England Team Discussion

[wasteyouryouth]

No Bairstow, Foakes, Wood, Leach and Robinson. One would assume Mark Wood is being rested (possibly Bairstow). Does not look good for the careers of the others going forward. Two of them essentially having their understudies picked ahead of them.

 

[pillowprocter]

Shoaib Bashir before Test selection: 10 wickets @ 67
Shoaib Bashir during Test selection: 17 wickets @ 33
Shoaib Bashir after Test selection: 6 wickets @ 77

no indian conditions this time either, wonder what prompted them to continue with him

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Shoaib Bashir before Test selection: 10 wickets @ 67
Shoaib Bashir during Test selection: 17 wickets @ 33
Shoaib Bashir after Test selection: 6 wickets @ 77

no indian conditions this time either, wonder what prompted them to continue with him

I thought they might stick with Hartley because he looked the better of the two and showed potential with the bat. Although he has been at the World Cup.

Can only think they've seen what they liked from Bashir and want to show faith in him with a view to the future.

 

[Aislabie]

It's a shame for Foakes. It feels like England has really squandered a player with a lot of talent over the last decade. It's good to see a player rewarded for his Birmingham Phoenix form last season.

I really do agree with this. I've always been someone who'd choose to pick the best available keeper as a specialist, but that's one of my views that seems to be a bit out of time.

Shoaib Bashir before Test selection: 10 wickets @ 67
Shoaib Bashir during Test selection: 17 wickets @ 33
Shoaib Bashir after Test selection: 6 wickets @ 77

no indian conditions this time either, wonder what prompted them to continue with him

Perhaps they've picked him off the back of his 19 second XI wickets @ 17.57

In all seriousness though, Bashir really represents their ongoing theory of picking a player based on their physical attributes and data that is independent of results (numbers like bowling speed, drift, average length, spin rate) and I can't imagine they want to abandon that theory so quickly

 

[Supreme General]

Jofra’s talk about getting fit and targeting test cricket for the ashes down under while on comms during the Hundred today got me thinking about the potential ashes squad down under in 2025. This what I would take in a hypothetical 18 man squad if I were the selectors

1. Zak Crawley
2. Ben Duckett
3. Ollie Pope
4. Joe Root
5. Harry Brook
6. Ben Stokes
7. Jamie Smith
8. Dan Lawrence
9. Ollie Robinson (Durham)
10. Jordan Cox
11. Mark Wood
12. Gus Atkinson
13. Josh Tongue
14. Jofra Archer
15. Jamie Overton
16. Daniel Worrall
17. Shaoib Bashir
18. Rehan Ahmed