Danny Briggs & Scott Borthwick are two young spinners with potential. I'd have selected Briggs and given him time to develop into a top spinner. Graeme Swann really rates Borthwick as well and he also bats in the top four for Durham.
Borthwick - Batsman who bowls and too erratic. Briggs - doesnt spin the ball enough. Tredwell - one ball Jimmy. Patel - too fat. Kerrigan - not even playing for Lancashire
Sri Lanka aren't a very good test cricket team though, so we should be competing with them on home soil. Agree that we are now in the stage of re-building, so have to give time. Surely we should be developing a proper spinner. Just think that this team would get thrashed against Australia or SA.
People are so fickle. 1 year ago we beat Oz 3-0 , 18 months ago we beat India IN INDIA 2-1, and after 1 series whitewash and the fact that we are not smashing SL in 2 days everyone jumps on the band-wagon. We do have a 'proper' spinner in Monty - however, he seems to be going through a bit of a personal 'plight' at the moment - but not many nations have as many choices as we did/do. Some people !
Problem is, since then we have lost KP, Trott & Swann - all 3 are world class players and without them we are going to stru8ggle until they are truly replaced.
I'm not into county cricket so I don't know who is out there, but from what I've seen Ali is no replacement for Swann and whatever Monty's "outside" problems are, he is the best spinner we have & should be in the team.
Borthwick - Batsman who bowls and too erratic. Briggs - doesnt spin the ball enough. Tredwell - one ball Jimmy. Patel - too fat. Kerrigan - not even playing for Lancashire
Monte it is then !
I know for a fact that England have been keeping a close eye on Adam Riley of Kent. Bit too soon right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is in contention for the India series.
426-8 Herath run out 48 Matthews 149 no. Luckily, Matthews pretty much ran out Herath, because we were never looking like getting either out. SL lead by 318 at Tea.
Well, if you waste your reviews that's what happens. Pathetic display all day from Cook and the front line bowlers. Mind you, old Billy is something else.
Why not try taking away a lot of the power and responsibility of the job, and appointing a captain based on the players you pick for any given game. If you don't have anybody with the necessary skills you have to appoint the best player available who possesses them - but under the current system - you stick with the captain for too long if his form is no good! Giving Cook the right to decide the inetrnational future of England's best player only illustrates how the current systen is antiquated. We now seem to be stuck with this out of form batsman who is a useless cowardly captain.
Well, if you waste your reviews that's what happens. Pathetic display all day from Cook and the front line bowlers. Mind you, old Billy is something else.
Re - DRS. I believe this needs tweaking as the whole purpose is to make sure the right decision is made, and now we all know that Billy Bowden made a howler and England should have had Si Lanka out sooner than they did - just because England had no reviews left shouldn't mean a bad decision isn't overturned.
Perhaps is the more frivolous appeals to use DRS were penalised then the players would only refer the definite ones - perhaps by adding on 10 runs to the opposition. In this case England (knowing that there was a def edge) wouldn't worry about adding on an extra 10 runs as they all knew he was out - if they were just going for a gamble as they had run out of ideas then they wouldn't try.
Comments
I'd have selected Briggs and given him time to develop into a top spinner.
Graeme Swann really rates Borthwick as well and he also bats in the top four for Durham.
Briggs - doesnt spin the ball enough.
Tredwell - one ball Jimmy.
Patel - too fat.
Kerrigan - not even playing for Lancashire
Monte it is then !
Problem is, since then we have lost KP, Trott & Swann - all 3 are world class players and without them we are going to stru8ggle until they are truly replaced.
I'm not into county cricket so I don't know who is out there, but from what I've seen Ali is no replacement for Swann and whatever Monty's "outside" problems are, he is the best spinner we have & should be in the team.
SL 268-5 Lead by 160.
Chandimal c Ballance b Plunkett 7
Prasad c Root b Plunkett 0 1st ball
Poor bowling.
Herath run out 48
Matthews 149 no.
Luckily, Matthews pretty much ran out Herath, because we were never looking like getting either out.
SL lead by 318 at Tea.
There's no natural leaders in the team.
Tomorrow it's £5 & free for accompanied U16's.
Mind you, old Billy is something else.
Matthews c Ali b Anderson 160.
Pradeep b Anderson 0
350 to win.
Perhaps is the more frivolous appeals to use DRS were penalised then the players would only refer the definite ones - perhaps by adding on 10 runs to the opposition. In this case England (knowing that there was a def edge) wouldn't worry about adding on an extra 10 runs as they all knew he was out - if they were just going for a gamble as they had run out of ideas then they wouldn't try.