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[ProCricketer1982]

I'm sat on another course and while reading CricInfo I've seen that Mr Onions is out injured again with his back.. At 31 could this finally put that last nail in the coffin of his England and possibly his County career??
http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2014/content/story/744145.html

[csnew]

Feel bad for him. Been treated horribly by the English setup! And now injured

[Manormanic]

Dunno, I did kind of think he'd been unlucky but you can sort of see how he has become the kind of seamer who does well in helpful ENglish conditions without backing it up elsewhere.

[uknsaunders]

Feel bad for him. Been treated horribly by the English setup! And now injured

Never nice to see somebody injured. Regarding England, he was rubbish v Yorks, don't know if the back was playing up then. Imho he's over rated. Great on seaming decks but last time he played for England Tino Best was slapping him around. 20-30 years ago there were loads of seam merchants like him, I think it points to a shortage of quality backup options for the test team that he was even in the mix.

[Manormanic]

That's a bit harsh Nick - before his first back injury he was a quality option.  But since, his pace is just below international standard so, as noted, he can do it when there is substantial help available but not on a flatty.

[Johnny]

Even after the back injury he has consistently been the stand out bowler in county cricket

[wilkie113]

Never nice to see somebody injured. Regarding England, he was rubbish v Yorks, don't know if the back was playing up then. Imho he's over rated. Great on seaming decks but last time he played for England Tino Best was slapping him around. 20-30 years ago there were loads of seam merchants like him, I think it points to a shortage of quality backup options for the test team that he was even in the mix.

Love to see you go out and face him 

[uknsaunders]

I wouldn't fancy facing anybody on the county circuit lol, that's not a criteria for playing for England though. Onions got 80 odd wickets last year and it's not to be sniffed at, but we have plenty of guys who can stick it on the spot. If one lesson had been learnt this winter is there is no substitute for pace at the highest level.

Sent from my Lenovo B6000-F using Tapatalk

[Manormanic]

That's half the point - a bowler without pace will struggle as will a guy who does nothing with it.  But the percentage of times when the two will struggle is very different.  88mph, even gun barrel straight, works most of the time and 80mph does not.

[fros23]

Exactly the same reason why Woakes will continue to be a quality county player but won't make it at test level

[uknsaunders]

Duncan Fletcher knew what he was doing when he was after 90mph bowlers.

It was only when Moores started getting his stats book out that we discovered three 80mph seamers weren't much use on test wickets. You need at least one or even 2 to ruffle the best batters.

[Manormanic]

Its good to have one "English style" swing bowler in a five man attack - Hoggard was often the best of Fletchers five, but that was enabled by the different pressures created by the others.

[ProCricketer1982]

but that was enabled by the different pressures created by the others.

That is the key bit for me. It's about being a bowling unit that works together, rather than just a bunch of bowlers

[Mattsky]

Let's not forget one of the best: McGrath was fast, but he was no speed merchant; look at the man's stats and the fear he instilled in good international batsmen. A shoe-in in any international side.
Yet if you subscribe to the 'pace is everything' philosophy, he wouldn't have got a look-in.

Interesting article on perceived speed, velocity and 'nip' here, actually: http://www.espncricinfo.com/thestands/content/story/659331.html

[uknsaunders]

I don't think anybody is subscribing to the pace is everything philosophy. That said, I'm sure a few English batsman from the 70's and 80's would disagree after facing the Windies!. The difference there was they all bowled in good areas, whereas some speed merchants now fire it all over the place. The biggest improvement Mitchell Johnson made was getting his arm slightly higher and bowling straight!

Hoggard shows the benefit of a tradition swing bowler within a pace lineup, likewise Anderson now. However, without genuine pace alongside Anderson England do go flat on good batting decks.

Good article btw!