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I agree that Shah at No 3 is a good move. Its adds a nice balance at the top of the order, with Shah and Pietersen both being capable of accelerating or consolidating depending on the situation. The jury is still out on Prior but lets judge on his results after his recall. Im liking the Pietersen style of captaincy.

Shah has mainly been kept out of the test team, because of a policy of not dropping out-of-form batsmen.
Now Vaughan has stood aside, perhaps there is room for Shah in the test team as well, certainly until Vaughan recovers his form, at least.

Who is Paul Schofield?

Paul Schofield was a distinguished Shakespearean actor and occasional legspin bowler. Many thought he had missed his chance of international honours when he celebrated his 80th brithday in 2002, and eyebrows were raised at his surprise selection for the 20/20 world cup last autumn. Sadly, thoughts of finally cementing an England place proved illusory, and the great man passed away in March this year. He remains - Bearders I think I'm right - the only Oscar winning actor to attempt the reverse sweep in international cricket.

And Jiminy Cricket was a cartoon character whose extraordinary agile abilities and extra legs, coupled with a name carved from the purest legends of leather on willow that was ever made for the game...who sadly next played in his life. He remains--correct me if I am wrong, Bearders--not real.

hahahahaha....... nice one guys.....lets keep it rolling...... anyone else ???

Matt Prior played 10 ODI games last year :

229 runs at an average of 22.9 and a strikerate of 75.32


Phil Mustard played the next 10 :

233 runs at an average of 23.3 and a strikerate of 92.46


For me the Colonel should have been persevered with. Although he got out early too often he showed a real ability to move the score along at a rate that Prior seemed unable to do in his stint. As well as the cited strikerate, consider that 5 of Mustard's games were on the low (and slow) scoring Sri Lankan pitches

Shah is technically sound and has been messed around by England for far too long now so I really hope he capitalises on his opportunity because contrary to what the title of this blog says, England are not consistent, particularly with their selection or batting order.

Quick question re the ODIs and the washed-out T2O...has Collingwood served one of his banned games despite the fact a ball wasn't bowled or does he have to miss another ODI?

I do think that peart of England's failing in one day criocket has been an over reliance on specialists. Its been going on for 10-15 years now and in all that time we have proudly picked good county one day players who just aren't upto international standard. I've no problem with a little one day specialism. But some ofthese guys just haven't been upto it. An ODI team should have at least 8 players who would be in a test team. Take Mark Butcher as an example of a good player not picked. (Never played an ODI despite being an effective quick scoring batsman at test level).

My preferred ODI team at the moment, in batting order would be
Cook, Prior(wkt), Shah, Pietersen, Bell, Bopara, Flintoff, Broad, Anderson, Harmison, Panesar.

Would be a bit concerned about the length of the tail, and I would consider looking at Swann or Samit Patel in place of Monty, but the backbone of the team is pretty much the same people we think are good enough for test cricket. Harmy would need persuading to play, maybe with the carrot of not playing in overseas ODIs. You could argue for Colly ahead of Bopara or Bell in the middle order as well.

Shah at 3 is a great move. Why does everybody love Prior as a batsman? He did average 40 in tests but how many low scores did he make for every 50 he made? Mustard should be in for me. Opening with Bell doesn't look right either at the minute. Wright is wasted at 7 unless we are playing a side like Australia where we could be 5 down in 30 overs. Need him up the order.

Wright
Mustard
Shah
Pietersen
Bell
Flintoff

I don't know why people are ignoring Mascarenhas. He is one of England's best ODI players. Here's my team. Can anybody find a weakness in it?

Cook
Prior
Shah
Pietersen
Bell
Flintoff
Wright
Mascarenhas
Broad
Bopara
Panesar

This will give us a team that can bat right down to No. 10! 3 frontline bowlers - Flintoff, Broad and Panesar. The remaining 20 overs can be shared by Mascarenhas, Wright, Pietersen and Bopara.

newprinceofwales:

I would dump Panesar...

I hope that the Pietersen era finally means a settled side, with every member of the team aware of his role.

