Loye from 2003 onwards was a better OD batsman than Brown was at any stage of his career. Yes, Loye was pretty average in Australia in 2006/07, but 1) he only played a handful of games and many have been poor in a few games at the start of a career (especially coming in cold) and 2) he was 34 by then, hardly an ideal age to be making your debut.
Yea i know, but regardless none of that doesn't change the fact that he was shown to be technically inept despite his ability to improvise & hit the ball well.
Loye is not an outstanding player, merely a decent one, and not someone you could expect to be a top-class ODI player, just one to "do a job".
A job yes that even if picked since 05 preferably wouldn't have lasted long anyway. This job he would have done that you are suggesting would be no better than the job Prior or Mustard could do @ the top currently or what Ian Bell had done as partner to Trescothick.
As for Read, he's the best one-day batsmen in the country of those who keep wicket to an acceptable standard. He's better than Geraint Jones, he's better than Prior, he's better than Mustard, and yes, he's better even than Ambrose, at least for the moment, though Ambrose as I've said is always someone I've liked the look of. Yes, he's also currently better than Steven Davies too, though he's improved in recent times since getting the chance to bat higher in the order (though I'd prefer him at four or five than opening). He won't play again because he's played in the ICL, but he should never have been dropped for any of the previously-mentioned.
Not debating this, just saying picking him @ 7 in a ODI team regardless of his ability to finish an innings once he is given a license 7 times out of 10 would be our tail starting from 5 wickets down.
Regarding Ealham - he's a player who hasn't gotten much worse with age. He's as good now as he was at 30 or 31. He continued to outperform just about everyone who was picked instead of him, and pretty much all of them had precisely zero case to play ahead of him. Pretty much the exact same applies to Killeen. No, Ealham isn't that good a batsman, but he's useful to have coming in at eight or nine. Far better than someone who can't tell one end of the bat from the other.
This again goes back to my point to the average structure of the domestic OD competition hear given what Ealham did in his time in international cricket. He wasn't like James Hopes who you doesn't really look anything special but one could say yea you know this bloke can handle himself at this level. I never got that impression with Ealham despite his bowling being fairly economical at times & for the selectors too. So for me that fact that he has still been able hold his own in (division 1 or 2?) for whatever county shows how average our OD domestic structure is.
AFAIC even if Ealham was picked again he wouldn't have lasted long.
Same reasoning i feel applies for Killeen, now straight i'll admit i don't watch too many domestic matches on Sky unless Lanc have a major game or i want to view some some domestic OD player who i feel should maybe get into the national ODI set-up & i only have two recollection of this Killeen i.e last year domestic OD final & once in a 20/20 i went to watch @ OT & this man never came across to me as a potential at no point in time. Again being economical in domestic cricket here doesn't really always translate to success on the international stage.
So even though Anderson was picked wayyyyyyy before his time (people seem to forget this when speaking & ridiculing Mr.Anderson) & can be expensive on occassions i doubt whether some of the top spells he has produced at ODI level this Killeen fellow would have been able to do.
And even though Test form doesn't always translate to ODI success what Harmo did in 04 & 05 & the little promise Simon Jones showed in 05 i bet on gramps grave that Killeen couldn't have bettered that as well.
Unlike your Afzaal suggestion which i agree with it, at least i know at times i've heard him been suggested by commentators, not Killeen
Regarding death-bowlers - those who've been picked instead of this lot have hardly been shining beacons of wonderful death-bowling, have they? We've mostly been smashed at the end of the innings as it is, that'd be staying the same, not getting worse.
Lol, that too BIG of a flaw to just forget about. Again the squad that you picked their is basically what you reckon would be the best side ENG could have put out but it wouldn't have made much of a difference to our fortunes.
Fact remains the current crop of players is the best potential ODI side we have since the winter of 2000 & the 2002 period. So you might as well start backing them.
