England Performance Squad

Taken from Today's Grauniad:

James Taylor and Ben Stokes are the most striking omissions from a 30-man England Performance Squad (EPS) that has been named by selectors for the busy summer of 2013.

Taylor would seem to have fallen well down the pecking order since he played in the home series against South Africa last year. Joe Root has leapfrogged the Nottinghamshire batsman in all forms of the game, although Taylor also suffers from a greater emphasis on one-day players in this year's list – which has been expanded from the 27 names announced last spring.

His Notts team-mates Alex Hales and Michael Lumb, both of whom would be regarded as 50-over or Twenty20 specialists, are among the seven "new" faces, as is the Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright.

But Stokes's omission reflects the poor attitude that led to the New Zealand-born all-rounder being sent home from the Lions tour of Australia during the winter, along with the Kent seamer Matt Coles.

Nick Compton is another newcomer, effectively replacing Andrew Strauss following his retirement last August, and the seamers James Harris – now of Middlesex after a winter move from Glamorgan – and Warwickshire's Chris Woakes are also added to the EPS after being called into various squads through the winter.

But perhaps the most surprising inclusion is Craig Kieswetter, the wicketkeeper who was overtaken by his Somerset team-mate Jos Buttler during the winter but has clearly not been discarded by the selectors. Surrey's wicketkeeper-batsman Steve Davies, however, is the fourth member of last year's EPS – with Strauss, Taylor and Stokes – who is no longer included.

The selectors will name another 30-man squad this week, specifically for the ICC Champions Trophy in England this summer, as required by the tournament organisers. That could include Rikki Clarke, the former Surrey all-rounder who has reinvented himself so effectively in the past three seasons with Warwickshire.

Australia have been given permission not to make their 30 public, but they will announce their latest list of contracted players this week – with Fairfax newspapers reporting that Mitchell Starc will be rewarded for his impressive form in all forms of the game by promotion into the top five earners, whereas the Nottinghamshire regular David Hussey is set to miss out.


England performance squad

Alastair Cook (Essex) Test and one-day captain

Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) T20 captain

Jimmy Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Danny Briggs (Hampshire), Jos Buttler (Somerset), Nick Compton (Somerset), Jade Dernbach (Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), James Harris (Middlesex), Craig Kieswetter (Somerset), Michael Lumb (Nottinghamshire), Stuart Meaker (Surrey), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Onions (Durham), Monty Panesar (Sussex), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Kevin Pietersen (Surrey), Matt Prior (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Chris Tremlett (Surrey), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).

Stokes gets his come-uppance for being a complete D1ck on the A team tour - Little Jimmy suffers the same fate, presumably for not being Joe Root.

Well, it's a mix of the established, the up and coming, and those who should have had their files stamped NTPFEA by now - in other words Chavi, Dirtbag and (to a lesser extent, perhaps NTPFEFAW) Beddy. And then we've got Bresnan and Onions on the watch list for "might be finished due to injuries".

Not entirely sure of the purpose of this list, it feels like just a way of making certain non-contracted players with England experience feel like they are still in the selectors' plans (even if in some cases they shouldn't be). It does highlight a lack of depth in all departments though and how vulnerable we are to a few injuries. Hopefully the likes of Taylor and Stokes are still in the minds of the selectors if they have decent county seasons, along with other younger players with potential.

It was mentioned a while back that Andy Flower was thoroughly unimpressed with Wee Jimmy Taylor's technical ability when he got to work with him at close quarters last year.

Stokes is no surprise: followed up a dismal season with an indisciplined Lions tour. That's how not to get ahead.

Of course, Nick Compton wasn't in the EPS last year - or any year - and ended up playing every Test match over the winter, so a stupid person might wonder what the point of announcing these every season is, other than an excuse to give the ECB PR man something to do during a quiet period.

This squad doesn't mean shit, without Alsex Wakely.

It's surely hard to justify Bopara being there ahead of Taylor.

When was the last time Ravi Bops made a score? Or even looked like he knew what planet he was on? The man is mentally shot.

Dello wrote:It was mentioned a while back that Andy Flower was thoroughly unimpressed with Wee Jimmy Taylor's technical ability when he got to work with him at close quarters last year.

