Quality player is young Taylor, however scoring runs against the Sri Lanka A team is hardly impressive given their Test attack. I do rate him highly, however if i'm not mistaken he has never scored a run in the first division of county cricket. the difference between the 2 divisions is huge as is the step up from the 1st division to the test side. For me he needs to score runs in Div 1 where the standard of bowling is so much higher than Div 2. Stokes for me is a better player, also his career has been in Div 1 only against far better bowling attacks.

Stokes I think is 12 months away from a senior call up.

He's been injured recently as well.

yeah he has been injured, but he's a better player than taylor already to my mind having seen them both bat live. Taylor scores runs against very very weak Div 2 attacks. Stokes scores runs against very good Div 1 attacks. To me it's taylor who should be 12 months from a call up

Taylor and Stokes are huge in potential. As is Hales.

Hales is a cracking player i think, the type who looks to bully bowlers. Has a big future, and i think in ODI's he's just the player we're looking for.

My point about Stokes is due to his history of injuries, he needs a full season of cricket to prove his durability. If that is next season then so be it.

I think he'll be the next big thing, as his bowling is pretty sharp too.

With Strauss, Cook and Morgan playing div 2 cricket, it doesn't seem a barrier to selection. Geoff Miller was saying the other day they need to show strength of Character as well as skill.

Yes but when Strauss and Cook we're playing county div 2 cricket the divide between the 2 divisions was not even close to where it is now, so the quality was spread out, and i think both have played div 1 cricket as well, i think. Miller has also expressed concerns about the huge and growing divide. I have no doubt on taylor's ability but scoring runs in div 2 is easy, too easy.

Taylor is doing himself no harm in this game, 76 and a century looming.
If there are any lingering doubts about Trott's fitness, I wouldn't be surprised to see him named in a 13 man squad on Sunday.
Even if he doesn't play, being involved with the test squad will be invaluable experience under Flower's beady eye.

Commentators curse there hopeforthebest out for 98 but still can't take anything away from the both innings he's played

Lazy, it always bothers to the point of shouting out SHUT UP, when TMS and SKY commentators are waxing lyrical about an innings from an England batsman.
I always believe Jim Maxwell does it on purpose when we play Australia in hope it will get a wicket.
I guess paranoia runs in the family.

Another player who i'd imagine would be in the running if it wasn't for the horrible time he has been through recently is Carberry. Going nice today at about 260 not out putting on nearly 500 so far with Mckenzie. Tough day to be a yorkshire bowler !

Scoring runs in Div 2 isn't as easy as you make out to be as the ball they use in Div 2 swings about more than the one used in Div 1 and apparently this is making it difficult to bat this year. Don't know why they use different balls though!

Also, for these sorts of things the England selectors look at other aspects of a players game when making decisions and getting runs for the Lions is one of these as it shows you can get runs under the pressure of trying to impress. Remember Morgan plays in Div 2 and has a much lower average then Taylor, but the selectors are impressed with his style of batting and his temperment (as shown in his big 100 v Sri Lanka for the Lions).

Also, Jonny Bairstow (who's just hit a century) could be a wildcard for selection. Gets his runs at a decent pace and is consistant in his run making (has hit a 50 or above in more than half the matches he's played in and has an average of 46.5 from Div 1). Another example of England's strength in depth i.e. batsman and wicketkeeper.

It's wonderful to see him back after that dreadful illness. As I said elsewhere, he might be the wrong side of 30 to get another chance. He is however one the few opening batsmen worthy of consideration, although he's batting at 3 since his return.
Would Hampshire be in such trouble if he had been fit the whole season?

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Robbo126

You say England has such strength in depth of batsmen but until they get a chance at the highest level that cannot be proven.
Some runners are great at running half marathons but when they step up to the full marathon fail.
Playing great at county and Lions level is just a half marathon.

That's some partnership going on for Hampshire, 523 and still going at tea. Records must be falling by now

hopeforthebest

Yes, that is true. I personally thought Taylor should have played instead of Morgan. They should also start playing some of the youngsters in ODI series' to get some experience of being in the England set up. IMO, I'd take Bell out the one day team and replace him with Taylor or Stokes.

I agree about Bell but I generally don;t like real test players playing ODI games. In tests the ability to leave balls outside off is important, in the ODI format with rarely a slip fielder in sight it's entirely different.
Aggressive players like Pietersen and Morgan play pretty much the same in both formats. Trott hardly ever flashes outside off in any format, he values his wicket too much.
Since Cook returned to ODI he can hardly buy a run in test games.Is it just coincidence?

Lets stick the young lad in the next test. I don't know a great deal about him, but he seems to be in great form, and even if he scores nought, it will be too many for India

Maksi your belief in England's greatness is positively indecent.

But I have never let you down Hope. After studying our national team for 4 decades, and cringing often, I don't see any problem with the whitewash during this series. You don't either mate? They just can't bowl?

That is a little bit unfair maksi, they have 4 good bowlers, but the best of those is injured leaving only kumar, sharma and sreesanth. Harbajhan and the part timers are just fodder, and only put more pressure on the seamers. they must be exhausted by now, which may well explain the general lack of wickets taken by the Indian team.

whats all this hype about a county PODDLER?
surely he aint that good?
even the ECB rates Bopara highly than Taylor and we all know how good a player Bopara is..

If Bopara scores runs dont say much about yer inept bowling line up?