Radio 4 Today programme

"A famous name is out already, Nick Compton out for a third ball duck" Cue Mike Gatting to explain how to bat in India. Good grief ! 

Off to India !

Excellent evening at a non-favourite playing ground for TVCL annual dinner and for no reason that I can think of found myself on the top table with Geoff Miller ( his blog today is saying that for no reason that he can think of he found himself listening to the wisdom of Mark Davis). His reputation as an after dinner speaker is high and he didn't disappoint - and he's pretty good as a during dinner speaker too.
As a consquence I can now tell you that KP's 're-integration' was thorough and that he'll score a shed load of runs in India.
And in my dreams I'm off out there too - we agreed that turning a cricket ball was an unnecessary refinement and that it is all an illusion ( how many times have I had that conversation!). All in good hands with his mate Ashley Giles in the same camp.

Cricket needs businessmen and women

 

You'll have heard me say before that cricket needs businessmen running it as well as cricketers.   Obviously in an ideal world you'd have proven successful businessmen who have some international cricket experience, but there aren't that many of them around.   So choosing between the two for the most senior roles I'd go for business skills over cricket knowledge (much of which can be learnt).   The large-scale change management skills needed in bringing in technology for example, simply weren't there so unsurprisingly the whole thing's been a farce.

It's not often a view that anyone (publicly) agrees with....Nasser Hussain does judging from his autobiography...off the top of my head I can't think of any others.   So I enjoyed reading this piece which seems to agree with my views, aptly titled "The Business of Cricket Needs BusinessPeople".

Michael Clarke and his coffin

 

Or in this piece they call it his "trunk".

And people wonder why Michael Clarke is sometimes criticised for being a bit of a pretty boy!

Selection issues for England

 

Unusually for England over the last decade there doesn't seem to be much consistency in selection lately.   In Tests, Jonny Bairstow had the first chance of the summer before Ravi Bopara came in and when Bopara was unavailable for personal reasons, James Taylor was given a chance ahead of Nick Compton, who was also overlooked when Pietersen was left out with Bairstow preferred.   Now the Test touring squad for the winter includes neither Bopara or Taylor, but includes Bairstow and Compton...and Eoin Morgan who hadn't featured all summer.

 

Then in the Twenty20 they're all over the place.   The late selection of Luke Wright over Bopara at 3 has proved a huge success, but they continue to chop and change with Patel and Briggs, Bresnan and Dernbach, while also changing their keeper to Bairstow today.   Whatever happens in the rest of the tournament I find it hard to work out a circumstance in which Dernbach should be picked over Bresnan on merit.   And I felt Patel had every right to be annoyed, which he apparently was, when he was left out of the New Zealand match....Briggs then performed fine and was dropped for Patel today.

 

It's not brilliant tactical thinking...it's a muddled strategy and, although Twenty20 is to a certain extent a lottery, it would be a huge surprise if England qualify for the semi-finals, let alone get further than that.   If that leads to Broad's removal as captain then that would at least be one change that - in my opinion - would increase England's Twenty20 prospects moving forwards.   Anyone (else) who can keep a level-head under pressure would be good!