I also hope that when we are beaten, we don't have to witness Peter Moores saying:

(eg after a bad fielding display) ".........these are the things we must go back and work on........", or

(eg after a bad batting display) "........the players know that work has to be done to improve their strike rate etc etc........."

The England players are professional sportsmen - they should be fit and able to perform for their country BEFORE matches! They should know how they are expected to perform at any stage during a match.

I do not understand team selection at this level, it is the same as the England football team, once you make it you are resident regardless of form, either yours or an 'outsider'.
Why isn't the best team selected? I do not mean change everyone, but too often out of form incumbents are kept for too long.
I also believe that youth must be served, especially in the short forms of the game.

newprinceOfWales where's your bowling coming from?

I think cook should open and he needs to bat for the whole 50 overs. That would give the team an anchor to build around. Not looking for quick runs from him. In 50 overs he will score runs.

The ODI series could be a very close one. Best wishes to England and South Africa.




Dr. Cajetan Coelho

Cook
Bell
Shah
Pietersen
Prior
Flintoff
Wright
Mascarenhas
Swann
Broad
Anderson

Bat to 10 and with 5 good bowling options, plus a couple of part-timers.

newprinceofwales:

I would dump Panesar...

------------------------------------------------------

Panesar has already been dumped. He isn't in the squad.

newprinceofwales:

I would dump Panesar...

------------------------------------------------------

Panesar has already been dumped. He isn't in the squad.

------------------

Then mine was a truly magical comment, right?

Does anyone know whether TMS is available on the radio? I will be at work during the game and would like to put it on the radio :)

i think bell and prior is a good combination and shah at three can only mean acceleration in powerplays i am not so sure about flintoff at 5 though

@ newprinceOfWales- having bopara bat at 10 is ludicrous swap his position with freddy

also panesar is a bit crap, he needs the pefect wicket so swap for rashid

otherwise ur squad is ok, but im not sure about cook also im a bit concerned about the lack of forntline bowlers, but hey

not a bad line up

Well said number 7. Average scores in that ODI series with Sri Lanks weren't much more than 200. So Mustard's quick 20s/30s were useful knocks. Certainly not bad enough to justify dropping him.

I understand my grandmother may be next in line to keep wicket for England.

Hopefully they will give Foster and Read a chance before then.

If they suck the big one after several games each, then I'll be calling granny myself. Good call, Bearders?

If we can temp Marcus Trescothick and Alec Stewart out of retirement, we'd have a half decent team then. Is Derek Underwood still alive?

Re Post 21: The cricket is live on long wave 198- Hope you have a long wave radio at work!!

England must pick Swann and Patel

I don't undertsand England's reluctance to play spinners in one-day cricket

shah at number 3 is very interesting and encouraging move for shah. i wish him all the luck cos i think he has been under rated by the selectors by long time. if he proves himself (i hope he does) i can see him in the test line up. he has got a good eye,knows how to find gaps and can accelerate the game there by taking some pressure of kp. lets hope hes given a long run in that position.
its good to see selectors making a bold move by leaving out monty.dont think he can influence the bowling department much in odis.
harmison back in one day squad ?!!? wonder what kp said to him ?!!?
my concern is top order.there needs to be a right-left hand combination to force bowlers to change their line and length so i would go for the colonel as he has got better strike rate than prior and hes decent enough to keep wickets in odis.

mustard
bell
shah
kp
bopara
flintoff
wright
broad
swann
anderson
harmison
any thoughts ?

#21 Hi TSO_17

and #27:

Yes, TMS is on the radio. Check AM 720 as well.

You could invest in a small clip-on type, with earphones. A few years ago, I got one of Sony, about thirty quid at my local chemist.
Could be even cheaper now. It's got AM / FM stereo reception facilities / uses one triple A battery. Smaller than a matchbox. Works brilliantly. Goes everywhere with me, especially on TMS days.

Just make sure to use only one earphone, for your own and others' safety. It can cut out all external sounds, if you use both, which may not be wise, safety-wise!

have a nice day!

Much of what you say Aggers is correct.

However, I disagree that consistency is key if it means consistently picking players who are playing badly, are out of form or not the finished article.

