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England begin new one-day era

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Kevin Howells | 21:05 UK time, Tuesday, 21 June 2011

It's interesting that several commentators have expressed some disappointment that England didn't make even more changes to after a disappointing showing in the World Cup, but I think by England standards this is almost seismic. They don't shock us these days.

national selector Geoff Miller told me the meetings to chose this squad were a bit longer than normal and Alastair Cook played his part in selection.

But as for introducing even more youth into the team, Miller says you have to be careful at looking too far into the future. He said: "It's the development of a side with seniority to make sure you keep winning. A lot of youngsters are knocking at the door but you can't put them all in at the same time".

For Samit Patel, although it's not pennies but pounds which have been shed to show England he is ready for another chance after being left out on fitness grounds. According to Miller, the all-rounder has "wasted time over the last two years".

Even now, talking to both Patel's county coach Mick Newell as well as the international management, on whether or not Samit has it in him to maintain his improved application.

I don't take the issue lightly and although I'm no psychologist, I think this has been really hard for him to sort out. I noticed the mental side of his game will be closely monitored againt international opposition and he will face further examinations especially when things don't go so well.

With that in mind, I hope England can stick with him. He's still prone to have a rush of blood to the head and give away his wicket. His talent can't be in question otherwise England would have said 'goodbye and good night' a long time ago.

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Notts coach Mick Newell feels the penny has dropped for Samit Patel

As Miller put it, Patel has to make his place count in the dressing room. He said: "There are no half measures, you abide with the rules and regs Andy [Flower] places on each member of the team."

I don't know if ever we will see back in an England shirt. It is unlikely but he's told the England selectors that he's determined to force his way back after being left out. is an example of some drive left in the body and mind.

In truth he will need a lot of runs and although this is not unsual in selection, one or two other players are going to have fail over the next few months for the Durham man to be picked again.

A new captain and some young players in the squad means his age may count in his favour, at least in the short term. Miller talks of him being "inspirational over the last four or five years". Even so, it's a stiff challenge for him to force his way back.

Matt Prior will feel he had more to show and will be miffed, as will Steve Davies who might have missed the boat for the time being.

According to England, he needs to show more consistency but another issue for Davies is that not only has been recalled with an improved technique and maturity, but should he get injured or fail to step up to a higher level there is in the wings.

The Yorkshire keeper has work to do with the gloves but there is not a cleaner hitter of the ball in an exciting group of young players who know how to clear the boundary. But the Somerset man rightly get his chance first.

Miller says he has been working hard to correct his faults which led to him missing out over the winter and now is the time to give him a go opening with Cook.

Ben Stokes was the man I was most looking forward to watching for England in this one-day series, and I feel certain he would have been included but for He really has come of age at the start of the season.

Tim Bresnan is another who, if not for injury, would have been included, although there are others who would have merited a good long chat.

Ajmal Shahzad is a frustrating case - his bowling has gone backwards this summer. One theory is too busy a head trying to do too many things with his bowling. So clear the mind, get back to doing what he did best and he should return.

and Jade Dernbach have given an opportunity to show their limited-overs talent along with and there are areas which could be tweaked as the summer progresses.

Overall, I like the squad. Four years until is a long way off if England fail to win matches here and now.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    On the keeping front think the dropping of Davies was badly handled and he has kept his council well considering. No wonder his confidence has been knocked and Kiesweter has stolen a march.

    On the T20 squad WHY OH WHY is Luke Wright Still there? Could've picked Davies as cover for a batsman & keeper. Shocking.....

  • Comment number 2.

    Have to agree with the above poster. Cannot understand, for the life of me, what Luke Wright has done to continue meriting a place in the squad. Bit-part cricketer who does decently on the county stage but isn't good enough in any department of the game to play on the international stage.

    Similarly, Kieswetter's sudden jump ahead of Davies seems bizarre. Davies by far the best young gloveman in the country. It's all very well banging on about Kieswetter, Bairstow blah blah blah, but everyone knows neither has a good as keeping technique and frankly in T20 and 1 dayers one small error by a keeper can be key in breaking (or not as the case may be) big partnerships that influence the game inordinately. It's hardly as if Davies is a mug with the bat - he's consistently high-scoring domestically and deserves a substantial go in the international set up.

    1 final thing - only one front line spinner against India and Sri Lanka? Can see them making mincemeat of Patel. Rashid may get get tonked now and again but he's not in the top 3 of domestic MVP ratings for nothing. Surely another who deserves a chance. How many times have we seen teams we only 1 main spinner win T20s consistently? Hardly ever. Some are bowling 3 regularly as the best way to restrict teams.

