No great surprises... though Bopara edges out Loye in the tightest call.See ECB Press Release

Squad:

1. Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire) captain, 32
2. James Anderson (Lancashire), 24
3. Ian Bell (Warwickshire), 24
4. Ravi Bopara (Essex), 21
5. Paul Collingwood (Durham), 30
6. James Dalrymple (Middlesex), 26
7. Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), 29
8. Ed Joyce (Middlesex), 28
9. Jon Lewis (Gloucestershire), 31
10. Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), 25
11. Paul Nixon (Leicestershire), 36
12. Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), 24
13. Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), 26
14. Liam Plunkett (Durham), 21
15. Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), 29

Standby players still not announced.

I guess it is a surprise that Bopara has been picked ahead of Loye but i think it is a good choice.

Personally i wouldn't have Mahmood or Nixon and would have had Broad and Read but overall i am happy enough with the squad.Roll on next month.

The only thing that worries me is that none of the top three score (or even try to score) particularly quickly. Vaughan, Joyce and Bell is hardly a top three likely to scare the opposing opening bowlers. It puts too much pressure on KP and Freddie to score quickly.

Nixon. Less said.

I half expected this to happen - Flintoff in his post match interviews gave no credit to Loye at all, I really don't believe one of the biggest single factors behind Englands recent one day success has been left out.

Vaughan can't even be relied upon to turn out, and if he does he won't hand around or score many (if any runs), well Flintoff will get the sack as captain if England don't do well in the WC, and serves him right.


Right on the money here NE, this was the problem in the Ashes also , Flintoff and Pietersen found themselves far to early at the wicket, because the top three could not see of the opening bowlers if their lives depended on it.

I can't believe the player who made all the difference to Englands one day top order has not even made the final 15, and Strauss has - bet the opening bowlers of the other nations in particular with slower opening attacks are breathing a sigh of relief.
Nothing wrong with selecting Bopara, but he should have took the strauss place - the side as now lost the "better balance" of the side that just won the Tri nations ODI cup, graveney is so sad, and mono-dimensional as a selector.

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Ern

It shouldn't have been Bopara or Loye but Strauss or Loye.

Our problem is that now we have a one dimensional batting order. Apart from Pieterson our bats are all the same, anyway on current from it should have been Loye in, Strauss out!


Wickets in hand may get you a good score, but since when have India, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies or Sri Lanka wasted powerplays and got off to slow starts?

They all have aggresive batsman up top and are all capable of getting 125-150 off the first 20. With our batters we'll be lucky to get 150 of the first 35 overs!

Oh, and whats the one thing in common with all of these teams..... they all play the one day game better than us

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Mark.

So when Vaughan's knee packs in, in the middle of our match against Canada, who will step up to open the batting?

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

Why - Loye of course .

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Ern

What makes you think his knee will last that long . Anyway if I were Loye, I'd have my bags packed because with our record we are bound to injure half of the team.

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Mark.

It's one thing to play a "multi dimensional player" as a pinch hitter.... because such a player can still contribute in the field even if his slogging doesn't come off.... but only the most exceptional players (like Jayasuria) can actually thrive whilst opening in pinch-hitting mode.

If England HAD a ODI pinch hitter in Trescothick's class, selection would be straightforward... but if not... the next best options might read as follows:

1. Promote someone who is in the side anyway.

2. Forget pinch-hitting.

Option one was explored with Prior as 'keeper... and with Jones as 'keeper... but Nixon ain't in the same class with the bat (and after the World Cup he's presumably being ditched... so the side would be back to square one). The only basis for risking it would be the short boundaries... but ultimately, like Flintoff and Dalrymple, he looks more useful down the order with a license to open his shoulders in the closing overs.

Bottom line: I think England are better off with option 2. Stack the top order with batsmen who can bat through with a strike rate of 70-80 and try and guarantee two-three big scores (including one century) per game.