20 Twenty Cricket

[Spy Bee]

Eoin Morgan, perhaps. He has such a talent. He's not just a slog merchant either. It's hard to say because he would need a different technique and a different mindset. Can he keep his wicket and his calm with the ball going sideways and surrounded by close fielders? I actually get the feeling he could, but it's no more than that.

 

Of the other non-Test players - Wright, Yardy & Lumb are pretty much a definite no. The technique isn't there. That just leaves Kieswetter and I've not really seen enough of him. He's got a good eye though so maybe.

 

Totally agree. I think Keiswetter is a certainty. He's definitely got the technique for first class/test cricket. I also think Morgan has too much talent not to make it, but he will need a different approach.

[mgw100]

Totally agree. I think Keiswetter is a certainty. He's definitely got the technique for first class/test cricket. I also think Morgan has too much talent not to make it, but he will need a different approach.

 

The thing I like about Kieswetter is that when he goes big, he still hits through the line of the ball. That shows he may have a transferable technique. I'm not quite convinced on his footwork against the new ball though, particularly when facing high pace. Sometimes he gets himself in a bit of a tangle, and he certainly did when facing Steyn earlier in the tournament. That may well be because he's trying to score quickly before he's fully in. Too early to say I think. Anyone that can smack the ball high over the mid off boundary when he's only faced a few balls clearly has talent though.

 

He looks tidy enough behind the stumps too. At the moment, Prior is doing well enough in the Test team (though I still have my doubts about him batting at 6). In a couple of years though, it could be interesting.

[Guest PurpleNose]

What about Tendulkar?

 

Has he retired from all International cricket yet?

 

Could try and get him to reconsider.

[sir roger]

What about Tendulkar?

 

Has he retired from all International cricket yet?

 

Could try and get him to reconsider.

 

Whilst I am no cricketing genius , I can safely say he is unlikely to ever play test cricket for England. ( Trescothick maybe ? )

 

Agree with the other guys that Morgan & Kieswetter have the best chance of moving up to test level. Lumb is already 30 & the other lads are fairly average.

 

I think we need one really excellent fast bowler to emerge & we would have the makings of being the number one test team.

[Yozzer]

Morgan would be a good number 5 or 6 in test cricket in my opinion - any further up and he will be exposed to the new ball and I've still yet to see him face such a situation. One thing with batting down the order is he will face more spin which he seems to be very comfortable with.

 

My test team for the upcoming ashes would be: Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Trott, Collingwood, Morgan, Prior, Broad, Swan, Anderson, Onions.

 

I'm sure I'm missing someone but I'm concerned over the lack of swing that you get in Australia - after the first 10-15 overs the ball fails to swing and with our bowling relying predominently swing we could struggle to take wickets. Who else would you take for the Ashes later this year?

[sir roger]

Morgan would be a good number 5 or 6 in test cricket in my opinion - any further up and he will be exposed to the new ball and I've still yet to see him face such a situation. One thing with batting down the order is he will face more spin which he seems to be very comfortable with.

 

My test team for the upcoming ashes would be: Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Trott, Collingwood, Morgan, Prior, Broad, Swan, Anderson, Onions.

 

I'm sure I'm missing someone but I'm concerned over the lack of swing that you get in Australia - after the first 10-15 overs the ball fails to swing and with our bowling relying predominently swing we could struggle to take wickets. Who else would you take for the Ashes later this year?

 

I agree Yozzer & you can see what I mean about needing a really world-class bowler ( imagine swapping Onions for a McGrath or a Marshall ) which would leave us with a cracking team.

 

Colly will also be gone soon as well & there are a cluster of young guns vying for his place.

[Guest PurpleNose]

Whilst I am no cricketing genius , I can safely say he is unlikely to ever play test cricket for England. ( Trescothick maybe ? )

 

Agree with the other guys that Morgan & Kieswetter have the best chance of moving up to test level. Lumb is already 30 & the other lads are fairly average.

 

I think we need one really excellent fast bowler to emerge & we would have the makings of being the number one test team.

 

I can only apologise for inducing a serious response. It was a childish post in annoyance with the amount of people who aren't English playing for England.

 

As for the bit in bold, I'm afraid you're way off.

 

We're currently fifth in the test rankings, miles away from the likes of India, South Africa and Australia. Behind Sri Lanka as well, which should give you some indication of how good we really are.

 

What we actually need is some proper cricketers for test cricket. No reverse sweeping. No switch hitting. No changing the field every other ball. No more fucking laptop spastics hanging around the team either.

