The Weakest link for England?

[StephenFleming]

I've been watching the cricket this "winter" here in NZ as we finally got some coverage, and I reckon half of Englands problems and the weakest link is Michael Vaughan. The guy is one of the worst captains I have seen in terms of leading his team with the bat, he gets out with silly shots and doesnt "Stand up" under pressure.
He had a good tour against Australia and other good matches but he cant consistantly come up with the goods and thats not good enough for a number 3 batsmen. I think England needs to make Flintoff their captain and take the responsibility of Vaughans shoulders and if he cant improve his batting relieve him from the team.

 

[barmyarmy]

I never thought it was a good idea to make Vaughan captain as it was bound to affect his batting. If we're going to make someone captain whose form can't noticably dip we'd better go for Gilo...
No seriously, at the time Hussain resigned I was pushing for Mark Butcher but Vaughan got it on the back of his Ashes success.

 

[bassit]

Vaughan is an excellent captian. He makes the right decisons. His batting is a different story. I think Englands recent success came because of Vaughan's leadership skills. I think the weak link in the current Eng test team is GILES! He can't bat. He bowls a negative line, so no chance of attackin the oppositions, its just frustratin them. Im not sayin he should not be in the team, but should not play on Eng wickets. His record in Eng also suggests that:
M Ovr Runs Wk B/B Avg Eco Sr
home 21 751.4 2194 53 5/57 9/122 41.39 2.91 85.0 2 0
away 25 972.2 2581 74 5/67 8/132 34.87 2.65 78.8 3 0

 

[irottev]

I don't think hes a brilliant captain but he isn't that bad. Vaughan's batting recently has been poor, England really need him to play no risk cricket, he has players like Pietersen, Flintoff etc around him who will take the risks. He plays some stupid shots I agree. Also Flintoff plays some stupid shots too. They need to move him down the order if he can't get himself in without having to take early risks. England too often get in trouble because they lose wicket after wicket in close sucession. Strauss and Trescothick do a great job at the head but after that they fall apart until Pietersen, Jones and the tail have to make up for Vaughan, Flintoff and Bell.

Another problem is Giles. he is a terrible bowler to be honest. Chuck him out for a batting allrounder. And what a co incidence one of Englands best performers i nthe ODI series is perfect Collingwood who is also playing good for his county according to the scorecards.

 

[Sureshot]

Vaughans captaincy is very good but his batting has suffered. He averages 55 when not captain but averages 35 when he is captain. Giles is not a terrible bowler he decimated the WIndies at Lords last year. I agree that he shouldn't be in the team but the selectors wont drop him.

 

[Ryand]

Giles is easily their weakest link.He plays but bowls the number of overs a part timer would

 

[Sureshot]

Yep i think batty would pose more of a threat and is just as capable a batsmen, better infact.

 

[angryangy]

England really need to find a way to convince Mustaq Ahmed to play for them.

 

[StephenFleming]

Some of the best captains I've seen have been Imran Khan - the guy wasnt about tactics but playing with passion and using your skills to beat the opposition.
Stephen Fleming is the best tactical captain in the world currently. You may say that Ponting is better, but give Ponting bowlers like Tuffey, Mills, Franklin and Chris Martin and see how many ODI and Tests he wins. For someone with bowlers who isnt classy Stephen Fleming gets wickets for them by making tactical decisions and alot of homework. With Bond coming back to Cricket expect Fleming and NZ to rise up the ODI and Test rankings.

Vaughan I dont think he is at the stage where you can keep him in the team just because of his captaincy, his batting certainly wont warrant selection, so he needs to be given a chance without the C next to his name and see if his for improves, if not then bat Pieterson at 3 and say goodbye to Vaughan.

 

[ScobieB]

I think maybe Vaughan should bat at 4. But theres no way his the weakest link in the team. You just have to look at the improvement since Nasser went, seems to set the fields well to try and trap batsman.

Also Id miss his expressions when we get someone out or they hit a boundary.

 

[plant4]

All there batting is there weakest link they have to play with more confidence,we know they can bat,bowlers are doing great,batsmen if you are going to get out get out at least having a go...

 

[ZoraxDoom]

No Collingwood in the test team. Huge mistake.
Bowls, bats, and fields well.

 

[beefy both]

vaughan's captaincy

personally I think vaughan is a good captain but unfortunately his batting as suffered as a result, but we cannot keep chopping and changing captains when they hit bad form.his form as only dwindled recently against the aussies but i think that is more due to the fact of their exeptional bowling cordon,which in my opinion is the difference between the two teams(mcgrath & warne mainly).australia's batting is nowhere near as strong as it as been in the past but when your bowlers perform and get you off the field as quick as possible it gives them an edge over their counterparts.also england should have stuck with a few tried and tested players such as graeme thorpe instead of the likes as ian bell who is clearly not ready for an ashes fight as of yet.

 

[Sureshot]

No Collingwood in the test team. Huge mistake.
Bowls, bats, and fields well.

Summed it up perfectly.

My Team and Line Up.

Trescothick
Vaughan
Strauss
bell
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff (maybe rotate PC and AF batting order)
Jones
hoggard
Jones
Harmison.

Vaughan should open because that is where he is best. Plus a RHB/LHB combo would be good to really test Lees accuracy.

 

[DANNY79]

Giles is easily their weakest link.He plays but bowls the number of overs a part timer would

Id have to agree. A spinner who doesnt spin it! you'd be better using vaughan as the spinner and adding an extra batsman like collingwood