He hasn't got any great technical ability, but he is nevertheless a good batsman. Too much emphasis is placed on being this or that, Taylor has the fundamentals of a good defensive game, which is why he is consistently the most prolific batsman on England Lions tours - especially the dismal one to Australia just gone. I find it hard to believe that a batsman who averages 47 in first-class and 46 in ODD isn't among the top seven or eight batsmen in England. He might not be all the way there yet but totally ignoring him based on a couple of Test Matches against a top-class pace attack is a bit too much Duncan Fletcher to be believable. Besides. Ravi Bopara and Samit Patel made the 30. And we know they're rubbish. So ... no explanation could explain this omission. I think Jimmy is the heir apparent to the Collingwood role and would be playing him in every Test and ODI. I think he's better than Joe Root.

Well, Root fills the "batsmen who look about 12" quota so Little Jimmy's out of the picture for now. And for those who think he's someone who can't get the ball off the square, based on appearance and a couple of Test outings, well he did play an ODD innings last season with a change of gear to make Chris Gayle look like Chris Tavare. 90 or so in 30-odd balls I think it was!

Hopefully Fat Sam's there only as a T20 player now, and won't get near the Test side again. And the chances are we will see a player not on that list, or more than one such player, play a Test this year.

Anyway, we're still going to beat the living shoite out of the Aussies.

Basil wrote:Anyway, we're still going to beat the living shoite out of the Aussies.

...well that goes without saying....knighthoods plus all round from the german queen

arise Earl I Ron Cubbard - you are now the Earl of Belfardshire (formerly known as Essex)

I would love to start loving cricket again but as long as Luke Sussex keeps appearing in these squads, even without the loving tug of Peter Lancashire (formerly Sussex) to bring him there, there is no hope. No. Hope.

Poor Peter Sussex has probably been infused with Use The Luke Force.

Wright is Lucky. Or lucky.

Wright is a tryer. He keeps himself lively and keeps his hand in.

Oddly enough I always liked Wright. Not the most talented but he has always seemed to do the best he can with what he's got.

As Dan said, always tries to keep in the game. There are worse attributes.

I saw Wright a couple of times 'in the flesh' in brief succession v Lancs a few seasons back (2008?) - once at Hove, then the 50-overs final - and was struck by his 'Loughborough' athleticism, his anticipation as a fielder (and decent arm), his adaptability and (obvious) enthusiasm.

When JK Lever asked (shortly after that) what names we would suggest might be playing for England in the next couple of seasons, I suggested Wright (in a one-day role, I hasten to add) - and JK nearly lost his lunch in stunned revulsion.


He is at his worst a 'bits and pieces player'. And he does tend to adopt a horrible technique batting - partly over-enthusiasm, lack of patience, but I guess also partly technical elements of strokeplaying not well learnt. He is a bit 'baseball'.

But he can be useful, especially in the field. He can break partnerships with the ball (sometimes at expense). And hit or slog useful 40s, alongside his failures. Talismanic sort of attitude for a team, too. The "Lucky Luke" tag I gave him early on was only partly the cartoon cowboy reference. And only partly to ginger up JKL.

I would never let him near the Test side, and T20 is his obvious niche. But I have seen worse in 50 over international teams. He's somewhere between meh and good.

i see breaking the non strikers stumps in the delivery stride is to be called a no ball in future...goodonya G Smith for raising this inappropriate behaviour by some bowlers

PeterCS wrote:I saw Wright a couple of times 'in the flesh' in brief succession v Lancs a few seasons back (2008?) - once at Hove, then the 50-overs final - and was struck by his 'Loughborough' athleticism, his anticipation as a fielder (and decent arm), his adaptability and (obvious) enthusiasm.

When JK Lever asked (shortly after that) what names we would suggest might be playing for England in the next couple of seasons, I suggested Wright (in a one-day role, I hasten to add) - and JK nearly lost his lunch in stunned revulsion.


He is at his worst a 'bits and pieces player'. And he does tend to adopt a horrible technique batting - partly over-enthusiasm, lack of patience, but I guess also partly technical elements of strokeplaying not well learnt. He is a bit 'baseball'.

But he can be useful, especially in the field. He can break partnerships with the ball (sometimes at expense). And hit or slog useful 40s, alongside his failures. Talismanic sort of attitude for a team, too. The "Lucky Luke" tag I gave him early on was only partly the cartoon cowboy reference. And only partly to ginger up JKL.

I would never let him near the Test side, and T20 is his obvious niche. But I have seen worse in 50 over international teams. He's somewhere between meh and good.

Had Wright been born 15 years or so earlier, he would almost certainly have made the test team - Mark Ealham did. Just goes to show how far we've come since then. Something we might want to reflect on when the wheels start to go a bit wobbly like they did in NZ.