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This early season is taking us back. Before Panesar and then Swann, picking an England spin bowler was like buying discounted fruit and veg. There was something wrong with whatever you chose, but could you find a way of using it somehow? You needed the vitamins, after all.
We feel like we’re back there again. This cabbage is starting to yellow a bit, but take off the outer leaves and it’ll be okay for the next day or so. These bananas are overripe, but they could go into a smoothie. These knackered up courgettes could be used for soup and likewise this limp brocolli.
Samit Patel’s very much a batsman-who-bowls-spin, but like Jonny Bairstow, he’s another recent England player who could have been given a fairer crack. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t even consider him. You’d walk straight past and fondle the avocados, looking for one with just the right amount of give.
But there are no avocados. There’s no spinach. There are no huge fresh tomatoes. There’s just a batsman-who-bowls-spin who looks much the same as many of the other batsmen-who-bowls-spin. Might as well consider him, unless you want to contract scurvy.
Or how about Moeen Ali?
Is he a batsman who bowls spin? Or is he a spinner who bats?
Nobody quite seems to know.
He’s a batsman who bowls spin and he’s already been mentioned on this site. We’re just steadily working our way through everyone.
Adam Riley! Adam Riley has the most wickets of any spinner this season! Adam Riley is the messiah.
Also, Adil Rashid took four wickets on TV. That’s more than he’d previously taken off TV this season. He’s leg-spin’s James Vince, and guess where all England’s games are played? On TV! Bandwagon time
You need to pick a bandwagon, unless you’re planning on travelling between them, one foot on each.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE OF THEM CHANGES DIRECTION?
#meaculpa
I’m just floating both of those as potential bandwagons for others. I’m firmly on the Tom Craddock bandwagon, because of the four-fer I once saw him take at Derby, and all those wickets against England on the TV that I didn’t see.
Given that he’s injured, and in the Essex 2nd XI anyway, it’s a pretty slow bandwagon.
But nice and quiet, with plenty of space to stretch.
Speaking of Patel’s; what about Jeetan? Must be close to qualifying for England and seems to have decided to turn down representing NZ again. Very good bowler and can definitely score runs as well.
Good bowler. Not sure about the very. He’s a hustler and a trier but can look ordinary at times.
I think his main problem is that he’s had so many years of bowling on NZ & English pitches where he’s been expected to be a containing bowler rather than a wicket taker. I remember seeing him bowl in a NZ academy game when i was at uni; they were trying to replicate sub-continent conditions and had basically rolled a patch of mud. He was getting bounce & turning it square when everyone else struggling to get it to bounce over the stumps. I think given an attacking captain & clear licence to give it a rip, then he could really get stuck in.
Yeah good, but a limited test career on the fairly sound logic of not being as good as Dan Vettori. He was effectively hounded out of the test team last year by apparently “expert” commentators (rhymes with “I’m in Drool”)pointing out that he kaked himself batting against Dayle Stein… at numbers 9, 10 and 11. Some people are fucked.
Anyone remember when all our spin bowling was supposed to come from Atherton and Hick?
In all fairness, the alternative was Richard Illingworth.
Peter Such
Another one of those foreign mercenaries.
Ravi Patel will be England’s spin saviour. Remember where you read it first.