England

[MUFC1987]

I think now is the right time to get rid of a few of the ODI side. Obviously though, there are quality players who have done nothing wrong, so deserve to be kept. Also for me, there are 2 quality young, opening batsmen on the County circuit. They both do the job pretty damn well and can be very explosive, so I'd play both. Aside from that, I think our middle order is pretty decent, but we need someone in that Collingwood role of pushing the gaps and running hard to allow Morgan to be more expressive. We probably do lack a quality number 7 though, which is something we should experiment with. I'd go with something like:

Kieswetter
Davies
Trott
Pietersen
Hildreth
Morgan
Patel/Rashid
Bresnan
Swann
Broad
Shahzad

But I think Strauss, Prior and Bell should be ousted. Collingwood and Anderson perhaps to come back in form permitting. Also special mention for Briggs from Hampshire, who should be the backup specialist spinner this season, in my opinion.

 

[Haarithan]

I think Strauss has been a tad bit underrated by some of you here and KP a little more protected (include me too) . Strauss as captain has averaged 55 for England in ODIs and averaged 47 in this WC . While he should be ousted from the captain's role , i can't see why he should be entirely ousted from the ODI setup given we happen to thrive somewhat in the batting department solely due to Strauss,Trott & Morgan .

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@ Colin : In Napier , i see only another Luke Wright except that Napier bowls slightly better than the latter .

 

[War]

Patel/Rashid

Dont think Rashid is good enought to bat that high @ international to be frank. While for reasons already stated in this thread - i dont rate him as a bowler @ international level either.

Patel is the best & only option to cover that troublesome # 7 position in the ODI set-up.

I wish Ten Doeschate wanted to play for England. He would be the perfect all-rounder in that # 7 role.

Also special mention for Briggs from Hampshire, who should be the backup specialist spinner this season, in my opinion.

For sure he is definitely one to watch for the next season.

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I think Strauss has been a tad bit underrated by some of you here and KP a little more protected (include me too) . Strauss as captain has averaged 55 for England in ODIs and averaged 47 in this WC . While he should be ousted from the captain's role , i can't see why he should be entirely ousted from the ODI setup given we happen to thrive somewhat in the batting department solely due to Strauss,Trott & Morgan .

Ye its extremely puzzling where all this "axe strauss from the ODI team" talk is coming from. The only way id understand Strauss giving up the ODI captaincy is if he personally feels, he is spending too much time away from his family & thus made the personal decision to give up ODIs & stick with tests until he retires. But based His performances since the 2009 ODI series in the West Indies - 2011 World cup has been extremely solid & one cant drop him for that. Obviously he is unlikely to go to the next world-cup - but ENG shouldn't be thinking that far ahead - the ODI team is not in that bad a position really. Had KP & Broad been fully fit for the world cup - things could have been different.

@ Colin : In Napier , i see only another Luke Wright except that Napier bowls slightly better than the latter .

Nah my friend. Napier's bowling is wayyyyyyyy better than Luke Wright - its not even close. The New Zealand posters well tell you how much of hit he was in their domestic competition before he got injured.

Napier is also a bowling all-rounder. That one famous T20 innings has given many the wrong impression of he is a batting all-rounder. He is one of the more skilled & season ODI bowlers ENG has & once fit next season should become a fixture in the ODI set-up - especially with Anderson's apparent decline.

 

[Haarithan]

The New Zealand posters well tell you how much of hit he was in their domestic competition before he got injured.

The very same NZLers call Luke Wright 'the golden boy of Napier' for what he did in the 4th ODI against them in Jan 2008 . Add also the 4th ODI at the Oval 4 months later .

 

[Sureshot]

The reason why there is talk of dropping Strauss not because of form, but because he's fully expected to retire from ODIs.

I'm liking MUFC's side at the top of the page.

 

[RoboRocks]

We need to get some more bowlers, who are capable of bowling at the death. Napier is probably the best English death bowler in County Cricket at the moment and he can hit the ball a long way as well. I'm all for his inclusion, although I can't see it.

Bell needs to be dropped. He only has 1 ODI hundred and his strike rate is far too low at 72. I would look at James Taylor, who is averaging a healthy 46 in domestic cricket and looks a very good OD player from what I've seen.

