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The 'England' Team

Should we play foreign lads for England?

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NorthCountryBoy

NorthCountryBoy

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Looking at our team for this week we've got the Aussie U19 captain, a Zimbabwean and a lad from Bridgetown playing. Do people on here think we should keep the team for proper English lads or exploit the rules and play the best team possible?

There was a journalist on SKY this morning saying that as soon as you play U19 cricket for a country you should have to play for them for life. That would be fair IMO and would have prevented blokes like Trott and Robson playing for us out of convenience. Not to mention creaming off Ireland's best players and stopping them getting a decent side....
 

NorthCountryBoy said:
Looking at our team for this week we've got the Aussie U19 captain, a Zimbabwean and a lad from Bridgetown playing. Do people on here think we should keep the team for proper English lads or exploit the rules and play the best team possible?

There was a journalist on SKY this morning saying that as soon as you play U19 cricket for a country you should have to play for them for life. That would be fair IMO and would have prevented blokes like Trott and Robson playing for us out of convenience. Not to mention creaming off Ireland's best players and stopping them getting a decent side....
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Tom, yer sounding like Farage. Is this an in or out SMB referendum?
 
Fully agreed with Newman's proposals this morning with regards to the U-19 representation cut off.

The Sam Robson scenario is particularly ridiculous. We could have someone opening the batting in an Ashes Test match who has captained an Australian national team as an adult.

Becomes a little bit tricky with regards to talented players from the member countries though. It would be a shame to deny a talented individual a platform to showcase his talents purely because the rest of his nation are average
 
Greavsie said:
Send the buggers back
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:lol:

Was about to use that exact quote on you.

The Sheepfolds End said:
Fully agreed with Newman's proposals this morning with regards to the U-19 representation cut off.

The Sam Robson scenario is particularly ridiculous. We could have someone opening the batting in an Ashes Test match who has captained an Australian national team as an adult.

Becomes a little bit tricky with regards to talented players from the member countries though. It would be a shame to deny a talented individual a platform to showcase his talents purely because the rest of his nation are average
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That's the bit I really disagree on. If Ireland had Morgan and Rankin (and the likes of Dockrell could go to us down the line) it could push them up a level and help them break through. They never will under the current rules. George Best and Ryan Giggs never played in a World Cup, that's life.
 
I certainly agree that players who've played for different countries at other age levels and such shouldn't be allowed at all to play for another country further down the line.

My opinion of the whole picture is quite in the middle somewhere, I don't want to see the England team full of foreigners and any player being opportunistic and taking advantage of the laws just to play international cricket is something that shouldn't happen.

However there has been, and will be cases where the circumstances mean a player is English through citizenship or whatever and proud to be. Who's to say then that they don't deserve a chance?

Kevin Pieterson is perhaps the exception to all rules. He made the odd choice very early to leave his country in pursuit of a career in another country, some will say he was opportunistic, but then nobody can deny the positive impact he made on English cricket.

I don't think the system will ever be perfect.
 
Call me old fashioned or whatever but I'd love an English born England 11. When was the last time we had one?

TBH, not even English born is that important I suppose as Strauss isn't and is clearly English (and Ted Dexter was born in Italy), just like that Pattinson lad who played for us at Headingley was born in England but is clearly Australian.

So, not objecting to Strauss but parachuting players in after a few years playing county cricket or having Morgan playing for us when Ireland have their own team grates on me.
 
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