England ODI squad for Ireland game

Resting lots of players, 4 uncapped picks

Taylor, Stokes, Bairstow & Borthwick. All talented, and cant really quibble that any of them have got a chance.

Morgan to captain! Are they taking the pish?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/14600842.stm

It's an honorary captaincy against Th'Aul' Sod, I would assume.


I agree with you on the advisability of the new blood. (But where are Mo and Davy on that list???)

On TMS, two sets of commentator/commenters came to diametrically opposed views on the picks, without reference to each other. Boyks (with Martin-Jenkins, I think - I hate that deferential "CMJ" they use) was all in favour, 10 minutes later Mick (with Simon Mann? or somebody) was mainly bleating on about why Cook couldn't get the gig.

I agree with Sir Geoffrey. Vaughan is a pain in the arse sometimes.

CMJ is quicker to say than Martin-Jenkins I guess! Though perhaps surprising he's not "Jenkers" as in Aggers, Blowers, Johnners etc...

Good to see some new faces getting a chance, disappointed not to see Hales in there but can't argue with any of the newcomers they have picked. Hope one or two get a shot for the main India JAMODI series as well. We know what Bell, Trott etc. can do, let's give them a rest and let the youngsters have a go at the Indian side with one foot on the plane home.

Beamer, perhaps NRI on my part here, but just in case you're serious ...


*COMMENTATOR NICKNAME DISCUSSION ALERT*

True about being shorter than "Martin-Jenkins" - but not shorter than "Chris", which would be the natural choice among commentating colleagues.

One short syllable becomes a cluster of three syllables, only for the sake of joining some sort of deferential "gentlemen's club" of the initiated!

(As of course is the fake public-school "Aggers", then "Tuffers"..... which no doubt started as a joke, tongue-in-cheek in the manner of the old Eton boy Johnners and his poor man's substitute, Blowers. And since then has stuck, incongruously.)

Thank the Lord a comprehensive school lad called BUGDEN or something has never joined the exclusive TMS commentators' club!

Get Alison Mitchell in there, I say! (But PLEASE not Claire Balding, with ANOTHER sport...)

The name "Tuffers" existed in his playing days, didn't it? Nothing to do with his broadcasting role in terms of its origin.

Anyway, it wouldn't be TMS if they just called each other "Chris" etc. It might be a "gentleman's club" but that's part of its old-fashioned sort of appeal, otherwise it's just Five Live Does Cricket which a lot of people saw as the direction it would take after Peter Baxter retired but I don't think most cricket fans really want. Keep the cakes, buses and adding "-ers" to everyone's name (or just using their initials!)

Keep the cakes, the jokes, the requests, the banter.

Dump the buses, the pigeons and the humbug! And the farqin deference!

Nout wrong with a bit of deference in life.

Right i'm off, i've been ordered to do the dishes....

And get Cee-eMJay and Blowhard some better glasses. ....

They misidentify horribly. And the MCC chap - you know the one I mean - has a bad habit of going coronary-apoplectic-mental-hysterical when he thinks something has happened - and usually hasn't, because he about as blind as a bat.

JKLever wrote:Nout wrong with a bit of deference in life.

Right i'm off, i've been ordered to do the dishes....

Easy to see who pulls the apron strings there

PeterCS wrote:And get Cee-eMJay and Blowhard some better glasses. ....

They misidentify horribly. And the MCC chap - you know the one I mean - has a bad habit of going coronary-apoplectic-mental-hysterical when he thinks something has happened - and usually hasn't, because he about as blind as a bat.

Some of the greatest sports commentators are known as much for their mistakes as anything else - Murray Walker, David Coleman etc. It's an art that's about characters rather than robots. Particularly in cricket, which usually gets the balance right whether it's radio or these days Sky TV. If all you want is the information there's plenty of places to get it, just get the scorecard on your laptop or phone... like watching it on Ceefax, in the old days!

JKLever wrote:Resting lots of players, 4 uncapped picks

Taylor, Stokes, Bairstow & Borthwick. All talented, and cant really quibble that any of them have got a chance.

Morgan to captain! Are they taking the pish?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/14600842.stm

Feel like it's not the right time to be blooding Stokes and he's still struggling with a smashed hand.

Adil Rashid has officially been filed under 'thanks, I think that'll be enough for the moment. We'll call you....'

Has been bowling like a cabbage this season.

Between him and Shahzad there seems to have been an inter-Yorkshire contest to see who can accelerate away from their international career the quickest.

Why the fuss over Cook? He will need the rest. I don't see the big deal.

And yes, we're rubbing Ireland's nose in it a bit by making Morgan captain. Traditionally Ireland give us a right old scare in this fixture. I'd even have them down as favourites.

Good to see som young shavers in the squad. I wondr thoughh if Stokes is just going for the day out because it would appear that he can't bowl due to his finger injury

Nice of England to assist the development of their neighbours in fixtures like this. Australia should do something similar. Kiwi cricket needs help.

Send them Hilditch and Nielsen then ...

Zat wrote:Nice of England to assist the development of their neighbours in fixtures like this.

You've got that arse about face. We're going there so they can teach us how not to suck at ODI cricket...

Cannae complain. Will be good to see how they get on. My prediction? Rain.

And craic. There's bound to be craic.

And simpletons with eyebrows on their cheeks.

There'll be some fat Englishman discovering real Irish music. I expect he will be demonstrably taken aback by such musical delights.

Greeting everyone with "Top a' the marrninn to ya, begorra begorra!" and being asked "What the f'ing hell are you on about, mate?"