Poor fielding frustrates England
Wellington: day four of second Test - It has been a long time since England have had as bad a day as this in the field.
England squandered the many chances and opportunities that came their way - they should have finished the match.
Of the eight New Zealand batsmen to appear in this innings, all but three gave a chance of some sort – a couple were very difficult, but three, in particular, were easy.
One of those was a stumping chance to Tim Ambrose off Monty Panesar...
Ambrose, in fact, had a poor day behind the stumps, missing a second, more difficult leg side stumping, and a catch standing up to Paul Collingwood.
Clearly, he needs time to settle in, but I fear that many more like this will reopen the great wicket-keeping debate yet again.
The ground fielding has also been desperately poor. Stuart Broad joined Monty Panesar in letting the ball go through his legs for four, and needlessly tossed the ball over the wicket-keeper’s head for four overthrows off a disbelieving Ryan Sidebottom.
But there were good things, too. Broad’s spell after lunch was his best to date. Time and again he troubled Matthew Bell – who was dropped by Collingwood at slip – before he edged to Ambrose and, four balls later, Stephen Fleming played no stroke and was bowled for 31.
That was the big wicket, and England were on their way.
The strong wind made it difficult for the bowlers at the northern end. James Anderson did not look fully fit after his utterly needless injury playing football.
Interestingly, the warm down at the end of the fourth day was the orthodox, stretching variety and football was nowhere to be seen!
Panesar toiled away into the wind and should have had two wickets, with Kevin Pietersen misjudging the carry of the wind and dropping Ross Taylor at mid off to go with the missed stumping.
So it was not surprising that Michael Vaughan celebrated so obviously when Sidebottom removed Jacob Oram with the fifth delivery with the new ball just before the close.
He and the dangerous Brendon McCullum had added 69, and begun to make England sweat a bit.
Daniel Vettori and McCullum are arguably New Zealand’s most effective players, and they stand between England and victory, but the odds are they’ve got too much to do and England should level the series.
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I was there today but had too many Tuis to care!
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Spot on as usual aggers.very sloppy display in the field from us especially colly and ambrose who had an easy stumping chance.oram's wicket at the end of the day could prove to be the turning point.
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English bowlers and batters have given a clear edge to this England side. Will the fielders do the needful on Day Five ?
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Great and always honest report Aggers, but why do some english supporters make the following sorts of statements and not let things develop at the right pace:-
"England have finally found a decent wicketkeeper-batsman they've searched for for years"
Sport particularly football has moved into instant gratification, devil or hero nothing in between and cricket is following rapidly. I suspect poor Ambrose will go the way of Foster, Read or Prior as tried a few but as he's no Stewart or Gilchrist, he is thereofore not good enough.
Seems the guy had a bad day at the office and I hope the media and public will cut him some slack after a very well played ton, but I suspect not and he will probably be pilloried for the keeping errors and the conveyor belt will continue.
Everyone needs to support, not moan or not build them up to be messiahs.
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I am inclined to give Ambrose the benefit of the doubt, at least for the first series until he is used to the bowling.
As a wicket keeper, I know standing up is no easy task, and until he is used to Collingwood and Monty he's unlikely to be able to grab every single chance that comes his way.
In the two tests so far I feel Ambrose has done enough to justify his selection.
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Why does the 'Great Wicketkeeping Debate' continue?
Unlike batting/bowling all rounders, wicketkeepers cannot rest or hide while fielding.
If you tire out the 'keeper by letting him (or wanting him to) bat for 4 or more hours then why are you surprised when they are take the field and are sloppy.
If you want to strengthen the batting why not take the radical approach of playing 2 wicketkeeper batsmen and after batting, make the player who is less tired (i.e. less successful with the bat) start behind the stumps?
I happen to think that the wicketkeeper does more in the fielding innings than any other player (bowlers included) and so should focus on this important role.
However, even though I think the keeping is the most important I don't think England have made a poor choice in Ambrose - he just needs to be a bit fresher.
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It seems that England just cannot get all 3 disciplines firing at once - batting, bowling and fielding. When a win becomes obvious England lose the edge and become sloppy. The term "Snatching Defeat from the jaws of Victory" seems to apply to England cricket too much.
