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Post by goldenarm on Sept 7, 2012 17:56:50 GMT -5
Who do you think should be in the 11 for the Mumbai Test and beyond then? There are so many question marks over about half the team its the most unsettled the Test side has looked for 3-4 years.
Strauss' opening spot is vacant with no heir apparent. KP is still in the wilderness and didn't get awarded a contract today though it its likely to happen in the near future once they've got it all sorted out. Bell is going to miss a Test due to his wife giving birth and the number 6 spot is already a big question mark. Bairstow is on fire at the moment but showed some frailty, Taylor is in the first flourish of showing us what he is capable of but has a lot to prove and Morgan's technique has been exposed at Test level. Bopara is the choke king but offers some overs with the ball...
Swann is obviously a no brainer as the first spinner but as we will undoubtedly play a second spinner who do you think it should be? Do they go straight for the obvious pure spin option of Monty and weaken an already fragile looking batting line up AND drop a top class seamer (Finn/Bresnan)? Or go for someone like Patel who shores up the batting but is less of a threat with the ball?
My team I think would look something like this:
1. Cook (C)
2. Root
3. Trott
4. KP
5. Bell (Morgan for the Mumbai Test)
6. Bairstow (Possibly Morgan after the Mumbai Test if he does well)
7. Prior
8. Swann
9. Broad
10. Anderson
11. Panesar
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Post by Someblokecalledave on Nov 17, 2012 12:22:49 GMT -5
Only just spotted this, looking around to ask a questions along these lines. Your team here...
My team I think would look something like this:
1. Cook (C)
2. Root
3. Trott
4. KP
5. Bell (Morgan for the Mumbai Test)
6. Bairstow (Possibly Morgan after the Mumbai Test if he does well)
7. Prior
8. Swann
9. Broad
10. Anderson
11. Panesar
I think I'd have gone for
My team I think would look something like this: Based on more recent knowledge and observations.
1. Cook (C)
2. Compton
3. Trott
4. KP
5. Bell
6. Samit Patel
7. Prior
8. Swann
9. Broad
10. Anderson
11. Panesar
But the thing I was going to ask was - has there ever been a team that was picked with the emphasis being the bowling. I haven't watched what's happened in the last 24 hours in India, but the impression I've got is that the Indians could have rested their batsmen and selected a team on the basis of their bowling (Primarily spinners)?
Samit Patel ocassionally comes up with goods on the batting front and in the past Adil Rashid has been known to bat quite well. Swann also does fairly well? I am thinking outside of the box as such - but just wondered whether anyone has ever considered it or tried anything like it. It strikes me that India could easily bring in blokes like Manoj Tiwary for one, drop their seamer and just really take the P***!
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Post by goldenarm on Nov 17, 2012 14:06:05 GMT -5
Its such a hard call, at that level the mental side of the game is so prominent things change massively from one innings to the next. England went from losing the plot to batting solidly all on the same day. I think if India did field 3 front line spinners (which lets face it we'd all love to see) it could backfire badly and they'd take a lot of flak for it. But having said that if they did it against anyone this England side would be the one to do it against! They've got such a mental block when it comes to playing spin, its hard to believe. Especially Bell and KP who can dominate any bowler completely, they have great feet, all the shots and yet when confronted with these two guys who lets face it are not 'Great' spinners, merely good, their brains go into overdrive, all calm is lost and before you know we're all out for not very many.
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Post by Someblokecalledave on Nov 17, 2012 15:04:07 GMT -5
Yeah, I've seen the highlights now and it's looking a lot better, so there's a little optimism here for supporters watching. Maybe the example that Compton and Cook are setting might mean that Bell and Pietersen go out with a different frame of mind and tactics? It's a shame that in this country we don't seem to have loads of spinners with a range of different deliveries - the point you were making a few days back with the Doosra bowling kid. But then, correct me if I'm wrong - we don't have the pitches and conditions that warrant the nurturing of spinners in the same way that they seem to do in Australia, Sri-Lanka and India?
Monty Panesar needs to go to some kind of batting school! Or Samit needs to spend more time bowling, or Adil Rashid needs to go and have hypnosis or therapy to get his head back in the right place!
Fingers crossed England dig in and play the long game and pull this back at least for a draw. Compton and Trott facing the spinners might be interesting?
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Post by goldenarm on Nov 19, 2012 13:58:52 GMT -5
Mumbai Test XI looks like this to me:
1. Cook
2. Compton
3. Trott
4. KP
5. Bairstow
6. Morgan
7. Prior
8. Swann
9. Anderson
10. Finn
11. Panesar
They need a win and to do that they need to take wickets, no time for half measures!
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Post by Someblokecalledave on Nov 25, 2012 5:42:27 GMT -5
All that aside, this is going really well for us at the moment. Definitely a win for Spin with all the Indian bowlers doing well in the first test and now in the current second one Monty and Swanne for us and turning the predictions on their heads, at the moment this is looking very good for us and it's a full-on Spin-fest!
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