Well Stokes is fit to play but whether he can bowl remains to be seen. If he can't then our only seam option is someone who can probably only bowl in 4/5 over spells.
1. Zak Crawley
2. Ben Duckett
3. Ollie Pope
4. Joe Root
5. Jonny Bairstow
6. Ben Stokes (C)
7. Ben Foakes 8. Rehan Ahmed
9. Tom Hartley
10. Mark Wood
11. Jack Leach
Stokes can't be fit to bowl surely. What's the problem with our other seam options then?
I don't think that there is a problem. We just seem fixated on the fact that it will be a waste of having more than one, so much so that I could see us opening with two spinners and only Wood's express pace in short bursts as and when. Now whether having two rookie spinners instead of one plus another experienced seamer remains to be seen. India, on the other hand, can afford to have Ashwin and Jadeja, with their 500 plus wickets between them at 21 apiece since 2012, plus two front line seamers.
Interesting. Can't see us going in with only one seamer. Root will bowl a lot of overs across the five tests.
Dawson being there would certainly help the balance of the side.
I think that there has probably been an acceptance from Key/McCullum/Stokes about Dawson. This was "dressed up" by Key saying that Dawson wouldn't want to be 15th or 16th man and that Hartley will be much more of a handful than Dawson in Indian conditions. He even said that we should ignore CC successes when assessing the impact of each, a narrative probably designed to justify the selection of 24 year old Hartley with his 40 FC wickets and for that matter 18 year old Rehan Ahmed and his 24 FC wickets.
The facts are that Dawson is not centrally contracted and is able to, with his experience at his age (34 in March), play franchise cricket that will earn him more than "potentially" playing for England. His SA20 contract, for example, is believed to be in the region of £150,000-£200,000, greater than around £100,000 from match and tour fees were he to play all five Tests in India. Dawson turned down England’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh to play in the Pakistan Super League and that was probably indicative of where he and his cricket is at. The India tour would have been a short-term Test return and Key will know that Dawson probably doesn't wish to jeopardise his longer-term relationship with his South African franchise by leaving that competition early.
Well Stokes is fit to play but whether he can bowl remains to be seen. If he can't then our only seam option is someone who can probably only bowl in 4/5 over spells.
1. Zak Crawley
2. Ben Duckett
3. Ollie Pope
4. Joe Root
5. Jonny Bairstow
6. Ben Stokes (C)
7. Ben Foakes 8. Rehan Ahmed
9. Tom Hartley
10. Mark Wood
11. Jack Leach
Stokes can't be fit to bowl surely. What's the problem with our other seam options then?
I don't think that there is a problem. We just seem fixated on the fact that it will be a waste of having more than one, so much so that I could see us opening with two spinners and only Wood's express pace in short bursts as and when. Now whether having two rookie spinners instead of one plus another experienced seamer remains to be seen. India, on the other hand, can afford to have Ashwin and Jadeja, with their 500 plus wickets between them at 21 apiece since 2012, plus two front line seamers.
Interesting. Can't see us going in with only one seamer. Root will bowl a lot of overs across the five tests.
I didn't realise that England had already confirmed that XI. Four spin options and one seamer. Not exactly what you'd term a balanced attack. Hope they've read the pitch right.
If Dawson had been called up instead of Moeen last summer, maybe he wouldn't have burned bridges with England.
Instead we went with Moeen who retired again from Test cricket anyway.
And maybe Dawson might then have been given a central contract this year. Can't blame him for looking at someone like Rehan Ahmed who has done relatively nothing in the game with an underpin of around £500k and thinking that he needs to cement relationships elsewhere if he is going to earn the most that he can with so few years left as a pro.
When I saw the team yesterday I realised this is going to be a long series for England. That bowling attack of 2 rookie spinners, 1 bog standard experienced spinner, and an erratic paceman... against one of the strongest batting lineups on their own fortress.
Supported by a batting lineup that likes to throw away their wickets recklessly in clusters.
Comments
Root will bowl a lot of overs across the five tests.
The facts are that Dawson is not centrally contracted and is able to, with his experience at his age (34 in March), play franchise cricket that will earn him more than "potentially" playing for England. His SA20 contract, for example, is believed to be in the region of £150,000-£200,000, greater than around £100,000 from match and tour fees were he to play all five Tests in India. Dawson turned down England’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh to play in the Pakistan Super League and that was probably indicative of where he and his cricket is at. The India tour would have been a short-term Test return and Key will know that Dawson probably doesn't wish to jeopardise his longer-term relationship with his South African franchise by leaving that competition early.
Instead we went with Moeen who retired again from Test cricket anyway.
Four spin options and one seamer. Not exactly what you'd term a balanced attack. Hope they've read the pitch right.
Crawley 9 (11)
Duckett 10 (7)
Crawley 15 (17)
Duckett 15 (20)
Supported by a batting lineup that likes to throw away their wickets recklessly in clusters.
Absolutely no chance.
Crawley 16 (28)
Duckett 23 (27)
Spinners on now, going to be a trickier period if that Jadeja over was a sign of things to come.
Duckett 35 (39) lbw Ashwin
Duckett reviewed it but decision stands on umpire’s call. Clipping the top of leg stump.
58-1 after 14 overs
Crawley 20 (39)
Pope 1 (7)
Pope 1 (11) caught at slip off Jadeja.
Crawley 20 (40) caught at mid off driving Ashwin
Bairstow 14 (17)
Root 4 (8)
100-3
Bairstow 25 (33)
Root 17 (31)
108-3 after 28 overs
Bairstow 32 (44)
Root 18 (35)
55-0 -> 60-3 -> 108-3
Bairstow bowled by a beauty from Patel for 37 (58)
125-5
137-6
Oh hang on