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

Is this the end of the road for Paul Collingwood?

Paul Collingwood has long been a staple of England’s cricket team. He holds the record for one-day international appearances in an England shirt, and only last year he captained the Twenty20 side to World Cup glory.

However, after retiring from test cricket at the end of the Ashes, he was left out of the team for the first one-day international against Australia in Melbourne. His recent poor form may mean there is no way back for the man who still holds the record for the best all-round one-day international performance.

Collingwood is no stranger to being on the brink of being discarded by the national team, but every time he has find a way to persuade the selectors to stick with him, mostly by scoring great centuries or picking up a crucial wicket. His fielding has also set the standard for the modern-day England team, with some of his memorable catches his main legacy.

Collingwood had a poor Ashes series to say the least, and his retirement at the end of the Sydney test match only seemed to spare him from being dropped. However, when this form carried on into the two Twenty20 international, the England selectors have found themselves with no option but to leave him out.

Collingwood's poor Ashes series led to his retirement after the
Sydney test

With only six matches left in the series, he may not have the chance to prove his worth ahead of February’s World Cup. England’s middle order looks very strong, with Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan looking as if they will be very difficult to dislodge when it comes down to their batting compared with Collingwood’s, especially on recent form.

However, after defeat in Melbourne, many commentators have said Collingwood’s medium pace may have come in handy, as England’s five frontline bowlers struggled under the floodlights. James Anderson and Stuart Broad should be back for the World Cup though, and this should strengthen the bowling attack, leaving Collingwood even more out in the cold.

It remains to be seen whether Paul Collingwood will be given the chance to represent his country in the forthcoming World Cup, but seeing him on the podium as part of a winning England team would be a great way for him to bow out of international cricket. 

This article can also be found at worldcricketwatch.com

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: All Rounder

Now that England's one-day series in Bangladesh has finished (with England winning 3-0), the nation's once ridiculed side is threatening to look like a professional outfit.


The omission of key players such as captain Andrew Strauss and premier bowler James Anderson has given opportunities to new candidates to be part of the team at the World Cup in 2011.

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

All Rounder

The position of all-rounder in the England side is a position which many of the current players could easily claim. However, the likes of Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan should be classed as 'bowlers who can bat' as appose to full blown all-rounders.

That therefore leaves two main candidates: Luke Wright & Andrew Flintoff.

Wright is currently the man in possession of the position, and his selection in recent Test squads strikes me that he maybe the selectors choice for the long-term successor to Freddie. His swashbuckling style of batting and 85-90mph bowling would make him seem like the ready made replacement.

However, his batting is inconsistent and he is not getting enough overs with the ball (this was especially evident in Bangladesh where he bowled a total of 12 overs in 3 games). The bowling is the main worry, as a replacement for Flintoff would have to step up and cover the amount of overs he bowled. Instead, the likes of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen are having to fill these overs.

All this means that the door is by no means closed for Freddie. No one will ever doubt his ability, and especially his bowling, in the 50-over format of the game. However the fitness and speediness of his recovery from his latest operation means that he will have to do a lot for Lancashire over the summer to prove he is a gamble worth taking.

The debate regarding Freddie could be compared to that which is taking place at the moment surrounding David Beckham. There is no doubt both are extremely talented and are legends of the game. The question that remains is "Is there a better, younger replacement?"

In Freddie's case, there probably isn't.

England's One Day Side: The Middle Order

Now that England's one-day series against Bangladesh has been decided (despite the third match taking place this Friday), the nations 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 Middle Order

When asked, many England fans would probably say that their sides middle order in the 50-over format of the game is now set in stone.

Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan have all staked a claim that they should be in England's first-choice middle order, and most cricket followers would struggle to argue against their inclusion.

Dublin-born Morgan is now seen as the first name on any England limited overs team sheet. His fantastic timing and power mixed in with some audacious reverse sweeps and cheeky flicks mean that he is the perfect modern-day 50 overs batsman. His match winning innings in the 2nd ODI was one of the all time greats, with the huge six over the leg side to finish the game a fine example of what he is all about.

Collingwood has also cemented his place in the side due to him mixing his raw talent and grit with a consistency, that was majorly lacking in his early international career. Add to that his fantastic fielding and more than useful medium pace and Colly rates up there as one of the top one-day players in the world.

The case of Pietersen is an entirely different one. Ever since he returned from the Achilles injury that ruled him out of the final three Ashes tests he has looked an entirely different batsman, one who is deprived of confidence and the swagger that used to accompany him whenever he was at the crease. Despite looking like he might be back to his best in the recent Twenty20 games in the United Arab Emirates, his total lack of form in both South Africa and now in Bangladesh must have the selectors scratching their heads.

So who else is there who could either replace or deputise for these three. Many of the other options are from the "Been there, tried them, dispensed with" school, with Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and Robert Key being the most obvious names. Bopara's well documented Ashes failure has meant he has fallen of the radar, whilst even a match winning knock against South Africa in the Champion's Trophy wasn't enough to save Shah from the chop. Key, on the other hand, hasn't been given much of an opportunity to impress for the Three Lions, with his only match since 2005 being that infamous defeat to The Netherlands at Lords last summer.

So if not the tried and tested, who else is there to possibly take up the mantle. Current Lions and Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale did not cover himself in glory during the Lions' recent winter tour, and would have to play out of his skin to get a seat on the plane. However, Leicestershire's 20-year old James Taylor did have a productive tour, and after an excellent 2009, a good summer could see him banging on the door.