A cynic might suggest that James Taylor will play at Headlingley for one reason and one reason only: he’s a batsman. In the management’s eyes, this alone qualifies him to play. England decided long ago that they must play six batsmen at all costs, otherwise they might actually be in danger of bowling a world class batting side out. If the fat slogger who plays for your club’s third XI was the only batsman available, he’d probably play too. The individual merits of the batsman in question don’t...
County championship roundup – with an eye on England
Right then. Two rounds of the county championship have been completed. Lancashire have lost twice and Andrew Strauss has been dismissed for a low score twice. I’ll leave you to decide which is the more surprising. As an England fan first and foremost, my main interest in Championship cricket is seeing which players are on the cusp of test selection. It’s even more interesting this year as there’s actually a vacancy in the test side to fill; if Patel plays against the Windies in May I’ll eat...
The elephant amongst the Lions
If I had a quid for every fan who thinks England should drop a couple of batsmen after the debacle against Pakistan, I’d have enough money to set up my own television channel, re-employ Tony Lewis and Jack Bannister, and put live test cricket back on terrestrial TV. In a way, I can understand where these people are coming from: they see Bell and Pietersen struggling to pick Saeed Ajmal’s doosra and they want blood. There’s just one problem with this rather knee jerk response. Who exactly do...
Nottinghamshire Outlaws taking from the poor
James Taylor, pictured above in his England kit, has left Leicestershire because he err, wants to play for England. How ironic that a county most famous for Robin Hood, a man that stole from the rich to give to the poor, has been the prime plunderer of talent from smaller, weaker counties in recent years. It was confirmed yesterday that James Taylor, arguably the hottest prospect in the entire country, is leaving Leicestershire to join Notts next season. It’s an enormous blow to the Foxes...
