England Lions vs. Sri Lanka A

Surprised there's no thread on this match given that it could be seen as something of an audition for various players mooted as possibles for the summer tests.
Anyway, Sri Lanka A won the toss and fielded and the Lions finished the first day on 299/9 after a bit of a collapse post tea. Good 50s were scored by Varun Chopra, James Taylor and Moeen Ali.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/695967.html

Good to see my man Jimmy Taylor get some runs. Think he should be the first in line for any middle order place that comes open, above Ballance definitely, and possibly Root too (although he probably should get a run in one position). Chopra can open the batting too, so he could be playing his way in to being Cook's partner although Robson, despite failing today, will have something to say about that.

Interesting that they've gone for Borthwick as the sole spinner (Moeen Ali's part timers aside). Kerrigan is still the guy I'd like to see get a go, so hopefully he'll get a gig in a later match but it will be interesting to see how Borthwick goes. His batting and his fielding would make hi a useful asset to have if he can get his bowling up to scratch. And picking a leggie like him would a sign going forward that they've gone away from the grind them about approach ot picking up wickets.

Can someone please call Prior and offer him a jumbo bag of jelly babies to stop being miserable?

Bairstow is not going to be the england keeper for the summer surely.

Big statement from Woakes, Id like to seem him pressure Bresnans spot in all formats.

Decent bowling performance by the Lions sees Sri Lanka out for 171. 4 wickets for Woakes and 2 for Moeen. Interestingly Borthwick didn't bowl at all. Is he injured, or does even Woakes not trust him?

England should be sensible and drop this foolhardy experiment of trying to create a frontline test spinner out of a county parttimer. Perhaps if Borthwick's batting develops well so that he can play as a real all-rounder, then they can consider him, but not as the frontline spinner, because he isn't one.
Perhaps they are picking him so that the team spirits will be in the high heavens.

I forever long to see the Stokes/Woakes partnership in test cricket, could be very handy IMO.

Moeen picking up a few wickets and keeping it tight.

I say we play a team of all rounders

(BTW Mills is evidently showing what people thought. Not ready yet)

Olly wrote:I forever long to see the Stokes/Woakes partnership in test cricket, could be very handy IMO.

Moeen picking up a few wickets and keeping it tight.

I say we play a team of all rounders

(BTW Mills is evidently showing what people thought. Not ready yet)

Actually think Moeen's got a chance of selection, especially as there aren't any outstanding candidates for the spinners role. Tredwell's just a stop gap, Kerrigan, Borthwick and Briggs are possibly not ready yet, Rayner's unproven. So 4 seamers + Moeen and Root?

msp83 wrote:England should be sensible and drop this foolhardy experiment of trying to create a frontline test spinner out of a county parttimer. Perhaps if Borthwick's batting develops well so that he can play as a real all-rounder, then they can consider him, but not as the frontline spinner, because he isn't one.
Perhaps they are picking him so that the team spirits will be in the high heavens.

Bit cynical , msp ?

Borthwick may be a fair way off a frontline Test spinner at the moment , but to fail to play him in the development team after a least taking four wickets in his only Test appearance would seem rather unfair...

Let us give the lad a chance , eh ?

He probably didn't bowl because he wasn't needed ! I fancy he will have a bowl second innings.

alfie wrote:

msp83 wrote:England should be sensible and drop this foolhardy experiment of trying to create a frontline test spinner out of a county parttimer. Perhaps if Borthwick's batting develops well so that he can play as a real all-rounder, then they can consider him, but not as the frontline spinner, because he isn't one.
Perhaps they are picking him so that the team spirits will be in the high heavens.

Bit cynical , msp ?

Borthwick may be a fair way off a frontline Test spinner at the moment , but to fail to play him in the development team after a least taking four wickets in his only Test appearance would seem rather unfair...

Let us give the lad a chance , eh ?

He probably didn't bowl because he wasn't needed !  I fancy he will have a bowl second innings.

Alfie, if they give Kerrigan a try, I would say fair enough though his temperament is suspect. Kerrigan is all said and done, a frontline spinner, perhaps not a very good one, but a frontline option nevertheless. Would England pick Ravi Bopara to replace James Anderson? Borthwick is not a lot better than Samit Patel, I don't think he would even offer half the control that Patel would provide. If they are serious about him they should have done something so that he would play for a different county where he would have got an opportunity to play as a frontline bowling option.
Yuvraj Singh, JP Duminy, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, all are handy parttime bowlers. But none of them are good enough to play as a frontline option consistently. Same is the case with Borthwick. Perhaps they should have him as a top 5 option? He has been batting at 3 for his county of late hasn't he?

