As England prepare for their last match for the Cricket World Cup, I am still puzzled as to why they bothered to take James Tredwell on tour.
Considering they have suffered loss after loss, with their latest against Bangladesh knocking them out of the tournament altogether, did they not consider a change of plan?
Yes, I can see many reasons why they should have taken him on the tour. He is, after all, statistically England’s best ODI bowler.
All the successful teams in the tournament so far have fielded at least two spinners, and I don’t mean two part-time spinners.
As I recall, in one of England’s warm-up matches, Tredwell was asked to stop bowling because he was taking too many wickets.
But the function of spinners is not just to take wickets, it is to control the run rate, such as New Zealand veteran Daniel Vettori versus India. Tredwell has usually been capable of this for England.
Given the appalling mediocrity of England’s bowling attack, which was obvious from early in the tour, and England’s stated belief in flexibility, why did the selectors stick their heads in the sand?
Few of the England players have come out of this debacle with any credibility, so I suppose at least Tredwell’s reputation has at least remained untarnished. But what a waste of talent.
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While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
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