Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Sad news, this will be my last SMS of 2013, I can feel your pain all ready! 

So here are my Christmas and New Year hopes and wishes: 

1. Somerset to win the County Championship.
2. Jamie Overton to take 50+ First Class wickets.
3. Marcus Trescothick to hit a ton!
4. Lewis Gregory, Adam Dibble, Alex Barrow, Jack Leach and James Regan to come of age and return the faith Somerset have put in to them.
5. Craig Meschede to improve on last season and become the leading all rounder not only at Somerset but in the country – Sorry Tregs, give him some sort of target and hopefully emulate you at some stage, congrats on your recent ton and 500^th First Class wicket.
6. To go to a final and actually enjoy it. Well if Somerset get to a final, I won’t enjoy it!
7. The sun to be out on May 6^th so as I can enjoy my birthday, while watching Somerset, having a pint of cider or two!
8. Pick up a tidy some from the bookies in September when Somerset win all three competitions.
9. Over Stowey to get promoted to Division One.
10. To get this blog promoted on TV – tried a few times. The funniest being my encounter with Rob Key, at a Lord’s final. I had a few flyers to give out around the ground, I decided to try the TV pundits, Rob was walking from the pitch to the press boxes, I handed a flyer to him and he looked at it, signed it and gave it back! 

This piece was written a day before Graeme Swann decided to hang up his cricketing boots - mixed reaction to say the least. Was he pushed, did he jump or was he being sensible.

Take it from me your cricketing body can only go on for so long and Graeme’s has had its day. He is not the potent force he was two years ago, and by looking at his body language especially in the last Test, you sort of knew his time was up. 

For me he is being sensible, the Ashes are lost, England need to rebuild, he won’t play in another Ashes series, so why not bow out and give someone else a chance. I hear that Monty was sent to play Grade cricket as he was told he would be playing on Boxing Day and needed to get some match practice in.

Now with Jonathan Trott back home in the UK, Swann now not far behind him, who will be next? Jonny Bairstow for Matt Prior? Surely they must pick Gary Ballance?

Anyway, I’ll be back on 6^th Jan, by then England might of come to their senses and appoint a new head coach. 5.27, time for a Thatchers in The Cottage Inn, see you in the New Year.

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

At about 7.00 am Tuesday morning England’s new hero Ben Stokes will bring up his double century to secure victory in the third Ashes Test, and then no doubt my alarm will go off to wake me from my dream! 

Even though Ben has given us supporters some hope on the fourth day, I do think he is delaying the inevitable. The Ashes are lost; there is no doubt about it, so let’s move on.

 

What next for England, or should I say who’s next? Well they have two more Tests to play, some pointless One Day Internationals and T20 games and then a trip back to Blighty – some might say on the slowest steam ship you can find. 

 

Between the Aussie trip and the English season in 2014, England have some ODI’s in the West Indies and then it’s World T20 series, but this is just a bit of fun before Test series against Sri Lanka and India next summer. Who will survive between the inevitable in Perth to the first Test in June at Lord’s? 

 

There are players in the current squad who have distinguished careers and their Test record proves this. But some are getting near or even past their sell-by-date. So is it time to say to some of these guy’s thanks and goodbye. Or should we question the coach, Andy Flower, and his back-up team, have they past their sell-by-date? 

 

Yes, it’s prediction time, or should I say my point of view. The Ashes are good as lost, so why not experiment with some players who have not featured so far in the series, or even look at some guys who are playing in the Academy out there in Aus. 

With Jonathan Trott now missing from the fold, there is an opportunity for someone to step up and come in to the England set-up and make number three his own. I don’t think Joe Root should be there at three, he is an opener, so let him open. Michael Carberry has had his chance, made a few scores, but not gone on to make a telling score.

 

I would like to see England give Gary Ballance an opportunity at three, Kevin Pietersen at four, Ian Bell at five, and then comes six and seven, seven being the wicketkeeper. Matt Prior should now give way. He has had an absolute nightmare series, with the bat and especially behind the stumps. Missed stumpings, catches he should be going for, sloppy keeping letting byes go between his legs etc. The wicketkeeper is a central part of a fielding unit, if he does well behind the stumps; the whole team aspires to this. Jonny Bairstow should be given a chance in Melbourne.

 

Ben Stokes will keep his place at six for now, the England need to decide what they want from him, a third seamer who can bat, a genuine all rounder or a batsman who is your fourth seamer. I must admit I do like the look of Ben; he has impressed me with his aptitude, his desire and his never say die attitude (yes have a go at Warner, Johnson and co.). 

 

If the batting is a problem, the bowling unit is a nightmare. I just can’t see where the next wicket is going to come from. Boyd Rankin should now step in, if Broad is fit or not. You must keep James Anderson in the side, and for now continue with Tim Bresnan. Then after the series is over have a look at other options.

The next two Tests I would line-up as: Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann (just), Boyd Rankin and James Anderson. When finished say goodbye to Flower and co. 

