91Èȱ¬

Very interesting, Oliver....

I'm hopeful that 2009 will be the year when Marshall finally lives up to his potential. But do you think it's right that Joseph is now eligible to play for England? After all, he spent most of his life in the Caribbean....

Nice picks. I have been puzzled for a while as to why Mark Davies' name had not been mentioned for England so its nice to see you select him. his career stats are outstanding and although he has had his fair share of injuries he has still found time to rack up over 200 wickets. I am guessing the reason for his non-selection is connected to pace; CricInfo lists him as a medium pacer.

Having watched some of the series where the Aussies surrendered their home record I think Mitchell Johnson is a good pick, he whipped up one spell of 5 wickets for about 2 runs.

Shivfan, just look at KP.

Exactly, Joseph has been in the country for 11 years.

KP is the captain of the national side and he's not even been here that long!!

good selection but what about?

adil rashid
joe denly
steven moore
amjad khan
ajantha mendis
guatam ghambir
jean-paul duminy
shaun marsh
ross taylor
owais shah
morne morkel
stuart broad
ishant sharma


these guys look like they can be the real future stars of the game

I do feel that there is a lack a real talent at the moment in the English County Championship but here are my six to watch along with International players:
Dawson of Hampshire looks a good young spinner who can also bat.
Redfern of Derbyshire looks a good young batsman.
Godleman of Middlesex Talented opening batsman.
Woakes of Warwickshire looks a very promising young fast bowler.
Tim Southee of New zealand is a star of the future with the ball and can hit the ball along way with the bat.
J-P Duminy of South Africa looks a class act with the bat. I will include one Australian and West Indian because they are touring against England:
Peter Siddle i feel is a promising fast bowler.
Ramdin of the West Indies who is a very good wicket keeper and a useful batsman.

Not accurate to suggest Notts "let Will Smith go" - his contract expired at the end of 2006, they were keen for him to stay, but he rejected a new contract and went back to his old university town. Poor loyalty really given Notts gave him his first break, and played him in the team a fair bit that season (with limited success) but there you go.

Agree Davies is one to watch this year - if he can stay fit for a season then I dont think he will be too far away from the England side - especially given some of our seamers are inconsistent at best.

Will also be keeping an eye on Graham Napier - explosive when on form and is an under rated bowler, especially in the ODIs. A good start to the season and he could force his way into the side.

Also like the look of Harris for Glamorgan and Michael Brown for Surrey (signed from Hants) this year.

My Pick is Chris woakes for Warwickshire. Hopefully he'll carry on his amazing form and get an England call up.

Shakib Al Hasan looks to be the hope of Bangladesh cricket. A class all-rounder, consistent contributor.

DavidBirch1987, Ramdin is too poor a batter to be a good player (averaging around 20 even after 3 years in Test Cricket) and I feel that the only reason he is in the WI team is that they have no-one else.

Four of the six are over 25.

Stephen Finn
Dawid Malan
Graham Napier
Brad Haddin
Kieron Pollard
Ebony Rainsford-Brent

Have to agree with the selection and like others have mentioned I to think that Woakes will be one to watch this year as well as the Sussex opener Chris Nash.

Its interesting to see that the England mens side are sliding down the rankings over the last 2 years whilst the womens side goes from strength to strength during the same period. A good chance of an Ashes and World cup double for the women this year?

The six you have posted have all got their merits but i must say you have left some out. Number 1 would be Joe Denly, has has been consistent for Kent in the past few years and has been mouted around the England scene. This could be the agressive player we need to replace Tres at the top of the order and this would mean that strauss or cook will be able to drop down to 3. The next player is Dawid Malan, he will be able to come into the middle order of the one day side and be able to offer the fireworks that the team is in much need of. The last player that should get a mention is Amajad Khan, he finally got recongnition in India by being called up, but why did he not get a cap, with the woeful Harmison. He was one of the best seamers on the county scene before his injury. So this means that we should give the people that perform well on the county scene a chance at the national level and take the English Test team away from the gentlemens clubs that it has come to be over the past few years.

i will have to disagree with marshall. he isn't that good and i will be very surpise if he plays over 25 test matches.

