England's starting XI?
With Strauss the casualty of the latest England squad selection, Shah and Bopara both have a chance of playing in the 1st Sri Lanka Test. But the question is will they both play? Given that Michael Vaughan can bowl his off-spinners, and the fact that the importance of bowlers like Collingwood and Bopara increases on the slow Sri Lankan pitches, I'd be tempted to play them both. But that doesn't mean I think the England selectors will agree! Shah will want to bat 3 and it will be interesting to see if they bat him at 3 or 6, along with Bell. I think Bopara is the one with the much harder battle to get in the side, fighting it out with Swann I guess:
Vaughan
Cook
Shah
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Bopara/Swann
Prior
Sidebottom
Anderson
Panesar
The BBC have described the England selectors as "ruthless" for dropping Strauss - I think they have been patient and to wait any longer for a return to form would have been a mistake. And, although I know Mark Davis disagrees, I don't think Ramprakash coming back was ever going to be a realistic option, with Shah and Bopara both playing well. It will be interesting to see who does get picked from the squad though....
1 comment:
I think the squad is pretty much spot on, but I would have liked to see Rashid from Yorkshire in there as a leg spinning option. I'd definitely agree Ramprakash would have been a backwards step and Strauss has looked poor for a long time now - obvious flaws in technique and mentality.
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