With particular reference to England, but open to any fan of any country, what do you think of your country's selection policies? Do you feel too many players are tried and discarded? Do you think too many players are given a go who aren't good enough, maybe because of their type or the weak nature of domestic cricket?
England near their 650th Test cricketer and their 900th Test, is there a serious selection (policy) problem?
England Test Cricketers
Cricketers : 648
Tests : 897
Test Caps* : 9919
*will include caps of Flintoff and Harmison in the ICC vs Australia Test, may also include caps where players also played for other countries and in other Tests not for England
source : www.howstat.com.au
Breakdown of England cricketers by number of Tests
1 Test : 89 (13.73%)
2 Tests : 76 (11.73%)
3 Tests : 52 (8.02%)
4 Tests : 49 (7.56%)
5-9 Tests : 138 (21.30%)
10-24 Tests : 122 (18.83%)
25-49 Tests : 63 (9.72%)
50-74 Tests : 35 (5.40%)
75-99 Tests : 16 (2.47%)
100+ Tests : 8 (1.23%)
A staggering 13.73% of England Test cricketers played only one Test. That does include Tredwell, Carberry and others playing one Test, but Tredwell is the only England player who couldn't have played a Test subsequent. A whopping 41.05% of England Test cricketers have played less than five Tests.
Of the 24 England players listed as "current", I believe, having played in the last two years, FOUR have played just one Test (Pattinson, Khan, Carberry and Tredwell) while another five have notched up less than 10 caps. On the flip side of the coin, Cook, Pietersen, Collingwood, Strauss and Bell are all in the 'elite' band of cricketers to have played 50+ Tests (9.10%)
While we thought 'One Test Wonders' were simply a sign of the times in the 90s as English cricket seemed to be at a low ebb, was it?
England 'One Test Wonders' by decade
1870s (6) : Charles Absolom, Leland Hone, Francis MacKinnon, Vernon Royle, Sandford Schultz, Alexander Webbe
1880s (10) : Edward Grace, George Grace, Frank Penn, George Vernon, Stanley Christopherson, Reginald Wood, William Newham, John Shuter, Joseph McMaster, Charles Smith
1890s (11) : James Cranston, Victor Barton, William Chatterton, Alec Hearne, George Hearne, Arthur Pougher, Leslie Gay, Audley Miller, Edwin Tyler, Alfred Archer, Walter Mead
1900s (4) : Frederick Tate, Arnold Warren, Douglas Carr, John King
1910s (2) : Neville Tufnell, Septimus Kinneir
1920s (12) : Alfred Dipper, Arthur Dolphin, Andrew Ducat, Frederick Durston, Alfred Evans, Harold Hardinge, Charles Parker, Thomas Richmond, Evelyn Wilson, George Street, John MacBryan, Harry Smith
1930s (12) : John Arnold, Harry Lee, Charles Marriott, William Levett, John Clay, Norman Mitchell-Innes, Holcombe Read, Austin Matthews, James Parks, Wilfred Price, Reginald Sinfield, Norman Oldfield
1940s (8) : Thomas Smailes, Cecil Cook, John Martin, George Pope, Dennis Brookes, Alec Coxon, George Emmett, Alan Wharton
1950s (2) : Charles Palmer, Derek Richardson
1960s (1) : Ken Palmer
1970s (1) : Alan Butcher
1980s (7) : Paul Parker, Tim Lloyd, Tony Piggott, Arnie Sidebottom, Mark Benson, John Whitaker, John Stephenson
1990s (6) : Neil Williams, Joey Benjamin, Alan Wells, Simon Brown, Mike Smith, Gavin Hamilton
2000s (5) : Kabir Ali, Ian Blackwell, Jon Lewis, Darren Pattinson, Amjad Khan
2010s (2) : Michael Carberry, James Tredwell
Pretty consistent since the 1980s, a big dip through the 50s, 60 and 70s. Is there a pattern of inconsistent selection through the decades? That is only 'One Test Wonders', I guess the true measure is 1-4 caps and how many cricketers were used during the decades, allowing for increased numbers of Tests of course.
