Points 3 & 4 don't seem to apply to Sri Lanka or NZ.

Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Dilshan weren't even picked up for the IPL, despite being in the auction.

Optimistic as ever

It's all just a load of s*** really.

The most disappointing and baffling thing for me though, was dropping Cook for not doing the job, realizing he was a test player and then bringing in Bell to replace him, another test player who can't set a run rate higher than 3.00. You simply can't have players like that opening in ODI and wasting deliveries until they find their groove. Hales should have been in from the start. I can see it already though, the selectors will see the totals between the two today and Bell will remain, whilst we try and shoehorn Hales in at #3. There's no issue with having steady players in this format, but they've got to be down the order and mixed in with the big hitters. Like Root for example, he's not the most explosive batsman we have, but he knows when to stick or twist and because he's further down the order it works, he's setting up crucial partnerships at crucial points of games.

I feel sorry for Ballance. He was statistically the best ODI player in England last season (yeah it's different to international level w/e) and yeah, he probably is a better test player, but he was injured and chucked into the side in the final warm up game and was magically supposed to get up to speed. That just doesn't happen, in any sport at any level. Keep him in, but not as a #3. Stick him at #5 or whatever.

I can't even bring myself to comment on our bowling attack, Christ. Broad has been absolute dogs*** since his injury and is easily the worst performing bowler at the WC. Anderson isn't as quick as he used to be, average at best now. Tredwell should have been introduced after the AUS game, but even he's a bit meh. Woakes has been ok, had a good knock today too. There's just no young fast bowlers around, we've got f*** all.

Going to the comments about T20, I can't stand it, but it's more likely to get children's interest than Test or ODI, which is what we desperately need. We seem to be having this discussion about every sport in the last few years. Maybe we should just accept that we're a tiny, well performing nation.

Anyway, we should make Root captain, groom him for the Test role too. He isn't too young, let's just take a gamble. I'd even welcome back KP as a short term fix too!

As well as blaming the ECB for this I feel Sky need to take some of the blame.

They pay the England cricketers ridiculous salaries that vastly exceed for example.....the salaries of good old Bangladesh. Yet we constantly get crap results...Most of the time it isn't competitive. The wallies at the ECB are so secure as to given sack their best one day player before the world cup...The whole lot are just a bunch of vastly overpaid failures. A top England cricketer can earn over three hundred grand a year and have been known to get to half a mill....Crazy.

That kind of money for being walloped five nil in Aussie and being embarrassed at the World cup isn't justified by any means at all.

All those subscribers at Sky and Sky's negotiators just keep providing those wages though......Old Botham beat Australia nearly single handed in 81 on free to air.......I wonder what he was paid?

Oh to be an international cricketer with England and being paid bucket loads for being.....In all honesty not very good.

The market just isn't doing its job.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

You can't blame a TV company that decided to pay for the rights.

More money should mean better coaches, equipment, technology and therefore players. It's how the ECB spends it, not who gives the money to them.

The central contracts are on par with the Aussies. Offer any less and you'll increase the chance of losing more players to the T20 nomadic lifestyle choice.

Optimistic as ever

Agree with all this.

Test cricket is the zenith.

50 overs games less important, but an enjoyable alternative occasionally.

T20 is like 5 a side footy.

its more the equivalent of Bangladesh losing to England
at cricket
lol
coyp

Where is the Joker shown, I haven't used it ?