England v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord's, 15th-19th May

I think it's time to get this thread going. So.... England. The noises coming from Vaughan suggest that he'll drop down to number three, with the proven failure of a combination- Cook and Strauss, getting together again to crab it at the top of the order. I don't agree at all. Vaughan should do what's best for the team and open the batting with Cook. At least they've been reasonably successful as a combination. Strauss and Cook have simply done nothing

I think Fred should be picked as part of a 5 man attack. I don't see why so many people here are against the 5 man attack- It worked during the 2003-05 golden period. And having a 4 man attack has coincided with us being shit again. Maybe the bowlers bowl better charging in in the knowledge that there are plenty of options to share the workload? Besides, Ambrose at seven, and Broad at eight means that Fred's hit and miss batting at six has some cover. Colly misses out. He's gritty, he's determined, and he's quite successful, but there are simply more talented cricketers. Also, Hoggy should play ahead of Jimmykins. FFS, 200+ test wickets (And good early season form) must count for something.

My England team for Lords-

Cook
Vaughan(c)
Strauss
Pietersen
Bell
Flintoff
Ambrose+
Broad
Sidebottom
Hoggard
Panesar

Nothing wrong with a five man attack in principle - but Fred has barely scored a run, he'd struggle to bat at 7 at the moment.

If he's recalled, it will be as part of a four man attack.

Likely NZ team-

How
Some crab with a dodgy technique
Some crab with a dodgy technique and sheep genes
Taylor
Some crab with a dodgy technique
Oram
McCullum+
Vettori
Some medium paced dobber who'll take 5 English wickets
Southee
Moonhead

Taylor, Oram, and McCullum are a potentially lethal middle order, plus theres the annoyance factor of Vettori at eight. Their bowling looks shite, though, as does the top order. If they had Bond they could quite possibly beat us if their middle order blazers give him some runs to bowl at.

Surely Colly will play. As limited as he is, he manages to score runs.

Basil wrote:Nothing wrong with a five man attack in principle - but Fred has barely scored a run, he'd struggle to bat at 7 at the moment.

If he's recalled, it will be as part of a four man attack.

I should hope so. Our batting has been ropey as hell recently, so to put Fred at 6 would be sheer folly.

Fred must play though, simply because I will be there....

Henry wrote: Their bowling looks shite, though

not so sure... they've got enough about them to do well in our conditions.

it's the batting which is poor and it won't be rescued by McCullum,Vettori & Taylor every time...

JGK wrote:Surely Colly will play. As limited as he is, he manages to score runs.

Well yeah, you're probably right. He hasn't scored a LOT of runs recently, though. Had some very soft dismissals in NZ. If they're gonna keep Colly, then another option would be to drop Cook, and open with Bell and Strauss.

They wouldn't drop Strauss and keep Cook?

JGK wrote:They wouldn't drop Strauss and keep Cook?

Hard to drop a guy who scored 170 in his last test innings. He's been in good early season county form as well.

Is there any chance they could go in with 4 quicks only on an early season green top?

JGK wrote:Is there any chance they could go in with 4 quicks only on an early season green top?

They definetly could. But I hate the idea of going into a test without at least the option of some spin. You never know how the pitch might play later on in the game. Lords has been very flat in recent times as well. Even in May.

Just looked up Chris MArtin's record - while his batting incompetence is the thing that stands out (Tim Southee already has more test runs), it's hard to believe that he is the 5th highest wicket taker ever for NZ.

I don't think the selectors will make the same mistake as they did last season in the ODIs and bring Freddie back before he's fully fit. I should imagine he's been given a long layoff and told he won't be considered until the one-dayers or even until the Saffies arrive. Besides it's difficult to fit him into the side at the moment. The only place really up for grabs is Anderson's and that's likely to go to Hoggard if he puts in a half-decent performance at Southampton next week.

He was rather unlucky to take the fall along with Harmison and get booted out after the shambles at Hamilton as the two cases were rather different. Harmison was a tosspot who hadn't bothered to prepare himself properly and couldn't remember how to bowl straight, Hoggy was just going through a run of bad form. In the event, the decision to drop both proved justified. Interesting to see if Broad can maintain his steep improvement curve in his first home match.

I don't think the selectors will make the same mistake as they did last season in the ODIs and bring Freddie back before he's fully fit.

How much cricket does he need, though? From all reports, he's charging in and bowling as quick as ever, with no ill effects. If he's ready, he's ready, and if he's fit, he's fit. We can't keep him in cotton wool forever.

Henry wrote:

I don't think the selectors will make the same mistake as they did last season in the ODIs and bring Freddie back before he's fully fit.

How much cricket does he need, though? From all reports, he's charging in and bowling as quick as ever, with no ill effects. If he's ready, he's ready, and if he's fit, he's fit. We can't keep him in cotton wool forever.

Agreed. He's missed too much cricket lately from his point of view. If he's fit and performing by the time of the 1st test - he plays IMO