    Quite how Geoff Miller is still playing a selector role is beyond me.

  • Comment number 3.

    Whilst we have to applaud the England Selection and Management team for what they have achieved in the test arena, we continue to stumble along in the 50 over stuff. We were worse than poor during the winter, and although the schedule was quite frankly ridiculous, out approach and decision making left much to be desired. We now have 4 years to get ready and I would have expected to see more changes on the batting front. I would have replaced Pieterson with Hildreth for a start, we really need to see what he can do on the international stage, and Pieterson didn;t exactly demonstrate that he was fighting for the cause when he returned home. Morgan should bat at at least one place higher at five, and I can't see why Strauss has been talked into giving the captaincy up. And why oh why do we contine to pick Luke Wright !! I would also prefer Davies to Kieswetter, that boy can play

    On the bowling front, do we not think that Tremlett can be effective in the one day format, I certainly do.

    i suspect we are in for more of the same, I hope not !!

  • Comment number 4.

    I dont see Samit doing well. Sad but I think just like other talented asian cricketers the so called 'experts' would soon start questioning his 'abilities' at this level....he will follow Shahzad...and the rest..

  • Comment number 5.

    What are you suggesting Gav? That's there's racism in the selection process and/or media?

    If Patel is good enough, fit enough and performs well, people will support his inclusion.

    As for the other "talented asian cricketers" - Shahzad is out of form, Rashid isn't ready (this is the opinion of both England and Yorkshire), Shah isn't good enough and Bopara is in both squads (despite being out of form and not being good enough anyway). Who else is there?

  • Comment number 6.

    IlCucchiaio wrote: "Cannot understand, for the life of me, what Luke Wright has done to continue meriting a place in the squad."

    He's a decent T20 cricketer and we don't have many all-rounder options. He's a brilliant fielder, will bat selflessly and is a handy bowler. In time, Ben Stokes (currently injured) will probably replace him but for the time being they will stick with Wright.

    He's not good enough of ODIs though, so I'm glad he's been left out of that squad.

    IlCucchiaio wrote: "Similarly, Kieswetter's sudden jump ahead of Davies seems bizarre."

    Kieswetter has made a brilliant start to the season in all forms and also had an excellent winter with the Lions.

    IlCucchiaio wrote: "How many times have we seen teams we only 1 main spinner win T20s consistently? Hardly ever. Some are bowling 3 regularly as the best way to restrict teams."

    I seem to remember the winners of the last World Twenty20 winning with just one front-line spinner...

  • Comment number 7.

    #4 Gav, why don't you see Samit doing well? Give the bloke a fair chance!

  • Comment number 8.

    So which batsman is going to miss out then? With Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell and Morgan untrustworthy for any meaningful overs between them, can they all play in the same ODI team?

    Possibly, but surely the best formula includes a batsman who can bowl at 6, an all-rounder at 7 and a bowler who can bat at 8? Out of the current squad Bopara, Patel and Woakes appear to fit the bill.

    The selectors have made a rod for their own backs by making Cook captain: he has to play every game. So back to the question, who will miss out?

  • Comment number 9.

    Despite their spectacular recent Test statistics, you can't play Cook, Trott and Bell in the same one-day side as they just don't have the firepower in this form of the game. Cook is obviously in there as captain, which is a good thing for the future of England's Test side at least, so it has to be a choice between the other two, and I think Trott has found his role as anchorman as long as there are attacking players at the other end. Bell on the other hand never seems to take control of a one-day innings and it would have been a brave but correct decision to leave him out in favour of trying out a young batsman. But they can't bring themselves to drop an "establishment" player who is in such impressive form in the longer game.

    There's one or two positives in there but not enough fresh faces, particularly in the batting where we really need to try something new, rather than just hoping either KP or Morgan comes off in terms of playing the game-changing innings while others just nudge it about at SR of 70 or 80.

  • Comment number 10.

    Cook and Trott should not be playing one-day cricket. They should be wrapped in cotton wool and only allowed to play Test and first-class matches. The success of the Test team is paramount.

  • Comment number 11.

    2. only one front line spinner against India and Sri Lanka?
    ..............................................................

    Could you explain the logic of playing more spinners against teams better at playing spin? Especially given both these teams have shown a weakness to the short ball. There's a reason India and Sri Lanka are peppered as soon as they leave their sanctuary's in the sub-continent.

  • Comment number 12.

