There may be troubles ahead: England selection issues.

[D/L]

The ashes has claimed Trott, Swann and KP (and Flower) so far. Also Jimmy, Finn and Tremlett are pretty gone at the moment too

test selection this summer gets more and more interesting

ECB has the worst player management system in cricketing system imo. I will be very surprised if England stay in top 3 teamsfrom here on.

It's difficult not to have some sympathy with that view when one sees how long it took them to get rid of Pietersen.

Many England supporters will be happy to see England out of the top 3 (many of them take no notice of the rankings anyway) if, belatedly, it means a fresh start and a farewell to the corrosive Pietersen era.

An era which of course saw some of the highest point in English cricket in the last 3 decades.

Well before the South African series and much of what has followed since. Pietersen did deserve his place in the team before that but, for many years, there were ten other good players in it as well.

[Durhamfootman]

I reckon Pietersen went walkabout after Colly retired from international cricket.

In fact most things to do with England went walkabout after Colly's departure.

[meninblue]

I would like to thank @IPL for accepting my request to withdraw from this years auction. Good luck with the tournament.

Source - Twitter

Concentrating on county cricket to get a test recall

[Gingerfinch]

Good on him, I say. With KP gone, carberry's palace in question, and Trott's illness at large, there are plenty of places to go for.

[sussexpob]

Good on him, I say. With KP gone, carberry's palace in question, and Trott's illness at large, there are plenty of places to go for.

Because the 15 tests he played left us wondering about his test capability?

[Making_Splinters]

At the moment the only safe picks are Cook, Bell, Anderson and Broad.

So plenty of spots going.

[D/L]

As many as that?

[Arthur Crabtree]

The placement of Morgan back in England's plans, presumably as a future alternative Cook as skipper (even though the ECB is 'investing' in Cook), feels a bit desperate. At least I hope he deserves a recall on the back of CC runs before he gets back.

But England are in a tough place at the moment, with no obvious answers.

[m@tt]

When Morgan first got into the Test team, I did see him as a future replacement for KP, a game-changer at 4/5. But I didn't expect him to play so little first-class cricket in the years following. Good to see him make this decision. Although I don't currently feel he is good enough in this format, some good early season runs could change my mind.

[Arthur Crabtree]

For the start of the summer, the Test squad will be the least predictable since the nineties. Apart from KP, I think Bresnan may not be included, and I don't think Cook wants Monty in the side. Maybe they'll line up like this:

Cook
Carberry
Root
Bell
Taylor
Stokes
Prior
Broad
Jordan
Anderson
Kerrigan.

Other likely candidates will be:

Robson
Ballance
Woakes
Borthwick


Outsiders:

Compton
Moeen
Buttler
Bairstow
Onions
Finn

Maybe we'll see whether Flower's fingerprints can be seen on selection still.

[englandmad666]

I really think we are going to see some big changes to the test team this summer, the winter we have demands changes. i think cook, bell, stokes, prior, anderson and broad will all play against SL but the rest will be down to early season runs. Here is how i imagine the team will lineup -

Cook
Robson/Root
Ali/robson
Bell
Ballance
Stokes
Prior
broad
Jordan
anderson
kerrigan

However i believe that the following will all be considered also -

buttler
bairstow
bresnan
woakes
chopra
harris
finn
onions
bopara


I could go on the winds of change are blowing and they are needed.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I don't see Ravi back in Tests, but all those are in contention. I wouldn't be surprised if Carberry was retained. He looked good at times in the Ashes. I didn't mention Morgan, who has to be in with a chance.

These will be beyond the outside if such a thing is possible:

Tremlett
Rankin
Panesar

[englandmad666]

I don't see Ravi back in Tests, but all those are in contention. I wouldn't be surprised if Carberry was retained. He looked good at times in the Ashes. I didn't mention Morgan, who has to be in with a chance.

These will be beyond the outside if such a thing is possible:

Tremlett
Rankin
Panesar

I think they lost faith in all 3 of them in Australia, especially tremlett... Cook just doesn't trust monty and rankin is probably to old to turn it around now and force his way back in

[Arthur Crabtree]

I don't see why Rankin shouldn't have another go in ODIs. But not likely to play in the Tests. I guess a good county season could change things.

[Durhamfootman]

Cook hasn't got a clue what to do with a spinner, who isn't a 'set his own field' Graeme Swann, so part of me thinks that Moeen might get in the side, or they might just rely on Root turning his arm over and play 4 seamers plus Stokes for the SL early season series. Buy themselves a bit of time for the India series.