J P Diminy is destined for cricket stardom. He got into the Saffers test side because of injury to Ashwell Prince and Diminy performed so well that I doubt that Prince will be chosen for the Sydney test. JP is an elegant and stroke making
bat and he is also very good in the field: his 160 in the Second test was all class and some commentators were comparing him to Lara.
Definitely a coming star.

Might not be quite 2009 but watch out 2010 - an 18 year old all rounder just introduced to the NSW Sheffield Shield team - leg spin and you beauty can he bat - Steven Smith.

arj442 - The reason Denly isn't in the list is that we chose him last year. I agree with you about Malan, however.

Having looked at your selections from previous years i have noticed that many of the players made it but took a few more years to do it e.g Jimmy Anderson, Sehwag, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad etc.

I don't get why people keep mentioning Joe Denly. He was poor last season in a team that got relegated. He needs a big season this year if he is to be seen as a future England contender.

Six young players to watch in the county game

Chris Woakes (Warwks)
Adam Lyth (Yorks)
Steve Finn (Middx)
Josh Cobb (Leics)
Tom Maynard (Glamorgan)
Liam Dawson (Hants)

I think Phillip Hughes for Australia. An up and coming star who in the not so distance future will open for Australia.

Good choices on the whole although Dwayne Bravo is due back after a long injury and Brendon Nash of Jamaica will be worth keeping an eye on.

#21

I was thinking of Him as i was reading this article

funny how they're all young ENGLISH players
(Marshall excluded but pah)


I feel that Duminy and Hughes should definitely have been in it

Joseph may be eligible to play for England but that doesn't mean he has to. It means that he can choose between England and the WIndies . . . if both teams wanted him.

Personally, I can't see England selecting him this year.

If WIndies cricket-politics doesn't interfere, they could probably use him.

They need professionals in the team.

2/3

mendis.
anyone who knows even a little bit about cricket would know 2009 should and will be about mendis.
murali's ready-made replacement.
shocking that he is not mentioned here when nearly ever other respected paper and cricket section has.
mendis.

I hardly think Mitchell Johnson is really the sort of up-and-coming cricketer on which this article should focus, with 17 Test matches already under his belt and now a first choice member of the Australian side. I would add Jonathan Clare of Derbyshire to the list, a promising all-rounder who will have benefitted from some coaching by Dennis Lillee over the winter.

johnny bairstow

one of the best emerging players i've seen at county level is vinny maddage at middlesex who is relatively new to the game but will be a star in 2009.

Thanks for recognising Robbie Joseph's talent. He is a rapidly improving cricketer and was Kent's stand out player in the Friends Provident trophy final at Lords last year as you say Oliver.

In his interview after that final, Rob Key recognised that Robbie is an emerging talent who will be a really big asset for Kent in the next couple of seasons, and I am looking forward to seeing how he improves still further with his captain's pleasing endorsement ringing in his ears.

As a Kent fan I have been sorry to see us lacking strike bowlers of McCague and Headley's calibre in recent years. If Amjad Khan can stay fit and with Robbie emerging, along with the return of Rob Ferley, I am confident that we will win the tight matches that cost us so dear last season and resulted in our relegation.

Thanks for this piece. I hope that you are right...

good choices. Much better than boyd Rankin last year.
just want to say Kyle Coetzer is a great player,despite poor form last year
Also Thandi Tshabalalais a great offspinner,much more dangerous than paul harris. with a few good seasons at the free state eagles, he could be one to watch,after a handful of odis for south africa.

mine would be...

1. Mendis
2. Rhasid
3. Shaun Marsh
4. Duminy
5. Rohit Sharma
6. Malan

I'm hoping for England's sake that the Aussies don't pick Marsh this summer!!

As a Durham supporter I certainly extend the best wishes to Will Smith for a successful season and will obviously be delighted if you prediction for him and Davies proves right.