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The wicket of Oram in the last over in very murky conditions was crucial. Hence the glee with which it was celebrated.
The Kiwis have had the rough end of the decisions throughout this game, just as England seemed to in the first test. Shame that the umpires (rather sheepishly, since it hadn't got any worse) felt that the light wasn't so bad until a couple of balls after Oram fell in that last over. With him around and looking increasingly comfortable, things could have got VERY interesting. As it is, I reckon the remaining "batsmen" after McCullum and Vettori won't give enough substance to provide the runs needed.
Ultimately the Kiwis lost this test with a poor first innings performance brought about by some fine swing bowling by Sidebottom and Anderson. They've been chasing the game ever since. However, England haven't really shown a killer instinct, so there's little to be optimistic about for them as regards the third test.
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England will win this game fairly comfortably despite the sloppy fielding yesterday but Jonathan is right that the wicket keepers position will come under scrutiny if he keeps making mistakes.
Its a fetish in the modern game that you need a keeper that can bat at 7, average at least 35 AND still take every chance they get. What if you don't have anybody like that? Why not just pick the best keeper and have them bat at 9 if they have to? If this attitude had been in place in the recent past then Bob Taylor and Jack Russell would never have played for Ebgland, and they are the two best wicket keepers of the last 30 years!
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This has been a close test series which let's face it has been close thanks to just how awful these two sides are.
Both sides have fallen a long way from the top 5 test teams and are now closer to the WI and bangldesh than they are the top nations.
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Was particularly impressed by Broad's bowling. He's definately worth his place in the side at the moment and the great thing is he should get even better. Yes some terrible fielding at times but all will be forgotten if England can grind out the win. My Man of the Match would have to be Tim Ambrose's contribution with the bat.
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Aggers, what is it like being in the same box as the NZ commentators? They are such a negative bunch (esp. Snowdon and Waddell) - you are such a breath of fresh air in comparison. I notice that David Trist is a lot more complimentary about England when he is commentating with you!!
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Matt Prior and Geraint Jones both had excellent starts to their Test Careers. Chris Read did pretty well too. But once they had a bad day in the field or with the bat, the pressure builds (both from the Press and from the standards they set themselves). Test match bowlers also work out how to dismiss these new players to the scene.
It seems to be how they cope with the bad days and if they can raise their game again that will determine if they can command the England W-K position. That is the situation Ambrose will find himself in - so he will find himself in the spotlight in the 3rd Test v. NZ - a test of character as well as skill.
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I can't believe how bad these two sides are.After watching a classic Test and One day series between India and Australia this really has been dreadful in comparison.
With the exception of 4 players New Zealand are an average County side and England are struggling to beat them.Terrible!!
As for the so called great Wicketkeeping debate,Ambrose is an Aussie and therefore shouldn't be in the side!!thats my contribution!!
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Argghhh! Terrible, except for 4 players England are an average domestic side and yet NZ look like they will lose this test!??
Terrible fielding in the second innings cost close to 150 runs and there were drops in England's first as well. The game would have already been won if NZ had simply fielded like a high school side. Shocking!
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I think we've lost sight of the fact that Alex Stewart was a fine batsman but an adequate keeper, He did an okay job behind the stumps and scored runs in sufficient quantity for his overall contribution to the side to be on the positive side.
Since his retirement he seems to be viewed as a great glovesman, which he wasn't, his better batting average kept a much better 'pure' keeper, Jack Russell, out of the England side.
Now we seem to be expecting all England keepers to be glovesmen like Russell and batters like Stewart, and there aren't any keepers in the game at the moment who combine those qualities; even Gilchrist, who inspired the sense that keepers must average 40-odd wasn't great with the gloves, especially at the start his test career.
To be fair to Ambrose the chance from Fleming off Collingwood was hugely difficult- Fleming got a thick edge and the ball went down as well. Those kind of chances either hit your hands and stick (and then everyone thinks you're brilliant) or they miss your hands and go down (and everyone thinks you're a plank); either way you don't really have time to react and move your hands to catch the ball once it's been edged, and keepers stand up to medium pacers knowing they might miss the odd one they'd snaffle easily standing back, but trading that against keeping the batter in his crease.
