England captaincy debate continues....

Interesting to hear the debate on TMS about who could replace Alastair Cook should he go as captain - if it happens wouldn't England have been in a so much better position had they picked James Foster from the start of the summer so that he could have stepped into the captaincy role?   What a pity they didn't go with my selection!   Having said that England would have missed out on their top Test run scorer this summer if they'd not picked Root!

Mike Selvey mentioned Chris Read as a possible keeper/captain but he's a couple of years older than Foster so for me Foster's the man.   Sounds like Jos Buttler will take the keeping slot and Cook will continue as captain but time will tell....

Mankading not ok for Swann and Agnew

I wrote before how it was Jos Buttler's fault that he was run out backing up by Sri Lanka in the ODI series.   Most club cricketers I spoke to thought the same - why wasn't Buttler a bit more careful having been warned?   

So it's interesting to hear from Agnew that the general response from club cricketers was that it was ok and his speculation as to the reason for that.   He suggested the reason could be that club cricketers don't see their opponents again where as pro cricketers see each other regularly on the circuit.   That's not the case at all - as a club cricketer I've built up a large number of opponents who I play against home and away each year and have a beer or two with after each game.   So the fact that I thought Buttler's dismissal was ok wasn't to do with the fact I wouldn't see people again if I did the same - it was to do the fact that he was in the wrong and Sri Lanka were in the right!

Swann talked of his mankading of Mark Snell of Middlesex when he was Under 11 and said his father told him he wished he was adopted after he did it.   That's left him with a feeling that it's not an acceptable dismissal, but surely it is when the batsman is regularly backing up too far?

I don't expect to agree with the commentators all the time, but I'm surprised with their views on mankading, not because I disagree (which happens fairly regularly)....but more because it's not just me that disagrees....the overwhelming majority of club cricketers seem to disagree despite key influencers in the media making as strong a case as they can for mankading to be wrong.   It hasn't changed the views of any club cricketers I speak to.

Buttler dismissal fair enough

I can't really see any reason why England are so upset with Angelo Mathews for going ahead with the dismissal of Buttler yesterday.   He'd been warned and he was still wandering down the wicket without looking at the bowler, so not the most intelligent piece of cricket ever seen.

I agree entirely with what Jayawardene had to say:

"We gave him a fair chance," Jayawardene said. "Twice. Before the first warning, we told the umpires that he was taking too much of a lead and then he was warned again. We had to do that, because they kept doing it. 

"We analysed our game after Lord's. They took 22 twos in the last 12 overs. Ravi Bopara and him ran riot. And most of the time they were taking starts that are not legal by the written laws. We just wanted to make sure we got a fair chance. We warned them and we warned the umpires, but they didn't listen to us, so we had to take the right steps.

"We always try to play in the right spirit, but if the other team is not playing in the right spirit and not going with the law, then unfortunately we had to take the law into our hands. It was the third time. It is fair enough, I think. We all need to play by the rules.

"If the other sides are not going by the rules, then they're not playing by the spirit, so what can you do?"

I can see England's annoyance, but I wonder how much of it is frustration because Buttler was key to the acceleration they needed at the end of the innings.   In effect his dismissal ended England's hopes of a competitive score, but the issue was with the way the batsmen above Buttler batted, as well as his dozy run out.   The talk around Buttler's run out makes it less likely that people will focus on England's batting shortcomings throughout the series.

How's about this for England's next ODI match?

Cook

Hales

Bell

Bopara

Ballance

Morgan

Buttler

Jordan

Etc?

Last word on the Buttler run out from Jeff Sheldon of Kidmore End (via my Facebook feed) - it certainly inspired quite a few comments!

Jos Buttler isn't ready to keep for England in Tests

I couldn't believe it when I heard Michael Vaughan saying last night on Vaughan and Tuffers that he thought Jos Buttler should be picked for Test cricket if Matt Prior isn't fit.   And he said that picking Foster would be a huge step backwards for England.

As you can tell by the fact that I didn't even include Buttler in the list of possibles for a keeping spot, it didn't even occur to me that he could be in with a shout...his keeping just hasn't been good enough for Test cricket in ODIs and Twenty20s.   And more to the point, the man himself doesn't think he's ready, and his captain doesn't think he's ready.

It's been reported that Peter Moores thinks he's in the frame, but if you actually read what Moores said, it sounds like a coach who simply wants to encourage someone for the future.

“When you look back in history, not every player is perfectly ready when they play,” said Moores. ­“Sometimes they develop in the formats which they go to.
“I think Jos would quite rightly say, ‘I’m not the finished article’ and he wouldn’t be - not many people are. The key is whether it is the right time to introduce him to Test cricket.
“Obviously Jos has been talked about a lot and how he played the other day hasn’t done him any harm - it was a fantastic innings.
“If Matt’s fit he’s a very strong contender. Jos is improving quickly and I thought he kept well so he has certainly pushed his name forward.
“I don’t think you want to be set in stone and you never want to put ceilings on people. People do have moves. He’s improving and it was great to see him play like that.
“If that’s enough to get into the Test team, then we’ll sit down and talk about it.”

So perhaps Buttler should have been on the shortlist but I just can't see him squeezing in.   There is a precedent for "successfully" bringing in a batsman keeper when they weren't ready to keep in Test cricket and for them to improve out of sight....Mark Boucher.   He really was a poor keeper when he started but South Africa stuck with him and he was quality at his peak undoubtedly.   But, although I don't know, I suspect the difference is that South Africa didn't have a James Foster, someone with a legitimate claim to being the best out and out keeper in the world, waiting as a possible alternative.

I will despair if England pick Buttler for the 1st Test!

Encouraging signs from Jos Buttler

Another century, this time in a losing cause for England Lions, for Jos Buttler. That comes after a 56 ball 102 before that too.

Surely IPL monies will be coming his way in 2013....