England Test cricketer caps by decade (debut made in)
1870s : 22 cricketers, 108 caps (average 4.91)
1880s : 48 cricketers, 396 caps (average 8.25)
1890s : 58 cricketers, 514 caps (average 8.86)
1900s : 35 cricketers, 365 caps (average 10.43)
1910s : 17 cricketers, 161 caps (average 9.47)
1920s : 65 cricketers, 780 caps (average 12.00)
1930s : 65 cricketers, 705 caps (average 10.85)
1940s : 35 cricketers, 462 caps (average 13.20)
1950s : 52 cricketers, 1107 caps (average 21.29)
1960s : 47 cricketers, 1039 caps (average 22.11)
1970s : 39 cricketers, 1201 caps (average 30.80)
1980s : 58 cricketers, 925 caps (average 15.95)
1990s : 59 cricketers, 1271 caps (average 21.54)
2000s : 45 cricketers, 881 caps (average 19.58)
2010s : 3 cricketers, 4 caps (average 1.33)
So the 1980s and 1990s saw the most debuts since the 1920s and 1930s. The average Test caps per England cricketer is 15.31, naturally with more cricket crammed in these days the average for more recent decades will increase and be lower back in the day when there were fewer Test nations
First Tests of Test nations by decade
1870s : 1877 England, 1877 Australia
1880s : 1889 South Africa (1889-1970, 1991-)
1890s : none
1900s : none
1910s : none
1920s : 1928 West Indies
1930s : 1930 New Zealand, 1932 India
1940s : none
1950s : 1952 Pakistan
1960s : none
1970s : none
1980s : 1982 Sri Lanka
1990s : 1992 Zimbabwe
2000s : 2000 Bangladesh
So there were only three Test nations between 1889 and 1928. One Test nation has been added every decade for the past three.
Of course there is always a flip side to everything, good has evil, chocolate makes you fat, etc, and so for the selection errors in 'One Test Wonders' there is those who picked up more caps than they deserved - some might argue.
OPN JM Brearley : 39 Tests
1442 runs @ 22.89, HS 91
OPN W Watson : 23 Tests
879 runs @ 25.85, 100s x2, HS 116
BAT MR Ramprakash : 52 Tests
2350 runs @ 27.33, 100s x2
BAT AP Chapman : 28 Tests
925 runs @ 28.91, 100s x1
BAT P Willey : 26 Tests
1184 runs @ 26.91, 100s x2, HS 102no
ALR C White : 30 Tests
1052 runs @ 24.47
59 wkts @ 37.63, SR 67.10
WKT GO Jones : 34 Tests
1172 runs @ 23.92
Ct/St : 128/5
ALR CC Lewis : 32 Tests
1105 runs @ 23.02
93 wkts @ 37.53, SR 73.68
BWL JE Emburey : 64 Tests
1713 runs @ 22.54
147 wkts @ 38.41, SR 102.74
BWL AF Giles : 54 Tests
1421 runs @ 20.90
143 wkts @ 40.60, SR 85.17
BWL DE Malcolm : 40 Tests
236 runs @ 6.05
128 wkts @ 37.09, SR 66.25
Brearley was a fantastic captain, but his batting average and highest score would not get you 39 Tests for most countries or in any other circumstances. Jones was much criticised for his keeping, his batting did not even stay in the 30s. He did score some crucial runs, not least during the Ashes in 2005, but 34 caps for such an ordinary average and ok keeper isn't clever. Craig White never quite fulfilled the role intended for him, the next Ian Botham. He ground his way to his only Test hundred in India, off 265 balls. He was a key player in England's first win over West Indies since 1969 back in 2000, he did only score 62 runs but took 13 wickets including two 5wis to help bowl out West Indies for 172 and 125 and win both matches comfortably. I liked Peter Willey, but his average didn't stand up to the test. It is pretty bad when you're a batsman whose average is about the same as your number of caps - unless it happens to be 30+
There's giving a player a chance and there's the above, with the exception of Brearley who was an exceptional captain, the rest were lucky to get 20+ caps. I will also mention David Capel who got 15 Test caps, averaged just 15.58 with the bat and 50.67 with the ball, Ian Salisbury who also got 15 Test caps and averaged 76.95 with the ball and Neil Fairbrother who was a certain for most people's all-time England ODI side - except for TMS :sarcasm - who played 10 Tests for England and could only average 15.64. I think I would have given Fairbrother more chances myself, his fielding was worth a lot of runs and run out potential, he rescued England a lot in ODIs with an ODI batting average of 39.47 - yet still TMS omitted him!
Sorry for such a long post. So do you feel your country's selectors get it right? How do you feel about players getting only one cap then being discarded? Do you think they pick players too old and too young? eg Udal made his debut when he was never likely to play much more for England, couldn't they have picked a younger spinner? (ie SWANN) Do you think it is right to give players a chance against say West Indies and Bangladesh?
