English cricket 2015 - NZ, The Ashes, Pak and SA

England Test squad

In Nick Compton, Gary Ballance, Chris Woakes, Mark Footitt
Out Ian Bell, Mark Wood, Steven Finn, Liam Plunkett

Squad Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Nick Compton, Mark Footitt, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Chris Woakes

As a Derbyshire fan, it's great to see Footitt called up, even if he has now signed for Surrey!
Odd decision to take Patel instead of Rashid - James Whitaker says he couldn't foresee a scenario in SA where England would play 2 spinners, which is fair enough but surely you'd take Rashid over Patel? Rumour has it Rashid is showing an interest in the Big Bash and given Strauss's comments re: IPL recently that's probably a factor.
I won't lose any sleep over Bell, he's been a fantastic servant for England but you have to continue to perform if you want to get picked, and he's not been doing it.

My XI for first Test:

Cook (C)
Hales
Ballance
Root
Taylor
Stokes
Buttler/ Bairstow (W/K)
Moeen
Broad
Woakes
Anderson
 
That's Bell done then.

A very good career but I still feel his international career is unfulfilled. Had the talent to be one of England's best ever.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Oh my giddy aunt Bell has been dropped!!!!!!

Compton's back as well, alongside Ballance, and Footit's in the team with Plunkett missing out.
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:eek: Never thought this day would come. Was thinking the only way Bell would be left out was if he walked away on his own terms. Compton back is an interesting choice. He has probably looked the best partner for Cook since Strauss but his SR is incredibly dull even for test standards.

Also Patel ahead of Rashid doesn't make sense. Not that either of them would have been doing much playing anyway.
 
Samid said:
:eek: Never thought this day would come. Was thinking the only way Bell would be left out was if he walked away on his own terms. Compton back is an interesting choice. He has probably looked the best partner for Cook since Strauss but his SR is incredibly dull even for test standards.

Also Patel ahead of Rashid doesn't make sense. Not that either of them would have been doing much playing anyway.
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Rumours are that England have sorted out Rashid a BBL contract so rather than carry drinks in SA he'll play T20 cricket in AUS. Doubt Compton will play, but its nice to have him back in the fold for when Hales fails.
 
Is it just me that thinks Jason Roy looks to have more chance of making it as a test player than Hales? I know its a slightly odd thing to say when you consider their records but just looking at the various shots they play and how comfortable they look against various bowling Roy looks a real talent.

He has a frustrating knack of throwing it away though, I don't know much about his temperament in longer formants, and don't think he'd be an opener in Test cricket, but he's goto the tools imo.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Is it just me that thinks Jason Roy looks to have more chance of making it as a test player than Hales? I know its a slightly odd thing to say when you consider their records but just looking at the various shots they play and how comfortable they look against various bowling Roy looks a real talent.

He has a frustrating knack of throwing it away though, I don't know much about his temperament in longer formants, and don't think he'd be an opener in Test cricket, but he's goto the tools imo.
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:drool: Fantastic counter jinx.
 
What on earth was Taylor playing at?

Your mates on 77 off 38 take a single and watch.
 
Holy fecking fecking shit. :eek:

Beats his own record for England's fastest hundred. Think he broke the England ODI sixes record with the six that got him it, too.
 
Brilliant from Buttler. No chance we're winning this.
 
46: No. of balls Buttler took to complete his 100 - fastest for Eng in ODIs. The next two fastest for Eng are also by him - 61 balls v NZ and 66 balls v SL.
 
:lol: WTF Jos Buttler where did that batting display come from,
He needs to play that way in test cricket
 
Not sure Pakistan's approach is particularly smart.

They could have afforded to accumulate after that start, before the Babar Azam wicket 5-6 runs per over would have left 110 to get in 15 overs with wickets in hand. You wouldn't go about getting 350 batting first trying to score at 7.5 runs per over throughout the innings.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Not sure Pakistan's approach is particularly smart.

They could have afforded to accumulate after that start, before the Babar Azam wicket 5-6 runs per over would have left 110 to get in 15 overs with wickets in hand. You wouldn't go about getting 350 batting first trying to score at 7.5 runs per over throughout the innings.
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Really poor from Safraz.

You've just hit a boundary you need 7 an over to win, not 24. So push three singles and take the game deep.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
So, Pakistan being accused of match fixing...
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There's a suggestion from Ed Hawkins that the third ODI is being investigated and its being very soundly shot down.

I can't paste in the conversation because of the way the site works I don't think but read the conversation between Dobell and Hawkins.

Ed may be right, but I'm not very convinced.

Code: 
https://twitter.com/GeorgeDobell1/status/667740775053176833
 
NinjaFletch said:
There's a suggestion from Ed Hawkins that the third ODI is being investigated and its being very soundly shot down.

I can't paste in the conversation because of the way the site works I don't think but read the conversation between Dobell and Hawkins.

Ed may be right, but I'm not very convinced.

Code: 
https://twitter.com/GeorgeDobell1/status/667740775053176833
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Yeah, Pakistan are an embarrassment went it comes to running and catching i.e. the basics of cricket.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
Yeah, Pakistan are an embarrassment went it comes to running and catching i.e. the basics of cricket.
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I guess the one thing I would say is they've actually fielded pretty well throughout the ODI series (apart from Wahab Riaz's inability to throw the ball at the stumps) so if you were looking for signs of match fixings the Third ODI, rather than an aberration you could say it was deliberate?

Anyway Ed Hawkins is best ignored imo, he implies that a World Cup semi-final was fixed in a way that implies all 22 players to be in on it. It's borderline impossible.
 
NinjaFletch said:
I guess the one thing I would say is they've actually fielded pretty well throughout the ODI series (apart from Wahab Riaz's inability to throw the ball at the stumps) so if you were looking for signs of match fixings the Third ODI, rather than an aberration you could say it was deliberate?

Anyway Ed Hawkins is best ignored imo, he implies that a World Cup semi-final was fixed in a way that implies all 22 players to be in on it. It's borderline impossible.
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Nah, I dont think they were fixing. They are just ludicrous when it comes to certain aspects of the game such as those mentioned above.

I read the initial allegations from the Daily Mail, which tells you all you need to know.
 
OMG THAT DROP :lol:

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Daft dismissals so far. Didn't catch the final ODI, thought this was a batting paradise?
 
Good knock from Billings. England have some great selection problems emerging in the shorter formats.
 
At the risk of pre-empting a match winning knock this Rafatullah looks horrific.

NVM got him out instead.
 
NinjaFletch said:
At the risk of pre-empting a match winning knock this Rafatullah looks horrific.

NVM got him out instead.
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Most wayward cricketer I've ever seen. :lol:

Please Pakistan, stop this nonsense. Population is 200 million, I'm sure the selectors can find some decent young cricketers if they really try. Time after time these nothing cricketers with absolutely no abilities show up, get a few games before handing over the baton to another clueless old fecker. Rinse and repeat.
 
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