Wednesday, 19 November 2008

Extended run

England had to do something, and so they have. Ravi Bopara will open in Kanpur, according to the always excellent David Hopps. Matt Prior drops to number eight, eight games into his comeback. His run at the top of the order included one game against Scotland, one where he was required to chase the almost insurmountable South African total of 83 and one in which he did not bat due to rain. Of the eight games, England lost two. 

Stats lie, of course. He was paralysed by spin on monday. Bopara has been bullish in asking for his chance. It will be interesting to see how extended his run is under KP.

A chilling reminder of prior (no pun intended) consistency. Ravi Bopara made his ODI debut on 2 Feb 2007 in Sydney. The XI:

Joyce
Loye
Bell
Flintoff
Strauss
Dalrymple
Nixon
Bopara
Plunkett
Mahmood
Panesar

Pietersen had gone home injured. To continue the Spinal Tap theme of the post below, many of the others are of course current residents of the Where Are They Now File. 

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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous19 November 2008 at 15:48

    Isn’t it funny how it is so easy to forget some players?

    What is Dalrymple up to these days?

    I haven’t forgotten Loye though. He didn’t really fit the mould, did he?

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  2. Anonymous19 November 2008 at 21:02

    Bell is the only recognizable face. It is surprising how England overhauled a team that won them that particular series within two years time.

    I remember that series when Loye swept McGrath and got hit on the helmet (no, Gilly was not standing up), just like Pietersen attempted a hook and injured his rib.Loye had an unorthodox batting technique. I saw Plunkett and Harmison do well with the bat in a Pro 40 match.However the bowling stock is so good now that they don't have to turn to Plunkett or Sajid i guess!

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  3. The Old Batsman19 November 2008 at 23:40

    It's strange isn't it, looking at that team. It's almost like a curse. Dalrymple moved to Glamorgan and hasn't done much there, and I read a really good piece about how benefit years affect a player's form - it was Loye's this year and he averaged about 19. If I could remember where I read it, I'd throw up a link, because the stats were telling.

    Plunkers wasn't even a regular for Durham from what I could gather (they seem to have about 15 quick bowlers on staff), and Saj is bowling at his famed 90mph. Fletch was still banging the drum for him in his newspaper column!

    12th - Harmi's weird with the bat, isn't he? For someone who can't bat he hits it very cleanly.

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