Originally Posted by Strange Famous

for me, it is pretty obvious Bell is going to have to move out... he had a terrible average, and was just not able to contribute. He is a talent, and he has all the shots, I just dont think he is ready for text cricket. Its easy to hide in county cricket (Ramprakash and Hick...) I'd say the sooner we get Key back into the team, and Vaughan at 4 where he is more comfortable, the better.

The selectors have shown a lot of faith in Jones... but for me the biggest problem is his age. He is a good batsman, and he seems like a strong character, and if he was young enough you could say "well, his keeping will get better".. but he is in his late 20's, and he has very obvious technical flaws (the numbers of catches he tried to take one handed...) To be honest, I dont think Chris Read is as weak a batsman as people think, he would be the natural choice imo. Bare in mind, Jones averaged 25 and is being kept in the team for his batting. Gilchrist averaged 22 and everyone was saying how he failed badly this tour, and he put down a LOT less chances.

as for Giles... it is hard, because he does a lot of things well, he is an intelligent man, and lets not forget he played the innings of his life when his country needed him, and had a huge impact on us winning the Ashes... very good fielder, a tidy bowler, but he just doesnt take enough wickets. He can tie down an end, but he is not a threat. There is no question he tours India and Pakistan... but we need to replace him quickly. He is not a strike bowler, and all of the great teams have great spin bowlers.

Saying that, a lot of plus points.

KP played magnificently - with courage, heart, vitality... he will learn how to pace his innings better, his raw talent is immense.

Freddie has emerged as a genuine all rounder, in every sense of the word. His bowling performance in the 5th test was absolutely massive.

Tresco and Straus is a good an opening partnership as there is in the world

Jones, Harmison and Hoggy are as good a seam bowling trio as any team has.

Vaughan - a good tactician and brilliant motivator. Some signs of finding his batting form again, moving to no 4 can only help him. Having 3 natural openers above him should free him up to play his natural attacking game a bit more. Unless you are someone like Lara, it is pretty hard for a stroke playing batsman to come in 3.