Tag: James Taylor

Headingley, day three: England 351-5

Today was an ‘exciting’ day of Test cricket. Not entirely in the usual sense of a tight run-chase or some tense bat v ball contests (though to an extent those as well), but in the much more simple sense of Kevin Pietersen trying to hit the South African bowlers into Lancashire. It was an absolutely staggering innings; he actually played fairly sensibly for a long period, but then South Africa tried to bounce him out. It was an odd tactic as the ball was fairly old, but one could see the logic of playing on Pietersen’s ego. The execution was all wrong, however. South Africa only bowled bouncers and the pitch and ball were simply not quick enough to really provide a problem. The field setting telegraphed the intent and Pietersen had time to happily smash the ball to the rope. Not once did South Africa try to slip in a yorker which might have done for him the way he was sitting on the back foot. Pietersen simply fed off the short stuff and was at his imperious best by the time the new ball was taken. South Africa would have probably thought, I certainly did, that the extra pace and movement would lead to KP missing one of his extravagant strokes, but it never happened. The ball went even faster off the bat and Pietersen both lofted Dale Steyn over his head for six and flat batted one back at Steyn’s head. It was an absolutely staggering innings, utterly majestic. I still do not believe that Pietersen comes through often enough to justify either his ego or his stupid shots, but it is lovely to watch when it comes off.

At the other end for most Pietersen’s innings was the debutant James Taylor. It is not an easy way to make a debut with England under a bit of pressure against the very good South African attack and KP’s extravagance at the other end cannot have helped matters. He played with excellent composure, however, to get to 34 from over a hundred balls. He was finally bowled through the gate by Morkel which was disappointing, but he looked Test quality. He played some lovely shots and worked his way through a difficult period. He did not go on to make the big score that would have guaranteed his place for Lord’s, however, and England will of course hope that he does not have to bat in the second innings. It’s hard to know what the selectors will do if Bopara makes himself available for the last Test, but I would definitely have Taylor in the squad for Lord’s on the back of this.

Pietersen’s innings really put England back into contention after a fairly poor first part of the day. England never collapsed to put them in the mire, but a lot of the batsmen got in and got out. Strauss got a good ball and Cook got an okay one, but Trott and Bell both played horrific drives away from the body to get out. They all made some runs (though only eleven for Bell) but it was just not enough, especially from Trott. Trott basically built his career around not chasing balls outside off, but this is not the first time he has got out doing so this year. I don’t know what has caused this change from him and it could be as simple as a dip in form. That does happen. But I worry that he has been put under so much pressure to score faster in ODIs that it is affecting his Test game.

England are very much in this match, they go into stumps on 351-5 and trailing by 68. There is not a lot of true batting to come, but KP and Prior are still in and if South Africa can not dislodge them early they will fancy getting England all the way to level terms. England still have Bresnan, who batted well at the Oval, and the mercurial Broad to bat so England could actually get a decent lead if South Africa do not bounce back tomorrow morning. Even if that does not happen, however, South Africa have some injury concerns. Alviro Petersen has a grade one hamstring injury and will only bat if necessary and Smith landed rather heavily on his knee whilst fielding near the close. It’s not yet clear how badly his injured, but South Africa will really want him not only fit but opening. Their other batsmen are talented, but facing the new ball is a tough ask and South Africa will be at a distinct disadvantage if Rudolph has to open (as I am guessing he would) with a non-specialist. Right now all three results are still possible and it should all be very interesting tomorrow.

Second Test squad

England have named a 13-man squad for the second Test against South Africa at Headingley and there is one surprise omission. After I said after the first Test that I did not think that Bopara would be dropped, he was left out of the squad due to ‘personal reasons’. Whilst obviously I, and I suspect everyone, hopes that all is well with Bopara this is a boost for England. I don’t know how many times I have said that he should not be in the side. In his place comes James Taylor, now of Nottinghamshire. It is interesting as it does seem to be a slight case of selection on potential. Taylor is a very good, very talented player who had a very poor 2011 (which may have cost him a place in the Test side at the time). He has had a better 2012 and he is an excellent choice, but Nick Compton is in better form. Still, Taylor very much deserves his chance and it is probably overdue. Hopefully he gets the extended run that Bairstow (rather unfairly) did not. Unless the personal reasons are long-term, I do expect Bopara will be back soon so Taylor cannot assume that he will have long in which to prove himself. Hopefully he gets a big score immediately and makes himself very hard to drop.