Mark Davies was certainly worth watching last year - the best and third best bowling seen in division one LVCC in 2008 and some of us who have had the pleasure of seeing him bowl have got an appreciation group on facebook. He may not have pace – but is extremely accurate and thinks about what’s happening. It will be interesting to see how he does with the Lions in New Zealand.
[the Australian express pace attack lost to South Africa – so a seam attack of just pace is not everything]

An alternative could be [Without WI or womens]
Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott, Jon Claire
And I’m hoping Australia will finally pick Ben Hilfenhaus – so we can find out if we really should be watching him or not!

It’s new year - ‘read the criteria at the top’ too much like hard work! Perhaps you could be broader in the choice for you audience participation input - tis the season to throw names around after all. What about a new category’s for one day specialist and Twenty20 specialist?

And throwing names around hard to resist: perhaps from last seasons form Tim Murtagh, James Tomlinson should have perhaps been considered for the Lions.

In the CC this lot could be interesting?
Liam Dawson
Chris Wokes
Danny Evans [shin splints seemed to get in the way a lot of his 2008 season.]
And as the young wildcard - Scott Borthwick

Of the female player, Anya Shrubsole is the one to really watch. She has a lot of ability and could be very big for England in the future.

For young county players, there are a lot of players who have to build big. Steven Finn is someone with potential who needs to kick on this year in my opinion. Dawid Malan might find 'second season syndrome' affecting him, as Graham Thorpe found when he was a young player. The most exciting bowling combination will be down in Hampshire as Imran Tahir, who made a huge impact last season' will be bowling in partnership with Liam Dawson. Watching a left arm spinner who isn't afraid of giving it some flight bowling with a leg spinner will be an absolute treat.

The player I'm most intrigued by is Will Smith. I was disappointed to find he wasn't going to the West Indies as I would have picked him and dropped one of the three spinners (Panesar actually, as I'd rather he went to New Zealand with the Lions). Smith is a classy bat and I feel he could be a tip for future England captain. The decision by Durham to appoint him captain is a poitner to that in my opinion. So for Smith to then not even be in the Lions squad is unbelievable. Jon Trott isn't bad but Smith is a quality player. Therefore I'd like to see Smith score a bucketload of runs whilst simultaneously leading Durham to more titles.

Chris Woakes Warwickshire
Proven himself as a star bowler in the county championship last year and his first full season in the 1st XI and is still young. Future England opening bowler, no doubt.

Cr1cketNut I really don't think you can bag Will Smith for poor loyalty to Notts, loyalty is a two way street. If he hadn't been so loyal he would have left a year or two before and his undoubted talent would have been realised earlier.

He was given very rare opportunities at Notts whereas Durham backed his talent and gave him a proper go. The environment at Durham is second to none: good man management, good communication, focus on youth and a real sense of team spirit.

It has obviously made a big difference and a county champ average of 50 really should have been rewarded nationally. As Andy Plowright says lets hope he gives the selectors more to think about this coming season. England need more runs if they are going to defeat the Aussies again!

as its the year of the ashes, here are some australians to look out for...
1.Brad Haddin...next adam ghilchrist
2.Ben Hilfenhous....plenty of spin
3. Simon Katich...strong batsmen
4.Doug Bollinger...if given a chance strong strike bowler

It's interesting, given Middlesex's lack of success over the last three years, to see so many Middlesex players mentioned above.

Billy Godleman had an incredible start in 2007, holding together a faltering batting line-up. Last season he got a terrible dose of "Second Season Syndrome", but those who saw him, age 19, defy attacks as his colleagues crumbled, felt that he had a Test career ahead of him.

David Malan made a huge difference to the Middlesex T20 side and looks like a real talent.

Stephen Finn is another one who looks to have a lot of talent and bowled like a lion when the rest of the seamers were injured or toothless.

Ben Scott is another one who seemed to thrive when all around him were floundering and, initially controversially, took over the gloves, soon justifying completely his elevation. There too people have whispered softly that he may have an England future.

