Broad to be dropped

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-23519932-details/EXCLUSIVE%3A+England+s+underfire+selectors+hatch+plan+to+drop+Broad/article.do

EXCLUSIVE By PAUL NEWMAN

Geoff Miller emerged from four hours of crisis talks after the horror of Headingley and prepared to make one of the few England players to offer hope for the future the first casualty of his inquest.

Stuart Broad, who is beginning to look like a genuine all-rounder, seems certain to be dropped from next week's third npower Test at Edgbaston as England seek to protect one of their most talented players from burn-out.




Exhausted: Stuart Broad


National selector Miller and his panel are worried that Broad, 22, is looking exhausted after a punishing workload since making his Test debut against Sri Lanka before Christmas. Since then, Broad has taken only 19 wickets in his eight Tests at close to 50 each and has found the two Tests against South Africa particularly heavy going, claiming just three victims at 96 each.

That means England are prepared to withdraw him from the firing line next week even though Broad put the top-order batsmen to shame with his unbeaten 67 in a losing cause at Headingley, following his 76 at Lord's.

Broad's recent batting has prompted Geoff Boycott to compare him to West Indies great Sir Garfield Sobers. He's a wonderful player,' said Boycott. 'He plays the ball off the back foot with a straight bat as well as anybody I've seen since Sobers.'

Steve Harmison is in line for a surprise recall if the selectors stick with their five-bowler policy. Harmison has responded to his rejection in New Zealand by returning to his best form with Durham and is the leading wicket-taker in the country in all competitions.

Alternatively, Simon Jones, left out of Worcestershire's current Championship match to leave him fresh enough to be selected by England, could make an emotional comeback three years after he limped out of the Ashes-winning campaign at Trent Bridge.

Or the selectors could bring Paul Collingwood back just as swiftly as they jettisoned him and revert to a four-man bowling policy.

The introduction at Headingley of Darren Pattinson dominated talks demanded by Hugh Morris, managing director of the England team, with the selectors at Loughborough on Wednesday.

These were followed by Miller travelling to England captain Michael Vaughan's home in Sheffield to thrash out their differences.

On behalf of his panel, Miller accepted responsibility for the left-field selection which Vaughan said destroyed the unity of his side, but I understand Vaughan also promised not to criticise the selection process in public again.

Harmi to get a recall too.

"dropped" or "rested"?

The recall of Harmison will stir up a hornet's net of ranting. That I am sure of.

So, weakening the batting further.... meaning they have to have some batting at the 6,7,8 positions.

Prior will be recalled to bat at 6 with Fred at 7 again.

Harmison and Sid back in for Broad and Pato Banton.

Bob will spit his dummy out.

THICKEDGE wrote:Harmi to get a recall too.

Brilliant!

JKLever wrote:So, weakening the batting further.... meaning they have to have some batting at the 6,7,8 positions.

what the heck Lever! ENG are needing an average of around 180 overs to bowl the Saffers out and you are concerned about the batting of 6,7,8?

In case of another injury to Flintoff(genuinely hoping against that) Broad can bat at Collingwood's position.

PlanetPakistan wrote:

JKLever wrote:So, weakening the batting further.... meaning they have to have some batting at the 6,7,8 positions.

what the heck Lever! ENG are needing an average of around 180 overs to bowl the Saffers out and you are concerned about the batting of 6,7,8?

You need a balanced side.

Just because you need the bowlers to take the wickets doesn't mean you leave yourself with an unbalanced side.

Strange as it is to say it, standing Stuart Broad down makes some sense.

I just hoep they didn't do the "Oi sunshine, you're dropped" routine. I think someone as keen and with as much potential as Broad will understand, if it is put to him properly.

Besides, he may well be needed - and be the right man at 7 and with +5 km - for the Ashes.

It's just that you can't take a series of top Tests as a finishing school. That's the sensible part. We need a more incisive bowler, like, now. Well, two, in fact.

Harmison's batting looked fine last night. Til he got out. Plunkett looked even better.

Instead of just faffing around with one off picks, why don't they stop being petty, put out their tried and tested bowlers against good batting sides and then if they do rubbish, THEN worry.