Chris Woakes showing his credentials with the bat. An innings of 92* contributing to a Lions score 319/8d. Woakes then takes a wicket in his first over (as does Onions) to reduce Sri Lanka A to 7/2 in reply.

Lions doing an impressive job here...and Woakes gains extra points for declaring with himself not out on 92 ! That's putting the team first...
Borthwick two pretty useful efforts with the bat too...hope he gets a chance to show what he can do with the ball later.

I'm a big fan of the idea of and England 6-7-8 of Stokes, Prior/Buttler, Woakes. Think it gives us some variety with the ball (one holding bowler which would allow Stokes to be England's 'golden arm' in that he can take wickets in short spells and not have to worry about economy too much) as well as providing some stability with the bat. You can argue about the order they bat in.

JDizzle wrote:I'm a big fan of the idea of and England 6-7-8 of Stokes, Prior/Buttler, Woakes. Think it gives us some variety with the ball (one holding bowler which would allow Stokes to be England's 'golden arm' in that he can take wickets in short spells and not have to worry about economy too much) as well as providing some stability with the bat. You can argue about the order they bat in.

Well, IMHO, Woakes is at least as good a bowler as Bresnan and a much better batsman. So I don't see why he couldn't be a replacement for Trundler Tim.

I agree JDizzle, I'm also a huge fan of that. Although I think Woakes is almost too good to bat 8, as is probably Stokes and the keeper we choose. Not a bad problem

Good to see a ray of sunshine for the England Test ranks coming via the Lions.   

I know a few have (or have) been critical of Woakes but the only time I saw him play (in an ODI at the SCG in early 2011) he seemed to be quite a decent pace with an elegant bowling action. He stood out more than Jimmy and Bresnan that day.

I don't know how much has changed in the space of 3 years or whether he's been out of form for a while... but I did like the look of him back then. Has his action been dumbed down or altered in any way? Hope not.

Another wicket for Moeen in the 2nd innings, not many runs in England's 2nd knock though. Interesting that he seems to be bowling more than Borthwick.

I think he's got a chance of being selected, he's a much-improved bowler which should help his chances.

Moeen has an average in f/c cricket of 37, and bearing in mind he's been in div 2 for most of his career, that simply isn't good enough.... Root is better and also he also bowls off breaks, so Moeen isn't really needed in that side at the moment....

Woakes is decent, but the likes of Chris Jordan etc are better..

Marsh 35 and Doolan 37. They're doing alright at the moment. I personally wouldn't pick Moeen yet, but I'm not going to write him off yet.

Moeen is very much a late bloomer. Hes improved beyond recognition in the last couple of years.
That said Im far from convinced hes getting looked at as anything other than "hey he can chip in with some left arm bowling"
Test attack of Moeen, Stokes, Woakes, Bairstow , Broad, Anderson? No.

CF wrote:Moeen has an average in f/c cricket of 37, and bearing in mind he's been in div 2 for most of his career, that simply isn't good enough.... Root is better and also he also bowls off breaks, so Moeen isn't really needed in that side at the moment....

Woakes is decent, but the likes of Chris Jordan etc are better..

Conversely, he averaged 62 last year and scored the most runs in either division. And his bowling is way superior to Root's.

Plenty of good players in Div 2, Tremlett, Smith, KP, Dernbach 

I really like Woakes, I'd much prefer him to get a go in the side at 8/9 than Bresnan and I've defended our trundler Tim on many a occasion!

Jordan's better than the pair of them!

On a similar note to this article, the Under 19 World Cup kicked off on Friday and England have already cruised past the UAE (who aren't a bad side, put up a good fight when Eng and Pak toured in January) by 200 runs but are sturggling today against SL. SL need 30 off 8 overs with 3 wickets in hand. Eng only made 230 this time.

JDizzle wrote:On a similar note to this article, the Under 19 World Cup kicked off on Friday and England have already cruised past the UAE (who aren't a bad side, put up a good fight when Eng and Pak toured in January) by 200 runs but are sturggling today against SL. SL need 30 off 8 overs with 3 wickets in hand. Eng only made 230 this time.

Just watching the end of this. SL under 19 now 226/9 need 5 more to win from 12 balls.

Wickets for Onions and a hundred for Robson in this game so far

Taylor has gone past fifty as well

Robson currently 130* and Taylor smashing it everywhere on 87* off 124, which is quick for him! The two guys who I would say were most in line for a Test spot come summer before this tour, are really pushing their cases.

Kerrigan and Borthwick = expensive.

