大象传媒

Why is it we continue to give the Shermanator chance after chance in our test team. His average is hugely inflated by runs against the minnows of test match cricket and I just don't trust him to stave off the australian barrage over the winter, both verbal and well aimed bouncers. Having said all that I'm not sure who would come in to replace him. Bopara has shown himself to be equally as shaky against the very best. At the moment we've got one top quality player in Pieterson and 4 decent batters in Strauss, Colly, Trott and Prior. Somehow we have to find two batsmen.

Pieterson if far far from top quality in a far worse stae than COOK and for far longer. At least Cook is playing wellfor Essex we have no judge of how Pieterson is doing just his failures at England level.
Colly is just as falable as anyone. As a batsman I would put Bell before Prior or Colly.
You have to look at the top six as a unit when some fail others step up all this this guy is better than this guy is turning cricket into Soccer where only the guy that scores plays a part. This team has my faith it can do the job down under. If they were playing too well I would be worried they would be burnt out by the Ashes we do not need that.

The ICC rankings right now are simply bizarre. Michael Clarke at 3? Based on how he's batted during his spell in England in both Tests and ODI matches, you have to laugh at him being ahead of Tendulkar. A better way of judging a side would be a look at their current lineups and the average ranking.

Katich 3
Watson 38
Ponting 18
Hussey 24
Clarke 9
North 48

Average rank: (140/6) = 23.33

Strauss 21
Cook 33
Trott 32
Pietersen 20
Collingwood 23
Morgan 57

Average: (186/6) = 31.0

That might look significant but the statistics don't tell the whole story. The batsmen have had two series against Bangladesh in quick succession so haven't played a high batting points ranking series for a while (you don't get much acclaim for bashing the Bangla boys around with the bat. Trott didn't get much of a rankings boost for a double century but Tamim Iqbal went right up). Eoin Morgan's ranking will surely go up.
Both sides are fairly equal. Each has a big gun (Ponting and Pietersen) out of form. Each side has a secure opener (Katich and Strauss) and one who questions still get asked (Cook obviously, Watson despite his success still gets talked about as someone to go down the order so Phil Hughes could possibly come in). Hussey and Collingwood are both dogged players. If Clarke holds the edge over Trott, then Morgan does over North who looks like the proverbial walking wicket at the minute.

The rankings are all over the shoot as we have so many teams in a state of flux. Australia don't have a regular bowling unit. Pakistan have batsmen in and out. Many sides have had serious injury problems, like the Indians with their bowlers. Greats like Murali have left the game. It's making for some fun cricket but no team wants to take on the mantle of being the best outright.

Oliver, can you do me a special request? If you're covering the next Test, can you find out what the correct spelling of Mohammed Aamir's name is? Cricinfo has him down as Amir, the 大象传媒 and Wikipedia have him down as Aamer, and the Sun website has him down as Aamir.

England's batting is certainly a concern, Cook, as good a player as he is, is woefully short of confidence and runs, and is a worry; perhaps it's now too late to look at another opener before Brisbane? Pietersen, is, sadly not a great player, just a very good player, and his stats prove that; he averages under 50 - name me another "great player" who shares this stat in the present day climate of batting friendly test cricket.

Colly is mentally very tough, but is limited in his abilty and Bell, for all his talent is too fragile to succeed at test level - it's a shame you cannot splice Bell and Colly together, what a good player that would make.

Morgan looks good but it is very early in his career to pass judgement, so too Trott, was found out in South Africa a little bit, but certainly seems to have the concentration and right mental attitude to play test cricket. As with Morgan, we will have to wait and see. Which leaves Struass as the only player, in the top 6, who is not a concern - a class act and I firmly believe that it he, who needs to have a succeful series if we are to retain The Ashes.

i wouldnt say that Trott is mr dependable now..

I recently heard one of the skysports team (I think Bob Willis) say that Trott's place would always be under threat due to his ability being completely 'learnt, and not natural', unlike, for example, Bell and Bopara.
I feel this opinion is both unjustified and ignorant of the fact that the team put out should be the best for winning the match, and not best for, say, the highlights reel.

