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Fallout from the T20 Series

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Salem Street South said:
Scratchy is being kind and for the first four games he looked anything but the World number 1 in that format.

Even the last game he got slightly fortunate in how he got started and when in a position to win us the game by being there at the end he gave it away.

He’s played some really good cricket but I feel those numbers flatter him, let’s face it he’s not even the best batsman in our side, never mind the world. There’s a better one being excluded at present
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Think that's a bit harsh.

He's still relatively new to international cricket - at least as a constant performer, and he never lets us down.

He was playing on tricky circumstances having come out of the cold, I think he should be cut a little slack

I'd have picked him in the ODI side myself
 

TheRey said:
Think that's a bit harsh.

He's still relatively new to international cricket - at least as a constant performer, and he never lets us down.

He was playing on tricky circumstances having come out of the cold, I think he should be cut a little slack

I'd have picked him in the ODI side myself
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I agree with the ODI comment. Think that might actually suit him more than T20, as he has the time to build more in ODI cricket
 
TheRey said:
Think that's a bit harsh.

He's still relatively new to international cricket - at least as a constant performer, and he never lets us down.

He was playing on tricky circumstances having come out of the cold, I think he should be cut a little slack

I'd have picked him in the ODI side myself
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Yeah possibly

I don’t think those numbers tell the full story though. Without checking I’m fairly sure he’s achieved all that against the likes of SA, NZ and SL, when teams main focus in the one day game has been the 50 over stuff, hence they played weakened sides in T20s.

Again that’s just my suspicion based on loose recollections but the first time he’s come up against a top quality side taking it seriously, in conditions that have presented a challenge, he’s been found wanting. I’d argue a world #1 would have fared better than Malan did. I’d also argue Hales, and more than likely Root too, would have.

I do like Malan though and see a lot of positives with him so yes possibly am being a touch harsh.
TravellingMackem said:
I agree with the ODI comment. Think that might actually suit him more than T20, as he has the time to build more in ODI cricket
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Yes me too actually. I’m surprised he’s got those numbers and made it to World number 1 given his style. I’d like to see him in these 3 one dayers, for that reason. Also wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him back in the Test side, specifically the Ashes.
 
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Salem Street South said:
Scratchy is being kind and for the first four games he looked anything but the World number 1 in that format.

Even the last game he got slightly fortunate in how he got started and when in a position to win us the game by being there at the end he gave it away.

He’s played some really good cricket but I feel those numbers flatter him, let’s face it he’s not even the best batsman in our side, never mind the world. There’s a better one being excluded at present
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Not sure how the numbers can flatter him, they’re just fact
 
chunkylover53 said:
This is his record by opponent

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not really sure who else he is meant to play, as it’s not padded out by matches against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh etc

You can argue they haven’t focused on the format, but that surely applies to every other batsman we have too then.
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Going off that, his numbers are swelled by series against NZ and SA.

Come up against good sides Pakistan, Oz and India whose players regularly are exposed to T20 and there’s a noticeable drop off there.

I don’t think it’s controversial to point out he looked well off the pace for a large part of this series. Likewise I do think it’s a relevant argument that teams haven’t focused on the format and to take that forward perhaps if we’d been focusing on it more he wouldn’t even have been given the chance he had been in the first place. He’s fortunate that Hales is in exile IMO and Root, rightly or wrongly, is seen as unsuitable for the format. Fair play to him for making the most of that chance. Like I say I like a lot about his game.
 
Salem Street South said:
Going off that, his numbers are swelled by series against NZ and SA.

Come up against good sides Pakistan, Oz and India whose players regularly are exposed to T20 and there’s a noticeable drop off there.

I don’t think it’s controversial to point out he looked well off the pace for a large part of this series. Likewise I do think it’s a relevant argument that teams haven’t focused on the format and to take that forward perhaps if we’d been focusing on it more he wouldn’t even have been given the chance he had been in the first place. He’s fortunate that Hales is in exile IMO and Root, rightly or wrongly, is seen as unsuitable for the format. Fair play to him for making the most of that chance. Like I say I like a lot about his game.
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You can make that argument about any player however

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Root against India and Pakistan is nothing to write home about, no 50 in 9 innings and a strike rate of 100 v India
 
chunkylover53 said:
You can make that argument about any player however

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Root against India and Pakistan is nothing to write home about, no 50 in 9 innings and a strike rate of 100 v India
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Well, yes you can, but IMO in Malan’s case it is especially pertinent, for the reasons given. Ok Root record against India & Pakistan looks average, but against Australia is superior, and very similar against NZ & SA.

Look there’s not a lot in it, all 3 are top class. We’re fortunate to have the strength in depth we do, but that means players in poor form bring others into the reckoning. That’s competitive sport.

He was way below par this series, with Hales & Root in reserve questions are being asked, and rightly so, which I think was your original point.
 
I'm not a huge fan of Moeen these days, but one of the things he's good at is he can score 30* off 10 balls coming at 6/7. Which for me would probably sway things in his favour if you're going to have someone at 7 who's basically only get the odd over most of the time. It's a very specialised position, very few people can hit from ball one and Moeen generally doesn't eat up many balls when he fails (which is often admittedly). I do believe in the left-right combinations, even though it wasn't really a factor in England's recent T20 batting failures, that was more their total abject cluelessness when anyone bowled any sort of telegraphed or disguised slower ball. But still, having combinations to deal with different challenges, if one of the batsmen can smash it out of the ground then the other can just rotate.

The thing with Root is he was brilliant in 2016, lots of runs and good strike rate. He scored bucketloads of runs in last year's domestic T20 (and did plenty of effective bowling). The thing is it's great having a batting line up who can hit 250+ but like our ODI team it isn't scoring outrageous totals that wins you the World Cup. It's dealing with tired pitches and handling the pressure to get yourself up to a fairly modest score that wins you the title. Look at all the T20 WC finals - the highest score is West Indies' Stokes/Brathwaite assisted 161-6. I think England just need a bit more raw quality & finesse rather than just pure brute force. I feel like this lineup has more flexibility to deal with the varied challenges you'll face in a World Cup. They need to find a 4th banker bowler. Jordan offers a lot but his bowling is just too expensive. Stokes looks he has enough to reliably cover the 5th bowler along with Root/Moeen, and the luxury to obviously give them more overs if you want.

Stokes
Buttler
Malan
Root
Morgan
Bairstow
Moeen
Archer
Rashid
Wood
+1

England need that 4th banker bowler so there's no let up or weak link. Topley looked good to me in the domestic T20, but we've obviously not seen him in an England shirt lately. A seamer would be better for balance (particularly someone who can bowl at the death, and/or swing a new ball).
 
chunkylover53 said:
You can make that argument about any player however

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Root against India and Pakistan is nothing to write home about, no 50 in 9 innings and a strike rate of 100 v India
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Even worse is Hales (Surprised how low his averages are)
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