England in West Indies

[Skater]

I like to think that the 2 Tests over here in May count for this series as well.

 

[The_gas]

That's the spin the English selectors will put on it no doubt.

 

[King Pietersen]

"Samit Patel is a talented cricketer but he, like every other player who joins the senior England team, must be aware of the strict fitness criteria that will be set," England cricket manager Hugh Morris said.

"It is extremely frustrating that Samit has not heeded the warnings of his county, Nottinghamshire, and the England national selector Geoff Miller as well as the England management and strength and conditioning team. In the circumstances we had no option but to de select him from the tour."

Seems Fats Patel has been dropped from the ODi team then. Doesn't show a great deal of professionalism on Samit's part if he isn't fit enough. He's been warned by the ECB and his county that he needs to get fitter, but has clearly just ignored them. He's a good player, but if he's not got the detirmination to get fitter, he won't play Test cricket. Patel's been replaced by Gareth Batty and Adil Rashid, as Graeme Swann's going to have Elbow surgery, so he'll miss the ODi series as well. I guess that leaves the ODi team as:

Strauss
Bopara
Shah
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Mascheranhas
Rashid
Broad
Anderson

Happy with that. Not sure why Gareth Batty's been called up though, he's got a pretty average List A bowling record, and doesn't offer a great deal with the bat. I'd have gone with Tredwell if they wanted to bring in a spinner who can bat. If Batty plays, we lose.

 

[deerkick]

Yeah Samit Patel (no offense) is too fat to be playing international cricket. I saw him in South Africa and then in India and by then he had gotten even worse!!!

I don't understand how you can be at that level of fitness and even survive a 50 over game. You would be drained from simply running between the wickets after 20 odd runs. On another note, is Samit a bowler who can bat or the opposite?

Edit: Why wasn't Strauss playing the ODIs in India? It looks like he is part of the ODI squad but I remember Bopara and Bell opening I think. What about Cook? Does he not play ODIs either?

 

[King Pietersen]

Strauss is back in the ODi squad because he's England Captain. Bell's probably going to be dropped from the England ODi team as well as the Test side. I imagine Strauss'll open with Ravi. As for Cook, he's an awful ODi batsman. He starts off by batting too slow, then when he tries to up the pace he plays a stupid shot and gets himself out. He needs to go back to Essex and play some OD cricket before being given another chance in the ODi team. Bopara's a FAR better OD player.

What's annoyed me is Swann's replacement. Gareth Batty??????? Surely there are guys with a better record than his. Bowling average of 34 economy of nearly 5, and in the ODi's he's played in the past he's got a bowling average of 73.50 and a batting average of 1.50. Awful selection, fair enough call up Rashid, but then add another batsman to cover for Patel's batting. Where the hell is Jonathan Trott ffs? List A average only bettered by 2 players in the history of English Domestic cricket, and he's had 1 T20 international. The England selectors are a joke.

Batty's record last season was poor as well, only got 14 wickets, even Collingwood and Bopara got more wickets and at a better average. What an awful call-up. Get Jonathan Trott into the side, or Graham Napier if they want a bowling all-rounder.

 

[RoboRocks]

Batty's call-up is baffling. He looked innocuous playing for Worcs last year.

Surely, Rashid would be the preferred option in the spin department since he's apart of the test squad.

 

[wolf]

On another note, is Samit a bowler who can bat or the opposite?

He's meant to be a batter than can bowl but is used by England as a bowler who can bat. The selectors turned him into another Jamie Dalrymple.

 

[Highlander999]

Why has Mascarenhas suddenly appeared out of the blue again? I'm not complaining I really rate him, but where has he been?

I really like Dan's team though, I hope they use it

 

[King Pietersen]

They won't. They'll probably go with:

Strauss
Bell
Shah
Pietersen
Flintoff
Collingwood
Prior
Broad
Batty
Anderson
Sidebottom

It's almost a given.

 

[Themer]

Can't believe they've dropped Patel. Stupid decision. Inzi was never dropped for Pakistan despite quite clearly being overweight why should Patel?, especially on the back of a century against New Zealand B. Why Batty has been called up is beyond me to he's rubbish. Awful selections.

 

[King Pietersen]

Inzamam wasn't a bowling all-rounder though. Patel's been advised by his county and by the England staff to lose weight. He apparently did a fitness test at the start of the England A tour, and then another recently to check his progress, and he'd gotten worse. If he wants to forge an international career he needs to stop eating the burgers and 12 breakfasts and get in the gym. He's a good batsman, but with fitness issues he's dispensable. I'd take Mascheranhas ahead of him in OD cricket anyway tbh.

 

[Themer]

Mascheranhas is not better than Patel. Mascheranhas is a glorified slogger with the bat who can bowl some decent medium pacers. Patel is a proper batsmen who can bowl some good slow left armers. The fact that Patel has both a better bowling average and batting average in OD matches pretty much confirms this.

Mascheranhas only has a batting average of 25!

 

[Sureshot]

He's meant to be a batter than can bowl but is used by England as a bowler who can bat. The selectors turned him into another Jamie Dalrymple.

Except he can actually bat.

What have the selectors done to Patel? He's always been like that, why do people think it's a bad thing to have a batsman who can turn his arm over? Loads have done it in the past. I think the quote high up the page about his fitness is disappointing, I don't think he is that unfit, he's a good fielder and if he's good enough (he's quite close to Test side, in the ODI side) then it doesnt' matter. See Inzy for example.

 

[King Pietersen]

Batting at 8 requires someone who's going to be abit of a slogger. No point having an established batsman at 8. As for the bowling thing, obviously Patel's going to have a better average, he's played 84 games compared with Dimi's 225. Mascarenhas was only given a run of 11 games and then discarded, and I think he's a better player than that, and deserves a place in the side. He's just what we need down the order, compliments the stroke play of Prior and the slower batting pace of Broad and Swann perfectly. He can also be shifted around the order to make the most of the batting powerplay, like Morkel and South Africa. Dimi's not going to have a fantastic bowling average anyway, he's a holding bowler, bowling his 10 overs for 40 and just slowing the opposition's pace, Patel may take wickets but his economy is nowhere near as good. He had a good series with the ball against a poor South Africa side, but then was poor in India. I'd take Dimi over him at 8.

The fact is, Samit's not fit enough. Doesn't matter if he's a better player, he's been warned about his fitness on countless ocassions by Notts and England, but has done nothing about it, and actually allowed his fitness to decline. That's not the kind of attitude that an international player should have, so I'm glad they have publically taught him a lesson by dropping him, and stated the reason for doing so. Hopefully it'll knock some sense into him, and make him realise what he's lost.

 

[Skater]

I couldn't give a toss about a player's stats.