Then for the first Test against Sri Lanka in June: James Harris for Bresnan, Danny Briggs for Swann and Jos Buttler for Bairstow. Then tell the likes of James Taylor, Eoin Morgan, go back to County cricket and heavily nudge the selectors. And also tell the likes of Matt Prior, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Chris Tremlett, goodbye! 

All this may seem that I’m hitting the panic button, but what I’ve seen and heard over the last three Tests changes need to be made. Look at Andre Villas-Boas, two thumping’s and he’s been sacked (had to have a dig at Spurs!). 

Anyway, enough of my point of view, I may off calmed down by next week. Time for a Thatchers me thinks, well it is 5.27!

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Another humiliating defeat in the hands of the old enemy, what more can I say. Shall I try to break it down, a lot of other critics, experts, drinkers in the Cottage (experts then) already have!

 

·         Mitchell Johnson – Taken 17 wickets so far this series, the majority of them the English lower order. He is not as threatening as people make out, he only bowls in short spells, just need to see him off, aka Ian Bell

·         Dismissals – 21 of the English wickets to fall have been caught in the leg side. A very high percentage being caught and an even higher percentage on the leg side. In other words poor shot selection.

·         Can’t catch – how many more dollies?

·         Twilight of career - Some off the English players have already reached the top of the game, now they are in the slippery slope downwards, and not much is coming in behind – sound familiar?

·         Not enough depth – Who is going to replace the likes of Anderson, Swann, Prior, Trott, Pietersen? From what I can see in reserve, not much.

·         Andy Flower – Thank you for what you have achieved for England, now time to move on.

·         Unsure of best side – The side which went out in 2010/11, the 11 which started in Brisbane was somewhat a done deal! Now we don’t know who is going to open, go in at three, five and six, plus what bowling attack to use.

·         Shortcomings in the summer – 3-0 was the score to England, but it was a lot closer than that. The Aussies could and should of won at Trent Bridge and they had England on the ropes at Old Trafford and Chester-le-Street.  

I could go on, but what’s the point, need to move on. First thing is to get the selection right in Perth and not lose! I believe England have only won once there, and that was against an Australian 3^rd XI some 40 years ago. 

Then win at Melbourne and Sydney, happy hunting grounds recently, so the series will be tied and the Ashes retained. Then all what I’ve written above can be binned (but not forgotten).  

But will this really happen? Well this current crop of English players have surprised me in the past (notably India last winter), so why not or am I being optimistic? 

Ok, 5.27, time to get some much needed sleep, no skittles or Thatchers tonight!

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Again the ECB has come up trumps with the 2014 County fixtures - a home game for Somerset on my birthday! In fact day three off a County Championship fixture against Nottinghamshire. I can already envisage a hot day, with a birthday cider slipping down my throat as I’m sat on Gimblett Hill, with Somerset chasing a mediocre score to win – role on May.
 

Somerset have a tough start to the 2014 County Championship campaign, opening up with fixtures against last year’s runners-up and champions, namely Yorkshire and Durham.  Ok, games in Division One are difficult whoever the opposition, so if the mighty Set have any aspirations for 2014, then there is nowhere better to begin than the top two from the previous season. Need to walk the walk, not let us go through hell and the prospect of relegation.

On reflection, it seems that I’ll be watching a lot more cricket during 2014. A lot of County Championship games start on a Sunday, so days two and three will be on days that I finish early at work! T20 cricket mainly falls on a Friday; again that falls in nicely with my work pattern. The only concern is the 50 over competition, it looks as if I will miss one home game, due to work commitments, but hey I can take a days’ holiday.

Has anyone any idea what the batting line-up will be for England for the second Ashes Test which starts on Thursday (midnight on Wednesday)? The only certainty is that Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry will open the innings and Kevin Pietersen will bat at four. So who at three, five and six? Ian Bell and Joe Root will take up two of those positions, probably three and five, which will leave one more space, the number six slot. So who will it be out off Gary Ballance, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow?

To be fair, the England batting order needs a good shake up, so it may not be a bad thing having to make changes in the top six. This Test will surely show the character of the tourists, especially suffering a heavy defeat in the first Ashes Test; then losing such an important player in Jonathan Trott. In contrast the Aussies are buoyant and by judging from the press down under, oozing confidence.

With all the talk about batting, England still need to get the bowling attack right - an attack which needs to take 20 wickets. It looks as if Tim Bresnan will feature in Adelaide; so I assume he will take the place off Chris Tremlett. No room for Monty? Somehow I think he may be needed.

If Monty does play, I just hope we don’t have the same stadium announcer as the one England had in their tour match in Alice Springs. For those of you who don’t know, Monty was introduced to the crowd by the announcer in a mock Indian accent, in which he was then subsequently suspended. I believe the row is still ongoing.

Ok, 5.27, no skittles, so no Thatchers. But a trip to Portishead instead for a 21^st birthday party (on a Monday!), now I wonder if they have Thatchers there?