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Originally Posted by flanflinger  So you would drop Shah? Your team only works if Flintoff is fit. Now I agree with you that Maschrenas is not a long term option, but at the moment he does seem to be getting results, so for me he stays.
I like Plunkett, and I see him as a long term option, but I feel he needs a few more years in the county scene. Yes he does take wickets, but he is also very inconsistent, and for me he needs to find that consistency in a level below international standard. |
Well to be honest I'm not a big Shah fan and as he's not technically good enough to bat at 3 I see it as a straight choice between him and Bopara (who I rate extremely highly) for the number 6 finisher role and Bopara's superior all round game and massive long term potential gets him the nod.
The fitness of Flintoff is I agree key for the balance of the one day side but hypothetically if you brought in Wright (some interesting stats on cricinfo on why Wright would be worth percervering at 7 rather than bumped up to pinch hit in the power plays
Cricinfo - How important is the No. 7 batsman? ) for him and dropped Monty for an extra quick (be it Tremlett, Sidebottom....) you'd still have 4 frontline seamers. The only downside would be it would be somewhat one dimensional attack.
Mascarenhas has taken only the 3 wickets at 63 in his 6 ODI's and even with an economy of 4.15 (a figure that is steadily rising) and that is IMHO nowhere near acceptable for someone who is in the side primarily as a bowling all rounder.
In terms of Plunkett being inconsistant and needing time playing county cricket I do agee but can't we say exactly the same thing about Broad? Plunkett should certainly be nowhere near the test side but playing ODI's in between more regular outings for Durham can only aid his development IMHO and with the world cup 4 years away the need for short term imediate success is not as pressing.