Mind you, one name that many people would have given 12 months ago - Nick Compton - has disappeared off the radar. At the end of last season it was assumed that he would switch county to try to recover from a desperate year, but I have not heard anything about a move.

One of the sadder footnotes of 2008 was to see Mark Lawson released by Yorkshire after making such an impressive debut in 2007.

However, of my own county, I can name not one.

Looking at the above, people bemoan the lack of young talent. How much of this apparent lack is real?

Part of the problem is that in CC2 far too many sides prefer to play a second-rate 29 year old Kolpaker rather than a first-rate youngster. The fact that a player has 8-10 years of experience and a South African accent makes him appear less of a risk than the neo. Of the sides that I have followed last year in CC2, only Middlesex have really gone with a youth policy (hence my list of players above), which may pay hansom dividends in the next year or so.

In CC1 though the general level is very strong and the depth is so great that young players do have trouble forcing their way through. Look at Durham, where a Test player who has has some success like Liam Plunkett can't even get a game, or Lancashire, who potentially could have played Mahmood, Anderson, Flintoff, Chappell and Cork: how does a promising 19 year old break in there? The ones who do make it through, like Joe Denly, Adil Rashid and now that he'll be back in CC1, Stephen Moore, are good enough to be fast-tracked to international representation, be it with the Lions or the full England squad, very quickly.

The situation is certainly not as bad as some are saying.

Will Smith wanted to leave Nottinghamshire to join Durham. Notts didn't want him to go. That's your mystery solved. If you were a decent cricket journalist you would know that.

An interesting article, as a Kent (and England) fan, I'll be watching Robbie Joseph with interest and hope his form improves through 2009, like it did through 2008.

A bit disappointing to see the token woman put in there for PC purposes. Let's be honest, 99.5% of cricket fan couldn't care less and (as with football) get a bit fed up with female cricket being rammed down our faces. The Press/Media (and ECB) should focus more attention (and resources) on improving our county game and getting our young players through and stop funding something that's of little or no interest. Otherwise, a cracking article!

In addition to Andy Plowright's hope for the Hants spin pair, led by Imran Tahir, what I find interesting is that I believe that due to playing in S.A for a few seasons, he is close to qualifying to play for their national side.

There is surely little doubt that he is a more penetrative bowler than Harris and maybe the last piece in the S.A jigsaw, allied their strong pace and batting line-up.

Having played with/against him for several years in staffordshire league cricket, it would be great to see him on the international stage as he has developed greatly into a quality bowler.

I do find some of these 'ones to watch' a bit obvious. Smith was picked when already skippering the SA team, Steyn was widely accepted as SA's biggest threat (Morkel would have been a more 'left-field' pick), and this year Mitchell Johnson- you don't say... he's already carrying the Aussie attack on his shoulders. It's hardly a great bit of talent spotting.

Shame on you, Steve Treacle.

I like women's cricket, and not 'for PC reasons'.

More importantly, thousands of young women across the country are passionate about the game and dream of playing at the highest level.

This despte the fact that no female cricketer, however talented, will ever be able to afford a second home in the Caribbean or earn a million dollars for winning one game.

You point appears to be that the media should stop covering women's cricket because nobody cares - but have you ever considered that nobody cares because the media don't cover enough women's cricket?

Nobody's ramming women's cricket down your face, whatever that would consist of. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

But women's cricket, as with any sport, does have the right to compete on its own terms, rather than as a mere adjunct of the male game. At present it receives a tiny fraction of the funds given to the men's game.

This money is justified because:
1) The women's game is enjoyed by many people and is currently thriving both on and off the field.
2) It is in the national interest to have a strong women's game in this country. Far more so, at least, than for Northants to be able to sign an extra couple of Kolpaks.

So, you know, shut up.

Just to put you right again, Notts didn't sign Will Jefferson to replace Will Smith. Jefferson was signed to replace the retired Darren Bicknell.
Mark Wagh and Bilal Shafayat were signed when Smith decided to leave.
Smith, for me, like many other Notts fans probably, looked decidedly ordinary when he turned out for Notts.
Quite honestly he's surprised me the amount of runs he scored last year as he looked destined not to make it with Notts.

