West Indies in England 2009

[RoboRocks]

I'd give Bresnan another chance. I don't rate him but since he played in the first test I'd keep him in.

Sidebottom is a one trick pony. He'll only be sucessful in English conditions where the ball swings for him. We found that out in the West Indies. Plus his fitness is a big worry and while we have Onions taking wickets we don't need Sidebottom.

Bell will be back-up hopefully. If Collingwood continues to fail, then we may consider Bell but for now Bell should miss out.

Hopefully when Fred is fit, he'll come back in for Bresnan and we'll have a decent 5 man attack.

 

[Howsie]

I'm surprised at all the Sidebottom hate. When he was in New Zealand last year he was brillant, and if Harmison gets carried for three years surely Sidebottom gets a year. Plus hasn't he been injured for a while now, if he comes back fit he could be a handful.

 

[King Pietersen]

Yeh, exactly. He dominated a batting line-up that included players like Matthew Bell and Matthew Sinclair in conditions where the ball was hooping around for him. He's not done alot since then. He has 41 wickets at 18 against NZ, but against decent batting line-ups he averages 37 against India, 32 against South Africa, and 63 against Sri Lanka (which should have been lower if it wasn't for Prior). Sidebottom's never really shone against a quality batting line-up. He's always done 'ok' but never really looked as threatening as he did in the 6 Tests against NZ. I don't think he's good enough personally.

 

[Howsie]

So how does Stuart Broad get away with being average

Except for Anderson, Sidebottom is the best bowler England can pick. And trying to discredit his wickets against New Zealand is a little harsh. In the first test match which England lost by 189 runs Sidebottom took ten wickets.

 

[Sureshot]

Sidebottom hasn't been fit for a long time. He is far from being a one trick pony, swing bowling is his strength, doesn't make him a one trick pony. The same people said the same about Hoggy.

 

[evertonfan]

But Hoggard was better. He still is better too.

 

[King Pietersen]

Sidebottom hasn't been fit for a long time. He is far from being a one trick pony, swing bowling is his strength, doesn't make him a one trick pony. The same people said the same about Hoggy.

What else does Sidebottom offer then? Economy possibly but the only reason he's so economical when it's not swinging is because he bowls so wide. He certainly doesn't offer pace, and he's not a wicket-taking option when bowling back of a length, so what exactly does he offer when it's not swinging? If it's economy in the low 80mph's then surely David Masters would be as good an option?

 

[Simbazz]

What else does Sidebottom offer then? Economy possibly but the only reason he's so economical when it's not swinging is because he bowls so wide. He certainly doesn't offer pace, and he's not a wicket-taking option when bowling back of a length, so what exactly does he offer when it's not swinging? If it's economy in the low 80mph's then surely David Masters would be as good an option?

Same could be said about Jimmy Anderson 5 years ago, when the conditions didn't suit, you had an uncontrollable mess.

Sidebottom offers swing, yes, biggest asset is his swinging BUT he offers the left handedness. Its a well known fact that batsmen in general don't like left armers, especially the ones who can bowl it above 80MPH.

Bresnan did nothing wrong last game, hell, he didn't get a chance to do wrong but I think if Sidey is available, us our best! (AND may I add most experience on probably every ground the UK has to offer, he's probably got more experience than the likes of Strauss, if Strauss-y could bowl ofcourse)

 

[King Pietersen]

Jimmy Anderson was a raw talent though, not an experienced bowler like Sidebottom. Anderson also offered more than swing and swing alone. He's got good pace, and is a handy back of a length bowler. Anderson of 3-4 years ago was still better than Sidebottom of the last 6 months for mine. I don't agree that left handedness is a massive asset when it's not swinging. I think the key to being effective as a left-armer is swing, and when it's not swinging there's no massive benefit to bowling left arm. I'd much rather have someone like Onions, Flintoff, Bresnan and even Harmison ahead of Sidey tbh.

 

[age of the fall]

Cricinfo - Gayle wants to give up captaincy

Gayle loses a lot of Respect in my books for saying he would like T20 to take over test cricket

 

[surendar]

How many of you are surprised by Windies loss here? : Are there any records for Windies in maintaining their consistency level? To me, they are " A Sudden Collapse " team.. i.e you never know when they will just fall like pack of cards. If this happens once in a while, then its ok.. but its been the case since many years. No excuse for Windies cricket, isn't it?:

I still remember how much pity I had on them when Hooper, Chanderpaul and Lara lone would be fighting in one end to save the team while rest just come and go without any responsibility!

Instead of commenting and responding to Strauss, ask that Gayle to think about the future & Consistency of Windies cricket.

 

[Dare]

How many of you are surprised by Windies loss here? : Are there any records for Windies in maintaining their consistency level? To me, they are " A Sudden Collapse " team.. i.e you never know when they will just fall like pack of cards. If this happens once in a while, then its ok.. but its been the case since many years. No excuse for Windies cricket, isn't it?:

I still remember how much pity I had on them when Hooper, Chanderpaul and Lara lone would be fighting in one end to save the team while rest just come and go without any responsibility!

Instead of commenting and responding to Strauss, ask that Gayle to think about the future & Consistency of Windies cricket.

The future looks way better than it was before Dyson came in and changed things around.

WI are a sudden collapse team whenever Shiv fails nowadays. He is getting some support but there still isnt enough, the team is getting better and it cant be done overnight.

 

[Sureshot]

What else does Sidebottom offer then? Economy possibly but the only reason he's so economical when it's not swinging is because he bowls so wide. He certainly doesn't offer pace, and he's not a wicket-taking option when bowling back of a length, so what exactly does he offer when it's not swinging? If it's economy in the low 80mph's then surely David Masters would be as good an option?

He's never been expensive in England colours, I won't include the last few matches for England as he wasn't fully fit. Economy is a very good weapon, tight at one end is often going to get you a wicket at another end. He gets decent bounce from his solid action, bowling in the mid 80s. Don't mention Masters in the same way as Sidebottom is an England option.

 

[merksfi]

Erm, Geoff Millar announced that an hour ago on sportsweek...

Do I live in England - - - NO!!! I live in Australia and so don't get sportsweek - and if he announced it an hour ago it goes against the Embargo put in place by the ECB. I made my post the same minute the Embargo was meant to be lifted.

 

[angryangy]

The future looks way better than it was before Dyson came in and changed things around.

WI are a sudden collapse team whenever Shiv fails nowadays. He is getting some support but there still isnt enough, the team is getting better and it cant be done overnight.

Indeed, they have come a long way forward. I know they've been in some good batting conditions, but look at this year's batting.
Cricinfo Statsguru - Test matches - Batting records
They've actually had 5 of the top 7 firing. Apart from the odd team where they have some random scrub batting at 6 or 7, they're usually weakest before Chanderpaul even comes in. If Chanderpaul goes down for not much, then they're definitely 4 wickets down and you can all but guarantee that two of the guys above him did nothing as well.

If they do whatever it takes to have players who score at 2 and 4, even if it's at the expense of still having players who are currently scoring down at 6 and 7, they will be ten times more durable. Time and time again, you see a team looking utterly shaky at 250, only to pile on another hundred runs or more.

The most important players are the opening batsmen and the opening bowlers. The game is geared towards winning the early battles and then having just enough reserves left to clean up a weakened opponent. It doesn't work so well in reverse. The opener's job is always tough, but when they succeed they can make even a tailender's job much easier.