    Maybe Kieswetter was included because he can open the batting? We've quite noticably struggled to find a stable opening partnership of late, so the selectors may have been thinking that him and Cook at the top of the order is worth a go. Otherwise a bit harsh on Davies. And with Kieswetter opening you can have someone like Bopara (Batsman who can bowl) at seven, giving you a nice long line-up of genuine batsmen.

    Bairstow is looking like a good prospect with the bat but he doesn't keep regularly for Yorkshire (Brophy is behind the stumps most of the time he's playing, leaving Bairstow languishing in the deep). A season or two more experience behind the stumps for him and we might be seeng the emergence of a very good wicket keeper-batsman.

    On the subject of Yorkshire boys, Shazad has been quite poor this year and probably shouldn't be in the squad on merit. Rashid has been excellent, opening the T20 bowling and chipping in with a few runs to boot. But then who would you drop if you included him?

  • Comment number 13.

    I completely agree with #9 in the sense that an ODI line up that includes Cook, Trott and Bell would never win a World Cup. They are all fine players and are currently not in doubt in the test arena but they are just not aggressive enough for the shorter format. As a Warwickshire fan (and a big fan of both players) I would chose Bell over Trott in this format any day as obviously Cook will play. I realise that the selectors want to give Cook international captaincy experience however I just don't see him as a one day opening batsman - I'd be happier with Strauss there.

    Kieswetter has had a good start to the summer as far as I've noticed so I'm pleased to see him get the nod - Prior has had many chances in ODI's, he is safe as houses in tests but has failed too often in the shorter format - maybe too mcuh was expected.

  • Comment number 14.

    Just wanted to say full-marks to Strauss for the Somerset idea and credit to Somerset for making it happen. It shows that Strauss is not going to go into denial about the perceived problem against left-armers. Interestingly, he'll benefit from time with his old partner Tresco. Didn't Tresco have a similar for a while?

    Nothing to do with ODI squad. Sorry.

  • Comment number 15.

    @14.

    Should've read:

    didn't Tresco have a problem with left-arm seamers? It seems to me that all left-handed batsmen would have a problem just on the angle.

  • Comment number 16.

    Dear nffc
    To suggest that Englands best all round batsman, who scores all around the wicket, and who can score at the pace required should not be in the team is beyond comprehension. Perhaps you haven't watched Bell bat in the past 12 months. He scores at test match pace when its required, or faster than a run a ball when targets need to be set. You must have been hibernating

  • Comment number 17.

    As Cook has to play, Trott must be dropped and Bell or Pietersen moved to three. You cannot drop Bell on current form. Big issue is getting bowlers that can slap it about a bit and score some runs down the order. Bresnan will be greatly missed in this regard. A very underrated player.

  • Comment number 18.

    @ FiveForOne

    Please inform me exactly when Bell has scored at faster than a run a ball. I assume you didn't watch the World Cup? Not disputing he should be in the team but only with bigger hitting, faster scoring batsmen around him (Hildreth, Hales, Stokes etc)

    @ R-Brooker

    By that logic, every right handed batsman should struggle against right handed bowling......

  • Comment number 19.

    To nffc

    I watched Bell score at more than a run a ball in Adelaide, 2nd innings at Lords and during the latter stages of his innings at Brisbane and Southampton.
    We could always opt for Bopara to score his 5 runs very quickly I suppose

  • Comment number 20.

    Of the games you mention he only scored at over a run a ball for the entire innings in one game. He should be doing this in almost every ODI. Bell has an ODI strike rate of 75. I'm not disputing his class and good form and I would keep in in the ODI side but stop placing unrealistic hopes on him. Tests nowadays are very very different to ODI's......

  • Comment number 21.

    @matt-h88

    Shahzad took all ten wickets today (?)
    Which squad is Ravi 'playing' in?' I'm amazed the run Broad is getting....

  • Comment number 22.

    @matt-h88

    I would add Solanki, ramprakash to the list. Any coach would tell you the role confidence plays in a player's development....talking up good performance and ignoring under-performance is key to nurturing a talent...asian players in england team face the opposite..but thats my personal view...

  • Comment number 23.

    Shahzad took 1-27 today, a decent return. I'm not saying I agree with his exclusion - he's a better one-day bowler than Finn and if Bopara is included despite his form, why not Shahzad? - but I can see the reasoning behind his exclusion.

    Hopefully Ravi won't be 'playing' in either squad - nothing to do with race, he's had over 80 internationals to show that he's good enough and he's only shown himself to be a nearly-man. And that's 80 internationals - so he's had plenty of confidence put in him and the selectors always focus on his few good innings.

