The Cricket Thread 2016

[Chris Jameson]

Rashid needs to pull his socks up, didn't get selected in the West Indies and in his one match since returning home took eight wickets.

[PaulWinch again]

I don't want to see the end of Anderson, he's still very good and a pretty decent bloke by all accounts.

[paul_e]

I think Stokes is very close to being a very good player and if we can slightly modify his aggression it could be a very useful asset. We need destructive bastmen, which he is. We also need aggression to counter the Aussies.

I agree he's very close to being a good all-rounder, I just think it will benefit him more to play a summer of county cricket, he's 23 which means he has loads of time to play for England yet, I just worry that him learning the emotional control he needs is going to be a lot more difficult at this level.

[pooligan]

Chris,I have always thought Rashid was a pretty good bowler  and is pretty useful with the bat. How Moen Ali is thought to be the better spinner will continue to baffle me.

[Chris Jameson]

He's scored a few centuries, at one stage he was in the Yorkshire side more for his batting but has got his bowling mojo back. Excellent fielder as well, I'm more than happy for Yorkshire to have his services but they really missed a great opportunity in the West Indies to get Lyth settled in and give Rashid a try.

[tomd2103]

Chris,I have always thought Rashid was a pretty good bowler  and is pretty useful with the bat. How Moen Ali is thought to be the better spinner will continue to baffle me.

Moeen had a very good series against India last summer with the ball and is probably still just about in credit after that.  Having him at six balances the team nicely, but I think he will need to improve on his performance in the West Indies if he is going to keep his spot. 

[paul_e]

Chris,I have always thought Rashid was a pretty good bowler  and is pretty useful with the bat. How Moen Ali is thought to be the better spinner will continue to baffle me.

Domestically Kerrigan is better than both of them in my opinion but sometimes players just aren't able to make the step up.  Kerrigan looked totally out of his depth in his only test and Rashid looked well short when he got his chance a few years back and hasn't really shone in the lions matches recently.  Moeen had a tough time in the West Indies and in his first few tests against SL but the games against India in between he showed a lot of promise, and a few good ODI performances have helped as well.  I still think he deserves the chance against NZ to show that he can get back on track. Even in a bad tour he still took 6 wickets in 2 matches so it's not like he's starting from nothing.

[aev]

I guess they worry that a wrist spinner is going to have less control than a finger spinner, although watching Moeen Ali in the last Test he couldn't have been any worse.

[pooligan]

Talking of Ali ,i notice he is bowling at the moment against the Black Caps. I am sure i read that he would only be available for the Bears game and not the Black Caps. Anyone any idea why this has changed?

[PaulWinch again]

I guess they worry that a wrist spinner is going to have less control than a finger spinner, although watching Moeen Ali in the last Test he couldn't have been any worse.

Agreed, but let's give him a chance. He was excellent last summer and he was dropped back in against the Windies after being injured and having no bowling behind him.

[PaulWinch again]

Talking of Ali ,i notice he is bowling at the moment against the Black Caps. I am sure i read that he would only be available for the Bears game and not the Black Caps. Anyone any idea why this has changed?

Probably because since his injury he hasn't bowled much, they probably want him to get some rhythm.

[aev]

I guess they worry that a wrist spinner is going to have less control than a finger spinner, although watching Moeen Ali in the last Test he couldn't have been any worse.

Agreed, but let's give him a chance. He was excellent last summer and he was dropped back in against the Windies after being injured and having no bowling behind him.

I guess for a while now our cricket has been very conservative. I would have given him a go - they seem to use Root to get through a few overs if required.

[LeeB]

There's one clear problem with England, they're over stocked with Yorkshireman.

One or two, it's fine, but once it reaches a certain level there always follows bitter mediocrity.

[Monty]

I guess they worry that a wrist spinner is going to have less control than a finger spinner, although watching Moeen Ali in the last Test he couldn't have been any worse.

Agreed, but let's give him a chance. He was excellent last summer and he was dropped back in against the Windies after being injured and having no bowling behind him.

I guess for a while now our cricket has been very conservative. I would have given him a go - they seem to use Root to get through a few overs if required.

Agreed. I'd like to see us trying to take wickets and win matches rather than save runs and not lose matches. Both Strauss and Cook have the same instincts - Christ's sake, if Boycott is saying you're too cautious then you have a problem!

[PaulWinch again]

I'm not sure Moeen's conservative at all though. He's an ultra aggressive batsman and he's a wicket taking bowler when at his best. Although I agree our overall tactics need to be more aggressive.