Thread: Eng ODI team
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Old 06-05-2004, 01:53 AM in reply to Mike_Hock's post "Eng ODI team"
high_on_linseed high_on_linseed is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 191
I dont think Harmison is a one day bowler, and I dont see the point in bowling him in one-dayers. Plus, as Ive said before why risk our prized test asset picking up injuries in the One-Day arena, when hes not very good at it anyway. If he could bowl a consistent length and line for a whole day like Pollock and McGrath, Id say, "ok, go for it", but he cant and I dont see the point.

Secondly, Batty and Giles - what the hell are they even doing there, especially Batty. You gotta give Blackwell his run, he is as econmical as both, and though he will get out for low scores, pretty often, now and again hes gonna explode with the bat and win a match on his own. Dont see the point in playing Flintoff AND Clarke either. For the money, my first eleven would be:

Tres, Vaughan, Strauss (maybe), Collingwood, Flintoff, Read, Blackwell, C Tremlett, Johnson, Jon Lewis, Anderson.

Youll note hardly any of the bowlers used in the current Caribbean squad would be in my eleven. I am reluctanct to include Anderson, but hope that through bowling in ODIs he will learn to mix in variations with length and line, and REALLY develop into the prospect everyone thinks he should be. Richard Johnson and Jon Lewis have been the best English one-day bowlers for ages now. Gough is past it. Tremlett is a young test prospect who is pretty accurate. We can see how he copes with pressure by playing him in ODIs.

For back up, I would be looking at Will Jefferson (maybe), Scott Newman (maybe), Ian Bell, Mark Wagh, Rikki Clarke, Ryan Sidebottom. Again because these guys are the future, with a few to bringing them into future test squads, apart from perhaps Sidebottom who is an out-and-out one day campaigner.