Black_Warrior
Cricketer Of The Year
*sigh*Ian Bell for the middle-order?
*sigh*Ian Bell for the middle-order?
Be very surprised if that isn't something like the team which starts the next match. Bairstow, Ali and Stokes are decent enough batsman to all play at 5 if required. Woakes and Rashid are at least good test match 7s, maybe 6s. I think we will play 4 seamers because there are doubts about Ali and Rashid restricting runs and the seamers were very economical in the UAe, so they will hope they can do something similar in India ... plus Broad and Anderson will probably enjoy some success bowling cutters at 75 - 80 mph. Hoggard had a fantastic tour a few years ago basically bowling that way. If we could find some decent top order batsmen!One of the interesting things about this England side is that they have managed to, whether intentionally or not, challenge the traditional notions of an ideal test XI combination - 5 batsmen, 4 bowlers, 1 keeper and 1 allrounder.
Given the resources currently available, I wouldn't mind a combination that's something like
Cook
Batsman
Root
Batsman
Moeen
Bairstow /Stokes
Stokes/ Bairstow
Woakes
Rashid/ Spinner
Broad
Anderson
You can start with this playing XI and if the need arises, you can possibly drop Broad, not because he is bad but to play an extra batsman at the top. Given the form Mooen and Bairstow are in, and the way they played Yasir, they along with Cook and Root are probably the best batsmen against spin available. You do want them in the side.
This is all the more reason England should tour Bangladesh, or at the very least if there are security concerns, push BCB to arrange a neutral venue like Sri Lanka or UAE because two 2 tests against Bangladesh will help you test your resources and consider your options.
You had pretty much the same team and it was quite successful this summer. That's what I am trying to say, England have managed to redefine the traditional notion of team balance. Pakistan went from "take out Root and Cook" to "**** it's Bairstow again"Yeah, the weakness of the top order makes me nervous about pick that few specialist batsmen though. Agree it is probably the way we look to go, but Ansari could be a massive potential bolter if they want to go.
I think Rashid will get first shot but I can imagine the selectors being quite ruthless if he proves as expensive as last year. Effectively Ali will be the second spinner this winter and may well be batting at 5, so provided he keeps scoring runs and picking up 2 or 3 wickets a test he'll be safe. Logic would say the preference would be for a left armer in the spare spinner role to add some variety. I think they may well take 2 spinners in addition to Rashid and Ali, as it is unlikely the current management will drop a batsman until they've had a run of 6 or 7 tests, so once they've decided on their top 4 they only need a spare batsman to cover for injuries .... or bolster the batting if they are really shot of runs and the all rounders aren't scoring like they have done for the last couple of years.Yeah, the weakness of the top order makes me nervous about pick that few specialist batsmen though. Agree it is probably the way we look to go, but Ansari could be a massive potential bolter if they want to go.
I think this has been a lot less true this season than it was in the past. A bunch of his wickets have been lbw and if you look at the highlights on his wickets on YouTube he's been varying the angle of his bowling arm a lot to try to do the batsmen for length.Hear that Rayner would struggle in India hard. According to those who've seen him with Middlesex he looks like a legit bowler only when he gets plenty of bounce.
Yeah, I read that article too. And also wondered whether Bayliss had done his homework regarding Bell's previous performances in the SC.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...d-test-recall-bangladesh-india-trevor-bayliss
Bell's average in India is 27.07