The rest of the squad of 13 is unchanged, so there is once again the possibility that England will play five bowlers. I would still be very surprised if it actually happens, but the performance at the Oval certainly looked a bowler short. Though I do expect a four-man (three seamer) attack, the exact composition of it may change. There is a suggestion that Stuart Broad was perhaps not entirely fit at the Oval and if he is still carrying a niggle then he should not play at Headingley. It is also possible that Finn could come in for Bresnan after the latter did not look particularly good in the first Test. Though as I said after the Test it would be harsh; Bresnan really looked no worse than the rest. It looks necessary to get some variation into the attack, however, and Bresnan is probably the odd man out if that is what happens.

My preferred XI, assuming Broad is fit, would be: Strauss*, Cook, Trott, KP, Bell, Prior†, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Finn.

My predicted XI, taking into account the previous selection preferences and again assuming that Broad is fit, is: Strauss*, Cook, Trott, KP, Bell, Taylor, Prior†, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson.

If Broad is not fit I would replace him with Onions (batting at eleven) in my preferred XI and Finn (also batting at XI) in my predicted XI.

A lucky break

Joy at another person’s injury is probably a little bit cruel. It’s not like being dropped or losing form, it’s actual pain that goes beyond the sporting arena. That said, I’m apparently a slightly cruel person as I am very glad to hear that Ravi Bopara has a quad injury and is a major doubt for the first Test. (I was also happy when McGrath stepped on that cricket ball ahead of the Edgbaston Test in 2005.)

I’m glad because with Compton only scoring 20-odd for the Lions, Bopara looked like he had secured an spot in the Test side. As I have mentioned more than once Bopara should not be anywhere near the Test side, so this injury is a very good thing for England. It’s unfortunate for Bopara, of course and I would prefer that he had simply not been selected. Whatever the actual reason, however, England needed to keep him out of the Test team and this will accomplish that.

Now the question of who to bat at six becomes more interesting too. Compton has still had his incredible start to the season even though he only made 20-odd. Taylor scored a very impressive century, however, to put him in almost the opposite situation to Compton. Bairstow also scored a fifty on the back of his 182 for Yorkshire last week. There’s still a second innings to come, so we may have a clearer picture then, but right now I would still give it to Compton, with Bairstow as the second choice. I don’t think one innings is enough to put Taylor in form or Compton out of form. Bairstow, meantime, I think has consistently done almost enough to be selected. He would certainly not be a bad choice either.

Twelve Lions

The Lions squad was announced last week and whilst I didn’t remark upon it at the time, there are some interesting names both included and not.

Apart from the inclusion of Simon Kerrigan (about which I am actually a bit disappointed as we really need him in the LV=CC right now), Nick Compton has also been rewarded for his great start to the season with a call-up. The side is still led by James Taylor. Ravi Bopara has not been included, fuelling suggestion that he is already written into number six in the Test side. This may be true, but I am not certain that it is. The argument goes that England are so sure he will be in the side that they do not want the Windies to get a look at him ahead of time and thus they have omitted him in favour of a purely experimental side of youngsters. Again, this could be. There’s nothing ridiculous about it. But I am not convinced. (Note that this has nothing to do with the fact that Bopara shouldn’t be selected, it’s the separate question of whether he will be anyway.)

First off, I am uneasy with using a lack of selection to a reserve match as proof of first team selection. Note that Graham Onions will also not be playing for the Lions either, however he is very, very unlikely to be in the Test side. The bigger objection is the inclusion of Compton, however. Compton will be 29 this summer, he is not a young prospect. He is not a developing player. I don’t see him being in the Lions as a measure for the next few years, the way it is with Taylor. Surely, the only reason for him to be playing is as an audition for the Test side. Were it a guarantee that Bopara were playing, there would be no need to select Compton for the Lions.

I think the most likely explanation is that Bopara is the default. Despite not playing recently, he will be selected if nothing changes. However, the selection of Compton is an opportunity for something to change. I think the attitude of the selectors will be that Compton can force his way into the side with a good Lions performance in much the same way that Morgan did last year. I rather hope I am right, Bopara remains almost the last person I want to see batting at six for England.