Ramps to get test call up

Bumble has dropped pretty strong hints that Ramps will be included in the test team to play in SL?

What do you think - just piss and wind from Bumble or not?

tac wrote:Bumble has dropped pretty strong hints that Ramps will be included in the test team to play in SL?

What do you think - just piss and wind from Bumble or not?

If Ramps is in the team I will eat all my hats.

tac wrote:What do you think - just piss and wind from Bumble or not?

I think Leo will make a mess.

It would be a horrible decision if he were included.

I don't know where Bumble gets his information from, though, as the tour doesn't start until December and I wouldn't imagine the squad will be picked until a few weeks after this ODI series is done and everyone's fitness is assessed.

Wouldn't make any sense to commit themselves to Ramprakash at this stage, only for, say, Shah or Bopara to have strong one-day series and prove a far more solid long-term investment.

As I said on a previous thread, if they take Ramprakash and the six centrally contracted batsmen, neither Shah nor Bopara will be in the squad. And given that they've spent the last year integrating them both into the set-up and basically making it clear that they're the next bats in line, it would be quite a U-Turn to ditch them in favour of yet another Ramprakash come-back.

Cook
Vaughan
Bell
Pietersen
Collingwood
Strauss
Shah

If Mark Ramprakash is picked ahead of Owais Shah then I wouldnt be at all surprised if Shah quit there and then.

Is there a link to this story? Anybody?

Personally I'd leave Bell or Strauss out and take both Ramps and Shah.

No link, Leo, but the comments were made by Bumble yesterday.

Leo wrote:Is there a link to this story? Anybody?

Personally I'd leave Bell or Strauss out and take both Ramps and Shah.

But as they've just awarded Bell and Strauss new central contracts, that's not going to happen.

Well, there was media chat about Ramps earlier in the summer. I suppose it's not impossible.

And if they were going to take him I imagine Dave the Grave would already have made the decision, so Bumble might know about it.

I'm pessimistic though.

Having a central contract doesn't mean you have to be picked. It means you have to be paid whether picked or not.

Ramps to get test call up

English cricket in crisis.

Zat wrote:

Ramps to get test call up

English cricket in crisis.

when has pomgolian cricket not been in crisis???

horace wrote:

Zat wrote:

Ramps to get test call up

English cricket in crisis.

when has pomgolian cricket not been in crisis???

I think there was a week in 2005, a few days in 1979, and a minute or two in 1953.

thanx zat

1981

1985

1986/7

1986/7? You lost a test series to a side with Roger Binny and Madan Lal as their strike bowlers.

doremi wrote:1986/7? You lost a test series to a side with Roger Binny and Madan Lal as their strike bowlers.

I think he's referring to the Ashes Touring squad that only had 'three things wrong with it' but still managed to win the Ashes and every other comp they played in Oz that summer ....

doremi wrote:1986/7? You lost a test series to a side with Roger Binny and Madan Lal as their strike bowlers.

And then beat Australia in their back yard, so how carp must the Aussies have been?

So what if Ramps plays in this series? He ain't gonna be around for 2009 IMO. Shah and Bopara will have plenty of time on their side.

Surely Bumble was just being mischievous because Ramps was in the studiio?

S F Barnes wrote:So what if Ramps plays in this series? He ain't gonna be around for 2009 IMO. Shah and Bopara will have plenty of time on their side.

Weakest excuse heard yet for a Ramps re-call.

Bloody hell, after it's taken Shah 2 years swimming against the tide of opinion to claw his way into an England shirt despite all his heroics .. do you honestly believe that stepping aside for an ageing dancer just because said dancer ( a proven impotent rabbit at the top level ) is
(a). getting on in years and (b). scoring heavily in CC ... is a valid reason?!

The only way it could happen in my opinion is if they have a change in policy regarding openers, and Vaughan goes back to the top of the order. Strauss could then be dropped creating an extra touring place for a batsman. This would also probably mean that Ian Bell would be our reserve opener.

Ian Bell

Merlin wrote:

S F Barnes wrote:So what if Ramps plays in this series? He ain't gonna be around for 2009 IMO. Shah and Bopara will have plenty of time on their side.

Weakest excuse heard yet for a Ramps re-call.

Bloody hell, after it's taken Shah 2 years swimming against the tide of opinion to claw his way into an England shirt despite all his heroics .. do you honestly believe that stepping aside for an ageing dancer just because said dancer ( a proven impotent rabbit at the top level ) is
(a). getting on in years and (b). scoring heavily in CC ... is a valid reason?!

Go easy Merl!

I agree, Shah shouldn't be overlooked if he performs in this ODI series and as we've discussed ad nauseaum Ramps time has passed. However, unlike some here, I just don't feel that it would be a complete disaster if Ramps was picked ... just a bit unfair on younger players.

As JKL said, Bumble was probably just leg-pulling anyway.

To be honest the way he said it didn't sound like leg pulling. And it would be rather cruel to get someone's hopes up for no reason.

It may turn out to be another near miss - apparently Andy Caddick was haring across the country on the morning of one Test this summer until the selectors changed their minds.