Test Dilemma’s and will Australia and India please grow up
With the first test against New Zealand approaching it is time to start thinking about the possibilities selection wise. There are challenges for positions in most sections of the team, and the players will be putting forward their case in the warm up games on at the moment. I’ll talk about them and let you know who I’d pick – let me know if you disagree!
Starting at the top there is the batting selection. Cook, KP, Bell, Colly and Vaughan are already on the team sheet, with seemingly Shah and Strauss vying for one spot. If Strauss gets it, it seems he might bat at no 3 with Bell moving to no 6 probably. The second warm up game starting this evening goes with this line up I think. If Shah gets it then Bell will stay at 3 and Shah gets the no 6 spot in a nice and simple move. In the first warm up game Shah did himself no harm nearly getting a century, while Strauss (who has been playing club cricket in NZ) played onto his stumps for a poor 4. I was watching Sky Sports the other day and Dominic Cork was quite adamant that Strauss shouldn’t even be in the squad, although he never quite backed up this claim with why he thought that. I’d go the way of Shah – he seems to have done enough in my mind to be given a bit of a run in the side and has looked at times a class player. However this seems to be against what the selectors will do according to the press, and I’m unsure what more Shah could do to get a test place!
Seddon Cricket Ground, Hamilton
Onto the keeper situation – and time for me to toss a coin. Mustard kept well in the ODI’s, and showed that he had potential with the bat, although I’m not sure how his batting would fare in test match cricket. It was either Craig McMillan or Cork the other day who said however, that we should be looking to bring Tim Ambrose as he was the real deal. I’m not going to say one way or the other as I don’t know enough so heads its Mustard, tails its Ambrose… and its come down tails!
Onto the bowling attack and our way without Flintoff is to go with 3 seamers and a spinner and I see no change to that formula here. The spinner will be Monty, and you couldn’t drop Hoggard or Sidebottom (if he gets over a hamstring niggle) with the new ball. Which leaves one spot open for a seamer. I would give Jimmy Anderson a break, he took some hammering in the ODI’s and would do well to maybe take a step back. Broad is one for the future and I’d be really looking to get him into the side permanently very soon, but I don’t know if now is the time. Much to the despair of a few people I expect, I would go with our friend Harmy. The very same Harmy who has managed to strain his back without even playing a proper game of cricket out there! Hold on, what am I saying – I want to bring in a permanently injured, homesick bowler who isn’t a shadow of his former self over an up and coming youngster who seems to not let setbacks affect him at all (see 36 off the over in the world twenty20 for what I mean here). I must be mad and I remain the right to change my mind at any point! What I really can’t understand is how Tremlett is still staying in the selectors thoughts. Please, anyone tell me why he is there. Broad is many times better and it annoys me to watch the mediocre performer that is Tremlett in the England side.
The final thing I wanted to say (on this rather long blog post!), is how boring it is getting reading about another incident between the players of Australia and India. Recently we had Sharma fined for over ellaborate celebration (ridiculous, I think you should be allowed to do anything!), and what really annoyed me here was a quote from the Indian team which went something like “Australia started it”. I mean come on, are we back in the playground? Australia don’t seem to know how to play humbly though, as shown by the continued comments coming out of their camp regarding some of the Indians. Guys, give it a rest now eh, its getting very boring.
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