I hope England will give Kieswetter another go in ODI's during the summer. He didn't do a lot wrong really to be left out, he just needs time to learn the role of opening. If Strauss carries on, he seems the perfect foil for him.

If Samit Patel isn't going to meet the fitness requirements for international cricket, England need to look at Adil Rashid as a second spinner. England won't go anywhere with Yardy, he's not good enough as a batsman and as a bowler the best you can hope for is containment job, which won't work on turning pitches. England need to make a decision on Adil Rashid soon, since he's been kept in the wilderness for too long, despite having good seasons for Yorkshire. Surely he's worth a place in the current ODI mix.

 

[MUFC1987]

Whoever mentioned it, I wasn't suggesting dropping Strauss due to form. The guy is 34 though, he's not going to make it to the next world Cup, so why play him for a year or two and then have to start afresh? Let him save himself for Tests.

On Rashid, I agree that he's not going to come in and blast 50 from 30 balls to win the game, but with Bresnan, Swann and Broad around, we have players who can come in and swing. I think we're just as likely to need a calm head in a collapse down there, as we are someone to turn 280 into 320. His bowling is also improving and he deserves to be looked at, at least.

 

[War]

The very same NZLers call Luke Wright 'the golden boy of Napier' for what he did in the 4th ODI against them in Jan 2008 . Add also the 4th ODI at the Oval 4 months later .

I dont any of smart NZ posters like Howsie for eg said that..

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The reason why there is talk of dropping Strauss not because of form, but because he's fully expected to retire from ODIs.

Fully expected by who?. Strauss clearly denied rumours that arised during the cup that he was contemplating retirement after the WC World Cup 2011: England quash retirement rumours | Cricket News | ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 | ESPN Cricinfo. While flower said they briefly touched on the topic World Cup 2011: Andy Flower cautions on hasty decisions | Cricket News | ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 | ESPN Cricinfo.

Its mainly past players not involved with the ENG set-up (Vaughan & Boycott i think) that have pushing this idea.

So to say he is fully expected to retire from ODIs is highly exaggerated.

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Whoever mentioned it, I wasn't suggesting dropping Strauss due to form. The guy is 34 though, he's not going to make it to the next world Cup, so why play him for a year or two and then have to start afresh? Let him save himself for Tests.

I hate this building for the next world cup talk just after tournaments concludes. No team realistically starts building their ODI side for the next world cup until 2 years or so before the tournament starts.

I recall when ENG lost an ODI series in S Africa 99/00. We dropped Alec Stewart given he was 36 for the same reasons you gave - yet come the 2003 WC he was key player in that side.

Of course i dont expect Strauss to be around in 2015 either. But the ODI side needs some experience at the top currently. ENG have poor history of not producing good ODI openers & im a bit nervous about the idea of giving too talented but raw openers like Davies/Kieswetter the go right away, since if they fail we will be back to square one.

Id say let Strauss (unless he decides he wants to quit ODIs) play out this English summer of ODIs - then lets see what happens. Thus depending on how he plays, you would have young Alex Hales who possibly could breaking out this season as well or maybe Lumb could step in List A batting & they could be looked @ for the winter ODIs.

On Rashid, I agree that he's not going to come in and blast 50 from 30 balls to win the game, but with Bresnan, Swann and Broad around, we have players who can come in and swing. I think we're just as likely to need a calm head in a collapse down there, as we are someone to turn 280 into 320. His bowling is also improving and he deserves to be looked at, at least.

Im on the full oppossite of the Rashid bandwagon to be honest. As i mentioned before, i dont rate either aspect of his potential international game ATS. Maybe wayy down the line he could step up - but for now Patel is best option to come @ 7 once the ECB & Flower decide his fitness issues can be finally put to the side.

 

[Chewie]

An interlude by a NZer, Wright is crap. He played in our domestic comp and wasn't very good, especially when you compare him to players who have played in the past such as Napier and Mascarenhas

 

[MUFC1987]

I hate this building for the next world cup talk just after tournaments concludes. No team realistically starts building their ODI side for the next world cup until 2 years or so before the tournament starts.

I recall when ENG lost an ODI series in S Africa 99/00. We dropped Alec Stewart given he was 36 for the same reasons you gave - yet come the 2003 WC he was key player in that side.

