England in West Indies

[Highlander999]

We know :

 

[Leicester Fox]

Oh my god. Gareth Batty. Please no. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Oh dear. So Johnathan Trott can't get a place in the team but Gareth Batty can.

Seriously.

No.

Oh my god.

These people are actually the stupidest human beings I have ever seen.

I bet this is Giles fault, "oh I bet he can bat a bit, like me,I got Brian Lara out, he'll be great" No-one bothered arguing because the memories alone of Giles playing test cricket actually sent the selectors to sleep.

I just hope Rashid plays, as a 21 year old he outperformed Batty last year.

 

[The_gas]

For the love of god England play Rashid. PLAY RASHID! Forget Batty boy, he has always been (word removed).

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Lol Batty boy, your names are legendary Gas . But yeah, it's terrible that he's been picked. Rashid should definitely get selected ahead of him, hopefully Rashid gets a game!

 

[Themer]

If you're talking about Rashid in the ODIs Gas then it would be stupid to play him in them he had an awful start to his career in OD matches. Also hope they don't play him in the next test either as he just isn't ready in my opinion. Give him till after the Ashes or so.

 

[The_gas]

Give him a chance i say, frankly all our other available options suck. Why bring him on the tour if you are not going to play him? If this was Englands intention he should of toured with the lions to get some games. Sitting around on the boundry rope will not help him improve.

This all reminds me of when we took Theo Walcott to the wolrd cup in japan.

 

[Themer]

Rashid is better being around the team getting experience than being thrusted in a bit early.
On the Theo reference he wasn't played because he wasn't really ready it neither is Rashid, imo.

 

[The_gas]

Rashid is better being around the team getting experience than being thrusted in a bit early.
On the Theo reference he wasn't played because he wasn't really ready it neither is Rashid, imo.

Well if that is the case, i would rather pick someone that is on the fringes of the squad, and might be able to contribute something. All this malarky about being around the first team squad will help is rubbish imo.

 

[King Pietersen]

You're posting it, so it's obvious that it's your opinion, you don't need to put imo. If you were highlighting someone elses opinion you'd quote them.

Rashid is the best option, and although his List A record isn't brilliant, he's a heck of alot better than Batty. I'd chuck him in and see how he goes, give him this ODi series to prove his worth. Could be a revelation.

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

Who was that aimed at? Who is it regarding? If you've got something to post, at least make sure it makes sense and make sure it's clear what you're posting about. The comment alone sums you up though, you just base your opinions on arbitrary whims.

 

[Skater]

It was a general comment, whenever someone is selected for the national team I always see things such as "but he only averages 35.76 in List A cricket" and I'm thinking - does it really matter? Everyone is capable of a good game, and no one should be judged on their stats.

 

[Highlander999]

It was a general comment, whenever someone is selected for the national team I always see things such as "but he only averages 35.76 in List A cricket" and I'm thinking - does it really matter? Everyone is capable of a good game, and no one should be judged on their stats.

Let's select me then, I might have a good game and score a double century. Don't see where you are going with this

 

[King Pietersen]

Hmm, questioning logic using an arbitrary whim. Seems to make sense to me. Lets play Batty and drop Pietersen.

 

[Themer]

Dan you say this about stats are important yet would rather see Mascheranas than Patel and would rather play Rashid who to be honest has been woeful in OD cricket yes he could be a revelation but then we're ending up with a theory similar to Skaters that aynone could come in and have a good game.

 

[King Pietersen]

Stats are important, but shouldn't be the only basis of an argument. Lee doesn't use anything to back his arguments. I used logic to back up my backing of Dimi, he's got a good economy with the ball, and has the ability to bowl tight, run rate slowing spells, something that is very useful in the One Day format. He will also be batting down the order, so batting average is not massively useful, whereas Strike Rate is, as Dimi would be used in the Albie Morkel mould where he comes in and smacks the bowlers around in the batting powerplay. Playing Mascheranas therefore makes far more sense when the balance of the side is taken into consideration. He's a very handy 5th bowler, and as he then plays a floating role in the batting line-up, where he can be promoted up the order for the batting powerplay to shift the run rate and the momentum in Englands favour, thanks to his ODi strike rate of over 100.

Then we come to Rashid, who although doesn't have a fantastic overall List A record, he's a wrist spinner, which on West Indian tracks could prove useful. He's also filling a role formerly played by Graeme Swann, a man who offers something with the bat, which is also offered by Rashid, far more than Batty. His overall bowling record is marred by the fact he came into the Yorkshire team very early, in 2006. Last season his record was very respectable, taking 11 wickets at 32, an average better than that of Batty, with an economy only slightly worse, but with a 5th bowler playing the holding role such as Dimi, Rashid's economy is of far less importance.

That right there is called making a statement and backing it up with logic and statistics. What Lee does is make a ridiculous statement, backed up with nothing offering zero logic and showing very little intellect. I win.

 

[Skater]

It's not a case of low intellect. I have my opinions but can't really be bothered to back them up, and if I did people like you would probably poke holes in them. So I just don't bother. Winding you up is becoming something of a hobby.