Robson fell for 140 and Rayner for 1. Taylor 99 not out overnight!

Good work from Rayner as night watchman! Oh Jimmy, please get a big one. Get past 150 here and it starts to become impossible for them to leave you out.

Also, England Under 19's are into the WC quarters after crushing NZ in the end with a great effort from their bowlers. Need the batsmen to step up though if they are to have any chance of beating India on Saturday (I think) morning.

Looks like Robson is making a real case for himself doesnt it.

Taylor 199* at tea.

Ive campaigned for a while to get him into this england side and he should have been in it a while ago, and is proving why!! One of the most consistent run scorerers in the english domestic game has done it for years, and is good enough to make the step up.

Just the 242* in the end.

Well done Taylor.

Let's hope he isn't criminally overlooked this summer.

Taylor and Robson banging on the door
Both should get an opportunity v Sri Lanka
Well done lads

Rather good timing for Taylor . Big Lions scores were not likely to get him ahead of Trott/KP/Bell last year ; but now...

Good game for Plunkett too. Does look like the Lankan bowling gave up though.

alfie wrote:Rather good timing for Taylor .  Big Lions scores were not likely to get him ahead of Trott/KP/Bell last year ; but now...

There is a lot of excitement and interest around the Lions at the moment.
That speaks volumes for both the desire for some changes, and the quality and potential of some of the players in reserve.

Hugeeee win for England Under 19's against defending champions India today, puts them through to the semis now! Once again top bowling restricted India to 231, and this was only after two good knocks from 6 and 7, Hooda and Khan. Matt Fisher with three, but Sayer and Rhodes kept it very tight. Then the batting stood up, great knock from Ben Duckett with help from two guys I've played against in Barnard and Clarke! Hopefully they can go all the way, although Pakistan are my favourites.

Good match going on for a place in the final. Eng u19 scored 204/7. Pakistan u19 154/7 needing 52 from 60 balls.

Pak through to the final.

Eng really should have won from the position they got themselves into with the ball, but they can be hugely proud of their performances this tournament. Rob Sayer and Matt Fisher especially with the ball, top stuff. Duckett was the leading light with the bat, where most of the struggles came from.

JDizzle wrote:Eng really should have won from the position they got themselves into with the ball, but they can be hugely proud of their performances this tournament. Rob Sayer and Matt Fisher especially with the ball, top stuff. Duckett was the leading light with the bat, where most of the struggles came from.

Yes, they generally did themselves proud. Probably deserved their own thread!   

Only saw a few bits but also liked the look of Joe Clarke keeping wicket. Appeared mature beyond his years - doing the right things with a minimum of fuss. He must be highly regarded to be taking the gloves in preference to Duckett who has already kept in a few first team games for Northants. Believe Clarke plays for Shropshire - a few first class counties could do worse than give him the once over.

Did they unearth some half-decent spinners as well?

Hopefully, the ones the Lions gave a go got murdered. It could well be Tredwell this summer the way things are going :/

They haven't been acting very sensible of late, but Tredwell or Panesar is the sensible option really.

guildfordbat wrote:

JDizzle wrote:Eng really should have won from the position they got themselves into with the ball, but they can be hugely proud of their performances this tournament. Rob Sayer and Matt Fisher especially with the ball, top stuff. Duckett was the leading light with the bat, where most of the struggles came from.

Yes, they generally did themselves proud. Probably deserved their own thread!   

Only saw a few bits but also liked the look of Joe Clarke keeping wicket. Appeared mature beyond his years - doing the right things with a minimum of fuss. He must be highly regarded to be taking the gloves in preference to Duckett who has already kept in a few first team games for Northants. Believe Clarke plays for Shropshire - a few first class counties could do worse than give him the once over.

He became the youngest player to play Minor Counties for Shropshire last summer and acquitted himself very well. He is signed up at Worcestershire now though, along with Ed Barnard. Both of whom have had the good fortune to get the chance to play against me. Obviously the reason for their success.   

Would expect on or both to make their debuts at some point this summer, especially with Worcs small squad. Barnard was earmarked as a talent from a yougn age, but Clarke had a huge year last year to force his way into England and Worcs thoughts.

MSP, Sayer was the star with the ball in the spin department (although Jones bowled well too), but it is tough to say whether he will ever develop into a top class spinner though. Should get lots fo chances with Leics this summer though. Fisher, who is only 16 don't forget, was the stand out with the ball for me. A real prospect.

Yeah, Fisher was the one who send India crashing with a distruction of the top order. At 16, he certainly is a great prospect.