General Cricket Discussion

[Varun]

Cook ftw .

Not in the ODI team TBH.

 

[Aditya]

Cook is a good choice to captain England's test side but certainly not the ODI side. For ODI's I'd rather have Swann as captain and maybe Anderson as vice captain, yes, I know Anderson didn't perform well in the WC but he does have some experience and should be a fine choice as vice captain for the England odi team. For t20's, Collingwood is the best choice and as I mentioned before, Cook can be a good choice to captain England's test side. It's amazing how suddenly people have started saying that he should now be made the captain of the England ODI side as well but to be honest, I really don't see that happening. Anyone even remember his form before the Ashes, his place in the side was not permanent and he could easily be dropped but he was lucky to be included in the squad to tour Australia for ashes and good for him that he made some crucial runs and played really well.

 

[War]

Cook is a good choice to captain England's test side but certainly not the ODI side. For ODI's I'd rather have Swann as captain and maybe Anderson as vice captain, yes, I know Anderson didn't perform well in the WC but he does have some experience and should be a fine choice as vice captain for the England odi team. For t20's, Collingwood is the best choice and as I mentioned before, Cook can be a good choice to captain England's test side. It's amazing how suddenly people have started saying that he should now be made the captain of the England ODI side as well but to be honest, I really don't see that happening. Anyone even remember his form before the Ashes, his place in the side was not permanent and he could easily be dropped but he was lucky to be included in the squad to tour Australia for ashes and good for him that he made some crucial runs and played really well.

Exactly. People forget how much pressure Cook was under going into the Ashes are for the last 4 years. Is very bemusing how people are calling form him become ODI skipper. Only if Cook had scored his in the Ashes Hayden or Sehwag style opening - then i could flex with the idea of people suggesting he could come back in ODI set-up. But his batting in the Ashes was old fashioned 1930s Len Hutton/Jack Hobbs style - which is totally out of place in modern ODI cricket.

Would have to disagree with your suggestion the Anderson for VC though. He IMO could face the axe in the ODI if he doesn't step up regardless of how senior he is. Anderson is quickly turning into Hoggard circa 2004-2007, in which as his test form becomes top-class his limited overs form is going awol.

Collingwood also shouldn't have the T20 captaincy either. His Ashes & World Cup form means he needs runs for Durham before England can pick him in ODIs & T20 format this season.

KP or Swann the best options the lead the ODI/T20 sides from now on presuming Strauss lets go of the ODI skipper mantle.

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Yuvraj Singh likely to make Test team - The Times of India

As the old proven adage goes. ODI form doesn't equal test success. Yuvraj last i checked has been given enough chances over the last decade to hold down a test spot & failed to do so. So depending on if the IND selectors still want to pick Dravid for the WI tests - then surely Kohli should be ahead of Yuvraj in the pecking order.

 

[sami ullah khan]

I don't know. Yuvi sure likes to stick around the crease a lot longer these days. That may just be his mantra for success in test cricket too.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

From what I know is that, Yuvraj will captain the test side too Dhoni Tendulkar Sehwag Zaheer and Harbhajan have asked for rest

 

[Aditya]

Would have to disagree with your suggestion the Anderson for VC though. He IMO could face the axe in the ODI if he doesn't step up regardless of how senior he is. Anderson is quickly turning into Hoggard circa 2004-2007, in which as his test form becomes top-class his limited overs form is going awol.

Collingwood also shouldn't have the T20 captaincy either. His Ashes & World Cup form means he needs runs for Durham before England can pick him in ODIs & T20 format this season.

KP or Swann the best options the lead the ODI/T20 sides from now on presuming Strauss lets go of the ODI skipper mantle.

It depends on the selectors in the end. Anderson and Collingwood both have been struggling with their form. One with the ball and the other with the bat and the ball and having them as vice captain and captain respectively might not be the best idea but then KP too hasn't been at his very best from the last few months. Few centuries on the ashes tour and not a single century in WC (if I'm right). Making him the vice captain can also turn out to be not the very best idea but then the ECB needs to select a vice captain so it's surely gonna be KP or else the players who are struggling with their form, Anderson and Collingwood. Rest players I don't think really stand a chance.

Yuvraj Singh likely to make Test team - The Times of India

As the old proven adage goes. ODI form doesn't equal test success. Yuvraj last i checked has been given enough chances over the last decade to hold down a test spot & failed to do so. So depending on if the IND selectors still want to pick Dravid for the WI tests - then surely Kohli should be ahead of Yuvraj in the pecking order.

When I think about Yuvraj in "tests", I can just recall one good inning he played and that was against England in 2008. Apart from that inning, he hasn't really impressed in test matches because he didn't have the right attitude for test matches. In test matches you need some "patience" and more often than not, Yuvraj threw away his wicket in test matches by either going for a big shot or being over defensive but in the WC he has proved that now he has the right attitude to play big innings and can be a good choice in test matches but then Kohli has been exceptional with the bat as well. I agree with you here, Kohli should certainly be ahead of Yuvaj when it comes to picking the side. This guy has been very unlucky not to play a test match for India so far. Whenever he has been asked in an interview that would you like to play test matches for the Indian team, he says that it's his dream to do so for the Indian team. I just hope he gets a chance to play for the Indian test team on the West Indian tour.

 

[AbhishekS]

Yuvraj will captain the test side too

Are you serious! Why can't we rather choose Laxman or Dravid.
Yuvraj hasn't played a single test match for quite a while now.

 

[Params7]

Ind vs Pak makes it to No.2 greatest sporting rivlary of all times on MSN USA. Ashes not even in the list.

