Cricket: General Chat

[omariqy]

 

 

 

Pakistan are always the wild card because on their day they can beat anyone.  However I do not think their batting is strong enough to win the tournament.  They are missing a Misbah, Mohammed Yousuf or Younis Khan to build their innings around.

 

My pick is India.

 

I agree about Pakistan but I would say those three names you mention are hardly t20 players. They have rightly brought in some younger players like Shezhad who got a 100 against Bangladesh. England in trouble here against The Netherlands

 

 

 

IMO you should play your best players in all forms of the game.  If they are world class they are world class and will do a job for you.  I think England have been guilty of trying to get too many specialist players in the team, 

 

 

in the last t20 world cup both Misbah and Khan batted too slow. I think Yousuf was a marvelous player. We saw him briefly at Warwickshire playing on new wickets which wrere unplayable. Neither Trott or Bell could score a run on them but Yousef showed his class. 

 

Yes I agree to an extent about England. Firstly we should pick a keeper who can keep. Sorry but Butler isn't good enough! Davies and Foster are far better and would probably get as many runs. But you wouldn't pick Cook, Bell and Trott in t20 would you? Bell was there but Giles didn't pick him. We need more mystery spinners in our game. Our spinners are crap now Swann has retired.

 

 

 

Agreed on your points about England.  Personally I think Bell should be playing every game.  He has only played 7 games I think for England at t20 but has an average of 30 and a S/R of 120%.

 

My original point was not that those players are going to get a strike rate of 150% + but rather they are players you build your innings around.  They will get 110%-120% + in most innings but importantly they will provide a solid platform.  Misbah does exactly this and his stats (below) prove it.  You could argue either way re Younis Khan but even he has an average of mid 20s with a striker rate of 120% plus.

 

Misbah ul Haq

 

              M   I     NO  R   HS    AVG   BF    S/R

 

T20Is 39 34 13 788 87* 37.52 715 110.20  

[tonyh29]

Saw on the sporting life that England lost to The Netherlands at cricket

 

yeah good one Sportinglife  ..you ain't fooling me 

[PaulC]

 

 

 

 

Pakistan are always the wild card because on their day they can beat anyone.  However I do not think their batting is strong enough to win the tournament.  They are missing a Misbah, Mohammed Yousuf or Younis Khan to build their innings around.

 

My pick is India.

 

I agree about Pakistan but I would say those three names you mention are hardly t20 players. They have rightly brought in some younger players like Shezhad who got a 100 against Bangladesh. England in trouble here against The Netherlands

 

 

 

IMO you should play your best players in all forms of the game.  If they are world class they are world class and will do a job for you.  I think England have been guilty of trying to get too many specialist players in the team, 

 

 

in the last t20 world cup both Misbah and Khan batted too slow. I think Yousuf was a marvelous player. We saw him briefly at Warwickshire playing on new wickets which wrere unplayable. Neither Trott or Bell could score a run on them but Yousef showed his class. 

 

Yes I agree to an extent about England. Firstly we should pick a keeper who can keep. Sorry but Butler isn't good enough! Davies and Foster are far better and would probably get as many runs. But you wouldn't pick Cook, Bell and Trott in t20 would you? Bell was there but Giles didn't pick him. We need more mystery spinners in our game. Our spinners are crap now Swann has retired.

 

 

 

Agreed on your points about England.  Personally I think Bell should be playing every game.  He has only played 7 games I think for England at t20 but has an average of 30 and a S/R of 120%.

 

My original point was not that those players are going to get a strike rate of 150% + but rather they are players you build your innings around.  They will get 110%-120% + in most innings but importantly they will provide a solid platform.  Misbah does exactly this and his stats (below) prove it.  You could argue either way re Younis Khan but even he has an average of mid 20s with a striker rate of 120% plus.

 

Misbah ul Haq

 

              M   I     NO  R   HS    AVG   BF    S/R

 

T20Is 39 34 13 788 87* 37.52 715 110.20  

 

 

Ok Misbah with an average of 37.52 means he must get in and be quite consistent with his run getting and to only have a sr of 110 is terrible really. No wonder he isn't being picked. In 50 overs you can build an innings around Trott and Misbah but in t20 it just looses you too many games. I saw it at Warwickshire too many times with Trott. Sorry he makes his return to cricket today at Edgbaston and i wish him well but a t20 player he is not. Misbah just starts off his innings far too slowly and then tries to hit out when its too late. 