In terms of wicket-keeping what sorts out the men from the boys is standing up to the stumps; anyone ought to be able to do the job standing back. Prior was dropping chances standing back, so he couldn't continue, and Ambrose was next in line for a chance, and deserves a decent run in the side.
Anyone is going to miss chances standing up to quality spinners and medium pacers- no keeper is infallible standing up, especially in their first few games keeping to less familiar bowlers. The trick is improving and not missing too many chances, especially the straightforward ones. Throw in the odd spectacular dismissal and score a few runs, and you're on the way to a decent reputation.
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As always, an accurate precis of the game.
As previously mentioned,the question mark remains over Englands mental strength, and it is this weakness and the quality of the two current Kiwi batsmen (their mental strength) which will see England lose.
Despite the temptation to think otherwise we have good players in this squad who are more than capable of functioning at test level. I believe the reason we make mistakes and struggle to close out games is the fragility of individuals and subsequently the teams confidence and belief, which ironically often only comes from winning.
One significant change I would make is the removal of the hapless Moores.
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The decision of the umpires not to check the light at the start of the over when the new ball was taken was criminal. With so many officials and so much technology how can this kind of incompetence be tolerated. This is not the first time it has happened either. They can't decide the light is bad just because a wicket falls.
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Re: Jimmy Anderson's ankle injury:
Whilst I agree that playing football is probably not the most sensible way for players to 'warm down' after a hard day of cricket, I take exception to the inference that it was somehow Jimmy's fault. Surely it is the management who decide what activities the players engage in during these after-match sessions. To blame Jimmy Anderson for what happened to him is like blaming someone for tripping on an uneven pavement - the authorities are the ones to castigate.
I feel sorry for Anderson: he has been messed about by bowling coaches who have tried to alter his action, he has had a series of injury problems and he is constantly berated in the press for his lack of consistency, but he has never had an assured place in the team unlike Steve Harmison who has been living on his 2005 exploits ever since. Jimmy bowled superbly in the first innings at Wellington and with great heart in trying conditions in the second innings. Give him a chance; let him have a good run in the side, then decide if he can cut the mustard. I believe he has the ability to become a regular wicket-taker for England.
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McCullum is a huge danger.In my opinion he's the most dangerous batsmen in cricket.He does thing most batsmen don't do.Get him early and you probably win.
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Who’s for Ambrose now- 5 runs second innings, missed catches, missed stumping. Bring back Mustard, who is the best wicket keeper and when batting 7th can get just as many runs. Or have the selectors forgot they have had Mustard open in ALL his games.
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Aggers, I don't really understand why you would wish to focus your article on Tim Ambrose's mistakes. Your comment "Clearly, he needs time to settle in, but I fear that many more like this will reopen the great wicket-keeping debate yet again" is unneccessary.
This wicket-keeping debate is never going to go away if people like you keep focusing on mistakes. We're the only country that do this to our keepers.
What about the focus on the continued failure of the top 6 and the simple chances put down by Collingwood and Pieterson.
If England win this test. Its primarily down to Ambrose.
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I feel inclined to agree with Tony Sawyer (#6). Ambrose should probably be given the benefit of the doubt considering his effort with the bat. It was his century that played a pivotal role in pushing England to a decent enough total first time out when the top order failed.
There are more nagging concerns littering the England team at present than the one behind the stumps.
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Aggers, I don't really understand why you would wish to focus your article on Tim Ambrose's mistakes. Your comment "Clearly, he needs time to settle in, but I fear that many more like this will reopen the great wicket-keeping debate yet again" is unneccessary.
This wicket-keeping debate is never going to go away if people like you keep focusing on mistakes. We're the only country that do this to our keepers.
What about the focus on the continued failure of the top 6 and the simple chances put down by Collingwood and Pieterson.
If England win this test. Its primarily down to Ambrose.