Everyone's bigging up Sidebottom, and rightly so, because he's done well so far. Against West Indies and NZ - hardly the best batting line ups in world cricket. He didn't do so well against India in England - 6 wickets in the 1st test and 1 apiece in the next two, and in Sri Lanka, only 5 in 3 matches. Looks to me like he's good against weak opposition. He's yet to play Australia, and nothing special against India or SA in one test.

Hardly the rich pickings of a superstar.

Now everyone's panicking because oh noes, we can't bowl out a good team!! Well where are the proven bowlers? Who incidentally ALSO have good county records this season. Harmison. Hoggard. Give Sidebottom and Anderson a go too if you want, if Jones isn't fit, but it's really not surprising. If the best bowlers in England, with a quality test record behind them, can't bowl out teams, then you can worry. But they need selecting first.

Well spoken, from the heart and from the head.

Sidebottom bowled economically at Lord's and also had a good average. He can clearly trouble the South Africans by applying pressure. He's definitely among our best bowlers - he's probably our second best in fact. Personally, I'm sick of England going back to Harmison. It's just the same old panic-stricken selections. Time and again he has let his country down. Maybe he has more talent in his little finger than any other English fast bowler, but his attitude to the game stinks. I wouldn't recall him.

Broad, on the other hand, has a superb attitude, and an awful lot of talent. He would get into our side at the minute as a batsman, sad as that is to say. Once again, after struggling on flat pitches with NO RUNS to bowl to, England wield the axe on the bowlers. Why isn't Michael Vaughan about to be dropped? Why do we keep getting bowled out for 200 on decent pitches to rash shots, where opposition batsman are consistently scoring 500? The England selection stinks, and if Broad's dropped for Harmison, it stinks even further. Harmison was dropped only a few months ago for a stinking attitude, and a waywardness that couldn't even trouble the New Zealanders on decent pitches. He had only just been recalled for the umpteenth time. He doesn't deserve to represent his country.

How can you say 'umpteenth' in relation to Harmison's recall record when he's only really been dropped/rested once before now, since 2004? Unless there are others I'm not aware of.

He may have been wayward, and his attitude may have been bad, but he hasn't retired like Tres has. He's still a very good bowler, and he's on form. Who knows if Broad's on form? He can't buy wickets.

I would say though that Vaughan doesn't get dropped because he's the captain. Simple.

seasider wrote:Prior will be recalled to bat at 6 with Fred at 7 again.

Harmison and Sid back in for Broad and Pato Banton.

Bob will spit his dummy out.

Remember those good partnerships between Geraint Jones and Flintoff?
*Big sigh*
Good times.

Remember those good partnerships with anyone and Tres?

*wistful sigh*

very good times.

Yorkie Jill wrote:Remember those good partnerships with anyone and Tres?

*wistful sigh*

very good times.

After watching Tres get 124 last night, I haven't stopped sighing.

Can't we play Tres as a 'homer' ?

Wouldn't that be wonderful?
I've got no faith in any of the ones in the team at the moment.
I miss that.

Pah, all this balls about Harmisons attitude is a little over the top.

The bloke got homesick yes, but whenever he was on the pitch he never stopped trying, always worked his socks off. The fact he was in dreadful form and down on pace is what did him.

If he's on form and back up to pace that can only be a good thing.

Broad for all his talent is toothless and lacking penetration. Also looked shattered at Headingly.

We need more potency to our attack, and Harmy has that ability!

Picking Tres like that would be wonderful. Especially against any team with a decent spinner or two. I miss those slog sweeps a la Old Trafford 2002 against Murali.

Are these comments regarding Harmison et al merely speculative or are genuine hints from the selectors?

Red wrote:Are these comments regarding Harmison et al merely speculative or are genuine hints from the selectors?

From what the commentators on Sky have been saying, it seems that he will be in the squad.

Yorkie Jill wrote:Picking Tres like that would be wonderful. Especially against any team with a decent spinner or two. I miss those slog sweeps a la Old Trafford 2002 against Murali.

Imagine Trescothick and Thorpe.