 

The best teams in test cricket have 6 quality batsman, 4 quality bowlers, and a quality keeper. They have batsman who can get big hundreds. Batsman who can adapt to the situation of the game. Captains who make positive declarations. Spin bowlers who turn the ball a long way (with the possible exception of South Africa, but they probably have the best pace attack). Also as you point out, bowlers with genuine pace.

 

We have a lot of work to do. From grass routes all the way up. Club cricket isn't great. County cricket isn't great. Neither is the England team. It all needs sorting, but probably won't be.

[mgw100]

Morgan would be a good number 5 or 6 in test cricket in my opinion - any further up and he will be exposed to the new ball and I've still yet to see him face such a situation. One thing with batting down the order is he will face more spin which he seems to be very comfortable with.

 

My test team for the upcoming ashes would be: Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Trott, Collingwood, Morgan, Prior, Broad, Swan, Anderson, Onions.

 

I'm sure I'm missing someone but I'm concerned over the lack of swing that you get in Australia - after the first 10-15 overs the ball fails to swing and with our bowling relying predominently swing we could struggle to take wickets. Who else would you take for the Ashes later this year?

 

I like your team. Bell might be a bit put out after a decent tour of SA, but I have little faith in his mental toughness. I would probably take both Morgan and Bell in the 16. Having said that, I think Morgan still has to score a bunch of runs in the County Cricket 4 day season to get in the squad.

 

My other concern is that we are relying on 4 bowlers there. I think they'll struggle to take 20 wickets. I agree with you and Roger on this, the seam bowling is a weakness. They might even consider Bresnan at 6 or 7 you know and leaving out Bell/Morgan altogether. That then leaves the batting looking a little fragile. A really tough call actually.

[sir roger]

I can only apologise for inducing a serious response. It was a childish post in annoyance with the amount of people who aren't English playing for England.

 

As for the bit in bold, I'm afraid you're way off.

 

We're currently fifth in the test rankings, miles away from the likes of India, South Africa and Australia. Behind Sri Lanka as well, which should give you some indication of how good we really are.

 

What we actually need is some proper cricketers for test cricket. No reverse sweeping. No switch hitting. No changing the field every other ball. No more fucking laptop spastics hanging around the team either.

 

The best teams in test cricket have 6 quality batsman, 4 quality bowlers, and a quality keeper. They have batsman who can get big hundreds. Batsman who can adapt to the situation of the game. Captains who make positive declarations. Spin bowlers who turn the ball a long way (with the possible exception of South Africa, but they probably have the best pace attack). Also as you point out, bowlers with genuine pace.

 

We have a lot of work to do. From grass routes all the way up. Club cricket isn't great. County cricket isn't great. Neither is the England team. It all needs sorting, but probably won't be.

 

 

Apologies PN , missed your thrust completely.

 

I like yourself would prefer a team who were all born & lived all their life in England but the rules are the rules, & to be fair it's not like the old football rules where anybody who had kissed the Blarney stone could play for Ireland , all of them have at least one British parent as far as I am aware.

 

I am aware that our Test status is ordinary at present but I was looking at the immediate & medium future & think that with one extra excellent bowler I would back us overall against anybody bar maybe Australia.

[Guest PurpleNose]

Apologies PN , missed your thrust completely.

 

I like yourself would prefer a team who were all born & lived all their life in England but the rules are the rules, & to be fair it's not like the old football rules where anybody who had kissed the Blarney stone could play for Ireland , all of them have at least one British parent as far as I am aware.

 

I am aware that our Test status is ordinary at present but I was looking at the immediate & medium future & think that with one extra excellent bowler I would back us overall against anybody bar maybe Australia.

 

My Chilean mother means I could play for Chile in any sport. I wouldn't though, and I guess by this token I'm aiming my disapproval at the individuals as well as the short sighted ECB.

 

Unfortunately I can't see us getting someone with real pace anytime soon. We'll never get a Tait, Malinga or an Akhtar as we would have coached their unusual actions out of them at a young age.

 

Its strange because everyone is currently admiring the non text book nature of some of Morgan and Pietersen's shots. Including no doubt the ECB. Yet as someone who is a qualified coach, I know full well they try and hammer that sort of thing out of English kids.

[sir roger]

My Chilean mother means I could play for Chile in any sport. I wouldn't though, and I guess by this token I'm aiming my disapproval at the individuals as well as the short sighted ECB.