I believe the selectors faith in consistency of selection lost us the last series. You can only be consistent if you are playing well. Otherwise it flies in the face of reason and is deeply frustrating for supporters.

PS Mascarenhas should be in the mix.

Wright is a very exciting cricketer but he didnt shine as an opener against NZ

Relax, it is safe to put TMS on. Yes, Mark Pougatch the ‘outstanding broadcaster’ is an eleven hour flight away in Beijing!

Yay! No Poo Hatch.

If best odi batsmen are to be selected, then they should be selected on basis of their performance , not only on their potentialities. I have always beleived in having a combination of 6 best odi batsmen(min season avg 27-30,min season s/rate 60-65), best keeper of the country(does not necessarily need to score runs with a decent avg., but will have to be in good wkt keeping form), 3best new ball bowlers( max season avg 35-30). All the players in the first 11 should be able to perform according to the standards set within their first10 games. According to this theory a team can be set in this way:-

Trescothick
Cook/Strauss
Shah
Pieterson
Bell
Collingwood
Flintoff
Swann/Panesar
Broad
Ambrose
Sidebottom(if he is injured, then Harmison)/ Anderson

Except your theory forgets Banger has retired.

Aaaarggh! Swann has been left out. Why do England keep leaving the spinner out? What is the point of an extra batsman at eight who doesn't bowl (Wright)?

Personally speaking i have never seen the need to change the test team to a one day team.

Yes it does need a different approach but the basics are the same.I believe we have fallen into a trap trying to find an adam gilchrist clone which is never going to happen in my lifetime.
He is an absolute one off...

In the test team you hopefully select your best 6 batsmen in the country there is no reason to change this as they are still up against test quality bowlers.If there are changes to be made it should be from inside the test squad the players should come from within perhaps changing the batting order to suit certain players temperament......i stress temperament not ability, and match situation.

have some faith in the choices you make at test level if they arent good enough to play both then perhaps the best course is playing neither....

There will always be one off exceptions to this but IMO this is how selection for England should go.

Best of luck to all playing on both sides i hope we get to see some brilliant cricket .

Personally, i feel that SA are there for the taking. If england get there game together, there's no reason why they can't win this series. SA seem a bit deflated of late, not too sure why, so england best step up!

I think the new team has a much more agressive look to it, 50 overs. I did not want Harmisson back because I felt he did not have the commitment. If he can fire on all cylinders in all types of the game that is great, fantastic.
Hopefully KP can be the motivator to get the Engine firing again. It is no good Vaughn being an 'inspirational and technically brilliant captain', if he can't get the team fired up. Vaughn has been 'goodish', but never had fire in his belly!

KP has always had fire in his belly! He will require time to be great. Let's give him a chance. He has done well so far, that is great, however he will have flops, he still has a lot to learn. Enthusiasm is critical, that is what he is now giving the English team.

It was great to see Freddy coming back to his former eminence, I could not understand the '2005' guys. caving in so quickly, I know there was injury, but it all seemed so sureal, that all the stars 'fell apart'.

They will have to improve their committment training and professionalism, if they want to be top sportsmen, it is an extremely different game now.
It is all well and good leading from the front but the others must commit and perform to a high level regularly, the captain must inspire others (frighten them when necessary), to perform to their capabilities. So many English Cricketers do not perform to their capabilities, they lack pride and arrogance, and humility. How can you have all those things? Only if you are a superstar!
Work on it guys!
KP! England needs a toughie like Ponting, not a 'show ponie'.
You can be a 'show pony' when you bat, providing you make 100 plus, you should at least out to make very very big hundreds!!!

Other aspects you must control.

You have other realy good guys back in the team, do not allow them to fail. Ramprakesh must be back in there. That is a Captains job.

The test team, the 50 over game the 20/20 game should be the same squad.

All top quality players must be capable of playing the different formats. This is modern cricket. If they wish to make their living in the game they should be adaptable to all formats.
Regards
Neil Hewitt

Where are you Aggers? I was expecting one of your perceptive anayses of today's game and had prepared a response. I will not waste it . I can post it again if you recover from your surprise.

Wow! What a great game to begin the OD series. Makes you think again about 50 overs games.

