So Prior can bat ...
So now we know that England’s latest wicket-keeper can bat!
Matt Prior’s innings of 126 not out against the West Indies (in 128 balls) must have been worth seeing – and
congratulations to him! [Did that come out all right between
clenched teeth?!]
Writing on the BBC website, Oliver Brett is
ecstatic:
“Prior's innings was a superbly confident display and vindicated his debatable selection for the side. Many had felt he was elevated above other candidates having been a disciple of new coach Peter Moores when Moores had been at Sussex.”
As
one of the many, could I just try and
flag down that bandwagon, before it gets up too much momentum? Permit me couple of observations.
Firstly,
the West Indies are not Australia.
Coming in at
363-5 at Lord’s against the current West Indian attack is
rather different to facing the Aussies in Melbourne or Sydney after one of the customary batting collapses exhibited during last Winter’s Ashes series.
Secondly,
an England wicket-keeper doesn’t vindicate his selection by batting.
Mr Brett has
chiselled Prior’s name on the team sheet
before he has even kept wicket in a Test match!
Remember Geraint Jones – Duncan Fletcher’s favourite? Well, the question mark against him as England wicket-keeper was rarely his batting – at least not until towards the end of his extended run in the team.
We knew he could bat.
He just couldn’t keep wicket! At least, not to the standard required of an England wicket-keeper.
So what about Peter Moores' favourite? We know Matt Prior can bat – but
is he an England wicket-keeper?Labels: Cricket
A new era for England cricket?
You won’t be at all surprised to hear that I have a few thoughts on the current position regarding the
England Cricket Team!
Naturally I am
more than pleased to see the back of
the execrable Duncan Fletcher and his bizarre selection policies. But I fear that with the arrival of
Peter Moores as coach, in fact,
very little has changed. Witness the sudden inclusion of Sussex players in the squad – amongst whom, of course, the latest wicket-keeper to be preferred to Chris Read. (Moores used to be the Sussex coach).
Incidentally – what’s going on there?
Anyone But Read is, we know, the established policy, which Moores is only continuing. But
even I have to admit that
Paul Nixon (given the sort of extended run in the team always denied to Chris Read)
actually did very well for England in the World Cup. He was one of the
very few in the squad to emerge with any credit.
So, of course, he is dropped!!
The reason I say that little has changed is simple –
David Graveney is still Chair of Selectors. It was
Graveney who
cravenly allowed Fletcher to subvert selection procedures to install his favourites;
Graveney who presided over the
fiasco of the winter Ashes tour and World Cup – and
Graveney who continues in post.
How can selection improve?
Equally worrying is the precipitate manner in which Moores was drafted in to replace Fletcher. No less an authority than
former England captain Mike Brearley has
expressed serious doubts about this. He questions both the speed and wisdom of the appointment, saying
“there can have been no proper search.”
Brearley continues,
"However good Moores is, there was no time to advertise the job, and it is not right for such an important job to be handed out without proper competition. We should have had more rigorous discussion and careful thought about what this new coach's role will be, and in what sort of a set-up."
What sort of set-up? Why, the traditional one
long suspected in England cricket! Brearley confirms what we have
always really known:
"I question the manner and timing of [Moores'] selection as England head coach.
His selection smacks of favouritism."
Not so
very different from Duncan Fletcher and the "old" regime then!
Labels: Cricket, Rant
Catching up!
I knew I hadn’t blogged for a while, but I was surprised to find my last entry was back
in the middle of March! It’s been busy since then, but surely not
that busy?!
What have I been up to? Well, 17 March was the
first anniversary of my Dad’s death, and as you can imagine, there was a whole lot of emotion around that time. But I don’t know if I can really reflect coherently about that. As with other bereavements, I’m very much
up and down. The biggest things I can sometimes carry off, whilst the smallest things “get me”! A familiar pattern.
I have taken on some responsibilities within the
Diocesan Readers’ Association, including a role in
our Archdeaconry, which is interesting and stimulating, but demanding too.
Sometimes I don’t cope so well with “demanding”! It is literally years and years since I took on a new job!
Of course, there has been
Easter – and
Easter holidays! We managed a few days in London, including a trip to the theatre to see
Stomp! I also managed to see the
Cabinet War Rooms again – I’d been wanting to see the new
Churchill Museum there, which is excellent, but I had
seriously underestimated the time I would need to go round it all, so I ended up rushing. (Those who know me would probably say that one can
never underestimate the time I take in museums …!) Actually my best trip to London was an indulgent day to see
Richard Schiff – yes,
Toby in
The West Wing – in a one-man tour de force
Underneath The Lintel. I even got to hang around at the stage door and meet him after the performance! (I
know …!)
My wife arranged for a group of us to see
African Snow at York Theatre Royal, so I’ve been to the theatre more times in the last couple of months than I usually manage in years. That, too, was a remarkable presentation. I have been
greatly affected by what I have learnt around the anniversary of the Abolition of the
Slave Trade Act. In reality, that whole era of slavery is
a Holocaust we British are responsible for – I’d never really thought about it before. We saw
Amazing Grace at the cimema too – a superb film, well worth seeing.
What else? In football, Free Agency and the NFL Draft, of course.
The Packers are still re-building – no big acquisitions and some impatience from us fans – and from
the franchise Quarterback too, by all accounts. And looking back, it’s surprising how many
friends have dropped in – or attempted to – which rather makes me wonder why I sometimes feel isolated, happy as we are in our “new” place.
So, that’s a
very quick sketch – am I up to date? Haven't even mentioned the prospect of a
new Prime Minister, the
replacement of the England Cricket Coach … What have I been thinking about all of that??
As for blogging - must try harder!
Labels: American Football, History, Ministry