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That's it! Ambrose is naff! time to replace him! Well that is what happened with prior after all. He did well in the 1st test of the last series, but put down 2 chances in the 2nd test and he was heading out into the 3rd knowing if he put a foot wrong he was out despite after the 1st match everyone includeing alex stewart saying england had found their wicketkeeper! Those who excuse Ambrose and called for priors head are guilty of the same gross inconsistancy as Steve Harmisons bowling! And really aggers who cares that monty let a few through his legs! It's not like its a tight run chase, and anyway it's catches that win matches and had the other fielders been doing their job Monty would have 2 wickets, leaving a simple mornings work on the final day.
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Monty was very hard done by today. For all the talk about discovering spin bowlers and encouraging them in England, they still need to learn how to field to spinners. Tim Ambrose's missed stumping was one such occasion where the keeper failed to stay low to collect the ball. The catch that went between Ambrose and Collingwood was something somebody like Dravid at slip takes routinely against Anil Kumble for India. And the easiest of them all was the steepler to Pieterson, a typical high catch of a spinner that was grassed with temerity. Dear Monty, don't despair - you are doing things right but are currently in the wrong place!
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Frankly I find it difficult to see how we shall ever find a wicket keeper when they are constantly playing for a place a not for the team. Jones, Prior et al and now Ambrose - none of them has done a bad job given the circumstances. I agree with post six - we four hours at the crease then stand behind the stunpms all day. Constantly under scrutiny.
Vaughan may be a good tactician but he hasn't built a team, hasn't produced anything spectacular and is also injury prone. Let Collinwood lead the side.
Since 2005 and the rush of blood with the MBEs, which made us look foolish, the whole management has been bad.
The blame for our poor performance should be put where it belongs.
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You didnt mention Rudy Koetzen- the key player for England, while NZ media are all over him. Lop-sided as usual.
He and Co- Captain Vaughan foxed NZ by keeping them in play under bad light by operating spinners and then brought in a quickie for one over to take a wicket and then stopped play again for Bad light.
Rudy is a disgrace and England cannot win a match properly without these perks from umpire.
What a sham?
Man of the Match: Rudy Koetzen
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Man of the Match Rudy Koetzen,a key player for England Cricket Team.
May be was paying for Kevin Pietersen's mistakes in the field- his fellow country man.
Absolute disgrece to let sidebottom steal the wicket ofOram in bad light.
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I agree Glynne, although I would say that even Gilchrist and Sangakarra made mistakes. They need to look at the fact that the top 6 batsman keep misfiring. We need to improve our fielding big time. Why our best fielder is fielding at slip, when he's not a very good slip fielder is beyond me.
We need to look at whether Vaughan is now a liabiity.
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I doubt even god himself (Gilly) could satisfy the vultures within our media. Leave the kid alone, he's just got a brilliant ton and is only playing his 2nd test!
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Can I just say that I think both sides have done a sterling job in putting the boot into the concept of Test cricket by playing out one of the most tedious series of recent times. It has been dreadfully inept cricket all round, virtually unrelieved mediocrity with blocking instead of batting being the order of the day on both sides.
How is it possible for both teams to serve up such entertaining 1-day stuff and such dull and sterile 5-day stuff?
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Kash79 (comment 26) You are absoluetly right. No wonder India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have grown tired of these umpires kissing the bottoms of English and Austrailian teams for years now. It's a tradition for England to win under a clout of suscpision and bad umpiring.
I'm just glad the powers of cricket are moving away from England- and soon they will pretty much be irrelaven to Int'l cricket decision making.
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In my mind England always chose against the best keeper. Jim Parks was awful, but he batted, Stewart was a batter first; and these two had long, long runs in the side and kept better keepers out. They tried to make Tresco the keeper via one-dayers too.
They got lucky with Knotty, but he kept to Underwood in tests and county so had to understand how he behaved.
I was shocked at the missed stumping off Monty, that was bread and butter.
What happened to Read was awful.
Come on pick the best player at his position!
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Its a bit harsh on Ambrose to call the thick edge by Fleming a chance.
Aussie commentators always point out that a keeper standing up to medium pace has no chance against an edge unless to it is a real feather.
