Pleased to see Swanny get the call for the first test against India. It was a no-brainer playing two spinners in this match… but that’s not always meant a lot where the England selectors are confirmed.
What I don’t understand though is why we’re STILL not playing Owais Shah. He’s been arguably our best one day batsman for a good year now, and on current form he surely, surely has to be in the side ahead of Collingwood. His inventive, manipulative technique is also much more suited to the demands of Indian bowlers and pitch conditions than Collingwood’s bottom handed style.
Maybe Collys bowling option has given him the edge, but he’s going to cause next to no danger with his dobbers on flat, dry Indian wickets.
I’d be feeling very hard done by – once again – if I was Owais….
Wednesday 10 December 2008
A talent not to be sniffed at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7772950.stm
Wow, Chris Lewis arrested for allegedly attempting to bring £200,000 of cocaine into the country – that’s a bolt from the blue, but at least it gives the opportunity to talk about something other than the politics in India.
I guess many of his critics – and there were certainly a few around Nottingham – would say he’s always been a big time Charlie, but I’m genuinely sadden by this news. In my formative years watching cricket at Trent Bridge, Lewis was one of my first heroes. Already an international all rounder, that bowled fast, batted aggressively and fielded sensationally – all with the real possibility that it could go wrong at any moment – what boy wouldn’t.
I’m not honestly sure I’ve seen a more talented all round English cricketer than Lewis in my time watching England – call him the Stan Collymore of Cricket – turned up in Nottingham as the next big thing with more ability than most players can dream of… but always being a little bit too unhinged to fulfil his promise. There have been plenty of better players, but while someone like Flintoff relies to a great extent on his supreme physicality, and a sensational eye, Lewis was able to bowl quickly, and the hit the ball vast distances without ever really looking like he was trying.
Put Lewis alongside that lost generation of England players in the 1990s – usually led by the enigmatic talents of Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash, that for one reason or another failed to deliver for their country. That’s quite a threesome we missed out on there for want of more enlightened coaching and captaincy.
At his best, batting down the order he made batting look ridiculously easy, scoring some brilliant hundreds for Notts, as well as one I remember distinctly away in India for England (did he bring it up with a straight six?), he was great down the ground, and square of the wicket. He bowled at a good pace – when he wanted to, could move the ball off the seam and in the air, and could be a brilliant one day bowler… added to that he was one of the best fielders I’ve seen, and so quick across the ground. A real athlete.
It was pretty sad to see reports of his return at the age for 40 as a Twenty/20 Specialist for Surrey, a distant memory of Lewis at his best.
Mentality – so often the difference for talented players was probably the problem. The incident when he went out to spend a day in the full intense glare of the West Indian sunshine with a glinting newly bic’d head and ended up with sunstroke (well der), and the time when he turned up 40 minutes late for an England game blaming a phantom puncture prove that he’s always been capable of doing something stupid. This time he appears to have surpassed himself.
Wow, Chris Lewis arrested for allegedly attempting to bring £200,000 of cocaine into the country – that’s a bolt from the blue, but at least it gives the opportunity to talk about something other than the politics in India.
I guess many of his critics – and there were certainly a few around Nottingham – would say he’s always been a big time Charlie, but I’m genuinely sadden by this news. In my formative years watching cricket at Trent Bridge, Lewis was one of my first heroes. Already an international all rounder, that bowled fast, batted aggressively and fielded sensationally – all with the real possibility that it could go wrong at any moment – what boy wouldn’t.
I’m not honestly sure I’ve seen a more talented all round English cricketer than Lewis in my time watching England – call him the Stan Collymore of Cricket – turned up in Nottingham as the next big thing with more ability than most players can dream of… but always being a little bit too unhinged to fulfil his promise. There have been plenty of better players, but while someone like Flintoff relies to a great extent on his supreme physicality, and a sensational eye, Lewis was able to bowl quickly, and the hit the ball vast distances without ever really looking like he was trying.
Put Lewis alongside that lost generation of England players in the 1990s – usually led by the enigmatic talents of Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash, that for one reason or another failed to deliver for their country. That’s quite a threesome we missed out on there for want of more enlightened coaching and captaincy.
At his best, batting down the order he made batting look ridiculously easy, scoring some brilliant hundreds for Notts, as well as one I remember distinctly away in India for England (did he bring it up with a straight six?), he was great down the ground, and square of the wicket. He bowled at a good pace – when he wanted to, could move the ball off the seam and in the air, and could be a brilliant one day bowler… added to that he was one of the best fielders I’ve seen, and so quick across the ground. A real athlete.
It was pretty sad to see reports of his return at the age for 40 as a Twenty/20 Specialist for Surrey, a distant memory of Lewis at his best.
