There is always general humour to be had at my cricket club when considering the basis for selection to the 1st team. For a long time now, a duck in the 2nd XI the week before is considered the perfect pre-cursor to a promotion, or 0-100 normally does it for a bowler. That doesn't normally happen in international cricket though.So I was surprised to see that Tim Ambrose got the nod for the ODI squad today. It must have been his average of 1.5 in the current series and a total of 24 byes in 2 matches that have swung it his way. Personally, not that I think he's the greatest keeper in the world (or even in England), I would have selected Matt Prior who averages over 40 in Tests. Admittedly, he averages only 20 in ODIs but that's because England insisted on making him a pinch-hitter at the top of the order most of the time, rather than batting him 6 or 7.
Who would you have selected?
If the batsman isn't going to bat at the top of the order then just pick the best keeper - Read.
ReplyDeleteWhether Ambrose is the right person is questonable, but its got to be right that one keeper is used in all games
ReplyDeleteThe guy I feel sorry for is Mustard. He hardly put a glove wrong behind the stumps in the ODIs in New Zealand (I think) and then was overlooked for the tests out there. What did he do wrong?
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