CC discussion thread 2014

[sussexpob]

well he defo won't play that 1st test against sri lanka then, not that he was nailed onto play anyway.

Bairstow should be fit for the 1st Sri Lanka test as it starts in June, sadly for the lad he has only 3 CC matches at best to make an impression.

Well he can only be bowled through the gate 6 times, and drop a realistic maximum of 13 catches..... I would say that a bonus for him

and would still get in the England team ahead of Matt Prior

Bairstow has averaged 21 since his innings against South Africa in 2012... in ten test matches. He also isnt even a good enough county keeper to be a specialist, and he kept like a train wreck for England so far.

Not so sure he is the automatic pick you seem to think he is. Andy Hodd would probably bat better then him

Without the disaster of the Ashes series in OZ, Bairstow wouldnt have been anywhere near the team

[dan08]

There's at least 4 keepers i'd rather have than Bairstow.

[sussexpob]

There's at least 4 keepers i'd rather have than Bairstow.

Picking Bairstow as keeper was the real "losing the plot" moment of Flower's regime. Foolhardy for the team, and totally on fair on the lad. Bairstow needed taking away after the home series and given some time to work on his game. The good thing is he is young, and in a way his technical problems are so defined, they should provide him with a clear target to improve those areas. If he improves, at times he looks like he has other elements that could make him a useful player.

But when a player is struggling with his specialist area, you dont give him a whole new thing to learn at the side. That was verging on psychotic, as stupid a decision as I can remember. That was a selfish pick in my eyes.... try to mask his underperformance with the bat to make it look acceptable as a keeper so you dont have to admit you picked the wrong guy, or didnt notice his lack of technique for test cricket.

AP may think this is a Yorks v Sussex argument, but I said in the Ashes Prior needed to walk and reassess. In fact I was critical of Prior in the summer, very harshly. His batting was petulant and at times he played like he couldnt give a shite. His dismissals were like an episode of candid camera.

Prior needs to go back to Sussex and prove he seriously wants it. One 100 is not enough, he has to go back to us and grind out innings, prove he can do the hard yards. His innings against Middlesex was old Prior, throwing the bat. It wasnt an innings of care.... although the situation did suit aggression

[SaintPowelly]

If England selected WKs on glove work then Michael Bates would be undroppable.

As for Prior, hes the best of a bad bunch really, although if England want a WK that will swing at anything like Priors approach lately, Wheater, Kieswetter or Buttler could do that.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Prior up unto Aukland was a lot more than the best of a bad bunch. If in the form he was to that point, then he's not only a must pick, he's a star player in the team, and perhaps our best batter who also keeps ever. As well as a reliable keeper. If he's not that player anymore, then we need to look at alternatives. Given the player he's been, we should give him more time.

[captaincolly]

@TomMaston: Alex Hales dropped by Nottinghamshire despite making 61 vs Lancashire. Wessels' 90 in the second dig sees him keep his place #countycricket

[Arthur Crabtree]

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... pe=batting

[Alviro Patterson]

There's at least 4 keepers i'd rather have than Bairstow.

Picking Bairstow as keeper was the real "losing the plot" moment of Flower's regime. Foolhardy for the team, and totally on fair on the lad. Bairstow needed taking away after the home series and given some time to work on his game. The good thing is he is young, and in a way his technical problems are so defined, they should provide him with a clear target to improve those areas. If he improves, at times he looks like he has other elements that could make him a useful player.

But when a player is struggling with his specialist area, you dont give him a whole new thing to learn at the side. That was verging on psychotic, as stupid a decision as I can remember. That was a selfish pick in my eyes.... try to mask his underperformance with the bat to make it look acceptable as a keeper so you dont have to admit you picked the wrong guy, or didnt notice his lack of technique for test cricket.

AP may think this is a Yorks v Sussex argument, but I said in the Ashes Prior needed to walk and reassess. In fact I was critical of Prior in the summer, very harshly. His batting was petulant and at times he played like he couldnt give a shite. His dismissals were like an episode of candid camera.

Prior needs to go back to Sussex and prove he seriously wants it. One 100 is not enough, he has to go back to us and grind out innings, prove he can do the hard yards. His innings against Middlesex was old Prior, throwing the bat. It wasnt an innings of care.... although the situation did suit aggression

Whoever picked Bairstow was influenced from the outside. One of the Yorkshire hierarchy had a go at the ECB for Bairstow not playing during the ICC Champions Trophy and effectively said, either play Bairstow in The (Home) Ashes or release him. The logical pick was KP in for Bairstow, rather than drop Compton and play Root as an opener.

Hindsight is such a wonderful thing, but Prior to the Ashes tour down under Bairstow's keeping was looking rather strong at county level after taking 6 catches against Middlesex and conceding 1 bye, so it made some sense to take him to Australia as a batting option/back up keeper.

Not so sure he is the automatic pick you seem to think he is. Andy Hodd would probably bat better then him

[Arthur Crabtree]

Can Yorkshire tell England to stop picking one of their players? It sounds unlikely, and unlikely that a player would want to represent them if so. And ethically dubious if England would then have to select a player from a rival county to replace him.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Maybe this discussion would be better on an England thread.

[Alviro Patterson]

Can Yorkshire tell England to stop picking one of their players? It sounds unlikely, and unlikely that a player would want to represent them if so. And ethically dubious if England would then have to select a player from a rival county to replace him.

Happened before with the U19s and Lions squads. England had plans to select 4 Yorkshire players for a Lions fixture in May 2011 but Moxon replied pick a maximum of 2, a batsman and a bowler. At the time Yorkshire were struggling with injuries and Simon Guy was called out of retirement to play a one off match against Lancashire.

During the ICC Champions Trophy campaign, Yorkshire were struggling to field six batsmen due to injury. The ECB went too far in selecting Gary Ballance for the New Zealand t20is, whilst allowing KP to play all 4 days and join England for the 2nd T20i. Ballance never got selected and the Yorkshire hierarchy were furious.

All good and well the ECB raiding Yorkshire players for national selection, but it's no good if they are bench warming whilst the County is struggling to raise a team.

[sussexpob]

All good and well the ECB raiding Yorkshire players for national selection, but it's no good if they are bench warming whilst the County is struggling to raise a team.

Couldnt agree more.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Fair enough for Lions selections.

Next in line is bound to do a bit of bench warming. What's wrong is if this hasn't been thought out, and someone leapfrogs the player when a spot comes up, and the player remains warming the bench. Which happens. England are better now at getting reserves back to their counties if left out the test.

[Alviro Patterson]

Allowing players to leave/enter mid-way through a County Championship match is hardly a level field and devalues the competition. That said with County Championship matches mainly scheduled on Sunday's that scenario won't crop up as much.

Also it's difficult for counties to plan ahead when the ECB are unpredictable and inconsistent when it comes to selecting and releasing players. More so when giving less than 24hrs notice to release Tim Bresnan for the 2012 FLt20 Finals Day.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I agree, it could be done better. If counties block off opportunities for their players though, they're doing them a disservice. Playing for England is the goal of any qualified player. If a county plays hard to get with availability, the player will become unhappy.