Cricket Thread..

[Alex]

Haha I love Northern Hemisphere rugby

I dont consider us the number 1 side in the world yet, despite us being that officially. I was hoping that this could be the start a bit of an English cricketing dynasty, but I fear for that now. Before we can even consider calling ourselves the best, we need to beat South Africa (and not just in a three test home series like the one this summer) and start beating some teams on the subcontinent - we need to win an away series against India and against one of Pakistan or Sri Lanka. Then we can say we are the best.

Yeah, I think you're definitely the number 1 test side in the world at the moment, but it's fairly tight at the top.

On their day, any of India, South Africa, Australian and England (the big 4 I guess) could beat any other, and when 'all bets are off' Pakistan are included there too.

I think it'll be hard to form a dynasty, as your peak is probably around now (based on age of most players etc), and I think there are too many other sides too close to you, for you to form a real dynasty.

I think India will just go downhill now, and South Africa, Australia and England will be the sides to beat. Australia on the way back up (finally have a reasonable spinner again, and a good pace attack), as long as the consolidate their batting longterm (Ponting and Hussey won't be around forever). South Africa are another with a really good bowling lineup, and a good, but ageing batting lineup. England have an awesome bowling attack, and at the moment with Cook, Strauss, Pietersen, Trott, Bell and Prior a really strong batting lineup, who aren't too old yet (in fact Cook could be a sensational player for years and years to come). Our batting lineup is finally getting in some young blood - Warner is an absolute freak talent, Clarke has quite a few good years ahead of him and Watson is awesome. But we need to start phasing in long stay options in the rest of the order - Wade should come in for Haddin soon, and I still think Khawaja at 3 and Watson 2, is a better idea than Cowan 2 and Watson 3.

 

[Sir Calumn]

Cook I really think COULD be the finest opening batsman of his generation and one of the all time greats. I hope anyway. I LOVE watching him play.

We have the best England team I have ever seen at the moment, which is why the inconsistency is so frustrating. The age thing is a bit of an issue, Swann and Anderson will be big loses, but I feel we have talent coming through. Between Finn, Tremlett and Bresnan we already have three world class bowlers fighting for two places, sometimes even one if they go for a four bowler attack. plus the likes of Dernbach coming through. We do need to find another spinner.

And none of the batsmen are that close to retirement age. Strauss is a poor captain, but I sometimes feel the captain that captains best is the captain that captains least, atleast he he still one of the boys, unlike the likes of Vaughan who really distanced himself from the team, and his batting and the team suffered as a result. Even Morgan I think has potential to be very very good.

What really annoys me is that half our team aren't actually English. Morgan is Irish and Strauss, Trott, Pieterson and Prior are all South African, as are Kieswetter and Dernbach in the limited overs sides. Strauss is less bad because he has been brought up in England and has an English accent, education etc...... but bloody Pieterson only came to England to play cricket and has an accent as thick as Francois Pienaar's! And Trott isnt much better. I do find it a bit embarrassing - I guess you aussies take the piss out of us for it a lot?

Its another reason I like Cook and Swann so much, at least the best men on the team are all English.

 

[Haarithan]

Another away defeat for dismal India. 16 International 'away' games without a win now. Last win coming against Windies back in May 2011.

Its another reason I like Cook and Swann so much, at least the best men on the team are all English.

Couldn't agree more. Swanny's Ashes Tour Diary is a must watch for all you cricket fans!

 

[Sir Calumn]

Wait..... I'm confused....... are you English or Indian?

 

[Alex]

He could be either, he generally just seems anti-Australian.

Your team being full of South Africans is something we most definitely do bag you about. Would be interesting how you'd go without the Saffas. I'd let you keep Strauss though. He is South African born, but English through and through. He isn't that bad a captain.

A big reason for Australia's better form is having a much better captain. Ponting was terrible. Afraid to make a decision, scared to try anything, always wanted to be one of the boys etc. Clarke has always been generally hated by the Australian public, but is a much much better tactician than Ponting, and it's helped our results big time.

 

[Sir Calumn]

Hmmmmmm I've been trying to put an England cricket team without the South Africans together in my head but it is very difficult! I dont know who the wicket keeper would be, Bairstow I guess, wouldn't be confident with him in the side.

Bowlers would be no issue, just meant we wouldnt have Dernbach to come through, but we have plenty of other options, Shahzad is very very similar.

Batting...... well if I'm allowed to keep Strauss, I guess Bopara would come in for Trott. This seems like a serious downgrade but I do actually feel Bopara could have been a lot better if he had had a proper run in the side.... he must be cursing the South Africans more than anyone....

