19-11-2015, 15:56
Some interesting decisions made in terms of squad selection, most notably the dropping of Ian Bell in favour of recalls for Nick Compton and Gary Ballance. I get the reasoning behind the move with Bell looking vastly out of form with the bat, which has ultimately affected the way that he has been fielding. However, I remain to be convinced that Ballance has gone away and rediscovered his true form in such a short space of time, watching him in the few games that yorkshire had on tv, he has remained true to the technique that got him into the side, but it is still the same technique that saw him being sussed out by international bowlers. perhaps the hard South African decks may play to his strengths, that remains to be seen. As for the recall of Compton, its a safe move, probably the smartest one that the selectors could have made. He's had a good if not completely spectacular season for Middlesex, but he is a player that does exactly what it says on the tin. those two will most likely go head to head for the number three spot, but with Compton, there is also the option of opening should hales fail against the pace of steyn or the height of morkel, going on his performance in the last odi against Ifran, it could be highly likely. Compton was dropped originally due to his slow scoring, however, this season once he has got going he has being going at roughly 60% SR which isn't too bad, coupled with the fact that the players around him have the ability to score quick runs. he may provide the solidarity that the batting lineup requires at this moment, and being 32 he isnt a real long term option, but he gives time for the real log term option to arrive.
Elsewhere in the selection, Moeen Ali has been retained as the front line spinner as most probably expected, however, Samit Patel has been selected ahead of Rashid, most likely because the south african wickets are not going to be big turners and Patel may prove to be the economical selection should Ali get injured. Rashid according to selectors is expected to go and play in the big bash, with the ideal scenario seeing him link up with Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie.
The pace bowling selections are both surprising and unsurprising at the same time. with the selectors going back to the old english way of selecting line and length over any sort of pace. Chris Jordan and Woakes both return to the setup, with Jordan already replacing Finn in the UAE tests, whilst Woakes has had a return of wickets in the ODI's, both offer something with the bat, although it isnt as clear cut in who would get the nod to start as both have glaring faults, Jordans being the way that he can heavily leak runs, but he can make up with it in the field, whilst Woakes doesnt offer much wicket taking threat especially on SA wickets one would think, however, he is probably the better batter of the two and is known on the county scene as being an economical bowler, who could work well with Broad and Anderson.
Ben Stokes has been passed fit or fit enough and as such will retake his spot in the batting order whilst also being fourth seamer, however, Mark Wood and Steven Finn have both been ruled out through injury which has opened up the space for one of the Chris' as well as Mark Footit, who also offers the option of a left arm seamer, which has been a holy grail for the side since the retirement of Ryan Sidebottom. Footit also offers a bit of pace according to pundits such as Domnick Cork et al, however i have yet to see any true signs of this as he appears to bowl at around 83-85mph. although the selectors have persisted with him throughout the summer.
One thing that sticks out is the one paced nature of the squad, with bowlers all being similar height apart from broad who is 6"4 with Footit being about 6"2, whilst all bowl in similar styles which could make things slightly harder for Cook if the likes of Amla and De Villiers get in, I am surprised that Liam Plunkett has been left out, especially when he offers more with the bat than Jordan and Woakes, whilst also not being a bad fielder, but most importantly he offers some proper pace which with the team selection could have allowed him to bowl into the 90's in short spells.
on the other side, south africa are an aging side, with a plethora of players being over 30, whilst key players have been seemingly struggling with form, Amla hasnt had a great time in India as of yet, but that could be due to him batting so far down. Faf Du Plessis has become a main stay in the side but has injury problems, AB is their key batter and for obvious reasons, but they appear to approaching a situation not too disimilar to that of England a few year ago with big gaps appearing in their side. their openers are rather makeshift in the form of Stiaan Van Zyl who made his debut down at 6, and bats usually at 4 for his domestic side, he is only up the order after being tried with South Africa A. Dean Elgar has been the other opener and would be expected to stay there whilst also offering a spin option. Dane Vilas has taken the gloves from both Quinton De Kock and AB, but it remains to be seen whether he will retain them.
The main threat to England and the main worry for the South Africans is their pace bowling. Steyn and Morkel are both devastating at the best of times, however, Steyn has been suffering muscular injuries of late as has Morkel. Phillander has also suffered ankle injuries and is expected to be unfit for the time england arrive. which does mean that they will be relying on players such as Kyle Abbott (new signing for Worcestershire) who has been a steady away player in the County scene but nothing special, really a Chris Woakes sort of player. They may also have to turn to De Lange who missed out on the India tour but does offer pace, whilst Chris Morris may also return. one prospect they do have in the pace ranks is Kagiso Rabada who has taken well to international cricket whilst only being 20. other than that there doesnt seem to be much that stands out in terms of sheer pace, with a lot now being untried and average pace wise in international term.
it would also remain to be seen as to whether Tahir will play against England for multiple reasons, 1) it makes the tail rather long 2) his head goes once players attack although he is getting better and 3) Elgar and Duminy both offer spin options that would be good enough for the South African tracks.
