Worst selectorial decision by your country that you have seen.

[War]

I support England & Australia in cricket. Been watching watching cricket since 97 & this is the worst test & ODI selections from both sides IMO:

ENGLAND:

- Picking Ben Hollioake & Ealham for test in the 97 Ashes
- Picking Andrew Flintoff in 1998
- Picking Gavin Hamilton on tour to SA 99/00
- The treatment of Andrew Caddick circa 97-99
- Chris Adams playing test cricket
- Afzaal & Ian Ward playing in Ashes 2001
- Chris Schofield & Ed Giddins playing tests in 2000
- Ian Blackwell playing test in 05/06
- Amjad Khan vs WI 08
- Darren Pattinson vs SA 2008 WTF was that?
- Matthew Hoggard being dropped vs NZ 08

Most ENG ODI selections have been crap so i'll leave it there.


AUSTRALIA:

- Shaun Young playing in the 97 Ashes
- Scott Muller vs PAK 99/00. Surely Kasper/Dale or Bichel should have played before him

- Not picking MacGill for 2004 tour to India
- Dropping of Martyn after Ashes 05
- Dropping of Hodge 05/06 - just disgraceful
- Not playing MacGill in the 2005 Ashes
- Gillespie not being recalled for the 05/06 tour to SA instead of Kasprowicz
- Picking White as the spinner for the 2008 IND tour
- The bowling selections in the home leg of 08/09 series vs South Africa
- Dirk Nannes not touring South Africa 09 after Bollinger got injured - instead Geeves got called up:doh
- McDonald playing test cricket
- 4 seamers not playing in all 5 2009 Ashes test
- Beau Casson playing tests

For ODIs. Only the selection of Ben Lauglin for the 2009 ODIs vs SA comes to mind as a real shocker by AUS ATM. Generally AUS ODI selections are 100% on point.

 

[pcfan123]

The over extended run of Steve Harmison

&

Darren Pattinson (who the hell is this guy)

 

[harrisb]

on the eve of the oval test last year, i would have been saying,

'Jonathan Trott, who the hell...?'

after that match, i was saying,

'Jonathan Trott, why didn't we pick him earlier, absolute legend'

it's amazing what a difference a match can make

 

[Robelinda]

Dropping Slater in 96/97.

With Young in 97, there was only one other option and that was Shane Lee, as Reiffel and Julian were injured and Young was the only other guy in county cricket who was deemed worthy. Plus it was the dead 6th test, yeah we got beaten but we did well to roll england twice, unfortunately we coudnt score the 111(?) to win.

Adam Dale shouldnt have been dropped after the Antigua test in 99, they picked Muller after that which was crazy, Dale had an awesome record.

Dropping of Katich after his ton at the SCG in 04, then picking a woefully out of form Symonds for his test debut.

 

[War]

Dropping Slater in 96/97.

Yea i've heard alot about this one, but i've never really checked it up. What really did the selectors do there?

With Young in 97, there was only one other option and that was Shane Lee, as Reiffel and Julian were injured and Young was the only other guy in county cricket who was deemed worthy. Plus it was the dead 6th test, yeah we got beaten but we did well to roll england twice, unfortunately we coudnt score the 111(?) to win.

Wasn't Bichel in the squad though?

Adam Dale shouldnt have been dropped after the Antigua test in 99, they picked Muller after that which was crazy, Dale had an awesome record.

Yea that was crazy especially when you consider the first test of the 99/00 Australian summer was on Dale's home ground. I remember thinking where the hell did Muller come from...:laugh

Dropping of Katich after his ton at the SCG in 04, then picking a woefully out of form Symonds for his test debut.

Actually Symonds wasn't really out of from TBF. He had a superb ODI series vs SRI just before the tests.

The logic was that Symonds would bat @ 6 & his off-spin that was so effective in the ODIs would back-up Warn & MacGill in the tests. It was fair risk i'd say, althought it was harsh to drop Katich. But overall i wouldn't call this selecotorial blunder TBH.

War added 4 Minutes and 50 Seconds later...

The over extended run of Steve Harmison

&

Darren Pattinson (who the hell is this guy)

To be fair to the England selectors i'd say they gave Harmison enough chances to try & prove his worth or rather regain the heights of his super "7 tests" of 2004. They got his career just about right. Although IMO he should been on the recent tour to South Africa - he could have very deadly in the Jo'Burg test.

 

[ballers101]

Kamran Akmal in general worst selection ever.

 

[Robelinda]

Yea i've heard alot about this one, but i've never really checked it up. What really did the selectors do there?



Wasn't Bichel in the squad though?

No he left injured really early on. Reiffel was flown in after the first test as a result, that in itself was a major blunder- Reiffel didnt make the initial squad even though he had a good home season and was amazing in 93, after he joined the squad he played the Lords test 2 days after arriving in the country, and had a great series.

With Slater, he made 219 at the WACA, two test later dropped, mainly because Elliott was in supreme form, but Slater really hadnt done much wrong and was averaging 48 over his 4 years so far, but he played a truly woeful shot to make a duck in the 2nd innings of the Delhi test in 96, Johnson bowled a rank wide on the off side and Slater threw everything at it and was brilliantly caught one handed by Azhar. He was blasted in the press for the bad shot, but no-one really thought he'd be dropped, he was just being his usual aggressive self. But when he came home from the tour Elliott and Hayden were blazing tons for the Aus A team vs WI, and it was felt that Slater didnt value his wicket enough. As it turned out Elliott was a decent selection, but it didnt last that long. Slater came back a better player, but a more reserved one, which annoyed a lot of people.

