wasn't most of ali's runs scored in div 2? What county did strauss play for? Cook? Finn? Morgan.. What comp were Ballance's FC runs scored in?
if he's scoring runs then he's in form so should be picked ahead of the guys currently playing who are avg'ing less than him, unable to influence a game like him.
It's something for the ECB to use against him if he's averiging say 50, rather than 100. So if he's doing well but not spectacularly.
Lets not forget quite how few runs he scored in the Blast last year. It's no forgone conclusion that he's going to score ten million runs. Chances are he's not the player he was. Point to Sangakarra all you want, but that man is a freak. Players lose their powers at varying stages. He's only doing this for an Ashes Swansong anyway, not the easiest attack to come out of retirement to, not to mention the Kiwi visit beforehand.
He's not the Messiah. He's not going to carry the team on his own, he's not going to take all the catches, he's not going to make our bowling attack any less impotent, he's not going to improve the worrying lack of quality bowling coming through, he's not going to solve the coaching issues, he's not going to make that much difference. It takes a team to win a Test Match. Not one, creaky knee-d, over the hill, mouthy Saffa.
All the people who want him back seem to think he's going to save England Cricket and return us to 2005.
He's not.