Ian Blackwell

[Trescothick]

I was suprised to see that Ian Blackwell was not name in the Ashes squad or the ICC Champions Trophy. Well ok, just the latter, but he is a huge asset to the English ODI side and has done as much, if not more (and has more potentiual) than Clarke, Yardy, Dalrymphe. He has just returned today, and has felt discomfort which I feel may be the main reason why however he has already taken 2 wickets for 60 odd and shown hes feeling in form. I guess its coming just slightly too soon but will he play in the Aussie one day series and world cup? Or has he been pushed out by Dalrymphe, Yardy, Clarke

[greg]

I think if he hadn't been injured then he would have been in the squad but Dalrymple and Yardy have done well and would have been unfortunate if they had been dropped.

Anyway we have enough injured players already going so picking another one who has hardly played would be asking for trouble.

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

True, but if you're picking giles and anderson for 5 day matches, you might at least consider Blackwell who was very economical and took wickets in pakistan and india over the other two who have done "ok". YOu are right about the injury aspect I guess but if fit it would be a no-brainer.

[Teatime FatCat]

Dalrymple and Yardy have the advantage over Blackwell that they don't look like a walking wicket whenever they come to the crease. Blackie looks hopeless with the bat at international level, Dalrymple already has 2 x 50's and Yardy looks composed. The fact that Yardy and JD are batted at 5,6 or 7 and that Blackie slipped down to 8 or 9 is rather telling.

There's nothing much wrong with his bowling, it's just that the other two now fit Fletcher's multi-dimensional cricketer mould.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Teatime FatCat

the other two now fit Fletcher's multi-dimensional cricketer mould.

Blackwell's batting is OK for ODI... perhaps as aggressive counterpoint to the more measured Dalrymple: if he fails on the multi-dimensional bit it's in the field.

Come the world cup, England are almost certainly going to want more slow bowling than they currently boast: the captain may well want to get up to 30 overs from slower bowling to try and keep a lid on the carnage. I could see Yardy, Dalrymple AND Blackwell playing... possibly alongside Flintoff, Anderson and perhaps Harmison.

[Ernest]

Yep and the fact that "Yardy" can get as much turn on the ball as Warne is telling.

Surely Yardy pointed in the right direction has got to be the futures biggest prospect for a SLA all round great.

[Teatime FatCat]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Blackwell's batting is OK for ODI... perhaps as aggressive counterpoint to the more measured Dalrymple:

I don't think it is Rachael - whenever I've seen him bat, he's got out cheaply (and stupidly). I looked at his figures, and if you take out his 82, which he got in his second game, he's scored 321 runs in 28 innings, which is about 11 runs an innings - and people view him as an alrounder.

I'm gonna stick my neck out and say that he's been passed over in favour of players of equal bowling ability but better batting talent.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Ernest

Surely Yardy pointed in the right direction has got to be the futures biggest prospect for a SLA all round great.

Worryingly if Fletcher has his way he will probably try and get Yardy or Dalrymple into the Test team in place of Monty as soon as he possible can.

Now I like Fletcher but I get the feeling that his preference would be for Giles, Yardy or Dalrymple over Monty.. and sadly he is the main selector on tour.....

[Trescothick]

Who was is 82 against?

He also hit a composed few boundarys to win England an ODI just at thge end of last year which could have seen England collapse, infact they were very close to collapsing. I feel he can play a good role at No 7 or so just be more watchful and play balls on their merits.

Darlymphe and Yardy are fine if you want to post totals of 200-250 however Blackwell is the type of player in a team that will post 275+ which we need

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

The biggest problem with young blackwell is his batting, which is at odds with his county form (rmember his 275 a couple of years ago?). More often than not when he gets a bat with a decent number of overs to go its a after a famous and all too regular middle order collapse, and rather than stopping it, he just adds to it which is a great shame. Pick him for his tidy bowling and hope, one day, he'll hammer a brutal 50 or ton. He's got it in him.