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.

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

Who should be lining up for England in the 2014-15 Ashes?

Following Matthew Wood and Ben Roberts’ discussion regarding who should feature in the Australian side for the 2014-15 Ashes, I thought it only fair to give them some opponents, and draw out my own England side for four years time.

Opening the batting in my side is current vice-captain Alastair Cook, who, despite questions surrounding his technique, has managed to keep his place in the side. Given the ECB’s recent policy of simply picking the most experienced player in the squad to be skipper, the Essex man also gets the nod as captain.

Alongside the skipper is Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth, who is already showing great promise despite only having two full seasons in first-class cricket. After becoming the first man to reach 1000 runs in 2010 County Championship, he is well and truly on the national selector’s radar. He will also be 27 by 2014, and in the prime of his cricketing career, giving him more than a good chance of facing the Aussies in four years.

At three I have chosen Ian Bell, who will still only be 32 come 2014. Despite not having the best record against Australia, he seems to be now eventually becoming a quality international batsman, and by the time he reaches his 30’s he has every chance of being in the top 10 test match batsmen in the world.

James Taylor is my choice at number four. He currently averages over 45 in first-class cricket, and at only 20, he is one of the brightest prospects in English cricket. He has already impressed in the England Lions side and if he continues his good form should be one of the most exciting young batsmen in world cricket by the time 2014 comes round.

Eoin Morgan takes his place in the team at number five. His innovative style of batting has catapulted him into the limelight, and it won’t be long before he begins stamping his authority on the test match stage. At 28, he will be another who should be in the prime of his cricketing career, and he has every chance of being the man the Australians most fear come 2014.

At six I have gone for the slightly controversial choice of Ravi Bopara. Many Australians would be rubbing their hands with glee at the sight of Ravi walking to the crease, but I feel in four years time he will have matured and be more consistently showing the form he showed against the West Indies in the summer of 2009. Also, batting at six should give him slightly more freedom, instead of having to come in when the pressure is on after the first wicket.

England’s wicket keeping position is always up for much debate, but I have gone with Steven Davies to fill the position by the time 2014 comes around. He has established himself in the one-day side after some good performance against an admittedly downhearted Pakistan side, and the fact he has been taken to Australia this year as back-up for Matt Prior shows that he is very much the man the selectors see as Prior’s long-term replacement.

As much as I would love to put Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid in my side, I am going to instead going to give Graeme Swann one final ‘Swann-song ‘ (sorry) and choose him in my side. He will be 35 by 2014 and most probably coming to the end of his career, but spinners always seem to get better with age, and I believe Swann will be no different.

England’s seam department should be fairly similar to what it is now, with Stuart Broad and Steven Finn both looking likely to be top quality international bowlers, whilst with their height they should both do well in Australia. 

The third seamer position goes to Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes, who at 21 is the best young seamer in England at the moment, having already recorded to eight five-wicket hauls in his already short career.

As seems the way, England’s squad usually consists of 16 players, and therefore I have chosen Adil Rashid, Yorkshire’s Jonathan Bairstow (back-up wicket keeper), Hampshire’s Jimmy Adams, Durham’s Ben Stokes and Jonathan Trott, who could very well get a chance in the side if the pressure gets to the likes of Taylor or Bopara.

So there it is, a fine side if I do say it myself. Some familiar names, but also some exciting new faces. I look forward to looking back at this in four years time and giving myself a pat on the back, or most probably asking myself what was I thinking. 

This article can be found at worldcricketwatch.com

England's One Day Side: The Seamers

Now that England's one-day series against Bangladesh has drawn to a close (with England recording a 3-0 victory), the nation's once ridiculed side is now threatening to become 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

The Seamers

England's seam department is easily the most keenly contested, whilst also being one that causes the most debate. The sheer amount of possible seam bowlers means that the selectors will have the most difficult of all their jobs to select the three best.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad are believed to be England's first choice, and both would be very unfortunate to miss out on a place in the XI.

Anderson, on his day, is England's best bowler, matching wicket taking deliveries with consistent, economic spells. However, many England fans believe that he only becomes this bowler when the conditions suit, with his ability to swing the ball both ways a massive part of his armory.


It would also be hard for the selectors to overlook Broad's ability in the 50-over format, due to him being, like Anderson, a very economical bowler with both new and old ball, whilst having the ability to take key wickets. His ever-improving lower order batsman also means that the team's batting order can be lengthened more than most other sides.


So with Anderson and Broad almost guaranteed a place in the side, who will fill the position of third seamer?

Three Yorkshiremen are the main contenders for this berth.

Tim Bresnan now has 21 ODI caps and is slowly becoming an England regular in the shorter formats of the game. His form for Yorkshire with both bat and ball alerted the selectors to his talent, and his 4-wickets in the final one-day game in Bangladesh gave a timely reminder of his potential on the international stage.

Ryan Sidebottom is an interesting bowler. Since his return to the international set-up, the fiery haired son of one-test wonder Arnie has seen his form dip. Despite this, he still seems to be selected for crunch matches, most notably the final test of the recent series in South Africa. A further problem with the left-armer is he is prone to injury, illustrated perfectly by his early departure from the tour of Bangladesh.


Completing the trio of white-rose born internationals is Ajmal Shahzad, who is currently on his first senior England tour. His appearance in the final ODI showed some glimpses of what he can do, the dismissal of dangerman Tamim Iqbal with only his third ball was a good example of this.

There are plenty of other bowlers who could challenge for a place in the side. Liam Plunkett is seems to be back in the selector's mindset, Graham Onions has done well in his limited one-day outings, whilst it is yet to be seen how Steven Finn performs on the international stage.

All we do know is that the selectors will face some tough decisions come 2011.