England A squad for tour of UAE and Sri Lanka 2005

[Andy Mellon]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

also Rikki Clarke and Jim Troughton whove both had minor tastes of the international game before

Rikki Clarke is there and performed up to my expectations by scoring 2 off 8 balls before being bowled, and conceding 10 runs off his only over. Massively over rated in my opinion.

[Mike]

I'm looking forward to selecting the next WAT England A XI at the end of the county season to see how guys like Clarke are rated by our selectors. I think Clarke was in the frame but missed the final XI last time. He needs a strong county showing to get into the last 20, IMHO.

[Chuck Palumbo]

Originally Posted by Andy Mellon

Rikki Clarke is there and performed up to my expectations by scoring 2 off 8 balls before being bowled, and conceding 10 runs off his only over. Massively over rated in my opinion.

I think your being a tad harsh on Clarke, alright he maybe a bit raw at the moment but so was Flintoff at the same age. I think he averages somewhere over 40 in the first class game and for a 22 year with 3 seasons under his belt, that is quite impressive.

Its obvious though that he does need to work very hard on his game in the next 2 years if he is going to get back into England recognition so hopefully him being in the academy will help him to do this.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Chuck Palumbo

I think your being a tad harsh on Clarke, alright he maybe a bit raw at the moment but so was Flintoff at the same age.

That's a worthwhile point and certainly is grounds for cutting the guy some slack.. but it doesn't alter the fact that he really does suck right now.

The comparison with Flintoff depends, to my mind, on his temperament. I get the impression that it's pretty decent.. and if it is the eye for the ball and ability to propel a heavy ball at a decent pace should give the coaches every chance of producing a second Flintoff.

Let's hope that this time around the coaching staff do their stuff BEFORE the guy blights the national side rather than forcing the team to carry him for 30+ Tests!

[Trescothick]

Theres been no mention of this tour but its been a white wash with none other than Vikram Solanki being our main man... Congrats to him, i'm pretty sure he sholdget MOS, i'll ahve to check though...

Ian Bell and Prior seemed to do well...


What do you think of the players on the brink

[Kirsty Harris]

Bell has proved once again to me why England should seriously consider picking him for the Ashes - got a good head on his sholders, that lad has!

[Teatime FatCat]

Originally Posted by Rachael

That's a worthwhile point and certainly is grounds for cutting the guy some slack.. but it doesn't alter the fact that he really does suck right now.

The comparison with Flintoff depends, to my mind, on his temperament. I get the impression that it's pretty decent.. and if it is the eye for the ball and ability to propel a heavy ball at a decent pace should give the coaches every chance of producing a second Flintoff.

Let's hope that this time around the coaching staff do their stuff BEFORE the guy blights the national side rather than forcing the team to carry him for 30+ Tests!

I'm not sure he's a pure alrounder like people think. Last year (the year you think he might really kick on, and also the year with all Surreys bowling woes, that he might have got a decent crack at bowling at county batters) he managed a fairly average 31.17 with the bat - however, he bowled around 110 overs taking only 9 wkts at 57.55 each, and at a strike rate of 73!

Compare that to Ian Bell who not only scored his runs at 68.56 and took 16 wkts at 27 each with a strike rate of 56.

Maybe it's time for Clarke's coaches to pick what he's good at and make him into a talented batter who could be a 6th bowler - it might help to focus his talents by concentrating on one thing.