It should prove to be a close and hard fight for both sides, but the main battle is how broad and anderson go against Du Plessis, Amla and De Villiers. Whilst how Root Cook and Hales fare against Steyn and Morkel will be interesting. Steyn is good against left handers, whilst Root and Hales may be suspects to the short ball from Morkel.
England Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire, wk), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Nick Compton (Middlesex), Mark Footitt (Surrey), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
Elsewhere in the selection, Moeen Ali has been retained as the front line spinner as most probably expected, however, Samit Patel has been selected ahead of Rashid, most likely because the south african wickets are not going to be big turners and Patel may prove to be the economical selection should Ali get injured. Rashid according to selectors is expected to go and play in the big bash, with the ideal scenario seeing him link up with Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie.
The pace bowling selections are both surprising and unsurprising at the same time. with the selectors going back to the old english way of selecting line and length over any sort of pace. Chris Jordan and Woakes both return to the setup, with Jordan already replacing Finn in the UAE tests, whilst Woakes has had a return of wickets in the ODI's, both offer something with the bat, although it isnt as clear cut in who would get the nod to start as both have glaring faults, Jordans being the way that he can heavily leak runs, but he can make up with it in the field, whilst Woakes doesnt offer much wicket taking threat especially on SA wickets one would think, however, he is probably the better batter of the two and is known on the county scene as being an economical bowler, who could work well with Broad and Anderson.
Ben Stokes has been passed fit or fit enough and as such will retake his spot in the batting order whilst also being fourth seamer, however, Mark Wood and Steven Finn have both been ruled out through injury which has opened up the space for one of the Chris' as well as Mark Footit, who also offers the option of a left arm seamer, which has been a holy grail for the side since the retirement of Ryan Sidebottom. Footit also offers a bit of pace according to pundits such as Domnick Cork et al, however i have yet to see any true signs of this as he appears to bowl at around 83-85mph. although the selectors have persisted with him throughout the summer.
One thing that sticks out is the one paced nature of the squad, with bowlers all being similar height apart from broad who is 6"4 with Footit being about 6"2, whilst all bowl in similar styles which could make things slightly harder for Cook if the likes of Amla and De Villiers get in, I am surprised that Liam Plunkett has been left out, especially when he offers more with the bat than Jordan and Woakes, whilst also not being a bad fielder, but most importantly he offers some proper pace which with the team selection could have allowed him to bowl into the 90's in short spells.
on the other side, south africa are an aging side, with a plethora of players being over 30, whilst key players have been seemingly struggling with form, Amla hasnt had a great time in India as of yet, but that could be due to him batting so far down. Faf Du Plessis has become a main stay in the side but has injury problems, AB is their key batter and for obvious reasons, but they appear to approaching a situation not too disimilar to that of England a few year ago with big gaps appearing in their side. their openers are rather makeshift in the form of Stiaan Van Zyl who made his debut down at 6, and bats usually at 4 for his domestic side, he is only up the order after being tried with South Africa A. Dean Elgar has been the other opener and would be expected to stay there whilst also offering a spin option. Dane Vilas has taken the gloves from both Quinton De Kock and AB, but it remains to be seen whether he will retain them.
The main threat to England and the main worry for the South Africans is their pace bowling. Steyn and Morkel are both devastating at the best of times, however, Steyn has been suffering muscular injuries of late as has Morkel. Phillander has also suffered ankle injuries and is expected to be unfit for the time england arrive. which does mean that they will be relying on players such as Kyle Abbott (new signing for Worcestershire) who has been a steady away player in the County scene but nothing special, really a Chris Woakes sort of player. They may also have to turn to De Lange who missed out on the India tour but does offer pace, whilst Chris Morris may also return. one prospect they do have in the pace ranks is Kagiso Rabada who has taken well to international cricket whilst only being 20. other than that there doesnt seem to be much that stands out in terms of sheer pace, with a lot now being untried and average pace wise in international term.
it would also remain to be seen as to whether Tahir will play against England for multiple reasons, 1) it makes the tail rather long 2) his head goes once players attack although he is getting better and 3) Elgar and Duminy both offer spin options that would be good enough for the South African tracks.
It should prove to be a close and hard fight for both sides, but the main battle is how broad and anderson go against Du Plessis, Amla and De Villiers. Whilst how Root Cook and Hales fare against Steyn and Morkel will be interesting. Steyn is good against left handers, whilst Root and Hales may be suspects to the short ball from Morkel.
England Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire, wk), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Nick Compton (Middlesex), Mark Footitt (Surrey), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).