Quote from: tomd2103 on August 08, 2017, 10:57:03 AMQuote from: AVH87 on August 08, 2017, 10:51:05 AMQuote from: Villan For Life on August 08, 2017, 10:29:15 AMAlex Hales seems to be in the form of his life at the moment, yesterday he scored a run a ball 218 for Notts against Derbyshire. Now admittedly that is in Division two but it's still a remarkable innings.He was tried at test level last year and had a good run in the side. He passed 80 on three occasions but didn't go on to convert them into centuries. Maybe his decision not to tour Banglasdesh is being held against him but given the dearth of batting options I'd give him another chance.It's very tempting to consider Hales at no.5 for England, as his recent scores are hard to ignore.My concern is that his big 3 recent scores have either been in one-day competitions, or his First Class knock against weak bowling (Derbyshire at the bottom end of Div. 2). Now you can only score runs against what's served up in front of you, but it's whether he'll be capable of scoring against the genuine quicks down under this winter.He has to be under consideration though, I'd also look at Rory Burns at Surrey, can open or bat no.5. If we want a younger player, Duckett and Joe Clarke are the best 2 talents from what I've seen.I think Westley should be given an extended run as he has definitely shown enough in this series to suggest he is worth persevering with. Jennings and Malan should make way, with Stoneman being given a chance to open and then I think we could experiment at five. Stoneman is another one where the wealth of support he has is perplexing me a bit. He averages around 34 over a long First Class career, but just because he's moved to the fashionable county, Surrey, and had 1 good season he seems to be the name on everyone's lips. If I was picking one from there it would be Burns who is younger than Stoneman at 26/27, and averages 10 runs more than Stoneman and has a more solid technique.I'd go:CookBurns/DuckettWestleyRootClarke/Hales
Quote from: AVH87 on August 08, 2017, 10:51:05 AMQuote from: Villan For Life on August 08, 2017, 10:29:15 AMAlex Hales seems to be in the form of his life at the moment, yesterday he scored a run a ball 218 for Notts against Derbyshire. Now admittedly that is in Division two but it's still a remarkable innings.He was tried at test level last year and had a good run in the side. He passed 80 on three occasions but didn't go on to convert them into centuries. Maybe his decision not to tour Banglasdesh is being held against him but given the dearth of batting options I'd give him another chance.It's very tempting to consider Hales at no.5 for England, as his recent scores are hard to ignore.My concern is that his big 3 recent scores have either been in one-day competitions, or his First Class knock against weak bowling (Derbyshire at the bottom end of Div. 2). Now you can only score runs against what's served up in front of you, but it's whether he'll be capable of scoring against the genuine quicks down under this winter.He has to be under consideration though, I'd also look at Rory Burns at Surrey, can open or bat no.5. If we want a younger player, Duckett and Joe Clarke are the best 2 talents from what I've seen.I think Westley should be given an extended run as he has definitely shown enough in this series to suggest he is worth persevering with. Jennings and Malan should make way, with Stoneman being given a chance to open and then I think we could experiment at five.
Quote from: Villan For Life on August 08, 2017, 10:29:15 AMAlex Hales seems to be in the form of his life at the moment, yesterday he scored a run a ball 218 for Notts against Derbyshire. Now admittedly that is in Division two but it's still a remarkable innings.He was tried at test level last year and had a good run in the side. He passed 80 on three occasions but didn't go on to convert them into centuries. Maybe his decision not to tour Banglasdesh is being held against him but given the dearth of batting options I'd give him another chance.It's very tempting to consider Hales at no.5 for England, as his recent scores are hard to ignore.My concern is that his big 3 recent scores have either been in one-day competitions, or his First Class knock against weak bowling (Derbyshire at the bottom end of Div. 2). Now you can only score runs against what's served up in front of you, but it's whether he'll be capable of scoring against the genuine quicks down under this winter.He has to be under consideration though, I'd also look at Rory Burns at Surrey, can open or bat no.5. If we want a younger player, Duckett and Joe Clarke are the best 2 talents from what I've seen.
Alex Hales seems to be in the form of his life at the moment, yesterday he scored a run a ball 218 for Notts against Derbyshire. Now admittedly that is in Division two but it's still a remarkable innings.He was tried at test level last year and had a good run in the side. He passed 80 on three occasions but didn't go on to convert them into centuries. Maybe his decision not to tour Banglasdesh is being held against him but given the dearth of batting options I'd give him another chance.
