The English Revolution – A DaveK tale

[DaveK93]

A new year, a new Cricket Captain. Almost inevitably, that means a new story from me. Now, I confess, I had a few possibilities in mind for this year. There was only one winner though. With the Peter Moores fiasco done with, England are in dire straits ahead of the Ashes this year. It’s my job to revive the Lions, and make them roar again.

First up, what do we have to deal with this season?

West Indies (Away)

3 Test Matches

I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure what the point of this series is. After the battering we took in January for the World Cup, I’d have imagined that players would need resting.

Ireland (Away)

1 ODI

A chance for our reserves to stake their claims. I’ll be looking at a few new faces here given the chance.

New Zealand (Home)

2 Test Matches, 5 ODIs, 1 T20

The first real test of our new revolution. New Zealand are the World Cup finalists, and have experienced somewhat of a resurgence. Our decline can be tracked back as far as the away series in NZ in 2012, so we need to re-establish our credentials.

Australia (Home)

5 Test Matches, 5 ODIs, 1 T20

The big one. Ideally, I would have preferred to not have the Aussies so early into my tenure. A baptism of fire really. With our squad very much in flux at this point, the majority of spots are up for grabs.

Pakistan (Away)

3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20s

We were roundly embarrassed by Pakistan last time we faced them overseas. A lot will depend on what happens in the Ashes for this series. It’s not an easy place to travel to, so I’ll be looking for continuity. I’ll have the luxury of picking an 18 man test squad as well, so I will be looking at those on the fringe of the side as well.

South Africa (Away)

4 Tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20s

Our long season just gets longer and longer. This series will be a case of who’s pace unit is better. We’ll need to manage workloads as well, after a long year. South Africa are arguably one of the best test sides at the moment, and traditionally we don’t travel well out there. It’s going to be as tough as the Ashes.

T20 World Cup in India

Group 1 (Super 10)

Sri Lanka, New Zealand, India, England, Qualifier Group A

A rough T20 group against some of the more established T20 teams in the world. We’ll do well to get out the group, but I would settle for not embarrassing ourselves like last time. That Netherlands defeat won’t be forgotten easily.

So there it is. A rough start to my first season in charge. Still, should be extremely good fun. I’m looking forward to it, I hope you do as well.

[Rumblah]

Looking forward to this pal.

[DaveK93]

Looking forward to this pal.

Likewise with yours mate, should provide for some very interesting comparisons

[Sureshot]

Great to see you guys getting stuck in to stories already.

[DaveK93]

Key Players

There are three key players central to the England squad I’m looking to create. They are as followed:

Joe Root

The baby-faced assassin of bowling attacks around the world. Probably our best batsman available. Much in keeping with current England policy, I’ll be utilising him lower down the order. Ideally, we need him to pile on the runs.

Jos Buttler

The keeping position within the team is very much in flux going into the start of this year. Jonny Bairstow is commonly acknowleged as a contender, so Buttler will need to work hard to keep his place. Of course, it isn’t inconceivable that both could feature in the same team.

James Anderson

Our leading seam bowler. Jimmy remains the spearhead of our bowling attack, and we’ll be building around him. However, I am aware Jimmy is getting on now though, so I will need to provision for the future.

[DaveK93]

Great to see you guys getting stuck in to stories already.

Had it planned for a couple of weeks, ready for the day of release. Did the same for my Leicestershire one last year as well, I find having it ready only makes me more excited to play the save, which hopefully comes across through here

[DaveK93]

The KP question

You all know the story about KP. Do I play him, or do I not?

Well, for now, the answer is no. That’s not to say he is ruled out indefinitely. But he’s going to need the runs on the domestic scene before I consider him for selection. Pretty much what he was told in the first place.

[Rumblah]

We want KP! We want KP!

[DaveK93]

WI Touring Squad

We start with a trip to the Golden Isles to face off against the West Indies. In theory, this should be a straight forward tour. With that in mind, the 18 selected are:




A couple of debutants in the team, and a couple of newish faces as well. Borthwick and Rashid will challenge Moeen for the spinner’s spot. Mark Wood and Chris Rushworth, both of Durham, will look to challenge for the third seamer spot as well.

In the batting department, Adam Lyth is the only new face. James Taylor comes in after a decent World Cup, where he will be challenging Gary Ballance.

As largely expected, it is a straight fight for the gloves between Bairstow and Buttler.

[Sureshot]

Rushworth is an interesting shout, his record in county cricket is very good, but I rarely see him mentioned for international duty.

[DaveK93]

Rushworth is an interesting shout, his record in county cricket is very good, but I rarely see him mentioned for international duty.

Given his consistency, and the amount of wickets he takes, I would have thought he would be a useful shout. I do like the trio of Wood, Broad and Anderson though, I think that has some potential.

[Sureshot]

Yes, I hope Wood's signs of injury issues are a bit overblown. He's a bit like Lyth, I like his approach to the game, it's very uncomplicated, which is perhaps the opposite of other recent new England players.

[DaveK93]

Yes, I hope Wood's signs of injury issues are a bit overblown. He's a bit like Lyth, I like his approach to the game, it's very uncomplicated, which is perhaps the opposite of other recent new England players.

I think there does need to be an element of simpleness to the team, especially the shorter formats. I think that's where we went wrong under Moores, we tried playing too much on stats and plans, and not enough on raw instinct.

[DaveK93]

Barbados (A)

A three day friendly against Barbados beckons before we actually play the Windies.

The selected team is as follows:



As expected, Lyth opens alongside Cook. Bairstow comes in, with the more experienced Bell rested. In the all-rounder department though, Rashid and Stokes are selected. Moeen is still in contention for the tests, but I know what he can do. I need to see Rashid in action as well. Wood is given a chance to form a trio with Jimmy and Broad.

What was supposed to be a routine friendly was exactly that. Joe Root was the star of the show as one would expect, with a magnificent 173*. In this, he was ably supported by Stuart Broad, who hit a quickfire 71.

This batting was after some solid bowling from Jimmy to reduce Barbados to 180. Rashid, Stokes and Broad picked up wickets as well, but they played a supporting role in the innings.
Our batting was poor in places, Lyth, Cook and Ballance all disappointing. Knocks from our all-rounders later in the innings though allowed us to declare on 464, and have another crack with the ball.

Wood and Rashid turned destroyers this time round, with 3 wickets a piece. We completed a pretty simple victory, meaning we can now turn our attentions to the first test.



Next Time

Our first test against the Windies. With squad places up for grabs, who will get the nod on the day?

[Rumblah]

Keen to see how Rashid goes should you select him. Personally think he's a far better option at 8 for England than Ali is.