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Robert Key to replace Butcher?

greencarrot2

Cricket Spectator
After Robert Key made his respectable 221 against Windies do you think he should become full time replacement for Mark Butcher?
 

Swervy

International Captain
greencarrot2 said:
After Robert Key made his respectable 221 against Windies do you think he should become full time replacement for Mark Butcher?
i do think it is now up to Butcher (a player who I do admire a lot) to oust Key from the team
 

greencarrot2

Cricket Spectator
Well butcher is a great fielder and Key is not known for his fielding but he did take that good catch off Chaunderpauls glove that wasnt given out :censored:
 

delkap

State Vice-Captain
greencarrot2 said:
After Robert Key made his respectable 221 against Windies do you think he should become full time replacement for Mark Butcher?
Well Butcher has proved himself against tough opposition over the years. It's too early to say Key should replace him, on back of one performance. Also this performance was against a not too strong WI bowling team.. IMO opinion its not enough to leave Butcher out ...
 

Swervy

International Captain
delkap said:
Well Butcher has proved himself against tough opposition over the years. It's too early to say Key should replace him, on back of one performance. Also this performance was against a not too strong WI bowling team.. IMO opinion its not enough to leave Butcher out ...
if say Key gets another 100 in the next test, it would be impossible to drop him...considering Butcher hasnt scored a test hundred for 28 innings now
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Butcher is not a good fielder, not even average, if recent form proves anything. I have no idea about Key's fielding, but hopefully it is better than Butcher's. Neither have much hitting power, though Key can get a lot of runs in boundaries, but can he get enough between wickets? Butcher throws his wicket away after getting a scratchy start repeatedly, while Key played a very long innings. Key will definitely be an option in ODI's.
 

Swervy

International Captain
Arjun said:
Butcher is not a good fielder, not even average, if recent form proves anything. I have no idea about Key's fielding, but hopefully it is better than Butcher's. Neither have much hitting power, though Key can get a lot of runs in boundaries, but can he get enough between wickets? Butcher throws his wicket away after getting a scratchy start repeatedly, while Key played a very long innings. Key will definitely be an option in ODI's.
no, Key shouldnt be an option for ODI's....his style of play is suited to the longer game, England have better options as specialist batsmen

Also, hitting power???? Did you see Key play the other day....and Butcher can fair hit the ball as well.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Swervy said:
Also, hitting power???? Did you see Key play the other day....and Butcher can fair hit the ball as well.
arjun thinks that hitting 4s and 6s is the key to winning matches.......
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
Arjun said:
Key will definitely be an option in ODI's.
No, he won't. He doesn't get anywhere near enough singles.

Apart from the slog overs, singles are far more important than boundaries in ODI's.
 

Mr. P

International Vice-Captain
I don't think Key has proven himself enough yet. From what I saw of Key, certainly not he was terrible against the Aussies. One good innings is not enough to merit a full time place in the side.
 

Craig

World Traveller
Well after that 221 I would say he is a certainty at this stage for the squad to Tour of South Africa.

At this stage I see him as a 'fill-in' but if he keeps putting up the runs, they will have the same problem with Kevin Pietersen, who to leave out to fit these two in, which is a nice problem to have if everybody is preforming.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
All we can say for certain is that someone is going to have a very tough exclusion on their hands!
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
tooextracool said:
so you missed the natwest series then?
Just one series where he hardly got an opportunity. On form, he would be a good pick.

Swervy said:
Also, hitting power???? Did you see Key play the other day....and Butcher can fair hit the ball as well.
He hit more than 20 (how many) fours. He does not hit too many sixes, but in form, he should do so. A team order might have him hitting some. Besides, he's not supposed to hit fours and sixes repeatedly, since there are two players in this team who can do it.

tooextracool said:
arjun thinks that hitting 4s and 6s is the key to winning matches.......
That odd six or four can change a match, but he should not try to be an Adam Gilchrist.

Tom Halsey said:
No, he won't. He doesn't get anywhere near enough singles.
Form and team orders may change that.

tooextracool said:
because thats what matters in test match cricket
At least 11 Australian Test players may not agree fully.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Arjun said:
Just one series where he hardly got an opportunity. On form, he would be a good pick.
On form? Despite the fact he's averaging about 14 in the National League this season?
Form and team orders may change that.
It doesn't matter what team orders there are, if you haven't got the ability, you can't do it no matter who tells you to!
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Richard said:
It doesn't matter what team orders there are, if you haven't got the ability, you can't do it no matter who tells you to!
It's a question of mind over matter. If he shows application, the way Harmison did with fielding, he can improve.

On form? Despite the fact he's averaging about 14 in the National League this season?
He also has a double century behind him, so he's in better form than his National League average would suggest. If he carries on this form, he can be effective even in ODI's.
 

Mr. P

International Vice-Captain
Richard said:
It doesn't matter what team orders there are, if you haven't got the ability, you can't do it no matter who tells you to!
In most cases I would agree, but we are talking about single hitting, not whether he can make the squad. If he can make the England side, he should be able to hit the singles on instruction.

If he can't follow those orders, he shouldn't be at the top level of the game.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Arjun said:
It's a question of mind over matter. If he shows application, the way Harmison did with fielding, he can improve.
Harmison's still a terrible fielder, he's just not quite as terrible as he was a couple of years ago.
If you've got the ability, you can improve. If you haven't, you can't.
He also has a double century behind him, so he's in better form than his National League average would suggest. If he carries on this form, he can be effective even in ODI's.
He's been scoring heavily in the First-Class game all season. This double-century, in the First-Class game, doesn't show anything we didn't already know.
In the one-day game, however, his form has been terrible all season.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Mr. P said:
In most cases I would agree, but we are talking about single hitting, not whether he can make the squad. If he can make the England side, he should be able to hit the singles on instruction.

If he can't follow those orders, he shouldn't be at the top level of the game.
Really, you shouldn't need to be instructed to attempt to score singles when there are gaps in the field. Any decent connasseur of the one-day game knows that.
And personally I don't think he should make the England-one-day-side, because he can't score the singles when they're needed.
 

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