England Under-19s

[Minor Maggie]

Sorry Daz I thought that someone else had posted his score. Good effort from Wakely who had a good game against Lancs the other week. All the batsmen made 50 which is good to see. No Lancs representative in the U-19s this year since Brown and Mullaney are too old.

[sharky]

It looks a very good team, that Westley looked the dug's baws the other day and he hasn't even been in yet. Lyth seems to have played the most fluent innings

[Minor Maggie]

532 a.o in the end which represented a bit of a collapse but then they do have Harris coming in at 7. Pakistan U-19 are 22/1 Harris striking with the 2nd ball of the innings.

[Rey]

Well Harris and Liam Dawson are both meant to be all-rounders.

In any case, the two spinners have run through Pakistan - 4 for Dawson, 3 for Westley, so far

['ampshire]

Is anyone else genuinely excited about this crop of under 19 players? Plenty of them have a decent first class experience already and have done pretty well in the games they have played.

Can't ever remember a time in recent years when so many good teenagers have been playing county cricket.

[Minor Maggie]

It is great to see so many good teenagers playing county cricket with the likes of Rashid, Godleman, Harris and Wakley to name but a few. Sadly there aren't any at Lancs.

However what does strike me is that we don't have many homegrown batsman aged 23-26. These should be the players pushing for selection but to y mind there is only Bell who falls into this age category. Cook is obviously slightly younger 22 and is a prodigous talent but who else is there in the mid-twenties? Loudon, Troughton have been given a try in the ODI game and Shah has had a couple of goes in the test arena but I can't think of too many more. Are these the players that have been lost due to Kolpak and overseas players?

[Minor Maggie]

For those of you who might be interested to see who has played U-19 cricket for England recently you might be interested in this list. Of the current England XII selected for the Oval test only Strauss, Collingwood and KP (not too surprising) haven't played U-19 cricket. The only other notable players in and around the England set up in recent times who have not played U-19 cricket are Simon Jones and Ashley Giles. Unless anyone can think of anyone else I've missed! However that doesn't mean that they are guaranteed to make it since there are plenty of names of players who I haven't heard of or who I know haven't made it.

[Joe Diddly]

Dawson batting 5 in some of those, and Gary Pratt opening the innings


http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archiv.../70/70391.html

INteresting!

[William]

Originally Posted by Minor Maggie

.However what does strike me is that we don't have many homegrown batsman aged 23-26. These should be the players pushing for selection but to y mind there is only Bell who falls into this age category. Cook is obviously slightly younger 22 and is a prodigous talent but who else is there in the mid-twenties? Loudon, Troughton have been given a try in the ODI game and Shah has had a couple of goes in the test arena but I can't think of too many more. Are these the players that have been lost due to Kolpak and overseas players?

It would certainly seem that Owais Shah is the only batsman aged 24-30 who's pushing to be selected for England. Bob Key always has a great innings or two in him but he's never found much in the way of consistency and Ed Joyce's runs have dried up after his world cup excursions.

The likes of Cook, Denly, Bopara and Patel seem to be doing their best to make up for that short fall though. Hopefully Godleman, Wakely, Westley, Wright and Lyth can follow in their footsteps.

[Rey]

These young Pakistanis really can't play spin, can they? 11 wickets to the English twirlers, out of 13 so far

[Rosbif]

If Bob Willis were dead he would be spinning in his grave. England U-19's hammering Pakistan U-19's? This isn't meant to happen.

[Aidan11]

Don't worry. Our players get out of the winning habit as they step up to the full level.

[geoff_boycotts_grandmother]

Originally Posted by William

It would certainly seem that Owais Shah is the only batsman aged 24-30 who's pushing to be selected for England. Bob Key always has a great innings or two in him but he's never found much in the way of consistency and Ed Joyce's runs have dried up after his world cup excursions.

The likes of Cook, Denly, Bopara and Patel seem to be doing their best to make up for that short fall though. Hopefully Godleman, Wakely, Westley, Wright and Lyth can follow in their footsteps.

Looking back at those old scorecards, [JD] linked to one from 2000. Those players should now be 25 or 26 and should be your missing generation.

The England top 6 was:

Pratt
Peng
Bell
Kadeer Ali
Pattison
Dalrymple

Obviously Bell is now in the current XI. The Durham trio of Pratt, Peng and Pattison failed to kick on. Whether that was for lack of opportunities though, I'm not sure. Kadeer Ali looks like an unfulfilled talent. I reckon about a third of u19s go on to play for England (from this team Bell, Panesar and Kabir Ali have all played test cricket, Dalrymple also played ODIs), a third become county regulars (Trego, Murtagh, Kadeer Ali) and a third drop out.

If you go back two years, its a similar sort of story:

Eng v Pak 1998

Key and Shah went onto play for England in tests, Swann and Franks also played a few ODIs; Peters and Wallace are county stalwarts; players like Jamie Grove and Giles Haywood never really made it.

Go back a further two years Eng v NZ and a few more players get capped Ed Smith, Owais Shah, the late Ben Hollioake, Gareth Batty and Jimmy Ormond but they've probably got fewer caps between them. Again about a third drop off the radar - David Roberts, Colin Campbell and Alec Swann.

Of the current lot, I therefore expect at least two to play test cricket, albeit possibly fleetingly, and up to about 5 ODIs. About three or so will disappear without ever making an impression on the county circuit.

[Minor Maggie]

Looks like the 2nd new ball is doing the trick for the U-19's. Pakistan now 250 for 9 and need another 68 to avoid an innings defeat.

[Rey]

And gone. Couldn't get more comprehensive than that

[Minor Maggie]

It seems that it isn't just the senior sides who have had players caught out drinking when they shouldn't have been. Rory Hamilton-Brown who should have captained the team against Pakistan was caught drinking on the eve of the game and was stripped of the captaincy and given a one match ban. Let's hope that one of the senior pro's at Surrey or the coaches take him to one side and tell him how stupid he has been.

[geoff_boycotts_grandmother]

Originally Posted by Minor Maggie

It seems that it isn't just the senior sides who have had players caught out drinking when they shouldn't have been. Rory Hamilton-Brown who should have captained the team against Pakistan was caught drinking on the eve of the game and was stripped of the captaincy and given a one match ban. Let's hope that one of the senior pro's at Surrey or the coaches take him to one side and tell him how stupid he has been.

The new Andy Flintoff.

[Joe Diddly]

Let's hope so.

[GloriousGloucesters]

Great to see such a comprehensive victory with so many of the team contributing.

[Rey]

England have made a good start again in the Second 'Test'. Westley unlucky to be left out for the returning RHB. The ECB really ****ed up over him

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/engla...ry/306226.html