Given Prior Thought?

Taken from Swinging Balls Magazine, published 31/07/2011

The make-up of England’s test team over the last few years has been a topic of much debate. Despite a winning streak that could see them rise to the top of the test match rankings by the end of the summer, cricket writers and pundits have repeatedly asked the question as to whether playing only four bowlers is the best way to go as they look to bowl sides out twice on hard, flat wickets.

Prior has been in imperious form,
and could hold the key to England's
problematic number six position

The man who could hold the key to a change in the line-up is Matt Prior. The wicket-keeper has been in imperious form over the past 18 months with both bat in hand and behind the stumps. His century in the first test against India was one of his best and he is now arguably the world’s best in his position in five-day cricket.

From 44 matches, the Sussex man averages over 45 with the bat, and has gone past fifty on 23 occasions. Not many middle-order batsmen have records that equal that, never mind those that bat at number seven.

When you compare Prior’s statistics with those of the current holder of the number six position, Eoin Morgan, then it makes grim reading for the Dublin-born left hander. He has passed fifty only three times in his 14 test innings (prior to the second test at Trent Bridge), and has only reached 20 on a total of five occasions.

Many would ask why the England selectors would want to tinker with a formula that has been so successful, but with Prior in the form that he is, the selectors and Andrew Strauss will have undoubtedly thought about moving the stumper one place up the order.

Some may question whether playing only six recognised batsmen may leave them short in the runs department, but with a lower order that would most probably consist of Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann, then that may not be the case.

Between the three of them they have gone past the half-century mark 14 times, and Broad especially is looking more and more like an international all-rounder with every match he plays. With the addition of an extra bowler, it could be argued that the England team would have all bases covered.

I, like many others, are fans of Morgan in the limited overs sides, but whether he can adapt his game for the test match arena is yet to be seen, and if England feel the same, the form of Prior means that they have the flexibility to change the way in which they line-up.

England's opening dilemma

After Kevin Pietersen's good start to life as an opening batsman, many thought that England had finally found a someone to partner Andrew Strauss at the top of the order.

However, a hernia injury means Pietersen has had to travel back to London for surgery, with Eoin Morgan being called up in his place. The selection of the Irish-born Morgan shows that England are going to have to find a new opener within their current World Cup Squad, with none of the other fourteen players being genuine opening batsmen.

Pietersen's 59 against Ireland showed he may be able to open
for England in future years

Who will England now turn to? Andy Flower has revealed he knows who will open in against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Friday, but also said they may review the position on a game-by-game basis. 

So who are the main contenders....

Ian Bell. Bell has previously opened in One-Day Internationals, and many people asked before the tournament began whether he would partner Strauss. He averages 33.33 from his 26 innings' as an opener in ODI's, but the last time he featured at the top of the order was in 2008. His style of play suits batting in the powerplays as he looks to pierce the gaps and play his shots, and he could prove the perfect foil to Strauss, who has been England's most aggressive batsman thus far.

Ravi Bopara. Bopara's impressive innings against South Africa should have made the selectors sit up and realise that the Essex man is, on current form, a much better man to have in the middle-order than Paul Collingwood. However, after Pietersen's injury, they may again have to move Bopara from a position he looks comfortable in. He has previously opened in ODI's, and averages less than 30 from his fourteen innings', with only one half-century. Despite having the experience, the selectors would face some criticism if Bopara were to find himself opening again, as his batting style and ability to hit over the top would be much better suited to the middle and late overs.

Bopara's innings against South Africa may have assured him
a place in the side for the rest of the tournament.

Matt Prior. Prior is another of England's middle-order who has experience of opening the batting, most recently in the seven-match series against Australia. However, from his 32 innings' he only averages 24.2. Since Morgan's injury, he has been batting in the number 6 position and has been enlisted as 'the finisher'. However, with Morgan back in the side he may not be needed to fill this role, and this could see England revert to having their wicket-keeper doubling up as their opening batsmen.

Luke Wright. It would be a massive shock if Wright was handed the role of opener for the remainder of the World Cup, especially since in his six previous innings at the top of the order in ODI's he has only mustered 107 runs. However, the selectors seem to feel he has something to offer the squad, and stranger things have happened...

In my opinion, Ian Bell is the best candidate to partner Strauss at the top of the innings. However, it would come as shock if England's selectors went with Matt Prior, as it would open up the finisher role for Morgan to come into, whilst not disrupting the middle-order.

This article can also be found at worldcricketwatch.com and sportsvoice.co.uk

JN2053 Skills Tests: Data

Last night, the Ashes began in Australia. Many see this serries as England's best chance in years to retain the urn down under, with the majority of supporters and commentators happy with the team the selectors have chosen.

However, having looked at the batting averages of England's top six batsmen in the 2010 County Championship, many might question their credentials.

In this graph I have taken the batsmen with the highest batting average from each county in Division One of the county championship. To make the graph fair, I placed a restriction on that the batsman must have batted 15 times to qualify. I did this as otherwise there may have been some anomalies.

On the right hand side of the graph I have shown the batting averages of England's top six batsmen, which are generally lower than those who do not play in the national side.

Despite the England players having such low averages, I believe they are the right men to lead the country in the Ashes. The likes of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen (who have the two lowest averages on the graph) had their county seasons somewhat curtailed due to injuries and international commitments, and this is reflected in their averages.

The data used for this chart can be accessed here-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/sep/21/county-championship-batting-bowling-averages

England's One-Day Side: The Openers

Now that England's one-day series against Bangladesh has been decided (despite the third match taking place this Friday), the nation's once ridiculed side is now looking like a professional outfit.

The omission of key players such as captain Andrew Strauss and premier bowler James Anderson has given opportunity to others to stake a claim ahead of the World Cup in 2011.

However, these new candidates to be on the plane to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will no doubt pose the selectors no end of new problems.

The Openers

The position of opener looks like it will be two from five, with Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook being in pole position.

After being installed as one-day skipper, it seems as if Strauss, who is also currently England's best batsman, will be the man tasked with leading the team to World Cup glory. Therefore it would be safe to presume that his place is secure.

Cook looks the most likely to join his skipper, with his one-day game now seriously improved since his early international career; his two quickfire half-centuries in Bangladesh are a fine example of this. His current one-day average of just over 33 will need some improvement, but the changes he has made to his game should land him in good stead as he presses his claim.

Craig Kieswetter is the man who is currently in occupation of the openers role, but his two failures in his maiden one-day series mean that he has a lot of work to do to prove he is up to the task of seeing off the white ball in the 50-over format as well as in Twenty20's.

Other candidates for the role include Jonathan Trott, whose Ashes winning century seems longer than just 7 months ago and Joe Denly, whose constant failures in the Three Lions shirt have finally worn thin with the selectors.

Outsiders such as Michael Lumb, who seems destined to open the batting at the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, and Ian Bell, a former England opener who hasn't played a 50 over game for his country since November 2008 in Zimbabwe, have just over a year to impress the selectors, but both face an uphill struggle.