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[tim2000s]

Wasn't that Johnny Briggs?

You may very well be right, but the wine says that it sounds like his younger brother so the logic still applies

[ProCricketer1982]

Patel's first class averages -
 Batting: 38.98
 Bowling: 39.33

Briggs' first class averages -
Batting: 10.08 (Not a surprise)
Bowling: 32.66

Patel's test averages -
Batting: 15.57
Bowling: 64.25

Do we (as in qualified for England!) have any under 21 batsmen averaging 40+ in County Cricket currently? Or any bowlers averaging <25 ??

[jw17]

Here is a few County Championship Div 1 averages for 2012.

Alex Hales - 34.65
RHB - 37.00
Luke Wells 37.53
James Taylor - 32.00
Rory Burns - 42.67
Varun Chopra - 41.12

All played at least 8 games.

Varun Chopra gets no where near the respect he deserves, fantastic batsman and amazing hands at first slip.

[potzy248]

hasn't rained in two months, Most of the country is in a a drought. Schedule a test, and the heavens open up.

[Manormanic]

England's next spinner - I would say for Test cricket it will be one of Kerrigan, Rafiq and Rashid.  Yes, Rashid - he's had a poor couple of years, not helped by being so shabbily treated when he was with England last, but the sheer weight of talent will come through in the end (and aside from any other concern, a front line spinner who is great in the field and good enough to bat seven is worth a punt any day).

Briggs is more of a one day option, Borthwick.....maybe one day, but I just can't quite see it at the moment.

[Binsy]

Varun Chopra gets no where near the respect he deserves, fantastic batsman and amazing hands at first slip.

Completely agree - 2 consecutive 1000+ runs seasons and sometimes holds the Warwickshire batting line up together on his own. Great slipper also. Make struggle to break in now with Compton in and Root pencilled in next, but a fine batsmen and still relatively young.

[Manormanic]

Chopra is an odd one - he's had talent for years but only in the last two years has he made anything like the runs he would have been expected to.  Is he test class?  Is he better than James Hildreth, Adam Lyth, James Taylor, Alex Hales et al?

[PedalsMcgrew]

As Manormaniac mentions why does no one talk about Alex Hales for the Test (or even just ODI) side? Has he already been consigned to the role of T20 specialist at the age of 24? Bearing in mind some of his performances in an England shirt he obviously has the temperament for it and I would suggest the ability too.......

Not saying he should come in immediately, just saying don't forget about him. If he played for Australia he would be in all three sides...

[Manormanic]

The temprament is definitely there, he just needs time in the middle in first class cricket and for England A to improve in the longer form.

[ProCricketer1982]

I like hales, got nothing against him playing for England.

[alba caerulea]

I'd be surprised if Rashid ever plays a Test match for England. He hasn't set the world on fire recently and from the games I've seen he's done better in limited overs cricket in the last couple of years. If England plump for a leggy I hope and think it will be Borthwick

Rashid might be able to bat at 7 in county cricket but for England not a prayer. It would weaken the team considerably when you consider what a job Matt Prior does there

Rafiq I like, he can bowl, bat and field well and looks to be very competitive. I would seriously consider him as a replacement for Patel as the spin-bowling all rounder in the one day team

In the short -term you can't look past Panesar and Tredwell. Root could bowl some overs but I don't see him as an attacking option in New Zealand

Not surprised that England went with Broad the golden boy, let's hope he can bowl himself into some form for the year ahead

As Manormaniac mentions why does no one talk about Alex Hales for the Test (or even just ODI) side?

I think it's quite simply that there is no spot for him in the Test team. Compton is getting his deserved chance, Root looks like he will be in the team forever, Bairstow is waiting for his next go, Taylor has had a game or two and is still in the selectors plans . . . . . .

Would like to see Hales given a go in the ODI side although I'm not entirely sure how you would get him into that either. He has that dreamy combination of power and timing, very good to watch

[ProCricketer1982]

They should be thinking about trott and kp retiring in the next few years so need replacements ready to go. Yeah they COULD play till they are 39 but chances are its 34/35 ish. So we need the replacement grooming for them now. Prior is no spring chicken either so we need his replacement thinking about etc etc


That's where I see it going wrong for England in the next few years, as the current guys form starts to drop do we have the talent to replace them ready to go or will we need a 'rebuilding' phase.

[Manormanic]

You rate Rafiq as a batsman but not Rashid?  Thats an interesting viewpoint - Rashid has a much higher first class average and bats much higher in the order, whereas Rafiq, for all his many talents, does tend to be a slap it merchant!

[Manormanic]

Yet they haven't given them to him in ODIs, which is odd.  I wonder if they might go elsewhere and keep Bluey as a batsman based on that, his superb outfielding and the fact that he is not a great keeper to begin with.

[alba caerulea]

They should be thinking about trott and kp retiring in the next few years so need replacements ready to go. Yeah they COULD play till they are 39 but chances are its 34/35 ish. So we need the replacement grooming for them now. Prior is no spring chicken either so we need his replacement thinking about etc

So how do you suggest England 'groom' him further than they already are by involving him in the lions set-up and the t20 side? I don't think there is much more they can do to help him really

You rate Rafiq as a batsman but not Rashid?  Thats an interesting viewpoint - Rashid has a much higher first class average and bats much higher in the order, whereas Rafiq, for all his many talents, does tend to be a slap it merchant!

I didnt say that. I rate him as a better all-round cricketer than Rashid and more importantly he seems to be mentally stronger.

Haven't seen much of Kerrigan so can't really comment on his potential