Team for 1st Sri Lanka Test

[Oldhasbeen]

Some interesting selection dilemmas here:

- who'll be behind the stumps?
- who'll be Ally's opening partner?
- who'll bat at 3?
-  Will England pick a spinner? If so, whom?
- Is Stokes fit enough? If not, will the selectors go for another all-rounder, maybe Chris Woakes or Fatty Patel, both in good form?
- Mssrs Jordon, Buttler & Gurney have already doen well in one-dayers - will / should this get them into the test team?

Answers on a postcard .......

[afinetickletoleg]

Some interesting selection dilemmas here:

- who'll be behind the stumps? Prior
- who'll be Ally's opening partner? Robson
- who'll bat at 3? Bell
-  Will England pick a spinner? If so, whom? Patel
- Is Stokes fit enough? Yes
- Mssrs Jordon, Buttler & Gurney have already doen well in one-dayers - will / should this get them into the test team? No.

Answers on a postcard .......

[Oldhasbeen]

Interesting selection, finetickle. But I wouldn't put my money on Stokes & Prior being up to 5 days worth, or fully prepared.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a 13 man squad to give the selectors a chance to assess full fitness late on.

My 13:
Cook, Robson, Compton, Bell, Ballance, Root, Stokes, Foster, Broad, Jordan, Anderson, Gurney, Patel

Fatty Patel isn't test class but our spin options are dismal. The Kent lad Riley's doing well but very new to the CC & I haven't seen him.
A few punters fancy Mooen Ali & Jack Brooks for the team but I haven't seen either of them for quite a while
Finn needs more time to get his action/head right.

[Diatribe]

I personally think Compton has been shabbily treated by the ECB and has again perhaps not unsurprisingly been omitted. I note that amongst the comments, one clown is suggesting that the aforementioned isn't even of county standard, I dread to think how he would rate our top six batsmen.

[DT]

Compton might have been unfairly treated granted but A/ he don't even open for Somerset (and didn't when he was playing tests!) and B/ hasn't exactly scored buckets of runs and missed out not surprisingly.

Now Jordan and Sam Robson given the nod and Liam Plunkett - have I missed something??  Didn't know Plunkett had improved that much or are we that desperate??

[firehazard]

...Liam Plunkett - have I missed something??  Didn't know Plunkett had improved that much or are we that desperate??

I seem to recall that there was some vague talk of Essex signing Plunkett a couple of years ago. Though I may have imagined it. We ended up signing Saj instead. That worked out well.

[Andy]

...Liam Plunkett - have I missed something??  Didn't know Plunkett had improved that much or are we that desperate??

I seem to recall that there was some vague talk of Essex signing Plunkett a couple of years ago. Though I may have imagined it. We ended up signing Saj instead. That worked out well.

Saw plunkett a couple of years ago in a t20 at old Trafford. Didn't make a great impression at the time. Then neither did Saj and look what happened to him...

[afinetickletoleg]

...Liam Plunkett - have I missed something??  Didn't know Plunkett had improved that much or are we that desperate??

I seem to recall that there was some vague talk of Essex signing Plunkett a couple of years ago. Though I may have imagined it. We ended up signing Saj instead. That worked out well.

Saw plunkett a couple of years ago in a t20 at old Trafford. Didn't make a great impression at the time. Then neither did Saj and look what happened to him...

Bumble was saying during the last one dayer that Plunkett was the best bowler he had seen this season; fast, straight and aggressive, and that it seemed that the penny had finally dropped.

[IanS]

Some interesting selection dilemmas here:

-  Will England pick a spinner? If so, whom? Patel

Answers on a postcard .......

We have two part-timers in the squad, Root and Moeen Ali, both off-spinners. Moeen Ali does have 143 1st class wickets (Root has only 15) but averages over 40. For a rough comparison Ashley Giles averaged just under 30 in his first-class career.

At best they can fill in some overs while we wait for the new ball but if we are trying to build a team that can win Tests in India & Australia, we need a proper spinner who can build pressure and take wickets. Is the cupboard really that bare?

[Andy]

Saw plunkett a couple of years ago in a t20 at old Trafford. Didn't make a great impression at the time. Then neither did Saj and look what happened to him...

Bumble was saying during the last one dayer that Plunkett was the best bowler he had seen this season; fast, straight and aggressive, and that it seemed that the penny had finally dropped.

This is Bumble we're talking about!  Lets hope the penny drops for Saj as well.

[frank21]

I think the penny dropped down the drain

[nat]

...Liam Plunkett - have I missed something??  Didn't know Plunkett had improved that much or are we that desperate??

I seem to recall that there was some vague talk of Essex signing Plunkett a couple of years ago. Though I may have imagined it. We ended up signing Saj instead. That worked out well.

At least we dodged one bullet. Both are pie chuckers.

[Blocky]

I'd take Plunkett over saj any day I reckon...I saw him on the tv recently and there weren't too many pies.....

[firehazard]

I'd take Plunkett over saj any day I reckon...I saw him on the tv recently and there weren't too many pies.....

Haven't seen Plunkett recently, but it seems there's an opinion that he was a pie-chucker, but since the move to a new county he's improved significantly. Can't help but wonder if that would've happened if he had come to Essex...

[DT]

Some interesting selection dilemmas here:

-  Will England pick a spinner? If so, whom? Patel

Answers on a postcard .......

We have two part-timers in the squad, Root and Moeen Ali, both off-spinners. Moeen Ali does have 143 1st class wickets (Root has only 15) but averages over 40. For a rough comparison Ashley Giles averaged just under 30 in his first-class career.

At best they can fill in some overs while we wait for the new ball but if we are trying to build a team that can win Tests in India & Australia, we need a proper spinner who can build pressure and take wickets. Is the cupboard really that bare?

I don't think it is but the problem is England have always gone for bits and pieces players - or players who can do this and do that.  Not that Ali and Root are bits and pieces in terms of their batting but defo in regards their bowling!