Edited April 1, 2014 by PaulC

[Rodders]

what is it with batting second on these pitches? 

 

Pakistan 13/4 now... West Indies looking good.

[PaulC]

80 odds runs off the last 5 overs. Thats where the game was won. 

[CrackpotForeigner]

I know they're the reigning T20 champions, but I must say it's fantastic to have the Windies back as a force in cricket. The murdered Pakistan. If only they cared about test cricket.

[villaajax]

Saw on the sporting life that England lost to The Netherlands at cricket

 

yeah good one Sportinglife  ..you ain't fooling me 

 

Hey, Holland beat England at everything else so why not Cricket too?

[PaulC]

I know they're the reigning T20 champions, but I must say it's fantastic to have the Windies back as a force in cricket. The murdered Pakistan. If only they cared about test cricket.

 

It would be great to have a strong windies again in test cricket. It would be good to have  a strong Pakistan in test cricket as well. 

[dAVe80]

 

I know they're the reigning T20 champions, but I must say it's fantastic to have the Windies back as a force in cricket. The murdered Pakistan. If only they cared about test cricket.

 

It would be great to have a strong windies again in test cricket. It would be good to have  a strong Pakistan in test cricket as well. 

 

 

Unfortunately test cricket isn't where the money is, so many younger cricketers are looking to get IPL contracts and make big money playing T20 for the highest bidder. I was in the Windies in 2009, and I was told by locals that youngsters want to play football and basketball more than cricket too, for the same reasons.   

[CrackpotForeigner]

Yep, T20 is probably the only reason there are still talented people in the W. Indies who are interested in cricket at all. But I'll take it.

[PaulC]

 

 

I know they're the reigning T20 champions, but I must say it's fantastic to have the Windies back as a force in cricket. The murdered Pakistan. If only they cared about test cricket.

 

It would be great to have a strong windies again in test cricket. It would be good to have  a strong Pakistan in test cricket as well. 

 

 

Unfortunately test cricket isn't where the money is, so many younger cricketers are looking to get IPL contracts and make big money playing T20 for the highest bidder. I was in the Windies in 2009, and I was told by locals that youngsters want to play football and basketball more than cricket too, for the same reasons.   

 

 

I know. It only really sells in England and Australia. Shame really because t20 is a different game entirely

[omariqy]

Gutted as a Pakistan fan.  But I do love the Windies and loved their celebrations when they beat Aus.  I hope they go on and win it.

[John]

"It would be great to have a strong windies again in test cricket." Ditto a strong England test cricket team again PaulC. Having sat through many a stuffing from the Windies I could go another few years of us having the better of them if only in the 5 day game.   

[PaulC]

"It would be great to have a strong windies again in test cricket." Ditto a strong England test cricket team again PaulC. Having sat through many a stuffing from the Windies I could go another few years of us having the better of them if only in the 5 day game.   

 

Yes  at least it was competitve. Now when the windies tour England its dull. Only South Africa and Australia are competitive in England. India 5-0 last time.  Talent is too thinly spread these days. 

[Zatman]

what happened to Gayle. I thought he was the T20 version of Ronaldo or Messi but he has looked awful in this tournament

[PaulC]

I think sides are now aware he can't play spin. But yes him and Samuels have lost this game. India v Sri Lanka final i think. Very Predictable.

 

What a brilliant fielding side Sri Lanka are. Dilshan who must be 37 puts the England fielders to shame.

Edited April 3, 2014 by PaulC

[veloman]

And with my usual lack of bias, who is the Sri Lankan fielding coach ?   

[PaulC]

It was Trevor Penney but he is now the Indian fielding coach. Mind you he's the one that made Sri Lanka such a great fielding team.

 

Can anyone see a South African victory tomorrow. I can't myself but I kind of hope I'm wrong.

Edited April 3, 2014 by PaulC

[Zatman]

 

Michael Carberry smiles wryly as he explains how he shocked himself while turning towards an uncertain future. As a 33-year-old, and still new, Test cricketer preparing for yet another season in a sport which can make even the best players feel lonely and vulnerable, Carberry is trying to secure a future career path by learning how to become an electrician.

"I've given myself a couple of belts, mate," he says with a throaty chuckle when admitting he has been zapped by the electrical hazards of his apprenticeship. "But you're not a spark until you've done that."

Yet England's cricket hierarchy, rather than any faulty electrical connection, has given Carberry his most jolting hurt and disillusionment. Carberry, England's second-highest run-scorer behind Kevin Pietersen in the disastrous Ashes series, speaks quietly but his plain words have a strong impact when he details some simple truths about the way the management have treated him and other players in their squad.