For those interested in the local club scene in and around Denham I have picked 6 to watch in 2009.

Raymond Rulach - Having established himself at the top of the 2nd XI batting order in 2008, Ray is looking to make his time in the field more interesting by becoming a supporting straight-up-and-down medium pacer. He boldly seeks 20 wickets and 300 runs in the 2009 league season.

Jack Grover - 2008 Denham CC Clubman of the Year Jack will continue in his 3rd year as 2nd XI captain - a club record in recent times. After his maiden half-century last year, he will be backing himself with both the ball and the bat, looking to lay rightful claim to the bowling trophy from the charlatan 'Philthy' Phil Ashworth. Additionally look out for his awesome fielding.

Hashim Zaheer - With an electrifying mix of beamers and bouncers, batsmen never quite know where they are at against this new face of 2008. 2009 will surely be the year where we find out if he is some kind of Larwood-esque genius, or merely a buffoon with a poor bowling action.

Prem Metha - Following some tense scenes at the AGM, Prem stepped forward to take on the 1st team captaincy after only a handful of games as a regular player. Seasoned veterans of the club who remember the similar actions of Phil 'Fume' Hulme wonder if he knows what he has let himself in for, and whether he will last more games than the Ginger Whinger.

Harish Bhatt - Clearly under some bizarre misapprehansion as to what the role entails, the new Sunday skipper is already a familiar face, however in the new season he will certainly be one to watch on match days. No doubt he will be splashing out on a jug of Diet Coke for his team-mates to celebrate his first win as Sunday captain, if it ever materialises.

Alex Marman - The Marmanator has been on the fringes of the 2nd XI for a couple of seasons now, and this year could be his breakthrough year. If encyclopaedic knowledge of British popular music 1950-present and sporting trivia even John Motson can't remember took wickets and scored runs, this guy would be the new Freddie Flintoff. However they don't, he isn't and rather we look forward to seeing his unexpectedly safe catching hands playing a key role for Denham (although he will be competing with Denham legends Colin 'Flash' Tobin, Mark Dalton, Jeff Simpson, Peter 'Full Fat' Schembri and the The Philth for the coveted position of mid-on for the 2s).

INDIA!!!

Someone who was player of the year at the county champions is not exactly a 'one to watch'.

Neither is soeone with 2 years test experience already.

Very lazy article in my opinion.

Oliver Brett - 91Èȱ¬ Sport,

1 in 6 success (Dale Steyn) from last years selection, not bad.

If Pakistan ever get the chance to play cricket again.... then watch out for Anwar Ali. He looks a star in the making. He was already a brilliant fast bowler, winning Pakistan an U-19 world cup but has now added an ability to score big runs too!

As a Kent fan, I'm still not sure about Robbie Joseph. He reminds me a little of Sajid Mahmood (and I don't know if he was injured last season, but he didn't seem to play much for Lancs) in that he does get you wickets, but he also sprays the ball around all over the place and goes for far too many runs, in all forms of the game. If he's going to perform consistently well, then he's going to have to tighten up.

Joe Denly had a great start to the year (mostly in one-dayers) but really fell away in the second half of the season, so he needs to really build on the potential he has shown.

Graham Napier seems to have built a reputation based on one innings in Twenty20 Cricket. Yes, he is a useful bowler (but he always was), but in my opinion he is not a good enough batsman to warrant batting at 3 for Essex in one-dayers. Jason Gillespie has a Test Match 200. Would he be classed as a top-class bat? No. There's a good reason Napier was playing 2nd XI cricket not that long ago.

What about Ajantha Mendis ?