It was a very good team performance that won the game. It would be easy to say that Pietersen, Flintoff and Harmison won it but it would be curmudgeonly to criticise anyone in the team for their performance today.

It is time for us moaning minnies ( me for one) to back off a bit, just enjoy what happened today and hope we can keep it up.

KP seems to have coaxed Harmison out of one-day retirement. That’s good captaincy. So was his batting, his bowling and management of his bowlers. Just now he can’t do anything wrong.

It would be nice to think he could coax Tresco out of England retirement. After all, there is nothing wrong with using players at home who refuse to tour, if they are the best available. Many people have said that Harmison, even if he doesn’t have problems similar to Tresco’s, will never be the same man in foreign climes. Horses for courses. The important thing is to put ourselves in a position to win.

A few more comments, this time on the ±«Óãtv’s coverage of today’s match. Towards the end of the game, I sent a message to TMS which, as usual, wasn’t published. No matter. What I said was the following:

“Another round of applause for Owen Vickery: this is the kind of navegating that once made England great! Also makes all those "rights" excuses sound like just so much Bo....ks.

What a breath of fresh air Hoggy is on TMS. Rather see him out there on the pitch again but, until he is ... “

For those of you following the game on the telly, lucky you, or by TMS on the radio in the UK, this may not mean very much. After a summer of listening, in distant climes, to the Test Matches by TMS on the internet, it was a rude awakening when it was announced, through the live text service – brilliant, by the way – that the audio stream was not available outside the UK. WHAT?

Along comes a hero, someone in France who gave up enjoying a good lunch there to do a bit of research and tell us, through the text service, that there was a way to listen to the match through the internet. Nothing particularly exotic or verging on the illegal, but through Radio Five Live. I am led to believe that this is no more nor less than a service of the ±«Óãtv. The hero’s name is Owen Vickery, who deserves a silver medal at the very least. To be able to listen to the closing stages of the game was brilliant.

Enough said about the incompetence of the ±«Óãtv to point us suffering ex-pats in the right direction. Mark Mitchener, a really good live text author, must be feeling a bit embarrassed about it, through no fault of his own.

Back to the point. I have already said that I really enjoyed Matthew Hoggard’s debut in the TMS box. The TMS radio service is extraordinarily good, but a few changes may be called for. Lately I have been very critical about Boycs, though in the last Test he seemed to have recovered his form. It is time Blowers was given a rest, to see if he can come back refreshed, just as Sir Geoffrey did. I love hearing his voice: it has been the voice of cricket on TMS for such a long time and his extra-cricketing comments can be very amusing, whether it be about bird-life or other flying objects, not to mention more mundane things such as the No 49 bus. Recently, however, he has made a lot of mistakes, about the score, today for example, and the resurrection of Botham, when he really meant Flintoff, not just once but over and over. Nobody is perfect but there comes a time…

Another post from Bourneagaincricketer.

We must stick with Broad, Shah, Bopara, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood. Anderson, Harmisson (if he can stay committed), Prior, Cook and ( I can't believe it I can not remember his name! He skippered England in India, quite succesfully in India, last year or the year before. Maybe thar is his problem, he has no high level profile.

Nor does 'Belly. or Colley', some dont hit the radar at all.

Someone has to insist these guys they have to 'ramp it up', the world is different now, you need to be part of the media 'rampage', whether I like it or not if you want to be a sports celebrity.

Therefore only select those who want to be a celebrity!

Sad ain't it. it's the world we live in!! Good night everyone!

#42: oldmanwillow: hi

pulllease. i am surprised about your comment re Mr Blofeld!

TMS wouldn't be TMS without him. Just like it is shining less brightly because of Mr Johnston's absence. Mr Blofeld, Mr Martin-Jenkins, Mr Frindall and our dear old Aggers, hold it nicely together!

Call me an old foggie...whatever. I consider it a sacrilege, if Mr Blofeld is asked to do anything other than front TMS!

have a nice day!

Well said oldmanwillow (42), Blowers for me has long since become a liability. Radio services rely upon its commentators to be able to describe the action accurately and timely. He can do neither. His stuttering and stammering infuriates me. I don't understand how he keeps his place in the line up.