Of course i dont expect Strauss to be around in 2015 either. But the ODI side needs some experience at the top currently. ENG have poor history of not producing good ODI openers & im a bit nervous about the idea of giving too talented but raw openers like Davies/Kieswetter the go right away, since if they fail we will be back to square one.

Id say let Strauss (unless he decides he wants to quit ODIs) play out this English summer of ODIs - then lets see what happens. Thus depending on how he plays, you would have young Alex Hales who possibly could breaking out this season as well or maybe Lumb could step in List A batting & they could be looked @ for the winter ODIs.

So what, you're never going to drop anyone, simply because they have experience? If Kieswetter and Davies did do badly, you'd have Trott to fall back on, who's been brilliant, so it's hardly like naming 3 rookies who have never played before. The one thing we as a country fail to do is have faith in inexperienced players, hence why they never get picked when they're young, which is crazy. We could have two brilliant opening batsmen, yet you're saying they lack experience. I say play them and let them gain experience.

 

[War]

So what, you're never going to drop anyone, simply because they have experience? If Kieswetter and Davies did do badly, you'd have Trott to fall back on, who's been brilliant, so it's hardly like naming 3 rookies who have never played before. The one thing we as a country fail to do is have faith in inexperienced players, hence why they never get picked when they're young, which is crazy. We could have two brilliant opening batsmen, yet you're saying they lack experience. I say play them and let them gain experience.

You need to have a balance between youth & experience. Look at Pakistan, since the retirement of Saeed Anwar. They have still not yet found a opening pair in any format to hold on to, all the rookies they try keep getting recycled since they dont have an experienced opener to help them in what has become a serious problematic position for PAK over the last decade.

ENG have the same problem. Since the 1992 WC final, ENG have just produced 2 genuine top-class ODI openers in 20 years (Trescotchick & Knight) - while Strauss has been solid since 2009. So at least for now i dont support the idea of throwing both Davies/Kieswetter up the order in ODIs without Strauss to partner at least one of them.

The idea of Trott opening with them if Strauss retires is indeed an option. But that would be inadvertently create a middle-order. Since now that Collingwood has declined, we need a strong middle-order of Trott/KP/Morgan in ODIs to keep building - i wouldn't want to play with combo right now.

 

[Haarithan]

Are England eligible to play Ryan ten Doeschate ?? I think he's the missing shoe to fill that vacant all rounders slot . Of course , they have so many non-English players , so why not add an extra one , doesn't make much of a difference to me .

 

[War]

Ye RT would be perfect for the # 7 spot for ENG. But i have never heard him cite interest in playing for ENG though. He seems a pretty patriotic & happy to play out his career in county cricket - while playing for his home nation at the odd world cup.

 

[JD10]

My ODi team would be: (with KP injured)
Strauss
Kieswetter
Trott
Bell
Hildreth
Morgan
Patel
Bresnan
Broad
Swann
Shahzad

 

[Haarithan]

Just thought about this , England's t20 lineup just seems to look so fantasically balanced that a bunch of talents are unlucky to miss out . Well done to Chris Woakes on that part , took Sidebottom's place and impressed beautifully . However , i feel Luke Wright despite being a pinch hitter down the order absolutely adds no addition , especially in non-English conditions , and doesn't bowl too . Yardy , ummm , 50-50 for this format though i would like Danny Briggs take his place . Buttler/Bell replacing Wright gives us great consistency down the order , well required incase of a top order collapse . And as KP said during the t20 WC , players capable of firing from 1-10 is good enough for a team to make 170+ on a consistent basis . Given that the upcoming t20 WC is to be staged in SL , England need to be absolutely spot on in naming their Xi , which is why i would go with something like this :

Kieswetter
Davies
KP
Morgan
Collingwood * (6th bowler optional)
Buttler/Bell
Woakes (2)
Bresnan (3)
Broad (1)
Swann (4)
Briggs (5)

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And a decent team in time for the 2013 Champions Trophy staged in England :

Davies
Trott
Pietersen
Morgan
Bell (going by the fact he averages more than 50 in his home conditions)
ten Doeschate (need him at all costs) (6)
Bopara/Patel (5)
Bresnan (3)
Swann (4)
Broad (1)
Wood/Woakes/Briggs/Shahzad/Dockrell (2)