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[Bats_Entertainment]

Craig Kieswetter's looking resplendent in Millichamp and Hall this year. Does that earn him a recall?

[jbrommo]

His gear may look good but honestly I don't think he is good enough. As a 'pinch-hitter' he was ok, but doesn't cut it for me as a number 6 as it isn't his natural game, ticking the board over.

[Manormanic]

the thing is, where many players who come into international cricket, have some initial success then get found out a bit come back stronger having developed their game and, to pinch a cliche, used the feedback as a positiive, Bedwetter has stayed precisely the same player - he ALWAYS stays leg side and looks to score in big shots regardless. 

[jbrommo]

the thing is, where many players who come into international cricket, have some initial success then get found out a bit come back stronger having developed their game and, to pinch a cliche, used the feedback as a positiive, Bedwetter has stayed precisely the same player - he ALWAYS stays leg side and looks to score in big shots regardless.

Totally agree, all the best players can adapt and unfortunately I don't think he can?

[Manormanic]

Totally agree, all the best players can adapt and unfortunately I don't think he can?

The way I look at it is this - there are a number of professional cricketers who get to the level within domestic first class cricket that they are "performing" - that is to say, they are making a reasonable/above average weight of runs or taking significant numbers of wickets - and there becomes the suggestion that they might conceiveably be good enough for international cricket.  Some are sifted out by A Tours, for those countries that have them, others may be the victims of selectorial incompetence/prejudice.  The rest eventually get their chance:

A few, the Tendulkars, Warnes, Laras and Pontings of this world are there from day one and never really slip from their perch, always seeming able to keep ahead of attempts to flummox them.

A number fail early doors and slip away as one cap wonders or after thoughts, deservedly or otherwise.

But for most, the step up evidences both their strengths and their weaknesses - be that through the "technical" Kieswetter model of early stunning performances followed by bowlers working out that he couldn't really get in line with the ball to work it around the ground, the "tempramental" one that saw Matt Prior take a break from the England side or the "physical" one that causes James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Co to miss more tests than they are ever available for.  It is at this point that the men are sorted from the boys.

An example of "the men" for you - when Hashim Amla first came into international cricket, it was on the back of some quite significant run scoring feats in South African domestic cricket.  He played, if I recall correctly, three tests around the end of 2004 and was quickly evidenced to be vulnerable to his desire to play everything through leg, so he was taken out of the firing line.  Two years later he returned with an off side game, improved power and, as can be seen a few years later, the ability to play to a world class level.

This is not to say that Kieswetter is the next Amla or anything like that.  It merely evidences how he should have looked at his weaknesses, thought about whether a trigger to help him get in line (when necessary) would help him and worked diligently to develop ways of working the ball around the field between what sometimes resemble wild hacks.  That he has not been able to do this, for me, means that he is unable to do it.  Game over...

[Manormanic]

Sorry, bit of an essay there, feel free to ignore!

[Buzz]

I quite like the essay.

The question is does he have the brain capacity to recognise that he needs to change and to make the changes. Or will he just go "this is how I play".. in which case his career with England is pretty much over.

[Manormanic]

The question is does he have the brain capacity to recognise that he needs to change and to make the changes. Or will he just go "this is how I play".. in which case his career with England is pretty much over.

I honestly don't know - one would have thought that it would have been made pretty clear to him by now because, quite aside from the specialist coaching that he would get from the England set up and the very decent coaching team at Somerset, he will surely have noticed that the print and visual media are constantly highlighting the same issues in his game.  To me that suggests that he just is not capable of making the changes necessary.

Or.  And please accept that this is me thinking outside of the box here.  There are distinct similarities in his game (as he plays it in first class cricket rather than the biff bash stuff) with the game of one Matt Prior, who also favours the off side and back foot leg side shots, scores quickly in a counter attacking vein etc.  Could it be that Kieswetter is making a calculated gamble that he sticks with his game plan hoping to be a like-for-like replacement for Prior rather than risking an overhaul that may not work and ending up nowhere?

[jbrommo]

I quite like the essay.

The question is does he have the brain capacity to recognise that he needs to change and to make the changes. Or will he just go "this is how I play".. in which case his career with England is pretty much over.

Surely as a professional he'd have worked out he needs to work more on his all-round batting?