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*Official* Warm up Matches Discussion

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
England XI Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Ben Stokes, Matt Prior (wk/capt), James Anderson, Steven Finn, Boyd Rankin, Chris Tremlett

A lot of fringe players given a go. Excellent opportunity for Carberry, Ballance, Stokes, Finn, Rankin, Tremlett. A bad game and they probably won't play a game again before the first test or at least will be only playing because they're resting the 1st xi. But a good one and they could come into some serious consideration for the 6th batsman or 3rd seamer.
 

Cabinet96

Global Moderator
I know Pietersen has only just arrived in Australia, but surely a game wouldn't have done him any harm.

I don't know what to really make of Ballance and Stokes playing ahead of Bairstow. Guess it shows he's no longer the incumbent of the number 6 spot.
 

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
Poms have had a whinge about being scheduled to play the NSW 2nd XI for their tour match, so CA have changed it to an 'Invitational XI'. One player from each state, plus some NSW guys.

Obviously they thought the NSW 2nd XI would beat them too easily. Cowan, Hughes, Khawaja, Finch and Voges are in, by the sounds of things, and the side will be light on fast bowlers as they keep them fit for the Ashes itself. I'm guessing Rohrer, dermo Abbott & Carters will all get places.
 

greg

International Debutant
A bit of a triumph for the England selectors. Simulataneously demonstrate the flaws in picking a test squad on the basis of ODI "performances" whilst warning the opposition off making the same mistake (Mitchell Johnson - not that his ODI form is that good).

BTW there are seriously worrying signs that England are slipping inexorably back towards the inflexible one-dimensional thinking that has hampered them for decades. Leaving aside the "tall bowler" obsession, is it really the case that Matt Prior would be the stand-in captain if Cook were injured? Vice-captain and captain are too completely different jobs, and in general it's just asking too much of a wicket-keeper to do the latter. They have to be switched on to their main job (keeping) for too much of the time. A captain needs some time to think. Give it to Bell.
 

flibbertyjibber

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Good start to the tour, not. Might be a road though but the fact that all the pacemen bar Anderson are expensive is a worry.
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
Is everyone still gunning for Tremlett? Is Stokes still the next Flintoff? Are Onions and Woakes still terrible?
:laugh:

fwiw Tremlett's returns in the CC this year aren't a patch on what got him into the 2010/11 squad, so I'm not optimistic. Stokes may well be the next 2001 version of Flintoff, so we'll see how he goes over the next 3 or 4 years. Likeliest bet is that he's been called up a couple of years too soon. Onions is terribly unlucky not to be there and Woakes isn't.
 

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
Is everyone still gunning for Tremlett? Is Stokes still the next Flintoff? Are Onions and Woakes still terrible?
Good to see all context and reason being already thrown out of the pram after one day.

Think you'll find the selectors choose the squad and most of the English people on the forum wanted Onions instead of Tremlett/Finn/Rankin. No-one really wanted Stokes in the squad either, even myself who is one of his biggest fans. Whether Woakes is there or not isn't going to affect the result at all. He's a nonentity at international standard at present. He had a good run last winter and England had a good look then and this past summer and he didn't convince so they've decided to look at someone else now. Fact is that England like every nation don't have 17 or 18 international class cricketers.

It's one day after a long break. Nothing is won or lost today however disappointing the day.

Compton having fun at least.

 
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