I was talking about Pollard as the International dud; and then Pietersen as the guy that had the excellent IPL.
Aus, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I've been impressed by Michael Yardy's bowling in T20, and think he could do a good job getting through some overs quickly at 6 a piece. Like David Hussey used to do for Australia. Come in in the middle of the innings, bowl 3/4 overs quickly and put the pressure on. I'd be happy to see him in the side, and feel he offers far more than Shah; who's fielding and running between the wickets is just not International standard. I'd rather have Steve Davies or Ravi Bopara in the middle order personally.
As i mentioned b4 i agree slightly that Yardy's bowling can very well & be useful. But again what about his batting?. As i said he is not a hitter nor a late order finisher, so by batting him @ # 6 or 7 he will be a waste of time. His overall package that he brings to the T20 side is poor.
All this talk about Shah fielding & running between the wickets not being international standard is getting way overplayed now. I dont know if you where watching the IPL. But Shah batted very well in the games he played for Kolkatta Kinght Riders & for all the huff & puff about his fielding & running between the wickets woes. I dont recall any commentator making a fuss about it. Neither did i notice it as a problem & trust me i was looking at that closelyyyy..
Shah should be in the squad instead of Bopara. Since Bopara for me if he is playing he has to open - if not he is useless in a T20 XI - based on IPL form only one of Bopara or Lumb should have been picked in the T20 squad in my opinion. So with Lumb being the preffered choice to open with Kieswetter. Shah would have been the perfect man to play in the middle-order since he is hitter & given many of the oppossition teams are likely to pick alot of spinners on the likely slow Caribbean wickets. Shah is very good at hitting spinners instead of getting tied down by them druing the middle-overs. You can't go wrong with that.
Steve Davies??...Ha thats way left field KP. Why would you pick him when you already have Kieswetter?
War added 12 Minutes and 20 Seconds later...
there is no way in hell Ireland will win a match, the netherlands game was a total fluke and england are looking like they finally know how to play twenty20.
I think the WI are looking like a solid twenty20 outfit, I would fancy them to beat england.
mostly because with the WI their best players at all levels adapt to T20 better. England is kinda reliant on their domestic specialists melding with their core team, and I think that just means they're going to find really telling contributions hard to come by. Lumb to make 70 against bowlers with international experience across the board? don't see it.
Although its true England have the idioitc of picking useless county domestic specialist in the ODI & T20 sides that have continously failed @ international level. Technically only Michael Yardy is such a player in the current squad.
I wouldn't consider Lumb one of these to be fair. He is a bit of late bloomer & watching him last season in England's domesitc season & in the IPL this year - he certainly looks like he can be an international quality opener. He doesn't come across as another joke county opener (or county openers who did well domestically, but couldn't translate that on the international stage). Such a past failures since the 1992 world cup such as Ali Brown, Mal Loye, Darren Maddy, Solanki, Vaughan, Bell, Prior, Atherton, G Jones.
I reckon Lumb could follow in the footsteps of Trescothick, Knight & Robin Smith, Stewart (to a level) a be a solid international ODI & T20 opener for England in the next few years.