 

Unfortunately I can't see us getting someone with real pace anytime soon. We'll never get a Tait, Malinga or an Akhtar as we would have coached their unusual actions out of them at a young age.

 

Its strange because everyone is currently admiring the non text book nature of some of Morgan and Pietersen's shots. Including no doubt the ECB. Yet as someone who is a qualified coach, I know full well they try and hammer that sort of thing out of English kids.

 

I think you should re-think things PN & I fully look forward to Chile v Afghanistan in the next 20-20 thrash.

 

I think your last paragraph points out the inherent hypocrisy in English cricket & the attendant media. Pietersen is lauded for his unorthodoxy until he gets out doing something outside the MCC coaching manual & he is then filleted by the likes of 'Aggers'.

 

Linking your coaching background to your 2nd paragraph I would like your take on young Finn , who I feel could be special when he fills out.

[Guest PurpleNose]

I think you should re-think things PN & I fully look forward to Chile v Afghanistan in the next 20-20 thrash.

 

I think your last paragraph points out the inherent hypocrisy in English cricket & the attendant media. Pietersen is lauded for his unorthodoxy until he gets out doing something outside the MCC coaching manual & he is then filleted by the likes of 'Aggers'.

 

Linking your coaching background to your 2nd paragraph I would like your take on young Finn , who I feel could be special when he fills out.

 

Just googled "Chilean National Cricket Team".

 

The squad doesn't look very Chilean, and they're currently in the World Cricket League Americas Division Three. I think I'd have a pretty decent shot of getting into that side. I'm half tempted now. To play any International sport is pretty good.

 

Finn is decent, but like Broad, I wonder why its taking him so long to fill out. He's 21 now (Finn) and you can't help feeling in a more intense sporting nation, like America or Australia, he'd have done so already.

 

He obviously has the enormous advantage of being 6"7/6"8, but I just hope he really works on getting stronger. Someone who bowls at early/mid eighties at his height is a handful. Someone who can bowl in the early nineties with his height is unplayable. At his age he can still get quicker.

 

I'd like to see him concentrate on four day cricket. Work on bowling long spells. Let him develop the tactical side to his bowling. Don't try and take a wicket with every ball etc. Glenn McGrath didn't, he just made the batsman think every single delivery.

 

Finn can, and should, develop into something inbetween Caddick and Harmison. Nouse and aggression, hopefully.

[Haan'sThunderbolt]

Somebody mentioned the MCC coaching manual - Tait, Malinga, Edwards - all slingy quick bowlers. Why haven't we got one? Because they're coached not to. It seems all individualism is coached out of them.

[Yozzer]

The problem with English cricket sometimes is the mentality of the countries coaches - people think the ideal English bowler should be one who keeps a good line and length which means he is economical and this could eventually result in a wicket. Instead, we should encourage the lads at a young age to experiment, create variations and develop their unusual actions rather than doctor them into an orthodox bowler. Don't get me wrong, a bowler does need a good line and length but at a young age they need to be taught that this will not consistently get wickets. Batsmen have moved on and new techniques allow them to now smack a ball that is a good line and length; with some variation it will allow bowlers to gain more wickets.

[Yozzer]

Won the toss and put Australia into bat - don't tend to get excited by Twenty 20 but I'm going to enjoy watching this one.

[longballs]

Won the toss and put Australia into bat - don't tend to get excited by Twenty 20 but I'm going to enjoy watching this one.

 

It's going to be very tricky this. We had to put them in really, I know that 9 times out of 10 they will bat first, but after their come back against Pakistan we didn't have much of a choice. I just hope that the score board pressure doesn't get to us as a result.

[mgw100]

Nice one

[mgw100]

Would have been a terrible miss if that drop had gone down

[Yozzer]

Haha - Watson gone. Edged from Sidebottom - Kieswetter parries and Swan catches in the slips.

[Yozzer]

Billy Doctrove is a Liverpool fan and his nick name is Toshack - seems a sound man to me. And Warner is run out! Get in!

[karl1987]

Warner gone now, direct hit from lumb. 7-2

[mgw100]

That's a brilliant start. The openers can both be very destructive. It also means when our spinners come on in over 7, Oz may be a little more circumspect given the early wickets

[Yozzer]

Fucking Hell - what a catch!

[mgw100]

Off the shirt...tremendous catch though

[Yozzer]

Credit to Flower, he's made us one of the best fielding sides in cricket.