The team for the Test

[flanflinger]

As I see it there are several key decisions for the first Test

Three pretty much are already made

G Jones will be the keeper, Giles the Spinner and Flintoff the All rounder. So that means Read, Batty and Collingwood will sit the first test our (barring injuries)

The next one is the whether to play 6 batsmen or 5 bowlers. I think they will go with 5 bowlers (Freddie is so imprtant to the balance of the England team)

So with that in mind that leaves a battle between

Butcher and Key
Jones and Anderson

I think they will go with Butcher for the Number three spot. His proven track record must make him favourite. If they had planned not to play him, I think that decision would have been made when the tour party was announced.

So that leaves Jones versus Anderson. This is a much harder one to call. It may come down to the pitch and the conditions. Also, up until the Zimbabwe tour I would have said Anderson would have been favourite. But he looks to be woefully out of form, while Jones, although not much better, may be the better bet.

So my Team (based on the players actually on tour) would be

PHP Code:

Trescothick
  Strauss
  Butcher
  Vaughan
  Thorpe
  Flintoff
  Jones G
  Giles
  Jones S
  Hoggard
  Harmison 


[Rachael]

Everything we're hearing suggests that Butcher's got the no 3 spot and Key's the reserve.. but Fletcher's not averse to taking us by surprise. ON the bowling front, however, I think taking Anderson to a county match would be daft right now: Anderson can only win that contest if the obsession with loyalty is taken to a more absurd level than ever.

I guess the Xi wil be as you suggest.. and with so many back to back Tests I could see some sense. I'd still rather see the extra bat for the first Test though: I fear the batsmen are going to be so out of match practice that England could lose a session or two and then the game before they've really found their stride..

[Occasional Fan]

Where are we hearing that, Rachael? I've not really been catching any vibes on the Key/Butcher decision - but could be that I've just not been looking in the right places. Seems to me that if Butcher is going to stand a chance of getting into the team for Port Elizabeth, he's going to have to perform this weekend. And, based on Key's knock yesterday and Butcher's own failure, I'm not even sure I'd give him the chance. I'd go with Key at the weekend to give him the match practice, committing admittedly to putting him in the test team come what may. Drinks duty for Butch, I'm afraid.

We started kicking this around yesterday here. No conclusions, of course!

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Occasional Fan

Where are we hearing that, Rachael?

I have read it this morning that Key knows that Butcher has been penciled in
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...394805,00.html

[Occasional Fan]

Similar comments in the Torygraph as well - just found them. Still don't want to believe it! I also found this, referring to yesterday's game:

Originally Posted by Daily Telegraph

With time in the middle at a premium for those not involved in Zimbabwe, Key, who played some neat shots off the pace bowlers Heath Streak and Charl Willoughby, admitted that he and Trescothick had been trying to get out once they had got their fifties.

Most of the batsmen yesterday got pavilion practice, which was a wasted opportunity, surely. So why didn't Trescothick and Key each retire at 50?

[Mike_Hock]

Why didn't we bat first?

I think if Butcher fails against SA A and Key gets another score he has to start in the 1st test as form will be important due to the lack of practice matches the test boys have had.

[Kirsty Harris]

I did suspect that Butcher was being lined up for the 1st test when he was included in the squad, as I couldn't imagine that he would have been selected just to serve drinks and hang around the dressing room....I don't really think he should be bought back in the side at this stage, given that both Key and Bell have shown their worth to the side in his absence.

The pressure will really be on him to make some runs if he is selected, that's for sure...

[Milo]

I'd give him the first test, for sure. His last test innings was a very important one.

We need to take a leaf out of the Australia book here. However good players do when acting as replacements, the first choice team always gets selected when fit. Butcher is part of that first choice team. It'll keep Key hungry.

[Kirsty Harris]

Yes, but the last innings Butcher played was his only half-way decent knock of the series, and although he made a few runs in the WI, he hardly looked in good nick...

Giles scored more runs than Butcher v NZ!, and generally Butcher looked pretty hapless.

I rather fear we have seen the best of Butcher. He has been a good player for England, but I really do think we could be looking elsewhere at the moment. Of course, Bucther may well prove me wrong, and if he does, good luck to him!

As you say, it may do Key good!!

[Rachael]

This time last year Butcher was the leading batsman in the side.. and pretty much the only guy who actualy looked as if Sri Lanka was the place he wanted to be. Averaged 50+ against Murali. When the *** hit the fan in the WI he did what needed doing: critical innings with Hussain when England could have been steamrollered in the first Test (recall that second morning.. 33/2... Edwards and Best rampant.. and thinking "this English Innings might not last 1 session?).. and a critical innings in the 2nd Test where he came in at 8 for 2 and did the majority og the damage in a 120 run partnership with Hussain.

I'd back Thorpe as the better player for a crisis.. but in terms of delivering when the chips are down.. Butcher's the only other guy that has looked up for taking over Hussain's role.

Key's no substitute.. he's a guy to cache in with big totals when the going is good. Key's a change of approach: the question is not which is the better bat.. but rather "do England want some steel or a flat track bully".