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[Vitas Cricket]

Amusingly regardless of form buttler and bell and there ability to get picked! is Gary ballance


In the last 12 months only cook and root have a better average for England than ballance.
Bell, stokes, buttler, Ali all have a much lower average.

Yet ballance was jettisoned from the squad so quickly.

His loss of form was cataclysmic though, he looked like a lost puppy at the crease. Buttler is basically at that point now but has perhaps had a longer grace period due to being in possesion of the gloves. He's hardly shining with those so time to have a rest i think.

Belly, I've never been his biggest fan, but i guess he has done enough in the past to warrant a bit of leeway. The problem is, is it now too late to jettison someone with so much experience? Dale Steyn is looming on the horizon and to throw in a new/young player with no time to settle before the wrecking Boer unleashes is a risk. If Bell was to go, it should have been before the West Indies, or at the very latest, before the UAE?

Equally, if you are forever delaying the introduction of new players because they dont have experience, they wont get any.

[smilley792]

With steyn on the horizon(and probably a more important test series) if hales and Taylor are the men for that series, they both should have had this entire series to get set and test practiced.



As much as I like Ali, steyn/morkel vs Ali will be one hell of a beat down with the new ball.



Also it's one thing to drop ballance, but just vanish him from the squad completely was a tad harsh.

[ProCricketer1982]

Steyn/morkal/radaba bs Ali won't be a battle.. It'll be a massacre. Ali doesn't stand a hope in hell

[Vitas Cricket]

With steyn on the horizon(and probably a more important test series) if hales and Taylor are the men for that series, they both should have had this entire series to get set and test practiced.



As much as I like Ali, steyn/morkel vs Ali will be one hell of a beat down with the new ball.



Also it's one thing to drop ballance, but just vanish him from the squad completely was a tad harsh.

Agreed, its all typical ECB though isn't it. New man in charge of the team but the same stiffs behind the scenes.

I'm really excited for the SA series, I feel like this nonsense we are playing at the moment is just getting in the way and has no relevance to any other cricket anywhere in the world. Even Sri Lankan/Indian wickets make for exciting cricket compared to this.

It's a great challenge to try and bat for that long as Cook managed of course, but where else in the world would 4 days of cruising along comatose followed by 2 hours of fun and then everyone walks off as things get interesting at the end ever happen?

[smilley792]

Agreed, its all typical ECB though isn't it. New man in charge of the team but the same stiffs behind the scenes.

I'm really excited for the SA series, I feel like this nonsense we are playing at the moment is just getting in the way and has no relevance to any other cricket anywhere in the world. Even Sri Lankan/Indian wickets make for exciting cricket compared to this.

It's a great challenge to try and bat for that long as Cook managed of course, but where else in the world would 4 days of cruising along comatose followed by 2 hours of fun and then everyone walks off as things get interesting at the end ever happen?

I agree, if this was a ashes or important series then yeah pick your best xi for conditions(I.e Ali opening and spinner)

But as it's merely a stop gap before a decent series against the world number one, hen pick the side to win that series and let them get practice in and settled!

[Aussie In England]

Moeen Ali has taken 50 Test wickets, but if you look closely at his stats you'll see he's been exposed(or lucked out against India).

19 wickets against India @ 23
31 wickets against everyone else @ 47

In 2015 he's been absolutely dreadful. 28 wickets @ 46 and getting caned at 4 RPO. He offers Cook no control whatsoever. Usually this wouldn't be that much of a problem but when the other spinner is even worst. It's a big problem for Cook. 

[brokenbat]

I agree, if this was a ashes or important series then yeah pick your best xi for conditions(I.e Ali opening and spinner)

But as it's merely a stop gap before a decent series against the world number one, hen pick the side to win that series and let them get practice in and settled!

Beg to disagree. The first game was indeed played on a rubbish pitch, but this one is offering a great contest between bat and ball. Can't be a road if both teams lose wickets in a heap.

Also, this series is very important - battle for the number 3 rank. More than that, no self respecting team should shrug off a drubbing (if it does materialize here) by saying that the series wasn't important enough. You're not exactly playing Zimbabwe here.

[ProCricketer1982]

This wicket is a decent test wicket. We can see that IF you bat like a test match batsmen you will score runs... just look who has and who hasn't scored runs this match. No side has scored more than 400 runs which is the sign of a non batting deck. There is something there fora  bowler if you are a) good enough b) bowl with control c) Have that skill to actually do something with the ball

England are just being exposed as only having two test match batsmen and zero spin options. Rather than blame this that or the other 'we' need to realise that we are producing one day players and not the quality needed for proper test cricket. We are fine on flat decks when players like Buttler/Stokes/Ali can wack through the line but that shouldn't be test match wickets at the end of the day.

[uknsaunders]

Misbah, Asian bully? Likes to tonk the spinners but not so clever against pace. I don't think I have seen anybody who pokes the seamers and smacks the spinners to this extent and I wondered how he had done at seam friendly venues.Cricinfo makes interesting reading :-

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/41378.html?class=1;filter=advanced;home_or_away=2;host=2;host=3;host=5;orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

What's amazing is just how little he has played outside Asia and windies - just 10 tests out of 70. Average plummets from 49 to 31. As good as he is in the UAE, can't help thinking he might struggle when he visits a venue that suits seam bowlers.


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[brokenbat]

For all the talk about "Asian" pitches, England succumbed today, to genuine pace, on a supposed "dead" track, with minimal reverse swing.

[Cover_Drive]

Misbah, Asian bully? Likes to tonk the spinners but not so clever against pace. I don't think I have seen anybody who pokes the seamers and smacks the spinners to this extent and I wondered how he had done at seam friendly venues.Cricinfo makes interesting reading :-

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/41378.html?class=1;filter=advanced;home_or_away=2;host=2;host=3;host=5;orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

What's amazing is just how little he has played outside Asia and windies - just 10 tests out of 70. Average plummets from 49 to 31. As good as he is in the UAE, can't help thinking he might struggle when he visits a venue that suits seam bowlers.


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This is Misbah Ul Haq's 60th test match;

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-england-2015-16/content/current/player/41378.html

Not much players can do when they can't play home or don't have many series.

What I fail to comprehend is that when a batsman is able to score well on bowling friendly pitches, how come they are unable or inept on flat tracks? Shouldn't it be even easier for them there?

[csnew]

Another poor session. Ali nearly going at 6rpo and rashid 4rpo...neither looking like they can take a wicket. Pretty pathetic on this pitch

[Aussie In England]

England have been set a mammoth 491 to win this Test after Pakistan declared 6-354.

The hapless Rashid ended up 1-107 and the hopeless Moeen 1-60. A pretty pathetic effort on a pitch like this...

[rickjames]

Moeen is going back down to 8

[csnew]

Ali nicks off going for a booming drive! Pathetic shot for a "opener"