I think he has aquitted himself very well keeping wise.
He is not superman and should not be expected to perform as such.
I would like to see England pushed tonight. I dont think we can lose from here.......
If McCullam gets a hundred who knows.
Nailbiting win and not most humiliating defeat of all time me hopes.
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Good honest article but a little harsh I feel (typical English!)
Yes-it was not a great day in the field-but..but England should win and that should be the main news to report.
This will be a timely boost to restore some much needed confidence.
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Someone recently made the point that all England's hurling the ball in to the keeper at every opportunity could be a reason for such bad days in the field. Especially the keeper. Personally I thought that was a great shout, as the keeper has to be paying attention all day in the field even when there's no need for him to do so. Surely he should be able to switch off mentally when all other players in the field do from time to time instead of only at drinks breaks and session breaks?
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Comment No 21: Crikey you're a tough nut - Ambrose's match-changing (possibly winning) innings first time wasn't enough for you? Until today, most of the comments about his keeping have been pretty favourable........now suddenly the spotlight is really on him. Who'd be a keeper?
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would love to see prior and ambrose fight out the england keeper debate over the next 10 years....
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They say that two chickens don't make a summer, therefore, I really do wonder if W G Grace was really from New Zealand.
As of today I'mstarting the BBW campaign - Bring Back Willis. The man is made of titanium, competitive as a rooster in a hen-house, and has a cricket brain the size of Jupiter.
Swap Bob for the Moore
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Oh what a surprise, Ambrose (who is young, making his debut and still learning) makes a couple of mistakes and people are calling for him to be axed. Give the poor kid a chance. He's going to make mistakes but give him the chance to learn from them before crucifying him.
The fielding today was sloppy to be polite, from everyone even Collingwood who is usually among the best. I dont think it will cost us though
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well done on stating the obvious, everyone seems to have forgotten how bad they were against Sri Lanka and that Ambrose saved the 1st innings, give him a chance
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I was taught to cup the hands and to allow "give" when catching a cricket ball, or even a brick.
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The debate about individual players in individual positions i.e. wicket keeper, bowler and we could go on to slip fielder and so on, is most interesting. But what interests me is this.
Britain has a population of 60 million or so – this compares with New Zealand's 4 million and Australia's 18 million - give or take the odd million. I use these figures only to illustrate a point. But to use these figures alone can we not find eleven players that can match the best in current cricket playing nations?
Clearly India has a huge population – but is riven with religious and class problems that leave arguments about selection for the England cricket team – i.e. Gentlemen vs. players – in the shade. I mention this because of the reference to Jim Park's ability as a wicket keeper and his relative prowess as batsmen.
To my memory after the - very marginal victory of the England team over the Australians in 2005 and the winning of the Ashes - there was a general feeling of well being amongst the population in general and indeed an upsurge in economic activity.
In my view the thing that matters now (we are a long way from the Gentlemen vs. Players mentality), from a purely material point of view is the 'smile on your bank manager's face'. I think the Australians (where there was an alleged economic downturn after the loss of the Ashes) have recognised this and make the training of athletes a priority.
Forgive me for being so materialistic, but you will understand that there is no exposure to cricket viewing now in the UK within the financial grasp of the population in general, save by subscribing to Sky.
Look at the relative positions of football and cricket.
Is there a lesson to be learnt here?
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ambrose out and mustard in. mustard can be equally effective with bat and ball and inportantly to mind, phil mustard was born and brought up and learned his cricket in england. ambrose is australian.
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It is funny that with a target of more than 400, English supporters are still talking about a tight game, a nailbiting finish, a fight to the end. This shows how poor the team is: with a 400 target in the final innings you can even put your money on Bangladesh to bowl the opposition out (unfortunately you never find them in such a situation!)
Jon Agnew has himself opened the wicketkeeping debtate by saying that "I fear that this will open the debate...". Does it really matter? Just pick a good wicketkeeper and ask the fellows from 1-6 to plase show up and bat. Then maybe England won't really need the Gilchrist they want. I havent seen any analysis of why the top order has not performed, and Aggers is already nailing the only guy who scored at hundred because it is cool to diss wicketkeepers in England. I told the day he scored 97 that do not praise Ambrose to high heavens because don't bet that he's going to last long in the English setup.