 

[Kshitiz_Indian]

I would say Ravindra Jadeja, but I don't want Shravi running at me with a Venezuelan sword in his hand. But his knowledge of the game and people in it far surpasses mine so I'd reckon he's correct.

 

[Robelinda]

You'd have to say the abysmal England selections for the 90/91 and 94/95 tours to Australia. In 94 they picked a terrible squad, and got duly thrashed. Gatting and Gooch- both miles past it. Craig White, Joey Benjamin (WTF?), McCague ( hopeless), Shaun Udal, and they left out Angus Fraser and Chris Lewis who both joined the squad later and well.

 

[irottev]

Not selecting Scott Styris lately is a big one. We went through on era where players like Astle, Cairns were being dropped and Fleming lost captaincy which made everyone want to retire.

 

[Robelinda]

I;d also say not selecting Damien Fleming when he was in superb form during the 01 Ashes, Steve Waugh was determined for Lee to play the series even though he was coming off a bad injury and was bowling complete crap in the first 3 tests, Fleming was getting 10 fer in the tour match and still didnt get selected, and we had to watch as Mark Butcher creamed Lee all over Headingly to win the 4th test. Fleming never played again, and Lee only bowled better in about 5 games over the next 8 years. Massive fail I thought, boy there were a lot of years when Lee was very average indeed, yet his pace just kept him in the team.

 

[War]

No he left injured really early on. Reiffel was flown in after the first test as a result, that in itself was a major blunder- Reiffel didnt make the initial squad even though he had a good home season and was amazing in 93, after he joined the squad he played the Lords test 2 days after arriving in the country, and had a great series.

With Slater, he made 219 at the WACA, two test later dropped, mainly because Elliott was in supreme form, but Slater really hadnt done much wrong and was averaging 48 over his 4 years so far, but he played a truly woeful shot to make a duck in the 2nd innings of the Delhi test in 96, Johnson bowled a rank wide on the off side and Slater threw everything at it and was brilliantly caught one handed by Azhar. He was blasted in the press for the bad shot, but no-one really thought he'd be dropped, he was just being his usual aggressive self. But when he came home from the tour Elliott and Hayden were blazing tons for the Aus A team vs WI, and it was felt that Slater didnt value his wicket enough. As it turned out Elliott was a decent selection, but it didnt last that long. Slater came back a better player, but a more reserved one, which annoyed a lot of people.

Oh right. Thanks sir.

I see your are 32 years old. Where you following cricket in the 1981 Ashes?. Since i've read a few times that Doug Walters not making the touring squad was seen as an error back then. What do you know about that?

War added 4 Minutes and 45 Seconds later...

I;d also say not selecting Damien Fleming when he was in superb form during the 01 Ashes, Steve Waugh was determined for Lee to play the series even though he was coming off a bad injury and was bowling complete crap in the first 3 tests, Fleming was getting 10 fer in the tour match and still didnt get selected, and we had to watch as Mark Butcher creamed Lee all over Headingly to win the 4th test. Fleming never played again, and Lee only bowled better in about 5 games over the next 8 years. Massive fail I thought, boy there were a lot of years when Lee was very average indeed, yet his pace just kept him in the team.

Oh yeaa, i forgot this Brett Lee one from the 01 Ashes. Its that same stubborness from 2001, that Ponting displayed in 2005 by not picking MacGill in the 2005. MacGill should have played by a least the Trent Bridge test (where coincidentally in 2004 he had a great county stint for Nottinghamshire).

 

[Robelinda]

Walters was well past it in 81. The home summer of 80/81 he was pretty average, Dirk Wellham was pushing selection, and Walters was poor in his 3 previous UK tours, in fact he was bloody useless in England against the swinging ball so there was no way he was going tour again being an older out of form player. Playing so poorly in England was his major flaw in the his career, he was a sucker for a gentle outswinger, and was regularly caught in the slips. Averaged 25 in 18 tests in Eng. Having said that, out batting lineup was poor in 81, Chappell wasnt touring so Hughes was captain, and we left out Hookes ( I think!) so we only had Border and Hughes with good experience, Walters couldve done a job.

The other poor selection I hated was leaving out Dean Jones in 1988 for the first 3 tests of the Aus V WI series. Absolute fail . Came back in the 4th and 5th tests and made that classic 210 at Adelaide. He was coming off a poor start to the shield season, that was what the selectors said.

another one is the Victorian Wayne Phillips coming in for his only test in 92 replacing Marsh, even bigger fail- guys like Lehmann and Siddons and even a very young Hayden were piling on the runs whereas Phillips was a steady FC player at best, and promptly failed.

 

[Lee1981]

In more recent times id have to say in the 2006 ashes giles picked ahead of panesar that was crazy, obviously now monty has gone down hill but at the time he was our go to man for a wicket and to pick giles who couldnt turn a switch on let alone a ball was abit of mad one for me,
We still got hammered anyway......

 

[Robelinda]

Aftab Habib for England? FAIL. Jimmy Ormond too.