Is that right? I'm not sure if I've used 'personified' correctly there, but I'm no English scholar so I don't really care that much, you get the picture anyway. The same 13 man squad will travel to Essex tonight for a pretty key match. We're currently won 5, lost 4, and a win tonight would make progression to the quarter finals stage all the more likely. Did not think I'd be saying that a few weeks ago!
Given the disastrous start we had to the tournament, to have won more games this season as we have in the last two is good (although there are many more games this year). For that reason I have no objection to taking the same personnel, especially as Dernbach, Brown and Jordan (remember them?!) are still injured. This is the side I want to see:
Rory Hamilton-Brown (Captain)
Steven Davies (Wicket Keeper)
Mark Ramprakash
Jason Roy
Younus Khan
Andrew Symonds
Stewart Walters
Chris Schofield
Andre Nel
Chris Tremlett
Tim Linley
Bench: Gareth Batty, Matthew Spriegel
Its fair to say that bowling has been our strongest suit so far (though the batting is catching up fast I am delighted to say), and the strength has really laid in our seam attack. Tremlett and Nel have really set the tone up front and in the games he's played, Linley has done a decent job of containing in the middle. Batty has played well and if he played in Schofield's place I'd have no objections, but I don't think we can afford them both (sorry for repeating myself) especially since in the last couple of games Hamilton-Brown himself has taken on a fair bit of the spinning duties.
I'd like to see Symonds bowling his spin rather than slow seam. In the game at Lord's I think he was bowling his off-spin, and likewise at Kent he was apparently bowling that too. Both times he's picked up wickets - in the case of Kent, a hatful.
I think with that batting lineup and the bowling to boot we can beat a good Essex side at Chelmsford, quite a tricky place to go and win. Their squad is as follows: James Foster, Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook, Grant Flower, Matt Walker, Scott Styris, John Maunders, Tim Phillips, David Masters, Danish Kaneria, Chris Wright, Maurice Chambers, Jaik Mickleburgh.
There's plenty of strength in that batting even without the brilliant ten Doeschate, and although Kaneria hasn't been firing on all cylinders with the ball we know only too well what a class act he is.
The side should have bags of confidence, Jason Roy especially off the back of that scintillating hundred and in view of the small boundaries at Chelmsford. Keep up the good work lads!
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2 comments:
They've got quite a "nurdley" team, by which I mean that their power hitters (RtD, Napier) aren't available and so they rely on Flower, Cook, Walker to steer it around and really look to Bopara and Styris to find the boundaries.
Symonds looked like he was bowling seamers at Kent from the highlights. Useful cricketer now he's readjusted to the pace of the game.
That is true, but remember what Cook did to us last season?! Hopefully that hundred was the exception rather than the rule. You get the feeling that if we get rid of Bopara early, we're in the box seats.
Doesn't seem to be any consensus on Symonds' bowling on Tuesday, but I'll take your word for it, if he can carry getting 5-18 I don't really mind what he's bowling!
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