Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Playing with Fire

So, despite our best advice, Duncan Fletcher is choosing the 'exciting but dangerous girlfriend' option. (See 'Read & Jones' here)

When he's wide awake at five o'clock in the morning, tied to the bedposts with a raving lunatic swigging from a bottle of brandy brandishing a carving knife ranting on about how he hasn't done the washing up properly - he shouldn't come running to us!

Joking apart, it's fair to say that Geraint Jones is, apart from Alec Stewart, the best wicketkeeper-batsman in terms of batting ability we've had since dear old Knotty. Everyone has warm recollections of his innings at Trent Bridge in 2005, but it seems that Fletcher has let those recollections cloud his professional judgment. Hopefully now he's been confirmed in the role for the series Jones will be able to relax a bit and his keeping will benefit as a result.

But you do have to feel for Chris Read who could rightfully log a complaint with the United Nations over the ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment he’s had - dropped after faultless keeping in the West Indies - brought back this summer and does all that's asked of him, and then gets canned again with little notice.

Maybe it'll be him brandishing the carving knife...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I get the feeling Read was only picked for 2 reasons:

1. To give Jones a kick and prove that he is dispensable if he doesn't perform.
2. To prove Read can't do it at the top level and as soon as he failed with the bat he was to be dropped.