Greatest rivalries in sports

 

[War]

It depends on the selectors in the end. Anderson and Collingwood both have been struggling with their form. One with the ball and the other with the bat and the ball and having them as vice captain and captain respectively might not be the best idea but then KP too hasn't been at his very best from the last few months. Few centuries on the ashes tour and not a single century in WC (if I'm right). Making him the vice captain can also turn out to be not the very best idea but then the ECB needs to select a vice captain so it's surely gonna be KP or else the players who are struggling with their form, Anderson and Collingwood. Rest players I don't think really stand a chance.

KP has been injured alot since the 2009 tour to Windies - thats the main reason for his up & down form since then. So im not too worried about him & i hope the ENG selectors aren't as well - he should always be backed going forward.

When I think about Yuvraj in "tests", I can just recall one good inning he played and that was against England in 2008. Apart from that inning, he hasn't really impressed in test matches because he didn't have the right attitude for test matches. In test matches you need some "patience" and more often than not, Yuvraj threw away his wicket in test matches by either going for a big shot or being over defensive but in the WC he has proved that now he has the right attitude to play big innings and can be a good choice in test matches but then Kohli has been exceptional with the bat as well. I agree with you here, Kohli should certainly be ahead of Yuvaj when it comes to picking the side. This guy has been very unlucky not to play a test match for India so far. Whenever he has been asked in an interview that would you like to play test matches for the Indian team, he says that it's his dream to do so for the Indian team. I just hope he gets a chance to play for the Indian test team on the West Indian tour.

Hmm well to be honest im not sure if i saw those potential test match credentials in his WC batting form you know. I just saw him back to his best as ODI batsman i.e 2007 T20 WC.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Ind vs Pak makes it to No.2 greatest sporting rivlary of all times on MSN USA. Ashes not even in the list.

Greatest rivalries in sports

There is nothing bigger than India Pakistan clash.

 

[Aditya]

KP has been injured alot since the 2009 tour to Windies - thats the main reason for his up & down form since then. So im not too worried about him & i hope the ENG selectors aren't as well - he should always be backed going forward.

I'm a big fan of KP and I'd love to see him captain the English side but I need to fair and say that I don't see that happening. He might be made the vice captain but captain, I don't think so but if he is made the captain of the English team, I'll be very happy for him. I never actually disliked his captaincy but what I think is that, he didn't got the right support from the rest of the team and so he was not the "ideal" captain at that situation. Now, the situation has changed and now he might get the much needed support that he wants from his team but then ECB might not select him as the captain of the side ahead of Swann.

Hmm well to be honest im not sure if i saw those potential test match credentials in his WC batting form you know. I just saw him back to his best as ODI batsman i.e 2007 T20 WC.

You can say that and I wont argue about that. I actually saw a changed Yuvraj, he was more calm and his aim was just one and that to win the world cup for India and he was successful in doing so and not only with the bat but also with the ball. This might go in favor of him, Kohli is someone who bowls but doesn't bowl as well as Yuvraj does. So, in test XI against West Indies, if the selection needs to be between Kohli and Yuvraj, Yuvraj might just get a nod ahead of Kohli on the basis of his batting plus his bowling.

 

[mohit_dude10]

From what I know is that, Yuvraj will captain the test side too Dhoni Tendulkar Sehwag Zaheer and Harbhajan have asked for rest

That would be the biggest blunder. And I'm sure the Selectors wont make such a blunder. He is just back into form in the ODI's and yet to cement his place in the tests. IMO Gambhir/Sehwag either one of them will play and should captain the test team.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Sehwag is going to undergo some shoulder stuff. I am not sure an operation kind of but a rehabilitation after IPL so he has asked complete rest from WI series to face & kick England badly (Waits Haarithan to back fire ) JKS!!

Tendulkar,Dhoni,Singh,Zaheer have asked for a complete rest too.

I dont understand that, when in Dhoni's absence & Yuvraj's presence, Gambhir was the captain then why Yuvraj now? Although it's not official now but talks are all around. Gambhir did really well to lead his first role as captain to 5-0 and he is good. Also Yuvraj should not be given responsibilities and make him bat freely as he did in WC. Kohli is better then Gambhir as captain as well as better then Yuvraj but again he is a bit egoistic and short tempered.

And I am for sure Kohli will be given a nod in Test series along with Pujara. Wridhiman Saha or Parthiv will keep in Tests or even Dravid as I dont see him resting this series

So IMHO

ODI XI

Gambhir
Utthapa (Wish He Was In)
Raydu
Kohli
Sharma
Yuvraj
Y.Pathan
I.Sharma
A.Nehra
P.Kumar
R.Ashwin

We still have the a decent lineup. Just replace Utthapa with Vijay for now or Raydu with Parthiv.

Test XI

Gambhir
Vijay
Dravid
Pujara
Kohli
Laxman
Parthiv/Saha
Sharma
Ashwin/Mishra
Sreesanth
Ashwin/Mishra/Vinay Kumar or someone new

 

[War]

That will be a disappointment to the Windies fans if those main players miss out - especially for Tendulkar since hasn't played test their since 2002 (IND 2007 WC exit meant no one really saw him much then). But i guess the WI Tour was the only series in this ridiculously over-packed 2011 schedule for India, where those players could have taken a rest.

 

[cricket_icon]

Test form/success doesnt equal ODI success though.

Lets not forget before the Ashes 2010/11, Cook went through 4 years where he was consistently struggling with technical faults that was first exposed in Ashes 06/07. So let Cook just focus now on becoming the best test batsman he can be, since in the past he has proven to totally out of place as an ODI player.

not so sure on that. yes he had technical faults which he seems to have sorted out. his technique is sound and he was scoring big runs. he should have been given another run in the ODI team instead of messing about with KP, Bell, keepers and so on.