England squad for winter tour

[barmyarmy]

These are the two squads:

England Test squad: Michael Vaughan, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Mark Butcher, Rikki Clarke, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Nasser Hussain, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Chris Read, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe.

England one-day squad: Michael Vaughan, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Blackwell, Rikki Clarke, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Giles, Richard Johnson, James Kirtley, Anthony McGrath, Chris Read, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick

I'm disappointed that there's no place for James Kirtley in the Test squad or Darren Gough in the OD squad although there's still a good chance they'll go to the West Indies.

 

[andrew_nixon]

I'm a little dissappointed that Glen Chapple seems to have been cast aside too.

I don't think Gough will go to the West Indies, as they may use that tour as a chance to get a side for playing in the conditions of the next World Cup.

 

[barmyarmy]

Just expanding on that a bit, I believe that the England selectors have decided that the fact they won the Natwest series means that the squad can't be improved. I can see no other rationale for leaving the players they did out of the OD squad. Leaving Gough out is just insane but strangely typical of the way the selectors operate. They probably thought he wasn't committed because he ahd retired from test matches or something when in fact the absolute opposite is true especially with Darren Gough. Collingwood and Clarke, two more medium pacers who can bat a bit, why? They're not good enough to be in the team for their batting or bowling alone. Especially as we are going to the sub-continent Blackwell was a must. A spinner who can bat, perfect for the England Test side.
Hoggard can't bowl on pitches unless they're bowler friendly. Harmison, despite his great spell at the Oval is still woefully inconsistant. Looking at this team I find it hard to imagine where the wickets are going to come form particularly if James Anderson fails to rediscover his form. Johnson or Kirtley needed to be in the Test squad or even Chapple...
The main positive hope I have for this tour is that Read or Jones can show us that there is life after Stewart.
The Engalnd selector's baffle us all again.

 

[andrew_nixon]

I think Chapple should be in, not just for his bowling, but also for his batting.

Lets face it Chris Read isn't capable of batting at 7 in Test matches. But Chapple is in amazing form with the bat (2 centuries this season) and regulary bats at 6 or 7 for Lancashire.

 

[Nirav85]

i dare england to play a winter tour in canada...lol

 

[imported_fastbreaker]

Is England playing against West Indies or something?

 

[PrinceEWS]

I definately think Collingwood deserved his spot for his batting alone. I dont evn think he will bowl much at all. Im a huge fan, he will go far.

As for Clarke, I dunno. Could work out but cpould be horribly disaterous.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Is England playing against West Indies or something?

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before Christmas, West Indies after.

i dare england to play a winter tour in canada...lol

Obviously that isn't going to happen seen as Canada's cricket season is at the same time as England's.

 

[rasi]

James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard will surely struggle in the sub-continent. They rely mostly on swing or movement off the seam.

 

[Neo!]

good to see Graham Thorpe in the squad

 

[andrew_nixon]

James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard will surely struggle in the sub-continent. They rely mostly on swing or movement off the seam.

Hoggard was England's best bowler on the last tour of India.

Anderson also has pace as a weapon, and Bangladesh have shown that they struggle against pace bowling (although they struggle against most things)

 

[rasi]

The reason Hoggard was successful was because the matches were played in the best seaming pitches in India like Mohali and Bangalore. You cannot expect seam movement in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

Anderson also has pace as a weapon.

Well, he had. Seeing his performances in the latest tour, I suspect he will be able to deliver any goods against Lanka.

I never meant they would struggle against the Bangladeshis. All I said was for the Lankan tour.

 

[andrew_nixon]

On the last Sri Lanka tour Englands leading wicket-taker was Gough, who also topped the bowling averages.

Gough is someone who relies on swing and movement of the seam (as well as pace).

 

[rasi]

Originally posted by andrew_nixon79@Sep 11 2003, 03:09 PM
On the last Sri Lanka tour Englands leading wicket-taker was Gough, who also topped the bowling averages.

Gough is someone who relies on swing and movement of the seam (as well as pace).

One thing he has which these two guys do not have : experience. You need to have experience to make an impact in the sub-continent.

Remember, pace is no good if you do not get enough bounce. Once the ball does not bounce it is easy pickings for the batsmen.

And, it is easy to alter bounce in a sub-continent pitch. The decision lies in the hands of the groundsmen.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Once the ball does not bounce it is easy pickings for the batsmen.

Not neccesarily. If the ball doesn't bounce a lot it can cause problems for batsmen. See the Trent Bridge test recently.

Also, I think Harmison could come into play a lot, someone of that height can get bounce on (almost) any pitch.