England in West Indies

[Skater]

Plus why even bother to stick Prior in there, he isn't available, if you are going to go for an ideal team where reality doesn't matter then stick Botham, Gatting, Gooch and Gower in there too

Prior is available for the next Test.

 

[karnog]

What's wrong with 6 batsman and 4 bowlers? And a keeper. The last test was a nightmare for bowlers. This next one is tipped to have some life in it for bowlers. Don't see the need for an extra bowler when you have an inform batting line up. Might as well call for Bell

 

[Skater]

I stand by what I said. Pietersen has been resting on his laurels for a while now and he needs a game out to make him realise he is not invincible and he needs to get himself going again. I said I wouldn't do it with the Ashes close, but with the fifth Test being a dead rubber there is an ideal opportunity to give him that kick up the backside.

Of course, the team I selected is just the one I would pick out of the squad. My real ideal England team would include Trott, Read and Hoggard.

 

[The_gas]

What's wrong with 6 batsman and 4 bowlers? And a keeper. The last test was a nightmare for bowlers. This next one is tipped to have some life in it for bowlers. Don't see the need for an extra bowler when you have an inform batting line up. Might as well call for Bell

If one of our bowlers gets a niggle/injury, then we only have 3 frontline bowlers. Considering Swann and Sidebottom are carrying injuries, and Harmison is out of sorts, playing 5 bowlers is a wiser choice imo. If we were 1-0 up, id say go for the 4 bowlers.

People are saying the next pitch will be one for the bowlers, so only 4 bowlers will be needed. But at the start of play in this test there was apparently lots of life and bounce for the bowlers, and it will favour swing. This is why England went with Siddy. So the pitch was misread, even by the groundsman as well as the England team.

Why take the chance? We need to win, play 5 bowlers.

Rashid must play.

 

[King Pietersen]

Right, you get better and better Lee. Firstly the 5th Test isn't a dead rubber, as if we win, we draw the series and retain the trophy. Secondly, Pietersen is playing as better now than he did in 2005. Do you honestly want him to go back to the Pietersen of 05, who struggled in both India and Pakistan, with 2 very modest series. In his last 3 series he's averaged 60.14, 49.66 and 58.80, if that's resting on his laurels, then there are alot of players resting on their laurels in World Cricket.

Then we get onto your other selections. Firstly Trott, in OD cricket fair enough, he's got a fantastic record, but in Tests? I don't think so. He's got a very modest FC record compared with other players. He's averaging less than Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Owais Shah, Ian Bell, Rob Key. He even averages less than Eoin Morgan in FC cricket. I agree with getting him in for the ODi series, but Tests? Don't think so.

Read. Hmm, I still don't see your obsession with Read. He's no longer the best gloveman in the country, James Foster is far better. He's also useless with the bat, Foster's FC and Test record is better with the bat, and Foster was incredibly early in his career when he got a go as well. Read's also played in the ICL, so has all but given up his international career himself. Read's over the hill and should never play for England again, there are many keepers I'd take ahead of him, Foster, Prior, Ambrose, Davies, Mustard to name a few.

Hoggard could be a possible inclusion I suppose, although I still think he's lost the zip that used to rush international batsmen. He's operating at the same sort of pace on the speed gun, but he used to give the impression of the ball rushing onto the batsmen, he didn't have that in his last Test, or from what I saw of him last season. Simon Jones should definitely be considered ahead of him when he's fit.

So what would your ideal team be then Lee?

Strauss
Cook
Shah
Trott
Collingwood
Flintoff
Read
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Hoggard

That what you'd like to go with? It's a pretty awful team if that is what you'd go with.

 

[Leicester Fox]

Trott's career FC average might not be the greatest but he was one of the best batsmen in the country in FC cricket last year and definitely deserves to be in contention. There have been a lot of players for England who have had good but not great FC records and turned out to be top players.

Hoggard has been treated disgracefully, hopefully we get a coach with half a brain who will recall him.

 

[Highlander999]

I would quite like this team for the next test, personally:

Strauss
Cook
KP
Bopara
Colly
Prior
Rashid
Broad
Swann
Jimmy
Khan

I really wasn't sure if I should put Harmison in, but decided he might just break down and end up being a liability. We definetly need 5 bowlers and as people have pointed out, you can't drop Bopara after that knock.

Also Lee, in the nicest possible way. Have you been smoking something?

 

[Skater]

If I could select from all players available for England, this would be my ideal team actually:

1. Andrew Strauss (c)
2. Alastair Cook
3. Owais Shah
4. Kevin Pietersen
5. Jonathan Trott
6. Andrew Flintoff
7. Chris Read (wk)
8. Stuart Broad
9. Graeme Swann
10. Matthew Hoggard
11. Simon Jones

 

[The_gas]

I want some of what Lee has been smoking.

P.S, i thought you wanted to drop Pietersen?

 

[Animator!]

Despite the fact I think he shouldn't be anywhere near the team Chris Read hasn't a hope in hell of playing for England again because of the shitstorm it'd cause with the BCCI.

 

[Skater]

I only want to drop Pietersen for one match, to get him going again. It doesn't really matter if it is done sooner or later, but he will be grinding out runs, instead of fluently accumulating them, until he does have a breather. He is a talented batsman, but he hasn't made the most of it yet.

 

[Simbazz]

Lee, at the moment, before the Ashes, as long as he's making runs, then why try fixing something which obviously ain't broken.

KP isn't the same man as in 2005, I know you hold onto a lust of him being this big scoring batsmen. But, he just isn't. He's more careful, more thoughtful in 2009. The way I like him. Ok in 2005, if he failed, he still would have a 50 out of not many balls, if he was successful, then 150. But now he's perfect, if he fails, he fails. If he scores, he's got the understanding to get into the 200's.

 

[King Pietersen]

Pietersen is playing as better now than he did in 2005. Do you honestly want him to go back to the Pietersen of 05, who struggled in both India and Pakistan, with 2 very modest series. In his last 3 series he's averaged 60.14, 49.66 and 58.80, if that's resting on his laurels, then there are alot of players resting on their laurels in World Cricket.

Add to that the fact his strike rate in those last 3 series has been 65, and in England against South Africa he had a strike rate of 77, I'd say he's scoring his runs pretty fluently. It's only in this 1 series in West Indies, where his strike rate has dipped, although his overall strike rate is affected by 2 innings where he was striking in the 30's, his 2 biggest scores in the series have seen strike rates of 56 and 62.

You've not backed your point up with anything. Just making ludicrous statements on a whim just to satisfy your distaste for Pietersen's arrogance. If you don't like him as a personality then fair enough, but don't let that cloud your judgement when it comes to his talent or his recent results. He's a far better player now than he was in 2005, his efforts in 2005 weren't actually that good, his Ashes average was saved by Warnie dropping him, and then he had 2 pretty mediocre away tours to India and Pakistan. He's been a far better player since then.

 

[Skater]

There are no statistics that could back up my feeling. It is nothing more than that, a gut feeling. At the moment Pietersen is lacking something, and without it he cannot be world class.

 

[King Pietersen]

He's a batsman. He's scoring runs. He's the best batsman in the team. He's lacking nothing. He's technically far better than he was in 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008, he's getting better and better. The thing he's lacking is the over-attacking mindset that led to the likes of Boycott slagging him off early in his career. He's removed that from his game and is now a far more sensible batsman, and a team player. The 2005 Pietersen would not have allowed Strauss to just declare at 3:50pm with him in the 70's, he's far less selfish now and far more of a responsible team player, and the fact you don't believe he's world class is to put it simply, idiocy.