Comments on: England’s worst-ever run of Test debutants?

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 13:42:26 +0000

In reply to Ged. Alas I can see him repeating a series of 20, 10 scores forever...

By: Alec

Alec — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 12:34:54 +0000

So, since the debut of the last undoubted success story for the English selectors (Moeen Ali with 49 tests), 19 players have been chosen to represent England. Of these, none has played 20 matches (Buttler comes closest with 18) and they have scored a grand total of 3 centuries and taken 2 5 wicket hauls.

The best score is 140 (Malan) and the best bowling is 5/57 (Roland-Jones).

Since Strauss’s retirement 5 and a half years ago, only Joe Root has debuted and played more than 50 tests.

By: Bail-out

Bail-out — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 10:49:45 +0000

In reply to Micko.

On the age thing. Ed Joyce just struck his 6th ODI hundred, at the age of 39.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/10931/report/1131274/

By: Ged

Ged — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 08:01:36 +0000

In reply to Bert. Does that mean we can look forward to seven years of Vince looking flash for 10, 20 or 30 runs, then flashing at the wrong one outside off stump?

By: Micko

Micko — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 01:14:45 +0000

In reply to Bert. Wise words Bert, a significant number of greats have been dropped and come back better for it, e.g. S. Waugh, Ponting, Root, Clarke. I think that's one reason why Cook is looking a bit jaded these days despite theoretically having 5+ years left in him. Having never been dropped, he probably doesn't realise how much he really wants to be there.

By: King Cricket

King Cricket — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 19:26:39 +0000

In reply to daneel. Drinks, you'd imagine. Would be weird to reselect Vince only to drop him. Look forward to Livingstone's debut though. He's fun.

By: Bert

Bert — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 18:48:47 +0000

Perversely, the lack of depth in Australian cricket has provided them with a competent team. This much-praised bowling line-up is actually a series of not-much-choicers, who have been given a decent run at it by virtue of that fact alone.

You could make a case for there being a predictable plot for a new player:

1. Comes into team with overburdening weight of expectation, does OK.

2. With reduced expectation, starts to prosper.

3. Becomes new The One.

4. Gets found out by oppositions.

At this stage, they tend to get dropped. But this is actually just the beginning of something which, if allowed to, will blossom into something good.

5. After having been found out, works out what it is about themselves that has been found out and takes steps to correct that.

6. Begins the process of finding out how difficult test cricket is.

7. Becomes resilient to whatever the opposition can throw at them, because they’ve been there and done that.

8. Retires as one of the greats of the game.

The archetype of this process is James Anderson, the most eminently droppable bowler in English cricket for seven years, and the best we’ve seen in three decades.

By: daneel

daneel — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 17:49:15 +0000

What about this Livingstone bloke, then?

Carrying drinks in NZ, or coming in at 5 with Malan up to 3?

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 16:56:45 +0000

In reply to Mike. Did Tom Curran get injured or was he dropped? Hardly seems to matter now.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 16:55:32 +0000

I would categorise as follows:

Shows promise/persevere with: Stoneman, Crane, Malan

Started off well, tailed off/got found out: Ballance, Robson, Lyth, Jennings, Jordan

Out of form/favour but should see more of, maybe in a different role/as conditions dictate: Buttler, Hales, Moeen, Rashid

Injury curtailed promising starts, should see more of: Overton, Wood, Hameed, TRJ, Curran

Absolute dogshit, should never be allowed near an England squad again: Ball, Westley, Dawson, Duckett, Vince, Ansari (ret)