I found Steve Teacle's article (particuarly as a kent fan as well) quite offensive. The current England womens cricket team are one of the most committed and dedicated group of players you will find. The captain Charlotte Edwards comes from Kent and, along with another Kent player Lydia Greenway, will represent England in this year's 2009 World Cup in Sydney in March. For Mr Treacle's information the England Womens team in 2008 beat New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and India as well as drawing 2-2 with Australia and retaining the Ashes on Australian soil at Bowral in March 2008. Apart from our Olympic Teams, there would not have been other England International teams with such a creditable playing record. If he had taken the time to come to Canterbury in August last year he would have seen what a well drilled squad they are--very professional. Indeed 8 of the players have coaching contracts with the ECB. Wake up and smell the coffee Mr Treacle and support this very dedicated team in this year's World Cup, World 20/20 tournament and Ashes series.

Martin Bodenham has been named in the England and Wales Cricket Board's Full List of first-class umpires for the 2009 season.
He used to be a football referee and once officiated at a League Cup Final.
It will interesting to see whether he blows a whistle for no-balls or holds up a red card to give batsmen out.
(No doubt 20/20 will be looking at these possibilities before long).

Hardly "predicting players on the cusp of making an impact on the international cricket scene" in my opinion. You tipped Dale Steyn for 2008 - he was ICC Test Cricketer of the year the previous year! It would be like predicting Cristiano Ronaldo achieving fame and fortune in 2009...

Similarly Mitchell Johnson is already established as Australia's best bowler having carried their seam attack all season. Surely if you were selecting 'one to watch' under the criteria above you would have to select someone of the stature of Hilfenhaus, Bollinger, Marsh, McDonald or perhaps Phil Hughes?

Spielfuhrer mate....
Well, judging by what i've seen from Bollinger and Mcdonald - if they are Oz best up-coming, then I dont think Bangladesh have got much to worry about let alone England or the rest ! If this is the 'production line' then it aint producing the likes of Duminy,ABDV,Rashid,Mendis is it ?
Maybe that good old aussie trait of humility (sic) might be stretched a bit over the next decade or so eh ?

Mitchell Johnson - yet again we witness the 91Èȱ¬'s obsession with all things Australian when it comes to cricket. The world is moving on, guys...if Johnson was English you wouldn't give him a mention, and you know it.

I'd really like to see Steven Davies of Worcestershire get his chance in the England set up this year. he really shone for a lot of last season and I think he can be a big star if given the chance.

Oh dear. At least one of them is playing in Oliver's 'Sydney Showdown'. There's nothng else to add. Full marks for anyone who can guess which of these six is most likely to emulate Dale Steyn.
Clue- like Steyn, a bowler who has already become a first choice pick for his country.

I hope Shah is the player to watch. I have always been a fan of his as i believe he has the temperment to handle the aussies. Players like Swann, Prior and Bopara don't have the bottle to compete against them.

My Best 11 Test Team

G. Smith – SA - A v. good year and did well against the Ausies
Gambhir – IND – A v. good year and played with control against the Ausies
Amla – SA – A very reliable player and doesn’t give his wicket away
Chanderpaul – WI - very gritty and attacking. Great ability to change a match
Pietersen –ENG- a fine and attacking player and very determined
Dhoni – IND - In my opinion, the best keeper around at the moment
Zaheer – IND - clever fast bowler
Steyn – SA – very good consistent bowler
Johnson – AUS – attacking, good fast bowler and good with the bat
Murali – SLA - what can I say ? – brilliant !!

you are entitled to call me lazy, hacker, but at least - unlike yourself - I am prepared to put my head over the parapet!

-------

That's your job isn't it?


And if you want a name from me then James Harris. I would even go so far as to say that he would possibly be in the England touring team by the winter as long as he can stay fit this year. For me he is easily the most promising bowler to appear on the County scene since James Anderson (who looked even better propect back then than he looks a player now).

I would like to say watch out for in 2009 are Ishant Sharma and Badrinath for India, and Siddle of Australia.