Personally, I do not even completely agree with the 'stylish batsman' moniker given to Bell and Bopara over others. Collingwood, characterised as a 'gritty', untalented batsman that some seem to be repulsed at having to watch, does in fact play more shots than a shovel to midwicket that many commentators seem to suggest, and Trott is as sweet a timer of a cover drive as many other England number 3s have been through the years.

However, this is beside the point. 'Class' comes in many forms, and will usually win out over form, as the old saying goes. Class, for me, does not just mean a natural talent to wield the willow, but the whole mental and physical package (something Bopara/Pietersen and Samit Patel respectively could perhaps consider). Mentally, Cook seems to have the strength and relaxed attitude required, and so is worth his place in the team, even though I am a big Michael Carberry fan.

And what happens when Bell is fit? It's that close, perhaps its why they've hired Buchanan, just to find out who gives the Aussies the biggest scare by being in the team!

"Pieterson if far far from top quality"

Based on current form, yes. But still averaging a shade under 40 this year. So in poor form he still manages to average only a little under what most of the rest of our batsmen average over their whole career.

"At least Cook is playing wellfor Essex"

And you base that on what exactly? A decent cameo in the T20 semi final, where he managed to get himself out once again?

AtleticoAguero:

"I recently heard one of the skysports team (I think Bob Willis) say that Trott's place would always be under threat due to his ability being completely 'learnt, and not natural', unlike, for example, Bell and Bopara."


Did Bob really say that? If he did then that is absurd coming from a guy who played at the same time as Boycott. The simple reply would be 'How many Ashes centuries have the naturally talented Bell and Bopara scored'? Trott may not be the most talented man around but neither is a guy like Graeme Smith, and he'd stroll into our side ahead of Cook at the minute at the top of the order.

#1 - It's beacuse he's one of the best half a dozen batters available to England. Flower & Co, see his talent, and thus put faith in him. They've been repaid, eg in South Africa.

I'm not too concerned about the batting, there's enough talent for Flower. I can see the quicks being impotent in OZ, hopefully Saker will get the best out of them.

cook is a fantastic player with a goo future ahead of him. he should be given a chance to regain his from and get him ready for the ahes down under. if his poor form continues the likely move is trott to open and then themiddle order would be strenghtened with bell and morgan supoorting collingwood and pietersen...

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I've been impressed with Trott ever since he made his Test debut; anyone who scores a ton against the Aussies is alright with me. I think it is right the selectors have stuck with Cook for now but if he doesn't score any runs in the last 2 Tests my Top 6 for Brisbane would be the following...

Strauss
Trott
Bell
Pietersen
Collingwood
Morgan

Trott has the temperment to open the innings; he could bat all day. As far No.3, I feel Bell has shown in the last 12 months against South Africa, who we must not forget are ranked higher than Australia, that he can stand up to a top attack.

Plus Australia have no Warne or McGrath this time, yipee!!!

First things first though: beat Pakistan 4-0, be ruthless.

I get a bit fed up with people (including Jonathan Agnew) saying Pieterson is not a great player. Whilst he is far from perfect and has gone through a terrible run of form, he still averages nearly 50,(look at all the 'great' players who have averaged less for England), he has got 16 hundreds (so needs another 8 to have scored the most 100 hundreds by any English batsmen)and he is the one batsmen who I make sure I do not miss whenever England are playing!Apart from that he should be knighted for his 158 at The Oval 2005, if he never achieves anything else we will always be in his debt for him standing up to the aussies when England were crumbling, showing guts and playing breathtaking shots that no other England player could have done and winning us the Ashes!

If we are going to have Trott opening in November it would be sensible to show some foresight and give him a chance now, to see how he takes to it?

Trott is a key man in the England set-up as they prepare to defend the forthcoming Ashes Down Under this winter.

But a comprehensive all-round team effort will be required in order to accomplish this. Cook is likely to come into prominence as he tries to regain confidence in the selectors and the fans. Or this tour could very well be his swan song.


England to take the Urn 2-1.

I really don't think there's too much to worry about with England's current batting resources. The selectors clearly think (and I agree) that our best 7 batsmen are the current 6 plus Bell when he recovers. I'm sure those are the 7 that will be on the plane to Australia, and then (thank God!) there are three practice matches to acclimatize and decide which of the 7 sits out at Brisbane. (And Bopara is not a bad 8th choice either.)

