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Kevin Pietersen (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss.

Bit surprised that Bopara is picked ahead of Shah. No wait, this is England we're talking about... I'm not surprised at all.

England squad for Twenty20 and one-day internationals against South Africa:

Kevin Pietersen (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.

Who is Samit Patel?

I think they're just holding the fort for the fourth test, the really interesting one will be the first test against whoever we're playing next.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samit_Patel

I've seen him a couple of times, looks quite a tidy player in the one day game. Can score quick runs and bowl a bit as well.

Tim Ambrose???? How did he stay in the test side?????

Samit Patel?? Wheres the conistency in their selection policy here??? Never heard of him

He was in the ICC Champions Trophy squad, apparently. Bit of a left field one there though.

Geoff Miller on the radio sounds like a right chump.

He's just said that he doesn't think Ambrose at 6 was a mistake. I mean, really.

No great surprise,Bopara is flavour of the month with the selectors.He's a very good 1 day player,
but hasn't looked a number 6 in the test match arena.I'd have preferred Shah,as he can bat
anywhere from No.3 to No,6.Unfortunately,for whatever reason he seems to have fallen out with
the selectors.

Samit Patel had a quick fire knock for Notts at Cheltenham yesterday.

Has Hoggy died or what?

How is it our batsmen can continue on from test to test turning in one decent performance in 5 or 6 innings and cling onto their place, whereas a bowler has a couple of shit games and they're calling up the likes of Pattinson?

Is it left field because you didn't know who he was until today?! Is that because he isn't Bopara/Napier or play for one of the teams frequently on the tv so isn't touted in the media by gobshites like Atherton, Hussain et al?

Samit Patel as consistently played well in 40/50 over cricket over the past few seasons, and has improved in the 4 day game this season also, plus he is fairly useful as a spinner (improving all the time). Much like Graham Swann consistently played well on the county circuit for Notts and earned his call up, so has Samit.

Fatbury: who would you bring in to the squad to show consistency? The last time i looked we were a consistently average ODI side. Michael Pook won't sure up our middle order

another impressive display from shah for the crusaders today... It can't be long til he gets a bash, surely?!

Well I would have thought Graham Napier was worth a shout

No Denly and no Shah. More top stuff from our selectors (not).

Entirely correct, yes. I don't follow County Cricket as much as I'd like (Read: Don't have Sky, no local team) so I only really get to hear about the players that get talked up by the media. I hope the guy does well.

i haven't seen patel this season but if i recall correctly he's a handy player, possibly a replacement for monty? much as i love him, he's never been much cop in ODI cricket...they tried it last summer with yardy.

   Are you on about the one day squad? As Napier would never make the test side, and to be honest 2 or 3 knocks in one dayers/20/20 in 10 years isn't much of a CV.

Harmison in for Sidebottom, and Broad in for Vaughan then.

Stronger batting lineup, and we'll be needing a third slip.

Stronger batting line up? Owch.

True on the averages though.

   Good start for KP, loses toss Cook drops Smith 1st ball.  :(

You see the wickie get a ball in the face, deserved it, not a great technique in that take was there.

On the bright side, KP's abolished the huddle!

I really hope Swindon abolish the huddle too, it's crap!!!  Do that in the changing room.

Cook's been a bit busy. Shame he's dropped more than he's caught.

105-4, ooooohh

I'm going tomorrow, i thought i might be watching the saffers bat all day about 30 mins ago, but looks as though it might be a bit more interesting now.

158-7 at tea

Blimey, this is going well, just the tail left, McKenzie's just gone.

Harmison is back, and more to the point, Anderson's swinging it like it's the 60's.

Knowing the fragility of our batting it might be all over by the time i get there at this rate.

Making a mental note to watch the highlights on C5 tonight, I'm still bound to forget though.

9 down

194 all out. Good start.

I forgot this started today. I may have to forget more often the way it's going.

Yay, go Strauss.

Oh here we go. More shit batting.

Impressive performance today, what a difference it makes when the entire bowling attack contributes. And I think that James Anderson really does have to be an automatic pick now, and not just a stop-gap.

And I know someone (probably Aggers) will say "ah well it's a dead rubber" but do you really believe that SA and people like Nel and Smith play with the intention of doing anything other than win? I imagine the fact that KP being opposing captain will have them sufficiently fired up for this.

Great start.

it was only the highlights i saw, but harmison bowled reet good today

Jimmy A did Kallis beautifully too.

 :nod: That ball to Amla was schweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I also forgot to watch the highlightd. d'oh.

Was raining now its stopped and guess what we've lost a wicket.Bell out for his usual piddly score.
67-2

50 up for Pietersen. 143-3.

Ntini has dropped two Pietsersen shots that he's whacked into the air.

KP has gone now. Ntini got him on 100.

Yeah - glad he got his 100 but it was another one of those shots. Mind you he had two dropped catches so he was lucky to get the century.

Flintoff has just hit a nice six straight down the ground.

"Was it a poor shot, or just good bowling" as Boeta says.  It was shi batting if you ask me, but I ain't no cricketeer!!

50 up for Collingwood now... Good lad.

