NZ 'A' v England Lions, 1st "Test"...

I still don't understand why England 'A' have been re-branded England Lions. What possible difference did the ECB think it was going to make to anything?

Anyway, England Lions 123/0 after a rain-affected first day. Key 79*, Moore 42*

New Zealand A: How (C), McIntosh, Ingram (W), Watling, Williamson, Franklin, Young, Woodcock, Boult, McClenaghan, Arnel

England Lions: Key (C), Moore, Trott, Patel, Morgan, Wright, Scott (W), Batty, Plunkett, Davies, Joseph

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/fds/hi/statistics/cricket/scorecards/2009/2/15406/html/scorecard.stm

Old news, they're currently 202/2; Trott on 25* and Patel on 40* (good scoring rate from the fat one, as per). Both openers went early today (90 for Key, 43 for Moore).

NZC keeping updates literally by the ball HERE

Well found. Luke Wright at six. Yikes.

Curious that they think it's a four-day game. ECB and BBC say it's a five-day match.

I'm pretty certain it's four day, and I'd trust their lot over ours, tbh.

FatSam's blasted 17 runs in the last eight minutes. He has a habit of not converting 50s so expect him to get out soon.

50 up for Fat Sam.

Incidently, Joe Denly's not playing after picking up a pair in the last warm up game, and Saj Mahmood has been withdrawn as "a precaution" after feeling a twinge in his back.

Is Eoin Morgan even England qualified?

Thought he was a fair drinkum Oirisher...

Three of England's top five aren't even English.

A Surrey reject keeping wicket as well.

Wow, check out Mitchell McClenaghan, who is apparently good enough to be on the cusp of selection for the NZ senior side:

7 FC matches, 19 runs @ 4.75, 15 wickets @ 52.60

Impressive.

I don't wish to be insulting, but what on earth are Batty and Wright doing in an ENgland A side.

I honestly think our A team that played England in the warm up would comprehensively beat that lot.

I know there are better players than those two in England, so it seems very strange to me.

Eric Air Emu wrote:A Surrey reject keeping wicket as well.

Hilariously, England's current wicket keeper is due to fly out to NZ to play with the kids as Stephen Davies will be a permanent member of the senior ODI squad.

You couldn't make it up.

WIFAN wrote:I don't wish to be insulting, but what on earth are Batty and Wright doing in an ENgland A side.

I honestly think our A team that played England in the warm up would comprehensively beat that lot.

I know there are better players than those two in England, so it seems very strange to me.

Rashid would've been the spinner, but he's out there in the Windies honing up his beverage technique.

Wright's there because the squad was selected while Peter Sussex was still part of the set-up and part of the selection panel.

Dello wrote:

WIFAN wrote:I don't wish to be insulting, but what on earth are Batty and Wright doing in an ENgland A side.

I honestly think our A team that played England in the warm up would comprehensively beat that lot.

I know there are better players than those two in England, so it seems very strange to me.

Wright's there because the squad was selected while Peter Sussex was still part of the set-up and part of the selection panel.

Thought so, as he has been insanely ordinary whenever I have seen him and his FC record is hardly stellar. It's safe to say that Moores did quite a lot of damage to your set up, in the way that Bennett King caused quite a few problems in ours.

Well, Moores wasn't the only selector. Geoff Miller, Ashley Giles, James Whitaker and the Academy coach David Parsons will have all had their say.

It isn't one of the stronger-looking England 'A' sides, though, I must say...

Wright's a bit like that Warner bloke playing for Australia. Had an exceptional 20/20 season and got catapulted to national selection. He's not dreadful in one dayers but I instinctively mistrust anyone rated on innings where they haven't had to think about anything but hitting every ball to the boundary. It's called hitting, not batting.

Eric Air Emu wrote:Wright's a bit like that Warner bloke playing for Australia. Had an exceptional 20/20 season and got catapulted to national selection. He's not dreadful in one dayers but I instinctively mistrust anyone rated on innings where they haven't had to think about anything but hitting every ball to the boundary. It's called hitting, not batting.

I completely agree. The England management team of the past few years seem to rate him highly for some reason, even letting him come in at the top of the order in a ODI if I remember correctly?

Yeah he has opened as part of England's desperate attempt to do something useful with the first 15 overs. Remember seeing him and Prior opening the batting against India the year before the last. I think they were both gone in the first over!

No-one rated him highly. He was Peter Sussex's catamite. He bowls medium pace filth and bats like he has the brain of Afridi muddled with the talent of Chris Martin. Fark him off forever.

He's a T20 merchant....

How many of this A side honestly do we think may make a run for the test side?

Key, Patel....

Plunkett shouldn't be written off.

Mark Davies may have a FC average in the low 20's but we all know he'd have been mown to pieces on the current Barbados pitch.

I've always quite liked Trott but he's just too darn Saffer.

Not much else that isn't gash.

Stephen Moore seems to be maturing pretty well, Denly and Mahmood (who aren't playing) have something to offer (Denly more in ODIs, I would've thought), and Liam Dawson - also not playing - is a talent.

Not to mention Stephen Davies would've been keeping wicket had Matt Sussex not f*cked off early to play Daddy.

They've got some decent players out there, but mixed up with some really ordinary, nothing kind of players.

I can't see Morgan, Wright, Scott, Batty, M. Davies or Joseph ever playing Test cricket (again, in the case of the Batster). That's over half the side.

Can't say Moore has ever struck me as anything other than a decent county bat - though I said the same for Strauss.

Samit closing in on a ton meanwhile, I actually think he's a better batsman than Bops to be fair & there are not many young English players with FC averages hovering around 50...

FatSam on 99* at the mo'...

I've only seen Moore play one-day cricket. And he's never got past single-figures in the games I've caught.

But he has held on to a solid 40+ average throughout his FC career, had a great season last year and has kicked off his first "Lions" tour with good runs.

Might have something about him. Or he might be another Michael Carberry - one outstanding season, backed up by a big-scoring Lions tour, followed by some "next cab on the England rank" muttering, followed by a season of mediocrity and the nagging feeling that perhaps he's just a decent, county bat.

This is almost as good as watching a test match on teletext.

Which I am sad enough to have done.

100*. Well played. Give that man a pie.