Despite what some have suggested, Trott shouldn't open. Just because he's doing well at 3 and generally coming to the crease quite early due to Cook getting out, doesn't mean he should just move up. He's doing well there so let's keep him there.

I think Cook will do better in Australia - it seems he struggles against swing more than anything else, and so his footwork is being exposed. Aus will be different. If anyone were to come in, I'd like to see Carberry who's in good form and should be next in line. But they'd have to get him in at Lords. Let's hope Cook scores at the Oval.

Whatever happens, let's not get Bell in. Please. He'll get undone against the Aussies, like he does against most good opposition. He isn't up to it. Although I wouldn't mind being proved wrong...

"...if you had to pick a cricketer to redo your pointing you could surely rely on Jonathan Trott to do a professional job."

Sorry, but it'd be Andy Caddick for me any day of the week.

Besides that, I'd like to see Carberry open. What will we learn about Cook if he makes a couple of decent scores in the next two tests? That he can play on a batting track? Cook has never performed consistently against Australia and his weakness to the ball coming across him will be harshly exposed down under.

Would like to have seen Carberry given a run by now. Came in for Strauss and performed respectably, but has continued to demonstrate potential. If Cook has a couple of dodgy innings then we'll likely end up throwing Carberry in for the 1st Test. Not ideal. Disagree with howlingbell above as well. Drop Cook from the Ashes squad and bring in Bell and Carberry.

Re the Oz batsmen: I'm not convinced that they are better technically than our batting line-up and I believe that we have more runs in our tail, however I think their mentality at the crease is far superior to ours. As is always the case, both sets of batsmen will get out to a jaffa but on favourable pitches, I think the Aussies are far less likely to give their wickets away. The concentration of players like Clarke, Katich and North isn't matched by anyone in the England line-up, although Strauss and Trott come close. If Ponting is back on his game then I'd expect real trouble.

Again, I think that the key will be Swann. After 10 or so overs I think he'll be our only bowler with the ability to consistently deliver wicket-taking balls. On a positive note, I think he has the character to thrive in Australia. Can imagine him loving the banter/abuse and raising his game accordingly.

Does nobody think we should have five bowlers in Oz? I would like to see Shahzad in the team, which means Prior has to act as the all rounder and bat 6. If we want to win tests you have to bowl the other side out. Unfortunate for Morgan, who i think has a fine international future ahead of him, but probably ultimately as replacement for Colly. I would have rested Cook for the next two tests, given Carberry a chance, but I would still take Cook to Oz. Ultimately, Cook and Strauss have scored a lot of runs together and I would just have given Cook a chance to go and get his feet moving in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Cook I don't think is the most talented of batsmen but what really impresses me is how he grinds his runs out. Yes he's had a poor season but he's had that before, works on his technique and comes back stronger. I agree with Deep-Heat that he has an issue with the ball coming across his, but this is generally due to swing which is nowhere near as pronounced in Australia. Plus the Aussies no longer have the type of bowler like McGrath who can probe this weakness constantly. I think Cook will work hard between now and the Ashes and score at least one ton down under

Trott needs to score well in the next two games before I would have total confidence in him. Though I think his ability to get himself in a bubble will be important in Australia as we are sure to be up against it at some point.

Strauss scoring well would be excellent too as the captain is under great pressure in Australia, he will be targeted. If the team see him going out and hitting 50+ then it will breed confidence.

The trickiest thing might be squeezing Bell, Colly and Morgan into 2 places.

Why has there been no mention of Adam Lyth at Yorkshire as a possible opener in place of Cook? Cook himself was introduced at an even younger age than Lyth. Given how prolific he has been in the County Championship this year surely he should be getting more of a mention?