Best 11 for 2008:

Jayasuriya - Smasher of new ball
Sehwag - as above; more brutal
Smith - Rock and quick scorer
Tendulkar - Worlds number 1
KP - Aggressive and confident
Dhoni - Hard hitter
Flintoff - Good Batter excellent bowler
Johnson - One of the best around
Sharma - Young raw, super v aussies
Steyn - Quality pace bowler
Murali - No one can turn it better

I notice Darren Pattinson has not had a mention...

As a Kent fan the enthusiasm shown for Joe Denly by several contributors is curious. He had a very poor season ( see the shot he played in the FP trophy final) and his first class average was improved by the 149 he scored re Somerset in which he was dropped 4 times before he had 50. Being consistent in 20/20 is no benchmark. He has bags of talent but it needs to be honed.

Robbie Joseph performed very well in 2nd half of the season and is very much a confidence bowler. He should very much be encouraged as his attitude is far better than some other bowlers we had last year namely Arafat and Mahmood whose heads went down very quickly. The disillusionment at Kent was exemplified by Rob Key walking off at Lords before the rest of his team due to the abject performance. Kent need to kick out a number of the overseas big time charlies and concentrate on breeding a few home grown stars as they did a few years ago.

rubbish list, this, more of a prompt for debate than anything else. Mitchell Johnson is hardly a find and Xavier Marshall can't score runs even in NZ right now....plus some average Enbglish county players...Surely 91Èȱ¬ can do better than this?

for 2009, i think azhar ali of pakistan will be a big star.
top run scorer in the pakistan leagues last year,in the provisional champions trophy squad and was recently offered a central contract.Allfrom a man who has spent the past 3 summers playing cricket in north east scotland!

Who?

I am (again!) amazed at the lack of attention Tim Bresnan gets in this kind of thing. While his batting didn't quite reach last year's standard it was still significantly better than Rashid's, and he took over 40 wickets at a better average. Yet somehow Rashid is the talk of the town and Bresnan gets barely a nod! Makes me glad I'm a leg-spinner ;) On the other hand, as a Yorkshire fan I'll be more than happy for England to ignore Bres for another couple of years - with Hoggard seemingly out of the selector's eye-line as well it could be a good time for the Tykes :)

Watch this space! David Hussey and Ishant Sharma are the men for the job. For more cricket writngs go to my own blog

6 to watch, to me, really is about spotting talent that the average cricket fan may not have heard of before. I would like to add two names. Both played for England under 19's last season and , i believe they will start to push into the Sussex side, and make a real impact. The two players i talk about are Will Beer and Ben Brown. With Matt Prior, looking like he may play for England in the Summer. I believe Brown will be given the gloves by Sussex and prove to be a real success.

Nobody cares about womens cricket I agree with Mr Treacle. Its a mens game, the women struggle to hit the ball off the wicket and who wants to watch it apart from other women? But of course in these PC times we have to cover it.

Why no Derbyshire players? How come Danny Redfern is not on the list.

Amjad Khan? One to watch??? He's almost 29 - hardly a youngster in cricket terms. He was certainly worth a try in the West Indies, but hardly "one to watch". (By the way, if he wants to make it at international level, he needs to move his bowling run up marker back about a foot to cut out the no balls).

Congratulations on the Laura Marsh pick. 16 wickets in the World Cup makes her the leading bowler in the competition. Congratulations to Laura for ..... well winning the World Cup !

Its a shame that the 91Èȱ¬ allow the comments of "SteveTreacle" and "Derbyshire_La_La_La" to be publiched.

Presumably this is the same game of cricket for which the act of bowling overarm was invented by a women. I suggest "Derbyshire_La_La_La" that you actually get your facts correct before blurting out such attrocious garbage as suggesting women cannot hit the ball off the wicket. Suggest you attend the Derby/Lancs T20-T20 at Derby in June but turn up 4 hours early and don't park your car too close to the boundary edge.

As for the drivle from "SteveTreacles" I suggest you constrain your sexist ranting to yourself. Hardly the most eloquent or well argued contribution to put it mildly. I'm sure you are delighted with the news that the women have won the world cup and the men haven't. Put that in your pipe and smoke it !

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