    Solanki? Averaged a meagre 27 in over 50 ODI games. Showed promise with a couple of centuries but made too many low scores. He had his chances, plenty of them, so why should we have persevered further with him if he wasn't good enough.

    Ramprakash was given lots of opportunities. He played over 50 Test matches and in return only scored two centuries at an average of 27. Even taking into account the bowling of the 90s and the fact that he was messed around by the selectors, that is extremely poor. He's more comparable with Stuart Broad, who has 1 century and averages nearly 27 from 37 Tests, than other Test batsmen who played over 50 times.

    Speaking of Broad, had Bresnan not been injured and if Onions had more matches under his belt, he may well have been dropped for or during the Sri Lanka series because he was undercooked going into the series and it showed. But what is this "run" that you speak of? Three Test matches? Last summer he took plenty of wickets (helpful conditions and poor opponents yes, but he still took wickets) and only played 2 Tests in Australia where he bowled well for little reward, so until this series his Test match form was fine. Someone like Onions may well have been a better option for this series, but my point remains that 3 games is hardly a "run".

    England will pick who they think are the best players for the job and for the team. Stop looking to point the finger at others - if they are not good enough, not fit enough, not mentally strong enough etc, they are unlikely to be picked.

    As it is, England have selected Patel (not fit enough, although he has finally worked on this and shown enough improvement) and Bopara (very talented and therefore should be good enough, but doesn't back this up). Rashid continues to be very much in their thoughts, but they got excited too soon by him and, in consultation with Yorkshire, aren't going to take him away from Yorkshire to carry drinks (though they did miss a trick in not playing him in Bangladesh last year).

  • Comment number 24.

    I dont disagree with stats, and probably agree with your logic too..but having worked with talent and especially asians...I'm convinced there's more to it. but then you could be right!

  • Comment number 25.

    sorry I meant to say Saj mahmood not Shahzad took 10 wickets..

  • Comment number 26.

    it would be interesting if samit scored a century and took five-for,and the decided to start eating again!

  • Comment number 27.

    Trott dropped for Bell???? Ridiculous. Trott averages 55 to Bells's 35, he's scored 3 centuries to Bell's one and, believe it or not, his strike rate is 6 better than Bell's. He was also one of the top scorers in the world cup and has been our most consistent one day batsman for some time now. Bell has played 97 matches and for whatever reason, maybe because he's been moved up and down the order, maybe because he's unsure of his role, he has disappointed. He might be better this time around, but how can you justify dropping someone who has proven themselves for someone who has a relatively poor record?

    Our main problem is that we have been hamstrung by the selection of Cook as captain. Kieswetter will often be first wicket down, because he will be more aggressive. which means Cook and Trott will be batting together, probably during the powerplays. And this is all so Cook can be groomed as the next Test captain. Hope it's worth it.

  • Comment number 28.

    To me it seems England are in a position of Strength when it comes to batting. Yes we are now lumbered with Cook at the top of the order, and yes maybe Cook, Trott and Bell all score runs at one pace. But if we're going to have KP, Kieswetter and Morgan in the team then surely we need the insurance of three less aggressive Batsmen at the top of the their game to be on the safe side if the three more aggressive batsmen fall for nothing that is always a possibility. A team cannot have a batting line up completely made up of aggressive batsmen it wouldn't be stable enough as one week they could score over 300 runs then the next be out for about a 100.

    And to those who are calling for Trott to be dropped, how can anyone really call for Trott to be dropped when he is currently the only English Batsmen in the Top Ten Batsmen in ODIs Currently. Seems a little bit silly.

    Also to those who have been saying Bell is unable to score quickly enough can I point you in the direction of the tied match against India in the last world cup. While Strauss led the team he was assisted by Bell who scored 69 of 71 balls.

  • Comment number 29.

    Would it be (a) wrong (b) madness or (c) plainly against the rules to select two players that are batsmen/wicket keepers? As if you could you could change who you wanted behind the stumps to suit (within reason) the player you've got in front of the stumps and if you can do so then you can allow for the tiredness that comes about from playing keeper in the shorter format of the game where you know you need to take every chance rather than 1-in-4 chances.

  • Comment number 30.

    England have the pool from players to choose from to groom and fashion a powerful one-day squad capable of beating anyone.

    The ICC is meeting in Hong Kong shortly to discuss changes to the game, including ODIs...some are interesting...like removing bowlers over restrictions.

    May they (ICC) encourage, not discourage, this great game around the world.

    Expansion; not contraction ... keep 2015 in mind!

    And may England rise to the top to once again lead the charge to spread the great game she invented centuries ago!

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