The opening batsman starts by suggesting that his absence from England's one-day team, and the Twenty20 World Cup squad, "gave me time to reflect and get that anger out. Now I want to come back with Hampshire. They're my focus."

It could have been different. Carberry faced more balls and spent more time at the crease during the Ashes than any other England batsman. He was admirably composed against a hostile Australian attack led by Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris – scoring more than 30 on six occasions. Yet, even if he batted for over six hours longer than his opening partner and captain Alastair Cook, Carberry's Ashes average was only marginally better – 28.1 compared with 24.60. He is also not about to make any grandiose claims for himself. When the 695 balls he faced are mentioned, Carberry quips: "I wish they had been runs."

His dilemma is clear. Just as he scored 30 and 34 on his Test debut for England in 2010, against Bangladesh, he failed to turn impressive starts in the Ashes into significant scores. He hit only one half-century and concedes that he needs to score more heavily as a Test opener.

He was at his best in his final innings in Sydney when he batted with real freedom. "Something clicked. Maybe through the series I played to the situation. Obviously if we lost Alastair early or we were two down, and you're 500 runs behind, you think: 'Let's try and weather the storm.'

"I've come back to Hampshire and I'm excited about the next phase of my career, knowing what I need to do to dominate. I know that, technically, I'm good enough to survive. But survival is not batting. You're there to score runs."

Carberry expresses concern that, like Pietersen, he is about to be jettisoned. "I'm sitting here disappointed I'm not involved in the one-day setup. I seem to have been left out for some unknown reason. I don't think it's a cricket reason because my one-day stats speak for themselves over the last few seasons. So I'm disappointed the selectors haven't fronted up and spoken to me."

Has Carberry heard anything from England since returning home? "No. Nothing – which is disappointing. But it's the way they tend to do things."

Carberry shakes his head in the empty nets at Hampshire's ground. "It's obvious that since the tour ended some very, very strange decisions have been made. But even in Australia [during the limited-over series when England were beaten in eight out of nine matches] I sat there game after game, watching us lose, thinking: 'What more can I do to get in the squad?' – bearing in mind that I was without doubt the leading batsman in one-day cricket last year.

"I think my last score playing for England in ODI cricket was 63 in winning a game in Cardiff we shouldn't have won against Australia [Carberry followed up that knock with another 30 against the same opposition]. To suddenly be on the sidelines, not getting a game, just didn't make any sense."

Did he ask anyone for an explanation? "I had a brief chat with Ashley Giles [England's limited-overs coach] during the fifth ODI in Adelaide and his response was that he didn't really know. If you don't know, mate, I sure as hell won't know."

Carberry's rueful laugh turns into a shrug. "It's that age-old word: man-management. I've accepted over my short and breezy England career that that's the way the selectors tend to do things. I wouldn't say I've been in the loop when it comes to why I've been left out. I've had to try and work it out for myself which, again, is disappointing."

He clearly believes that, with Giles in the running to become the head coach in all formats, England's man-management needs drastic improvement. "It's been an ongoing thing for years. I don't think it's something that's going to change immediately. They have a way of doing things.

"I've been in the game a long time and you know some guys get given a shorter rope than others. I'm probably going to be a bit controversial here but throughout my England career, even as a schoolboy, I've always had that shorter rope – for some reason. I don't think much has changed now that I've stepped into the Test and one-day arena. I'm not going to hide my emotions. I was bitterly disappointed.

"You don't mind if it's a winning team because you understand then why you're not playing. There's obviously a winning formula and they're sticking with it. But when you're watching a team getting beaten I couldn't quite understand why I didn't fit into the plans. I played a warm-up game in Alice Springs and batted in my natural way and got a quick-fire 47."

"At the age I am, I need straight answers. To be told I'm on the radar or being talked about? All these lip-service cliches don't interest me any more," Carberry reiterates.

Do other players in England's squad share his disenchantment? "I don't think it's me alone saying this sort of thing. There've been players before me and current players now who have felt the same thing. It's fine when you're in the team but just outside the playing squad you're not really sure if you fit in at all."

Does Carberry fear for his future in international cricket if Giles takes complete charge and also becomes England's Test coach? "Leaving Adelaide after our brief chat, I've got to be honest, it didn't fill me with a great deal of optimism. I feel that this is a question he should have answered. And, OK, if it's not him answering, it should be one of the selectors. But that that's the way England like to do things. It disappoints me because I'm quite an approachable guy. Maybe I'm a bit straight-talking but it's the best way to be in this world – say what's on your mind."

