Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ July 29 2005,15:27)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ July 29 2005,14:27)]I thought England had moved on from knee-jerk reactions.
Giles has had one bad game and people want him dropped. Giles is integral to the balance of the team, England need him to bowl to allow Freddie and Harmy a rest.
I think Edgbaston is neither a bunsen nor a green-top. I also believe that the most successful bowler there this season is one AF Giles.
So, if someone is bowling like a sack of sh*t (0/47) and useless with the bat, you shouldn't drop him in favour of a man who has scored two tons
this week and who has already proved his worth against the Aussies earlier this summer... because that would be kneejerk?
Well, call me kneejerk then. If Giles isn't taking wickets then, cracking run-outs aside (but then again, Colly has taken the catch of the summer so far), he is the proverbial chocolate teapot... totally useless.
He's taken wickets at Egbaston because he plays for Warwickshire. It's as convincing an argument for recalling Jason Gallian when England go to Trent Bridge.
Either someone is playing well, or they're not. And if they're not, you drop them until they buck their ideas up. We're quite happy for that to happen - indeed, we demand it - in football. So why should cricket be any different?
Finally, it's not so much a question of Giles, it's Collingwood. Frankly, on current form, he
has to play, doesn't he? And since there's no one else to leave out, it has to be the King of Spain.
Matt