England near their 650th Test cricketer and their 900th Test, is there a serious selection (policy) problem?
England Test Cricketers
Cricketers : 648
Tests : 897
Test Caps* : 9919
*will include caps of Flintoff and Harmison in the ICC vs Australia Test, may also include caps where players also played for other countries and in other Tests not for England
source : www.howstat.com.au
Breakdown of England cricketers by number of Tests
1 Test : 89 (13.73%)
2 Tests : 76 (11.73%)
3 Tests : 52 (8.02%)
4 Tests : 49 (7.56%)
5-9 Tests : 138 (21.30%)
10-24 Tests : 122 (18.83%)
25-49 Tests : 63 (9.72%)
50-74 Tests : 35 (5.40%)
75-99 Tests : 16 (2.47%)
100+ Tests : 8 (1.23%)
A staggering 13.73% of England Test cricketers played only one Test. That does include Tredwell, Carberry and others playing one Test, but Tredwell is the only England player who couldn't have played a Test subsequent. A whopping 41.05% of England Test cricketers have played less than five Tests.
Of the 24 England players listed as "current", I believe, having played in the last two years, FOUR have played just one Test (Pattinson, Khan, Carberry and Tredwell) while another five have notched up less than 10 caps. On the flip side of the coin, Cook, Pietersen, Collingwood, Strauss and Bell are all in the 'elite' band of cricketers to have played 50+ Tests (9.10%)
While we thought 'One Test Wonders' were simply a sign of the times in the 90s as English cricket seemed to be at a low ebb, was it?
England 'One Test Wonders' by decade
1870s (6) : Charles Absolom, Leland Hone, Francis MacKinnon, Vernon Royle, Sandford Schultz, Alexander Webbe
1880s (10) : Edward Grace, George Grace, Frank Penn, George Vernon, Stanley Christopherson, Reginald Wood, William Newham, John Shuter, Joseph McMaster, Charles Smith
1890s (11) : James Cranston, Victor Barton, William Chatterton, Alec Hearne, George Hearne, Arthur Pougher, Leslie Gay, Audley Miller, Edwin Tyler, Alfred Archer, Walter Mead
1900s (4) : Frederick Tate, Arnold Warren, Douglas Carr, John King
1910s (2) : Neville Tufnell, Septimus Kinneir
1920s (12) : Alfred Dipper, Arthur Dolphin, Andrew Ducat, Frederick Durston, Alfred Evans, Harold Hardinge, Charles Parker, Thomas Richmond, Evelyn Wilson, George Street, John MacBryan, Harry Smith
1930s (12) : John Arnold, Harry Lee, Charles Marriott, William Levett, John Clay, Norman Mitchell-Innes, Holcombe Read, Austin Matthews, James Parks, Wilfred Price, Reginald Sinfield, Norman Oldfield
1940s (8) : Thomas Smailes, Cecil Cook, John Martin, George Pope, Dennis Brookes, Alec Coxon, George Emmett, Alan Wharton
1950s (2) : Charles Palmer, Derek Richardson
1960s (1) : Ken Palmer
1970s (1) : Alan Butcher
1980s (7) : Paul Parker, Tim Lloyd, Tony Piggott, Arnie Sidebottom, Mark Benson, John Whitaker, John Stephenson
1990s (6) : Neil Williams, Joey Benjamin, Alan Wells, Simon Brown, Mike Smith, Gavin Hamilton
2000s (5) : Kabir Ali, Ian Blackwell, Jon Lewis, Darren Pattinson, Amjad Khan
2010s (2) : Michael Carberry, James Tredwell
Pretty consistent since the 1980s, a big dip through the 50s, 60 and 70s. Is there a pattern of inconsistent selection through the decades? That is only 'One Test Wonders', I guess the true measure is 1-4 caps and how many cricketers were used during the decades, allowing for increased numbers of Tests of course.