Flintoff gone for 9.

and Ambrose goes too, for 4.

might take a 100 lead from this if colly can knock a few.

crap, he just got out.

Can someone remind me why it was we dropped Geraint Jones again?

I know people used to bang on about the quality of his keeping, but none of the muppets that have come in to replace him have looked much better with the gloves, and some of the batting from them has been woeful.

The extremes in the argument are supposed to be Matt Prior at one end, great 1st class batting average but mediocre with the gloves on, and Chris Read at the other, supposedly the best keeper.

But actually Jones took more catches per test than any of the other recent keepers averaging over 3.7 a test, even better than Read at 3.2 and way better than the rest, and he's the only one who's first class batting average comes close to Prior's.

So can someone tell me what Ambrose is supposed to bloody offer. He's only just about taking a catch a test match at the moment, and I can't remember him ever stumping anyone, in fact he's never bloody likely to with his little arms and legs and the distance he stands behind the wicket.

Tiny Tim's gotta go hasn't he?

Shame we've collapsed quite significantly - Keep going Harmison though.

His wicket will now follow shortly.

Some good points there. Jone's form did slip a lot with the bat before he was dropped though. I still think Read should have been given much more of a chance. Jones got a good year or so straight in the team so he had a fair crack at the whip.

Harmison 26 not out. Oh dear Saffies.

He's going for a 50 isn't he? That's over 30 now and still not out. These could prove vital really.

Definately. He's going for it in a way only a tail ender can - ugly but entertaining!

Hehe, Jimmy and Harmy are taking the piss here :D

Boo, leg bye.

Anderson gone. Boo

C'mon Panesar...... don't let Harmison down.

Harmy is nearly there. How did we get over 300?

Gutted :(

Over 100 though. That's a decent lead tbh. Maybe get a few overs at them tonight?

I hope so. Harmison and Anderson's batting was crucial today. Good for them... Just hope they do their jobs tomorrow.

Gutted for Harmison, so close.

haha, 0 for 1.

Awesome that it was Smith that went too.

if Mckenzie makes a ton I'll cry.

Just back Quite turgid in places today, and the crowd was very low key, managed to miss 3 dismissals inc Pietersen and Collingwood, whilst in the toilet! And then had to leave early as wife got stuck at work, so didn't see that much for my £71.

surely this is in the bag.

It better be! Good to see the openers stay in.

Yeah. Shame that the first time they can manage it is in an innings that doesn't count for fucking anything. Maybe they could have found a bit of backbone at Edgebaston and we could have saved the frigging series.

here comes a collapse of mammoth proportions

thar she blows...

And another, Strauss out

What collapse? 8)

Yer man Freddie won it with a cool six :)

  Always better to win than lose...but a bit of an anticlimax...can't help but think Miller and co lost us this series, the Saffas aren't that good.

 Next up (ignoring one dayers) 2 tests in India...will Harmy travel, will Bell boy keep a place at 3, is Rashid ready or will Swann play in tests?  I fucking love cricket me.

Didn't Swann get a five 'fer yesterday?

kp as second spin option?

rashid can bat a bit though

In answer to my own question, no he didn't. He got 4-35 from 8 which is just as respectable but still couldn't prevent Notts from losing.

 Swann's effort was against teh might of Somerset, but a one-dayer. He's decent enough at this but not sure about the longer game.

 After Edgbaston, the word seems to be that Monty is on borrowed time, poor battting and fielding not bailed out by good enough bowling on a helpful pitch.

 Swann and Rashid might be an interesting combo...we'd have the longest batting line up in Test teams.

I'd take Rashid. Fuck Swan he's getting on now and he's had plenty a chance. We need to look to the future.

If the selectors axe Monty they are simply deluded. He's the best spinner we have had for a long time. At least he takes wickets. On the sub continent he'll do very well.

Nothing surprises me anymore though. I expect the selectors will fuck the whole tour up for us.

 TBF Swann is 29...no age for a spinner, last time in India we took Sean Udal who was 36/37.  Monty was poor in Sri Lanka....its usual to play a couple of spinners in India. Monty will play, but as he's nothing else to fall back on his bowling comes under pressure. He needs a good couple of games.

Monty does take wickets though Reg. Don't forget this summer it's hardly been a spinners dream with the weather and all. I'm sick of Swan. If he was that good he's have been in the side 8 years ago and still in it now but he isn't.

 All true, but there just isn't a decent second spinner available, so it's best of a bad job.

 In recent years we've taken the likes of Richard Dawson and Martyn Ball, as well as the veteran Udal.

 Watching Warks on box t'other night, they've now got Ian Salisbury. How frustrating was he? Something like 850 fc wickets....bowls sharp spinning leg break, googly and top spinner, but still bowls a 4 ball an over.

Mendis doesn't happen to have an English twin does he?

Rashid is a wristy isn't he? Would be interesting seeing him out there.

Steven Davies scored a tonne the other day as well in a pro 40 game for Worcestershire, which will no doubt catch the attention of the selectors now that Ambrose is injured.

Though having said that Prior is in as backstop for the one day series isn't he.