Quote from: AVH87 on August 08, 2017, 11:04:35 AMStoneman is another one where the wealth of support he has is perplexing me a bit. He averages around 34 over a long First Class career, but just because he's moved to the fashionable county, Surrey, and had 1 good season he seems to be the name on everyone's lips. If I was picking one from there it would be Burns who is younger than Stoneman at 26/27, and averages 10 runs more than Stoneman and has a more solid technique.I'd go:CookBurns/DuckettWestleyRootClarke/HalesThat's a very inexperienced line up with the first Ashes test just over three months away. Trouble is that we don't really have many other options.It places a lot of pressure on Cook and Root and as always the Aussies will target them, particularly Root as the captain. If one or both of them fail then the pressure of the rest of the top five will be immense. We can't keep relying on Bairstow, Stokes and Ali to bail us out, numbers two, three and five must start contributing.I'd go with this line up:CookHameedWestleyRoot HalesI'd make a statement and give them the change to cement a place in the Ashes side. If that doesn't work then I worry that the Aussies will punish us.
Stoneman is another one where the wealth of support he has is perplexing me a bit. He averages around 34 over a long First Class career, but just because he's moved to the fashionable county, Surrey, and had 1 good season he seems to be the name on everyone's lips. If I was picking one from there it would be Burns who is younger than Stoneman at 26/27, and averages 10 runs more than Stoneman and has a more solid technique.I'd go:CookBurns/DuckettWestleyRootClarke/Hales
Stoneman has been ignored by a number of selectors over the years and is 30 years old. There is something that is seen and not liked by quite a few respected individuals. I would guess they will revert to Hameed if Jennings is going to be stood down against the Windies. Hameed is the future and a natural replacement for Cook long term. He did little wrong in Bangladesh or India. As to a "five". We seem to have a lot of Key/Hick cricketers currently, too good for county cricket but not quite test class,technically flawed at the highest level, found out by decent attecks. Of those I'd prefer the quick scoring Hales in full flow to that of Ballance, Jennings or someone else.
Woakes would be nailed on for me for Australia. New ball pairing picks itself barring injury or disaster. But you need a workhorse who can get through a lot of overs down there with a decent economy rate. Woakes now has that bit of nip now too to make him more than a medium pace trundler. Stokes is a talent, but he needs to be wrapped in cotton wool. No question at all that he should be in the side, but killer long spells blunt his effectiveness and make him an injury doubt for later tests. Moeen will obv be the nailed on spin option. So you pick the rest of the side around that.
Quote from: KevinGage on August 08, 2017, 03:45:56 PMWoakes would be nailed on for me for Australia. New ball pairing picks itself barring injury or disaster. But you need a workhorse who can get through a lot of overs down there with a decent economy rate. Woakes now has that bit of nip now too to make him more than a medium pace trundler. Stokes is a talent, but he needs to be wrapped in cotton wool. No question at all that he should be in the side, but killer long spells blunt his effectiveness and make him an injury doubt for later tests. Moeen will obv be the nailed on spin option. So you pick the rest of the side around that.I think Mark Wood is the type of bowler you are talking about, but it depends on whether he is going to be fit or not. Interesting to hear Shane Warne's comments about selection last night. He's always had that positive approach to the game and his argument was that he would move Stokes or Bairstow to five, move Ali to seven, have Woakes at eight and the extra bowler at nine. His logic was that Stokes or Bairstow are probably going to be better than any of the other options for that position, so why not play them there.I think we are a bit more of a cautious lot though and I have to admit that a 6,7,8, 9 of Stokes, Bairstow, Ali and Woakes looks rock solid to me and they all seem comfortable in those respective positions.
Some interesting comments and stats in this article:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40862946Maybe Bayliss is too white ball centred?
Quote from: Villan For Life on August 08, 2017, 10:08:19 PMSome interesting comments and stats in this article:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40862946Maybe Bayliss is too white ball centred?Some interesting thoughts. The top of the order has been an issue for sometime, with permanent replacements as of yet not being found for Strauss and Trott. There have been some pretty awful collapses in the last couple of years as well, which would suggest all is not well. That said, I still think 6-11 is as strong as it has been for some time and in Cook and Root, we have two world class top order batsmen.