There's been some talk of spicing up Test Cricket by having only 6-7 teams compete and using a format followed by football leagues to relegate 2-3 teams every year. Sounds like fun, although does not seem likely to get implemented. If it were the case, England would be right there competing in the first division!
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Spot on John re lack of exposure to cricket
Seems true that ever since most people were denied access to live cricket (unlike football, where most pubs show top matches, test cricket is rarely put on in pubs coz it lasts so long), Englands fortunes have waned. Even my mum watched the 2005 Ashes, and she hates the game!
Also, people who are in the adult age group that plays the most cricket (ie 18-35 year olds), are the ones with least chance of being able to subscribe to Sky or go and watch live games - kids have the support of thier parents and consessionary rates, over-35's have higher incomes, 18-30 year olds average income is between only £7000 and £12000 per year!
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Journalist and media are making the wicket-keeping job untenable. Gilchrist would get hammered if he was one of ours. All I ask is that not such a big deal is made about every single mistake, like Aggers did in his article. He's scored a 100, and almost certainly won the game for England so just leave him alone and let him get on with his job and I'm sure he'll be the England keeper for many years to come.
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In my mind England always chose against the best keeper. Jim Parks was awful, but he batted, Stewart was a batter first; and these two had long, long runs in the side and kept better keepers out. They tried to make Tresco the keeper via one-dayers too.
They got lucky with Knotty, but he kept to Underwood in tests and county so had to understand how he behaved.
I was shocked at the missed stumping off Monty, that was bread and butter.
What happened to Read was awful.
Come on pick the best player at his position!
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Re Frank Ratcliffe and Stephen,
How sad that after just two Tests and at the first sign of wicketkeeping defficiences by Ambrose you not only want him dropped but you also want him replaced by the overrated Mustard. Thank God the selectors have more patience than you two. How naieve to call for players to be dropped at the first sign of them making mistakes.
Mustard shouldn't even be in the squad. In the absence of a genuine all rounder at seven we need two keepers who can bat. Mustard has a first class batting average of 20odd. That's not good enough to justify a place at number seven. If he played our tail would start at seven. Ambrose has justified his inclusion in the team by scoring a fifty and a hundred in his first two Tests. It's too early to say if he will make the wicketkeeping position his own but he's certainly way ahead of Mustard.
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For me Jack Russell dropped far too many chances to be considered a great keeper. It is he whose reputation has been enhanced with retirement. Stewart became a very decent keeper, as well as a quality bat. Though to be fair, Jack Russell played some top innings for England as well.
I don't think anyone is really seriously going to doubt Ambrose on this display. I'm sure keeping wasn't easy in those windy conditions. McCullum has struggled behind the stumps a bit also.
Ambrose has been pretty impressive so far. And seems a decent bloke as well.
Great spell from Broad. I suggest he dyes his eyebrows if he's going to do his hair though.
While England warranted the criticism they received in Hamilton, they deserve a fair bit of credit for a much better display. Unfortunately, many choose to compare England performances with perfection, and judge the opposition by different standards.
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What Hugh Bliss has written is about spot on. I am wicket keeper, firstly keeping to a medium pacer standing up you have to accept that you are not going to take every chance. Some stick and others don't. A keeper will stand up to the med. pacer if it is a slow wicket, to stop the batsman going down the pitch - therefore putting the batsman under pressure, stopping him dictating terms instead of bowler and keeper. The best exponent I ever saw of this was Jack Russell - need I say more!! The other reason is the bowlers pace, allows the keeper to feel comfortable to stand up. Has anyone considered that it may have been Collingwood's quicker ball, or that the ball just kissed the pitch and came to Ambrose a lot qicker than the previous deliveries?
Secondly, keeping to spin can be easier, it can be tougher. It will depend upon the pitch, what the spinner does with the ball, the batsman, and the conditions, as with any bowler.