England Test cricketer caps by decade (debut made in)
1870s : 22 cricketers, 108 caps (average 4.91)
1880s : 48 cricketers, 396 caps (average 8.25)
1890s : 58 cricketers, 514 caps (average 8.86)
1900s : 35 cricketers, 365 caps (average 10.43)
1910s : 17 cricketers, 161 caps (average 9.47)
1920s : 65 cricketers, 780 caps (average 12.00)
1930s : 65 cricketers, 705 caps (average 10.85)
1940s : 35 cricketers, 462 caps (average 13.20)
1950s : 52 cricketers, 1107 caps (average 21.29)
1960s : 47 cricketers, 1039 caps (average 22.11)
1970s : 39 cricketers, 1201 caps (average 30.80)
1980s : 58 cricketers, 925 caps (average 15.95)
1990s : 59 cricketers, 1271 caps (average 21.54)
2000s : 45 cricketers, 881 caps (average 19.58)
2010s : 3 cricketers, 4 caps (average 1.33)
So the 1980s and 1990s saw the most debuts since the 1920s and 1930s. The average Test caps per England cricketer is 15.31, naturally with more cricket crammed in these days the average for more recent decades will increase and be lower back in the day when there were fewer Test nations
First Tests of Test nations by decade
1870s : 1877 England, 1877 Australia
1880s : 1889 South Africa (1889-1970, 1991-)
1890s : none
1900s : none
1910s : none
1920s : 1928 West Indies
1930s : 1930 New Zealand, 1932 India
1940s : none
1950s : 1952 Pakistan
1960s : none
1970s : none
1980s : 1982 Sri Lanka
1990s : 1992 Zimbabwe
2000s : 2000 Bangladesh
So there were only three Test nations between 1889 and 1928. One Test nation has been added every decade for the past three.
Of course there is always a flip side to everything, good has evil, chocolate makes you fat, etc, and so for the selection errors in 'One Test Wonders' there is those who picked up more caps than they deserved - some might argue.
OPN JM Brearley : 39 Tests
1442 runs @ 22.89, HS 91
OPN W Watson : 23 Tests
879 runs @ 25.85, 100s x2, HS 116
BAT MR Ramprakash : 52 Tests
2350 runs @ 27.33, 100s x2
BAT AP Chapman : 28 Tests
925 runs @ 28.91, 100s x1
BAT P Willey : 26 Tests
1184 runs @ 26.91, 100s x2, HS 102no
ALR C White : 30 Tests
1052 runs @ 24.47
59 wkts @ 37.63, SR 67.10
WKT GO Jones : 34 Tests
1172 runs @ 23.92
Ct/St : 128/5
ALR CC Lewis : 32 Tests
1105 runs @ 23.02
93 wkts @ 37.53, SR 73.68
BWL JE Emburey : 64 Tests
1713 runs @ 22.54
147 wkts @ 38.41, SR 102.74
BWL AF Giles : 54 Tests
1421 runs @ 20.90
143 wkts @ 40.60, SR 85.17
BWL DE Malcolm : 40 Tests
236 runs @ 6.05
128 wkts @ 37.09, SR 66.25
Brearley was a fantastic captain, but his batting average and highest score would not get you 39 Tests for most countries or in any other circumstances. Jones was much criticised for his keeping, his batting did not even stay in the 30s. He did score some crucial runs, not least during the Ashes in 2005, but 34 caps for such an ordinary average and ok keeper isn't clever. Craig White never quite fulfilled the role intended for him, the next Ian Botham. He ground his way to his only Test hundred in India, off 265 balls. He was a key player in England's first win over West Indies since 1969 back in 2000, he did only score 62 runs but took 13 wickets including two 5wis to help bowl out West Indies for 172 and 125 and win both matches comfortably. I liked Peter Willey, but his average didn't stand up to the test. It is pretty bad when you're a batsman whose average is about the same as your number of caps - unless it happens to be 30+
There's giving a player a chance and there's the above, with the exception of Brearley who was an exceptional captain, the rest were lucky to get 20+ caps. I will also mention David Capel who got 15 Test caps, averaged just 15.58 with the bat and 50.67 with the ball, Ian Salisbury who also got 15 Test caps and averaged 76.95 with the ball and Neil Fairbrother who was a certain for most people's all-time England ODI side - except for TMS :sarcasm - who played 10 Tests for England and could only average 15.64. I think I would have given Fairbrother more chances myself, his fielding was worth a lot of runs and run out potential, he rescued England a lot in ODIs with an ODI batting average of 39.47 - yet still TMS omitted him!
Sorry for such a long post. So do you feel your country's selectors get it right? How do you feel about players getting only one cap then being discarded? Do you think they pick players too old and too young? eg Udal made his debut when he was never likely to play much more for England, couldn't they have picked a younger spinner? (ie SWANN) Do you think it is right to give players a chance against say West Indies and Bangladesh?