As for Pieterson, I guess it would be James Taylor, which I guess I dont feel too bad about as it's only a matter of time before he makes the side anyway. But if I also have to replace Morgan, which I really should as Ireland are a separate cricketing nation and Morgan is very Irish, I am a bit stumped. Maybe in those circumstances we would have to play with one less all out batsman, which could be done as Broad and Bresnan are pretty much both all rounders now.

So yeah, it may still be a decent side, but would it have won the Australia and the India series'? I very much doubt it.

 

[Sir Calumn]

Regarding captains, I see Strauss a bit how you describe Ponting, far, far too conservative, not a great cricketing intellect if we're honest, 'one of the boys'. It has started to work in recent times, actually watching the England of the last couple of years it has almost been like watching a side without a captain, but not in a bad way. Vaughan was a cricketing genius and a master tactician, but I think his aloofness and his over-tinkering actually did more harm than good.

 

[Xifio]

South has always had excellent grassroot development infrastructure: a small group from our U17 team were invited down to for a short stint at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria (when it had just opened), and we were blown away ...

but it's let down by the race-based politicking and selections even at provincial level, and laughable management within the Cricket SA administration at the top level ... that's why Kapes left ... and that's why "Saffas" would be more inclined to turn out for England ... I'd be interested to see what Haroon Lorgat, when he relinquishes his ICC duties, could do if he returned as chief exec (as opposed to just sitting on the selection committee like he used to) ...

sadly that doesn't change the fact that when they have an excellent team assembled, they still seem to--oh what's the word?

 

[Sir Calumn]

Ha yeah it is almost funny how few black faces you ever see in the SA cricket team.... or the Rugby team for that matter.

I think since apartheid ended, England have fielded more black cricket players than South Africa.

 

[RobbieD_PL]

And how few white faces you see in Bafana Bafana too. It's kind of disappointing how South Africa hasn't yet become a Brazil in terms of fielding a multiracial squad in recognized team sports.

 

[Alex]

In South African Cricket, they have a quota don't they? That X number of black people have to be in the side??

See that's ridiculous, and racist. If the best side should be chosen REGARDLESS.

I know that's why guys like Pietersen left. They got annoyed at the way cricket there was ran, went to England to play County Cricket, and became naturalised.

 

[Haarithan]

Wait..... I'm confused....... are you English or Indian?

Indian, but despise the Indian cricket team next to Man United in soccer. Courtesy of their fans you could say. Grew up supporting the England cricket team ever since my childhood.
Also Alex, I'm not anti-Australia for the record.

And it's Pietersen SC, not Pieterson.

 

[Alex]

Haha, I was making a joke, saying you could be either, as both nations fans gave big rivalries with Australia

 

[Haarithan]

Can always trust this Indian side to make my day. They're so awful.

 

[Alex]

Yep. And considering how poorly we started (as we were playing it like a 50 over game - think Duckworth Lewis let us down a bit there), we did great.

I hope Wade keeps playing like he is. It could be enough to mean Brad Haddin doesn't play another test for us. I used to really like Haddin, but his form with the bat has been pretty bad lately, and he just can't be relied on any more. And looking to the future, we're best to bring Wade in now, than wait. I think our selectors are keeping Haddin around, so they can bring Paine in once he is fit. It'd be hard to bring in Wade for Haddin, then drop Wade for Paine once he returned from injury. Paine is a great keeper, but not as good a bat as Wade. Wade is a gun. Better first class figures than Gilchrist at the same stage of their careers!

 

[Haarithan]

Yep, Wade looks an absolute gun with both the gloves as well as the bat. Can't see Haddin returning to Aussie colors any sooner now, which is just what I'd hoped for at the start of the series. This is the guy you want to persist with - Wade is the name.

And yeah, thought the D/L system ridiculously favoured India today.

 

[Alex]

Wade's keeping isn't great, but it's solid enough. And he could be really special with the bat. At 24, and the Ashes 18 months away, time to get him in the test side. The Australian media has this obsession with Tim Paine. Not sure why. He is a really good keeper, but not nearly the batsman Haddin or Wade is.

 

[Haarithan]

Hmm so Hilfy replaces Lee who's out injured for the reminder of the series. Last chance salon for him.

In other news, we were completely owned again by Pakistan. England love playing in the sub-continent.

 

[Alex]

Last chance for the haus?? No way, he just carved up in the test series. Unless you mean last ODI chance? In which case, yes possibly. With Starc, McKay, Cummins, Pattinson, Harris, Siddle, Bollinger, Lee and the Haus we're not really short of fast bowling talent at the moment. And i didn't even mention Copeland, Hazlewood or Cutting. Makes you wonder why we persisted with Johnson for so long.

 

[Alex]

Pakistan are so frustrating though. No discipline at all. If they always played to win, and put in like the Aussie or South African team, they'd be up there with the best in the world.