Mentality – so often the difference for talented players was probably the problem. The incident when he went out to spend a day in the full intense glare of the West Indian sunshine with a glinting newly bic’d head and ended up with sunstroke (well der), and the time when he turned up 40 minutes late for an England game blaming a phantom puncture prove that he’s always been capable of doing something stupid. This time he appears to have surpassed himself.
Monday 1 December 2008
To stay or go?
To bastardise the words of the Joe Strummer, should I stay or should I go
While it would be very harsh to criticise any England player that takes the decision that they don’t want to return to India to complete the tour with the two test matches in December, but I would still be pretty disappointed were any to go ahead and drop out.
If as seems likely the security advisors say it’s safe to go back and play (or as safe as anywhere can be in ‘these times of heightened security’), then that’s what we should do. The nature of your modern 21st century terrorist seems to indicate that there’s as likely to strike in one place as almost any other – excepting perhaps St Albans where nothing exciting has happened since roughly 1878.
A large number of the current England squad have young families, which will quite rightly be their first concern in deciding whether they want to travel. But I’m not genuinely concerned that there will be a raised threat on the team’s safety. That the recent attack took place in the hotel they stayed in recently, and were due back to later in the schedule will have brought things home to the players, and only naturally, but if there terrorists had wanted to target the England cricket team – they surely would have done already... they’ll have had ample opportunity and wouldn’t have sent out a vast clanging advance warning bell. Forewarned is forearmed.
KP has said that he won’t force any player reluctant to travel to go. But purely on a selfish level, career –wise surely it’s a risk. Of KPs current foot soldiers, very few are so nailed on in the team as to voluntarily forgo their place in the side confident in the knowledge that they’ll be able to slot comfortably back in when we’re on more familiar ground next spring. With men waiting in the wings like Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Michael Vaughan, who’s to say someone like Paul Collingwood or Ian Bell would get back in the team if one of the others grabs a chance with both hands. And with the Australian juggernaut on the horizon that’s a huge risk.
Probably only Andrew Flintoff, and perhaps Alastair Cook would be able to return immediately to the set up. Even Monty Panesar – who as our number one spinner is earmarked for a huge role in the test series – surely wouldn’t want to see someone like Adil Rashid trotting in to bowl – a couple of big wickets against the calibre of batsman like Tendulkar or Dravid could catapult him straight into contention for the Ashes next year. Monty should know that’s pretty much how he got established himself on the previous tour of Indian (albeit in more conventional circumstances).
At the end of the day we employ experts for a reason, if we’re not prepared to follow their expert advice then there’s no point in asking them in the first place.
While it would be very harsh to criticise any England player that takes the decision that they don’t want to return to India to complete the tour with the two test matches in December, but I would still be pretty disappointed were any to go ahead and drop out.
If as seems likely the security advisors say it’s safe to go back and play (or as safe as anywhere can be in ‘these times of heightened security’), then that’s what we should do. The nature of your modern 21st century terrorist seems to indicate that there’s as likely to strike in one place as almost any other – excepting perhaps St Albans where nothing exciting has happened since roughly 1878.
A large number of the current England squad have young families, which will quite rightly be their first concern in deciding whether they want to travel. But I’m not genuinely concerned that there will be a raised threat on the team’s safety. That the recent attack took place in the hotel they stayed in recently, and were due back to later in the schedule will have brought things home to the players, and only naturally, but if there terrorists had wanted to target the England cricket team – they surely would have done already... they’ll have had ample opportunity and wouldn’t have sent out a vast clanging advance warning bell. Forewarned is forearmed.
KP has said that he won’t force any player reluctant to travel to go. But purely on a selfish level, career –wise surely it’s a risk. Of KPs current foot soldiers, very few are so nailed on in the team as to voluntarily forgo their place in the side confident in the knowledge that they’ll be able to slot comfortably back in when we’re on more familiar ground next spring. With men waiting in the wings like Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Michael Vaughan, who’s to say someone like Paul Collingwood or Ian Bell would get back in the team if one of the others grabs a chance with both hands. And with the Australian juggernaut on the horizon that’s a huge risk.
Probably only Andrew Flintoff, and perhaps Alastair Cook would be able to return immediately to the set up. Even Monty Panesar – who as our number one spinner is earmarked for a huge role in the test series – surely wouldn’t want to see someone like Adil Rashid trotting in to bowl – a couple of big wickets against the calibre of batsman like Tendulkar or Dravid could catapult him straight into contention for the Ashes next year. Monty should know that’s pretty much how he got established himself on the previous tour of Indian (albeit in more conventional circumstances).
At the end of the day we employ experts for a reason, if we’re not prepared to follow their expert advice then there’s no point in asking them in the first place.
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