Congratulations to both Tim and Adil - I hope Adil gets to do some bowling at some point during the tour. I can't remember too many occasions when England have played two spinners in South Africa so he might end up hoping for an injury to Swann...
Perhaps the England coaches could find some local league cricket for Adil to keep him fresh and in form.
You have to feel a little sorry for Ravi Bopara - he seems to have been despatched very hastilly - not sure what sort of consistency of selection his treatment suggests... From hero to zero - what can this do to his confidence?
Amazed at the inclusion of Luke Wright in the test squad, never in a million years would I expect him to do well in the long format of the game.
Harmison is a tough call and I guess his attitude abroad was the determing factor because he is still the only genuinely quick bowler we have if his mind and body are right (despite what these modern speed guns tell us!).
Despite his success against the West Indies I've never really rated Bopara as a test number three. There may be a place eventually for him at 5/6 but not any higher. I'd always pick an opener at number three as the law of averages (Alex will hopefully provide the stats!) says number three is more often than not facing fast bowlers in their first spell.
Bopara obviously impressed with his batting against second division bowlers, was further flattered by the mediocre Windies attack, and then was revealed to be rather ordinary when the Aussies showed up.
some of the selections have more of a 1 day feel to them instead of a test squad.
Plunkett, Bresnan and Wright are all good 1 day all rounders but i don't see any of them as genuine contenders to replace Flintoff as number 6/7 batter and third seamer.
Suspect we will be packing the lower order with bowlers who can bat so that the weakness at 7 will be made up of runs from someone from 8-10 coming good in each match.
Assuming Prior bats at 6 we then have options of
Broad/Plunkett/Bresnan/Wright/Rashid/Swann
all of whom can bat competently but none would inspire me as Test nunber 7s v South Africa
The only thing I object to is when he refers to other England players as South African. He presumably thinks of himself in that way too? As far as Im concerned he, and those mentioned are English. If he thinks himself South African then he's either a spy in the camp or batting for the other side.
I think I know what he is trying tp point out but sometimes it is better to keep your mouth shut and look stupid rather than open it and remove all doubt.