That was just the start of the horror show.
England’s fielding was terrifying; Tim Bresnan summed that up by his non-stop
on the boundary when it went straight through him. The advertising hoarding
behind him summed it up, “Bloody Awful Mate!”
So sitting down in my armchair and seeing yet
another chance go down, I scrambled for my iPhone to see who exactly had been
picked to represent England that day. More disbelief, not only in the
selection, but the TV replay went against England for a perfectly good catch (I’ll
go on to that later!). I know everyone has their point of view and it is easy
to criticise when things go bad, but for me there are some glaring errors in
selection.
1.
Joe Root – Needs a break, completely out of
form, needs to be rested, in fact he needs to come home and have a rest for a
month, then play some County Cricket and get ready for the series against Sri
Lanka.
2.
No front line spinner. The afore mentioned
Joe Root was apparently picked as the spinner, then Ravi bowled most of the
overs anyway. What was the point of selecting James Tredwell and Danny Briggs
in the squad if they don’t get picked?
3.
The batting line-up was just a joke. Jos
Buttler going in at number eight was mind boggling to say the least. He needs
to be five, and then perhaps the score will go above 300. Again, I could go on,
Bopara shouldn’t even be there (how many more chances?), Captain Cook is not
justifying his place (he also needs a break me thinks), in fact the line up was
a complete shambles.
The line-up I would choose would go something like
this: Carberry, Bell, Ballance, Morgan, Buttler, Stokes, Bresnan, Broad,
Jordan, Briggs, and Woakes. Ok, it seems a bit bowler all-rounder heavy, but
what I can see already in the first ODI the pitches look like a batting
paradise, so England need to swap it about a bit, keep the opposition guessing
and perhaps catch a few to help out the bowlers would be nice.
The technology issue is now starting to get on my
nerves, after the latest incident involving David Warner. Ok, it was not
Warner’s fault on this occasion, just the referral and technology. Warner edged
it, Buttler snapped up the chance by scooping the ball just as it was in danger
of hitting the deck, Warner asked Buttler did he catch it, Buttler confirmed he
did and Warner started to walk off. Then the umpires intervened. It was
referred to the third umpire who gave the benefit of the doubt to the batsman
purely because the TV replay was inconclusive and back came Warner. As soon as
it was referred you knew that would happen, commentating Ian Botham good as
said the same thing. Ridiculous to say the least. What is the point of having
technology if it doesn’t work?
On the subject of technology, Joe Root needs to
use the referral system better. Is it my imagination or every time he is given
out LBW, he refers it and the decision seems to be always in favour of the
bowler. I know no one likes being out LBW, but come on Joe, these umpires are
of high quality and anyway, I believe the referral is there for grave umpiring
errors. At least Stuart Broad has calmed down his use referrals as he believed
every time he hits the pad the batsman is out – you are not that good Stuart.
Ok, that’s enough from me. For someone who is not
a great lover of ODI’s I have said a lot today, I suppose it is just England
playing rubbish and I care!
6.27, Time for a Thatchers before skittles I
suppose.
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