Before everything soured, Carberry thrilled to the fierce task of his first Ashes series. "I didn't get involved in all the politics but I enjoyed the challenge of facing Johnson, Harris, Siddle and Lyon. That's what Test cricket is all about. It's a test of technique and, more importantly, courage. I felt I stood up well to those guys."

He was heartened by the praise he received from the Australians. "Yeah, massively. I had chats with Chris Rogers who's had a similar career path. I also spoke to David Warner who is at the other extreme as an opening batsman. I had great admiration for the way he played. He was very free. It showed me how to put the pressure back on the bowlers. Broad and Anderson are experienced Test bowlers – and at times we didn't know where to bowl at him. We were setting defensive fields within the first 10 overs."

Did Carberry receive more positive feedback from Australia than England? "Yeah, I would say so. I've played against enough Australians to know they're very cagey with their compliments so I must have shown a glimpse of something for them to say: 'Look, mate, you stood up through some serious spells …'

"Talking to great Australians like Ian Chappell, they said: 'Son, you've got to look to dominate. That's the key at this level. You can't just survive against bowling attacks that good.'

"It was the ultimate test. Everything was ramped up tenfold, the intensity, the cricket, the way Australia played. Mentally, every innings was a challenge. But I thrived on that challenge. Walking out to bat and Johnson and Harris are flying in? I like that and I like big crowds. It heightens all your senses. You definitely feel alive. In county cricket you very rarely get those experiences."

Flights and accommodation for every wife or girlfriend of all the other England players were paid for as they were reunited for Christmas and the Melbourne Test. In another sign of managerial insensitivity, only Carberry's request that his mother be his invited guest was denied. "Apparently it's ECB policy. It's mainly for guys with their kids and when they have long-term partners or wives, and I have neither. But it would've been nice because my mum's never seen me play Test cricket. It would've been especially nice at the MCG, in front of 92,000 people, to see your son walk out. That doesn't happen too often in a lifetime. So it was disappointing."

Other players were also wounded. Steve Finn's Ashes fate, for example, was far worse. Once hailed as England's great bowling hope, England seemed unable to repair his shattered confidence and Finn barely featured. "Finny's a lovely kid," Carberry says. "It's sad to see someone struggling so it would be more a case of trying to keep his spirits up, which a lot of us had to do to various members of the team. You could see it was wearing them down, getting beaten game after game, not playing at our best. The media were on our back, there was a lot of pressure, people were leaving the tour."

Was he shocked when he heard that Pietersen, England's best player, had effectively been banned from ever playing international cricket again? "I'd have to say so. Yeah. It was a big surprise because I don't think anyone saw that coming. Through the tour, certainly, Kev was very helpful to me. Over the years Kev, as one of the greats of the game, has always been very helpful in talking about the mental side. In England's position you want to retain that knowledge as much as you can. You hope he will still be around the county game for the benefit of the next generation."

Carberry has endured many lows. Nine years ago he came close to walking away when, having left Surrey for Kent, he felt unappreciated in county cricket. Shane Warne, captaining Hampshire, rescued and transformed him in 2006. A resurgent Carberry then suffered a career-threatening illness in 2011 when blood clots on a lung kept him out of cricket for nine months.

"I've been dealt some harsh cards," Carberry says as he explains the reasons why, early in 2013, he completed a two-year electrician's course in three months. "I had to decide what I'd do in terms of working for the rest of my life. It was good. But it's difficult to recreate that buzz you get from cricket."

It will also be hard to recover from his jolting disappointments with England, but Carberry is resilient. His future life, as an electrician, will have to wait. "I've played some of my best cricket over the last few years. So I'm looking at the next five years. Hopefully I can finish with a pretty good career that people can look back on and say: 'Well, OK, he may not have had a lot of opportunities at international level but I certainly enjoyed watching him play.'"

As Carberry begins Hampshire's final warm-up match on Tuesday, against Middlesex and Finn, an ambivalent smile creases his face. "The best thing to do is start the season well and give myself the best possible chance. That's all you can do. If they still decide that they want to look in another direction? Yeah. I'm not going to sit here and say it wouldn't disappoint me."

 

honest interview and quite worrying about Engladn setup. think will kill his England career anyway

[PaulC]

Honest and stupid i think. The ecb are not going to take kindly to that. England career over i agree.