John Crawley

[flanflinger]

Oh... Quote from Shane Warne:-


"Obviously with John Crawley out injured at the moment, we didn't really want to break up the middle of Clarke, Kendall and Mascarenhas at four, five, six"

So even if there is a space, he is injured at the moment anyway..

[sostenurter]

Crawley as a keeper-batsman - not a bad idea! I also wish Tres had kept a bit more when he was younger, because he'd be pretty handy as a keeper-batsman.

The fact is, Crawley was very lucky to get his recall in the 2002 season, and he didn't really grab his chance, not in the manner of Thorpe coming back at the Oval. His average looks OK for that recalled period (around 40), but that is because, as I have stated before, he seemed to play with only his average on his mind - coming in at 6 or 7, and caring only about getting a not out so his average would look better. As a result, his average was artificially inflated, and I don't think his selfishness went down to well with the England management.
Yes, he should have gone to SL. And probably, Ramps should have gone to Aus instead of him. But neither of them should be starting against NZ. We don't know if Collingwood is, or could be as good as Crawley because he hasn't had a decent run in Tests. He's served his apprenticeship in the shorter form of the game, and I think he deserves his chance now. Yes, he could fail, but the signs are promising, and I'd much rather we gave him his first chance than give Crawley yet another crack of the whip.

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

Hmmmm. The perpetual quest for youth does baffle me, then we fill our side with 30 somethings ! One of englands strengths at the moment is the "team england" mentality, its written all over them. Crawley, and caddick as well for that matter, arent work sacrificing this ethos for this type of player ie good but they're not exactly warne and ponting are they ? The "team spirit and focus" that vaughan is bringing in with his captaincy (not forgetting the siege mentality that hussain brought as well) could disappear out the window with the arrival of these two. Changes could and should be made but these two arent worth the upheaval.