Frankly England's batting line-up in general concerns me at the moment, and as good as the bowling has been, unless our batsmen get their act together then we are going to struggle down under.
Cook needs runs at the Oval, otherwise I think it is best for him and the team if he is left out at Lords and given time to go back to Essex to try and find some form. If he can then he could still go with the squad down under, because if he is playing at his hard-working, focused best then he is a real asset for England, and one to frustrate the Aussies.
There are problems beyond his over-publicised difficulties though. Our two best batsmen, Strauss and Pietersen, are both having poor summers, both with just one very lucky 50 each in this series. Morgan is still yet to silence the doubts over his record in first-class cricket, Bell, despite his fine form against the Aussies last summer, in South Africa and Bangladesh over the winter, will be returning from injury and could be rusty, while Bopara is about as mercurial as they come...
If someone like Carberry (my personal choice if Cook does fail at the Oval) or Lyth come in then it needs to be done soon. The batting line up needs to be settled in Australia, even if the summer has not been that productive... so the management have to have a clear contingency for the Ashes if they decide they don't have confidence in the current line-up to get the necessary runs...

2. At 5:57pm on 16 Aug 2010, Rulechangecrazy wrote:
...You have to look at the top six as a unit when some fail others step up all this this guy is better than this guy is turning cricket into Soccer where only the guy that scores plays a part... ===================================================================
This has to be the most stupid post I've read. The poster seems to think that:

Football is not a team game because only 1 person scores a goal (?!?!?!)

Cricket is a team game, despite all the batsmen having their individual scores (a reasonable measure of performance) (?!?!?!)

Only an upper-class twit could come up with this nonsense so I think I'll just move on...

Anyways, I think Cook will struggle in Oz. There seems to be perceived collective wisdom that he "only struggles against swing". nonsense. he struggles with anything on or around a good length, unless the ofrmat of the game (i.e. limited overs) allows him to try and pull. The aussies know this and wikll target him.

Bell will also come in for a peppering - perhaps he deserves his chance but the fact is that at the moment there are a lot of questions over the batting line-up.

Given this, I think we need 6 batters. 4,5,6 is Pieterson, Morgan, Collingwood (for me, I know 4 and 5 are currently the other way around) and 1,2,3 should be Strauss, Carberry and Trott. I'd have Bopara and Bell as spare batters and leave Cook at home.

A lot will depend on the next test - and I'm goiong on Friday ;-)

my gut feeling is england is going to beat Australia in the comming ashes" and i wish them good luck.England have the best bowling line in the world and one of the best batting line ups so watc out Australia.

Having just witnessed yet another batting collapse at the Oval today English batting frailities are clearly the most worrying aspect on the eve of the Aussie tour. If one looks at the 6 innings to date against Pakistan and you take out the rare big knocks - Morgan and Colly's 200 plus partnership in the 1st test; Priors 102 in the 2nd; Pietersen's 80 and Trott's 55 also in the 2nd and in the 3rd, Prior's 84 in the 1st innings and Cook's welcome 110 today England's average per wicket is a staggeringly low 12.54 runs - 552 runs for 44 wickets. Trott was pilloried for his 210 minute innings today but that's where the English game has gone so badly wrong, especially at Test level. An inability to apply and concentrate. The run rate was not the issue today - we needed occupation of the crease. Too much one day and 20/20 - the art of real test batmanship is in serious danger of being lost for good.

Centurion Jonathan Trott is playing marvellous cricket. Hats off to him and to fellow centurion Broad. The two have rescued their side from danger with that massive unbeaten partnership for the 8th wicket. Trott is indeed a very very dependable guy for his side. Bowling allrounder Broad is a match saver and a match winner too.



Dr. Cajetan Coelho

Today Jonathan Trott made again a score of over 50 in a one day international. The commentator on Sky described his dismissal as "dosey" whatever that is supposed to mean.Again there were various comments about his ball preparation and scoring rate in the match.All these comments in one way or another underscore a certain element of negativity towards his batting skills amongst certain commentators.I would really like to know why this is so.Trott is clearly a test match batsman of quality so who cares if he takes his guard more often or takes more time than other players.If he annoys the opposition in so doing -good.Is it because he was born in South Africa or is it jealousy because his technique and test match batting is so much better than those commentating on him.I remember as a youngster watching another player who came in for such criticism-too slow and too defensive.Perhaps present day commentators remember him too-Geoff Boycott. Boycott was sacked from the England team for scoring too slowly and came into his share of negativity from commentators and press for playing so called unattractive cricket.
I think many of the commentators today ,who happen to be former test players ,should look at their own batting averages and performances in the test match arena before they give thier opinions on Trott's batsmanship.