India v England

[GrizzlyBear]

Rumour has it that England are considering picking one-day slogger Jos Buttler to play as a specialist batsman in the first Test against India. This is a player who has appeared in only one red ball game in the past year, who averages no more than 30 in Test cricket and whose first class batting average is considerably lower than that of Chris Woakes. I am willing to predict that if he plays the whole series he will pass twenty no more than once.

I do wish England would get over their obsession with trying to turn white ball specialists into Test players. After Morgan and Hales you might think they would have realised that there's a difference. If they are looking to the future then drop Duckett down to four and play Hameed. If they want experience, what's Ian Bell doing these days?

[Terry]

Looks like they have listened about Hameed:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/crick...04166.html

[Paul]

Good first day for England. Root and Moeen excellent

[Terry]

Not good for England but I was pleased to see Pujara get a hundred.  I read a couple of year ago about how his father, a railway clerk, has for years coached youngsters in Rajkot, at his own expense.  His son is only one of several youngsters who have gone on to play first class cricket.

[The Good Mugabe]

To cheer up a cold & damp morning.
A highlights package of South Africa having a good morning with the ball

https://streamable.com/ufyx

[Terry]

(12-11-2016, 11:15 AM)The Good Mugabe Wrote: To cheer up a cold & damp morning.
A highlights package of South Africa having a good morning with the ball

https://streamable.com/ufyx

Those poor Aussies!  My heart bleeds!

[Leicester Exile]

Given England's poor batting should Bell be recalled for the next test?

[Grasscutter]

I don't think so. If they wanted an experience quick fix with the series in the balance then maybe. Bell had his chance this championship season. With no test cricket in the first half of next season due to the Champions Trophy, he may well have one more window of opportunity if he can go big in April and May in the Championship.

As soon as they dropped Ballance they really should have pulled in a batsman from the Lions as cover with 5 tests ahead of them to give the new man chance to acclimatise a little. Now with two tests to go we have two out of form, one injured by the look of it, we're playing the reserve keeper and we're out of options, and now need to rush someone in there. They have backroom staff everywhere, but no batting cover. Shambles really.

[Paul]

I don't think so either. Didn't do enough to earn a recall last season. Middle order is a problem for us. Moeen is batting too high now. Stokes comes off occasionally but not consistently. Root is the only one we can rely on. Who is there in county cricket that can be called on. Really its a mismatch over there anyway.

[Leicester Exile]

Paul all your comments lead back to saying - why not give Belly a call. He certainly could not do worse. However, I do obviously agree his performance through last season hardly justifies selection

[GrizzlyBear]

The answer is Sam Hain. I'm not sure if he's qualified yet but he will be next year.

English born middle order batsmen with any solidity have been scarce for a decade. Bell, Root, Bairstow maybe but then I'm getting stuck. England were lucky to have Trotty and Pietersen to call on. The emphasis on one day cricket won't have helped but there has to be more to it than that. Demise of school cricket? Loss of interest in the Afro-Caribean community? As an emergency band-aid I would recall Bell but the longer term problem remains.

[Terry]

Geoffrey Boycott says that England's batsmen need to be more like Geoffrey Boycott:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2016/...r-bowlers/

[Terry]

It seems as though not-a-Bear Keaton Jennings will replace the injured Hameed.  I would have gone for Gubbins; but it will be interesting to see how Jennings does.  Another South African!

[Leicester Exile]

The Telegraph article just about gets it right. Too much emphasis on limited over cricket.

[paulbear]

It will always be a mismatch as we really only have 1 spinner who is really a match-winning wicket taker and that is Rashid. He has yet to do it at Test level but Moeen Ali is not really used that much by Worcestershire when they play so we know how they see it. Batty has never been that good and Ansari has not exactly given batsmen nervous nights in CC cricket. The same could be said when India come over here and in 2014 they looked like a bad Div 1 county side as they did in 2011 despite having both Tendulkar and Dravid. They are beatable but Swann and Panesar are not about like they were on England's last visit. All sides struggle in India and that is why they are said to be number 1 in Test cricket. They are poor away from home though and I don't think they have won a series in Pakistan and definitely haven't in South Africa or Australia. I will take them more seriously if they can win away. The Test rankings are completely unfathomable even to those playing the game by all accounts.

[rednalbear]

so going on last seasons stats they ignore the 2nd best spinner in the country Jack Leach and call up Liam Dawson instead jokers they really don't like Leach at all do they

[GrizzlyBear]

I heard Matthew Maynard, who is Somerset's coach, talk on the subject of Jack Leach and the winter tour. He didn't think Leach was ready for India as their batsman would, he said, run at him and he didn't think Leach had the game to cope with that. Interesting point but, it would appear, none of our other spinners can cope with it either.

I'm a big fan of Liam Dawson as a county player but I really don't see him as Test material. He's a better batsman than he is a spinner. As such, I'd pick him ahead of Buttler but I wouldn't expect him to take any wickets.

[Terry]

Matt Maynard speaks up for Leach here:
http://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/s...____again/

[Paul]

Well done Moeen. 1000 runs in a year

[Lilly]

Highest ever test total against an England side I do believe? That's what happens when you drop super Chrissy Woakes