Thanks to Maxie for his spoof of the Australian touring squad last week; my particular favourite was left arm spinner Xavier Hope. Looking at the Canary Yellows squad – robbed of Pat Cummins through injury – I personally don’t think they’ve got a hope (although stranger things have happened).
Perhaps us England fans shouldn’t be so smug though. In case you missed it, the England Lions got well and truly massacred by Australia A this winter. Admittedly, the Aussie team was much more experienced (boasting established players like Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges), whereas the Lions included a number of rather green cricketers, but it’s worrying nevertheless. In fact, if you take a look at the Lions team which has been picked to play New Zealand in a week’s time, it’s worryingly short of genuine quality.
Here’s the line up: Joe Root capt, Jonny Bairstow (both Yorkshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Varun Chopra (Warwickshire), Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire), Graham Onions (Durham), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Chris Wright (Warwickshire).
With the exception of Root, Bairstow and Simon Kerrigan, I personally do not believe that any of the other players will be future stars in test cricket. Some of them might just about hold their own, but Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen they are not.
Bopara has been picked, and found wanting, time and time again. Michael Carberry is a decent player, but he’s pushing 33 years old. I cannot see him replacing either Cook, Compton (or Root) in the test team in the immediate future, so when exactly is he going to make the step up?
Varun Chopra has played well for Warwickshire in recent times, but his first class average is just 36; he also has the tendency to walk across his stumps (not exactly ideal if you’re an opener). Meanwhile, James Taylor has many admirers but I’m not one of them I’m afraid. It could be because I’m a purist, and I like my cricketers to bat with either style or power, but Taylor is too scruffy for my liking. I’m yet to see genuine talent in his game – and his struggles in division one last year have entrenched my doubts.
The bowling also looks worryingly thin. Graham Onions is a good bowler, but injuries are beginning to take their toll. England wanted to pick Onions in the test team last winter when Stuart Broad was injured; unfortunately, however, he was bowling so poorly both in practice and the nets that the selectors looked elsewhere. At nearly 31 years old, can you see Onions contributing regularly for England in the future? Personally I can’t, especially if injuries continue to affect his pace (he isn’t tall, so he needs that little bit off nip off the pitch).
Chris Wright is another bowler who is getting a lot of good press at the moment. He had a great season for Warwickshire last year, but is he the next big thing? No he isn’t. He’s played 83 first class matches and his average is a rather disappointing 33. Wright is almost 28 years old now, so we cannot expect him to suddenly metamorphose into a match winner. Late developer? Maybe. Future of the England attack? Australia have better options.
The two other bowlers in the Lions squad, Chris Woakes and Toby Roland Jones, I’m not sure about yet. As an out and out bowler, Woakes isn’t nearly good enough to play for England. He lacks pace, and his performances in ODIs have not been convincing. However, I’m reserving judgment because I quite like his batting. He may yet mature into an all-rounder capable of batting seven and contributing as a solid fifth bowler. If this transpires, he may prove to be a useful cricketer for England one day.
Toby Roland-Jones is a different kettle of fish. He’s not exactly much of a batsman, but the start to his county career with the ball has been superb: he’s taken 144 wickets at 20 in just 33 first class matches. Is he as good a bowler as his statistics suggest? Only time will tell. He has a reliable action, but before we anoint him as the new Angus Fraser, it must be pointed out that he isn’t taking the new ball for Middlesex yet. It’s hard to see him making an impact for England when he’s not even one of the best two seamers at his club.
So should we be worried? Just a couple of years ago we were boasting about the depth of talent at our disposal. However, all of a sudden the cupboard looks rather bare. We should be ok for 2013-14 – and yes I still think we’ll win the Ashes at home and away – but beyond that? I’m not so confident.
How many more tests will Chris Tremlett play? Will Tim Bresnan ever be more than a reliable third seamer? Is Nick Compton anything other than a one season wonder? All of these are genuine questions we don’t know the answer to. And if these guys disappear, where is the next generation going to come from?
Bell, Trott, Pietersen, Anderson and Swann are all of a similar age. In four years time, England could be facing a problem Australia know only too well: lots of star players retiring at the same time. I hate to be a killjoy, but maybe we should make hay while the sun shines. In England, you never know when the next shower is coming from … and by ‘shower’, I mean the next great English cricketing mess.
James Morgan
Those players, apart from Petersen and maybe Swann, aren’t anywhere near as star as the players the Aussies lost though. I think the county system is resilient enough to throw up decent quality test cricketers.
And Prior – who is ridiculously important with the bat now – will be around for ages.
Prior is 31, the same age as Bell and just a year younger than trott and Pietersen. The core of the side are all the same age, and in 3 yrs time will be declining at the same time. We’ve got cook and root to play longterm, but thereafter it is looking a bit thin. Need some more south African recruits ;-)
I thought Prior was about 27/28 as he looked about 35 when he first came into the team so just hasn’t aged for me.