Keeping is all about rhythm, just like bowling, if the bowlers aren't bowling with rhythm, then for the keeper, it is a real nightmare. It doesn't help when they keep mixing it up all the time either. Might be the reason why the stumping chance was missed or this one turned more than the rest. Ambrose may have missed it because he was unsighted for a split second.
Not being able to see the cricket on TV, it is difficult to judge Ambrose.
Now how many of you have played in windy conditions? I've played at Bude Cricket Club, Cornwall (on a few occasions when I played in Cornwall) right on top of the cliff, on the Alantic Coast on the hottest day of the year approx 27 degrees, blowing between force 4-6, keeping not easy. I can just imagine the condtions to be similiar to Wellington at the moment. The ball moves around more after it has passed the stumps. It can come through quicker or slower. It can also die alot quicker and the ball doesn't quite reach you and you end up taking the ball round your ankles or just bounces in front of you. Not nice at all!!! Another thing to bear in mind is you keep moving your position as to where you should stand.
Ambrose needs time to settle into the job, otherwise we sre going down the same road as the last three incumbents. I wish people would learn!!!
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Dear Aggers.
I feel very strongly that we, as a country, should not allow previous failures, long term 'casualties', back in without having proved themselves over a significant period of time.
No-one should be allowed back in, Hoggard, Harmisson, Trescothic, Flintoff, Vaughn, Strauss or anyone else.
The Captain needs to be far more agressive than Vaughn or Collingwood, I suspect Collingwood could do it if he did not have to operate in the shadow of Vaughn. He would also need to be liberated from the PC tyrany of Moores, I was originally so pleased at Moores appointment, but I now believe he is so full of political 'weazle words', that he is not credible with the players or the 'punters', the previous manager was too traditional, Moores is too politically correct.
Why are Ausies so successful? Because they do not mince words, because they are blantly over honest, if someone has a rubbish game, I assume they are told so, and so they should be. Also why does Vaughn set the field for his bowlers, if they are not capable of doing it for themselves, they should not have been selected. A captain is there to guide, not to control, his advice should be sought. Englands performances is not as a result of team effort, it is management direction. The summer of 2005 was as a result of some good guys, in their 'heyday', gelling, the captain just 'happened to be there', ok good logic, but not the key player, never has been, just a 'Mike Brearly', look alike. All skippers need to perform in yheir skill as well as being a 'strategist'. It is difficult for a 'performer to be a strategist, it is also difficult for a 'strategist to be a performer'.
That is what a captain needs to be, the sooner we realise that the better. Then we will win on a regular basis. It is still the 'old boys club'. That is not modern sport, it is business. UK Players must realise that.
Harmisson and Trescothic must have their central contract salaries taken away from them, also anyone injured, reduced to realistic salaries in the interim. It would appear that several are taking advantage, they are 'coming back' to qualify for their continuing pay cheque, rather than achieving the levels of achievmeny for which they are being paid.
Sorry some have health problems, but they are/were top sportsmen who did not look after themselves and failed because they were 'over the top'. The country/county still has to pay them. Is that correct?
Regards
Neil Hewitt
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hello jonathan, so it does not interest you that ambrose is australian, and not english but plays for england?
no wonder ths aussies laugh at us!
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Why does it bother people so much that Ambrose is an Australian playing for England yet no one seems to mention Pietersen also being of the non-english variety? Is it because statistically he is Englands best batsman? Although I'm sure if his current run of form (or lack of) continues, these same people will become vocal once more!
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Let me get this right. One guy gets a ton and wins the match for us. Meanwhile the top order underperform yet again. But its the guy who got the ton we go after, because he dropped a catch. So presumably we will drop Pietersen too?
We`can't AFFORD to play a wicket keeper who can't bat, because since the departure of Giles the four bowlers scarcely know which end of the bat to hold. What point there is in sending in Hoggard as night watchman is beyond me - you might as well just sick a bat in the ground in front of the wicket and hope the bowler hits it.
Give us a couple of bowlers who can can be relied on to get 40 plus between them and you can have the best keeper, otherwise its the best batter who can keep I'm afraid.
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