This weekend saw a rich smorgasbord of sporting festivities on the television. On Sunday afternoon I found myself flicking between the Test Match, the Euro 2012 football, the French Open Tennis Final and the Grand Prix. While such riches provide you with great entertainment, it can be a real hassle deciding which one to watch and trying not to avoid any crucial moment in each!
The Test Match, despite the weather has provided many headlines. It was great to see Tino Best showing everyone just what a good number 11 batsman is made of with a scintillating innings of 95 to break many a record. Then we saw Dinesh Ramdin post a hundred before revealing a poster admonishing Sir Vivian Richards for questioning his selection. However, it was the English selection which drew most of the initial headlines.
 |
| After two days washed out, could we have picked 5 bowlers? - Guardian (c) |
After opting to rest Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad for the match, in order to include Graham Onions and Steven Finn, the selectors were heavily criticised for not selecting ‘the strongest team’ available for the Test and showing disrespect. To be honest, I have no real issue with rotating a squad in international cricket. With the series won, and Anderson and Broad both prone in the past to picking up injuries, why not keep them fresh for the upcoming South Africa series? Onions and Finn are both very capable young players, who will be needed to be called upon soon in the future, so the more exposure they can get to Test cricket the better. Some argue that you can’t draw the comparisons with club football and rugby where players are rotated on a regular basis. However, with the advent of central contracts, and the increasing workload of the international cricketer, I see no reason why you can’t use a squad and prioritise your matches. You wouldn’t expect Stuart Lancaster to keep the same side for a midweek match on the current England rugby tour, or criticise Roy Hodgson for including squad players in the third group game should England secure qualification after match two.
I think many people missed the real question about the selection this week. After losing the first two days to rain, why only pick three seamers? To win the game in three days you are going to have to take 20 wickets. With the series won, why not gamble and take a risk? Who to leave out would of course be the question. Some could argue that Graham Swann would be the one to go, but of course it would be madness not to include the World leading off spinner in your team. So that would mean losing a batsman. Which leads us on to another point, why is it bowlers get rotated but not batsmen? Yes its physically tougher as a bowler, but why shouldn’t you use the opportunity to give Trott, Cook or Bell a rest? It might just give you better balance and put some pressure on others to step up to the plate.
Finding a selection balance can be notoriously tough. From speaking to Oggy at Kimberley, it is something he is always looking to achieve. Just how do you get it right though, giving yourself the correct amount of options in each of the different areas to meet the challenges of that specific match? We saw at the weekend how Spain struggled to really exert themselves after failing to select a clear identifiable striker in their team. Only when the mercurial Fernando Torres came on did I feel they truly look better balanced. When I select sides at hockey, it is something that I always think carefully about, and of course, you never always get it right. Picking the team with the correct blend of attackers and defenders, or in our case, batsmen, all rounders and bowlers, is no precise science. It is something that comes with practice, experience and getting a feel for the blend that will bring you the desired result. Let’s just hope that Sam can find that mix throughout the rest of the season to get Kimberley competing at the top of the table. Oh, and yes, you obviously have to have a round left armer in your team! Obviously.
STOP PRESS
A big congrats to Oggy and Victoria on your engagement!
No comments:
Post a Comment