The Cricket Thread 2017

[AVH87]

I don't get why Hameed gets mentioned to come back in so much. He averages 19 in First Class cricket in 2017, he also looks to me like he doesn't yet have the physique to really be playing adult cricket. I think he needs a strong summer in the gym as at the moment he just won't have the power and the answers to a rapid Australian bowling attack in the winter. I can understand a Bell recall being ruled out because he hasn't scored the runs this year, but by the same token it's unfair for people to then say Hameed should play.

I'd go for giving Duckett another go, a fine player who has shown he can do it at International level in the shorter formats, and is in form with 2 hundreds in his last two First Class games. Sam Robson should also be under consideration for another shot.

Some good points there and Robson and Duckett having another go are two decent suggestions.  If he does come back, I would prefer to see Duckett further down the order, possibly at six or seven.

It's a difficult one with Duckett, as he is explosive so the temptation is to say bat him at 5 or 6 (just above or below Bairstow), but his centuries for Northants have been opening. I'd therefore strongly consider him opening with Cook to give that right hand/left hand balance at the top and also the mix between a steady opener and a more aggressive one, then Jennings at 3.

[tomd2103]

I don't get why Hameed gets mentioned to come back in so much. He averages 19 in First Class cricket in 2017, he also looks to me like he doesn't yet have the physique to really be playing adult cricket. I think he needs a strong summer in the gym as at the moment he just won't have the power and the answers to a rapid Australian bowling attack in the winter. I can understand a Bell recall being ruled out because he hasn't scored the runs this year, but by the same token it's unfair for people to then say Hameed should play.

I'd go for giving Duckett another go, a fine player who has shown he can do it at International level in the shorter formats, and is in form with 2 hundreds in his last two First Class games. Sam Robson should also be under consideration for another shot.

Some good points there and Robson and Duckett having another go are two decent suggestions.  If he does come back, I would prefer to see Duckett further down the order, possibly at six or seven.

It's a difficult one with Duckett, as he is explosive so the temptation is to say bat him at 5 or 6 (just above or below Bairstow), but his centuries for Northants have been opening. I'd therefore strongly consider him opening with Cook to give that right hand/left hand balance at the top and also the mix between a steady opener and a more aggressive one, then Jennings at 3.

He struggled at the top of the order on his previous outings for England, so I'd be more inclined to reintroduce him in the middle order where this is a bit less pressure. We need to find an opener who will do a job for us over the next six months and we can reassess it again after that,

[Villan For Life]

Tom Westley from Essex to make his debut at number 3 in the next test. David Malan also called up.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40666788

For those of us who don't knw too much about him - including me - here are his Cricinfo stats:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/214265.html

[AVH87]

Underwhelmed by that one, averages 37 and that's from a career mainly spent in Division 2.

[PaulWinch again]

I'm hoping they haven't permanently cast aside Duckett I still think there's a bloody good player there.

[tomd2103]

Underwhelmed by that one, averages 37 and that's from a career mainly spent in Division 2.

The cupboard is looking particularly bare at the moment isn't it?  I re-read Michael Atherton's autobiography recently and even though it was written over a decade ago, he was saying that county cricket needed reforming.  The flaw with the two tier Championship system is that unlike football and other sports, the better players aren't necessarily going to stay in the top flight.  Might not be a problem for the more experienced campaigners like Cook, but I think it is quite a big gap between D2 and test level and I'm not sure it is healthy to have the best young players playing at that level.

[Villan For Life]

Underwhelmed by that one, averages 37 and that's from a career mainly spent in Division 2.

The cupboard is looking particularly bare at the moment isn't it?  I re-read Michael Atherton's autobiography recently and even though it was written over a decade ago, he was saying that county cricket needed reforming.  The flaw with the two tier Championship system is that unlike football and other sports, the better players aren't necessarily going to stay in the top flight.  Might not be a problem for the more experienced campaigners like Cook, but I think it is quite a big gap between D2 and test level and I'm not sure it is healthy to have the best young players playing at that level.

Now that test Cricket is played all year around, the top players from all countries no longer spend a season playing county cricket and as a result the standard of the county game is poorer.

At one time every county except Yorkshire had a sprinkling of overseas players. Virtually all of the great West Indian team of the 1970's and 1980's played county cricket. As a result county players were testing themselves against the very best in the world. Eventually even Yorkshire abandoned their home-grown players only policy and signed Sachin Tendulkar.

Now it could be argued that the England test team was poor during this period and they were. However the county game is poorer because the likes of Gayle, McCullum etc travel the world chasing the T20 dollar rather than playing county cricket.

[JD]

Underwhelmed by that one, averages 37 and that's from a career mainly spent in Division 2.

The cupboard is looking particularly bare at the moment isn't it?  I re-read Michael Atherton's autobiography recently and even though it was written over a decade ago, he was saying that county cricket needed reforming.  The flaw with the two tier Championship system is that unlike football and other sports, the better players aren't necessarily going to stay in the top flight.  Might not be a problem for the more experienced campaigners like Cook, but I think it is quite a big gap between D2 and test level and I'm not sure it is healthy to have the best young players playing at that level.

Cook hardly played for Essex last year when they got promoted. Most internationals hardly play, so if the County is successful you tend to lose players to the international team, Yorkshire being a good example of this recently. 

As an Essex fan, I'm looking forward to Tom Westley playing for England and hope he does well. 

[Dave Cooper please]

We all hope he does well but looking at his form he seems to have been picked on the back of one century for the England Lions.
Not that I've ever seen him play of course!

[cdbearsfan]

In fairness, he's averaging over 50 this year and has helped them to the top of the league.

Maybe he has worked at his game and got better? Plenty of us, myself included, thought Woakes would never make an international.

[PaulWinch again]

Yep agreed and I was one of those.

[tomd2103]

Surrey on TV tonight in the T20.  Surrey's top four looks a bit weak - Roy, Finch, Sangakkara, Pietersen!!

[Chris Jameson]

Maybe he has worked at his game and got better? Plenty of us, myself included, thought Woakes would never make an international.

Bairstow is another, he's now one of the most important members of the Test team.

[peter w]

i'd drop him...

[Chris Jameson]

i'd drop him...

Ha!