as potential replacements for Andy Flower. If you've gone straight into the media after your career and not bothered to do any coaching and shown no inclination to coach why the **** should you be given the job on the basis of writing a few good articles or talking some sense on the radio. People forget Lehman did plenty of coaching before he took over Australia. He didn't just rock up as some maverick and say enjoy yourselves, he actually moulded a coaching method over a few years.


So yes if i was a county chief exec I'd possibly be putting out a little feeler to Swann to see if i can tempt him back for a couple of year swansong.

 

[91Jmay]

Tuffers has a good cricket brain, just deliberately plays the buffoon role (why wouldn't he has been comparatively richly rewardly for such an act)

 

[theegyptian]

This'll have to go here until there is a world t20 thread. England's 30 man squad for the T20 WC in Bangladesh in March.

Really it's a list of anyone who is any good in county cricket. Spinners is the weak area which is obviously a worry given the likely conditions. Briggs, Tredwell and Borthwick are joined by Stephen Parry and Moeen Ali (and Samit). I guess Rafiq may have made this squad if he hadn't lost form at the end of the season. No chance of FInn going so that's him and Swann out of the team we'd have probably started if selected 2 months ago. KP is selected tho.

Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) (Capt)
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Scott Borthwick (Durham)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Danny Briggs (Hampshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Michael Carberry (Hampshire)
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Harry Gurney (Nottinghamshire)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Jordan (Sussex)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Michael Lumb (Nottinghamshire)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Graham Onions (Durham)
Steven Parry (Lancashire)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Kevin Pietersen (Surrey)
Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)
James Tredwell (Kent)
James Vince (Hampshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Luke Wright (Sussex)

 

[Dan]

1. Hales
2. Wright (6)
3. KP
4. Morgan
5. Ballance
6. Bopara (5)
7. Buttler +
8. Stokes (4)
9. Broad * (2)
10. Jordan/Rankin (1)
11. Tredwell (2)

Kieswetter, Samit, Dernbach, Woakes/Briggs

 

[theegyptian]

Egypt's Final 15 - Broad, Bopara, Briggs, Buttler, Dernbach, Gurney, Hales, Lumb, Morgan, Patel, KP, Rankin, Stokes, Tredwell, Wright

From recent squads Finn, Bresnan(this won't happen) and Root miss out. Samit gets a recall(this also won't happen), Gurney gets a first callup (this might happen but it will probably be at the expense of Rankin if it does happen)

Final 11 - Lumb, Hales, Wright, KP, Morgan, Buttler, Samit, Stokes, Broad, Briggs, Dernbach

Lumb might not make the team and KP may not be selected for the squad if they decide to give up on him. When one of these things happens Bopara will come in. He's unfortune to miss out in my team

 

[Dan]

FFS so for some reason the edit button refuses to work, so here's the reasoning behind my picks:

CK provides a back-up opener/wicketkeeper if something happens. Samit might be pipped by Moeen based on their respective domestic T20 records (and I'd back Moeen ahead of Samit as a specialist bat if someone gets injured). Dernbach isn't terrible in T20 and IMO would be better than Rankin (though in saying that I fully expect Rankin picked ahead of my preferred option - Jordan). Woakes vs. Briggs comes down to whether the selectors want #15 to go to an emergency "I can do anything for one game until the replacement arrives" player or a second specialist spinner.


David Willey, if fit, would had to have been in there. Not sure how Trego misses the 30 man squad either.

 

[theegyptian]

FFS so for some reason the edit button refuses to work, so here's the reasoning behind my picks:

Can't see KW getting a gig given his game hasn't come on but maybe there will be another keeper in there. They took 3 last time - Buttler, KW, Bairstow

Patel has been dropped from all England ODI t20 stuff recently so it would be a surprise if they decide to go back to him. He would definitely strengthen the squad imo for Bangladesh and be a much better option than Ali. Much better going with Patel's experience than going with Ali especially as Ali is an opener and that's a position England have plenty of options in. I'd also back Patel's bowling to come off better than Moeen.

DOn't give me that Trego rubbish. Willey would def have been in the 30 man squad were it not for injury.

 

[fredfertang]

Picking Parry and not Kegga strikes me as a tad bizarre

 

[grecian]

Honestly, I know your not a fan of Trego, but as a t-20 player he's clearly better than some in that list.

 

[theegyptian]

Honestly, I know your not a fan of Trego, but as a t-20 player he's clearly better than some in that list.

You could say he was better than Parry but I don't think you can count Trego's bowling as spin. Maybe Bresnan tho.....

 

[Dan]

Picking Parry and not Kegga strikes me as a tad bizarre

Parry: 56 matches, 63 wickets @ 22.44 (ER: 6.86)
Kerrigan: 24 matches, 29 wickets @ 29.75 (ER: 6.91)

Parry also a significantly better List A bowler, and without memories of a horror England debut to overcome. I'm not hugely surprised at that, tbh.

 

[grecian]

You could say he was better than Parry but I don't think you can count Trego's bowling as spin. Maybe Bresnan tho.....

Well reckon is all-round ability puts him ahead of Finn, Onions and Dernbach TBH. Yet hey I probably wouldn't pick him in the 15, so it's a bit irrelevant. Think he does deserve to be in the 30 though.

Oh, and I agree with Dan, Parry pretty good in the form, think he deserves his place.

 

[Dan]

Just had a hypothetical thought about North vs. South XIs (though I'm not actually all that sure where the demarcation is, and I had to look up a map to see where each county actually was).

Northern Counties XI:
1. Root
2. Hales
3. Borthwick
4. Taylor
5. Ballance
6. Bairstow
7. Buttler +
8. Bresnan
9. Broad
10. Onions
11. Anderson

Southern Counties XI:
1. Cook
2. Robson
3. Compton
4. Pietersen
5. Bell
6. Bopara
7. Prior +
8. Woakes
9. Barker/Tremlett/MDavies/WGidman/Finn/Jordan
10. Tredwell
11. Rankin

North has the bowling, South has the batting.