Tuesday 27 March 2018 06:16, UK
Bob Willis and Mike Selvey ponder what punishments are likely to be dished out by Cricket Australia in the ball tampering scandal and talk England selections ahead of the second Test in New Zealand on The Cricket Debate....
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BALL TAMPERING
Willis: "I don't think we want to lose these guys on a long term basis to Test cricket. I would've thought a suitable punishment is Steve Smith is permanently stripped of the Australian captaincy, and told he has no chance of ever getting it back. Same for David Warner.
"I would just about leave it at that. They are going to be totally humiliated anyway, sent home in disgrace, and presumably before the Johannesburg Test match starts. But, as I say, I want to see them playing Test match cricket in the future."
Selvey: "I think the head coach Darren Lehmann is in big trouble, because this whole culture of the Australian team that we see now seems to have started when he took over. He has done a good job with the team, but the way the team has behaved is pretty awful.
"But, on the actual ball tampering: you're speaking to someone here who actually has an issue with people going over the top on the issue. They say that its bowlers trying to gain an advantage. I disagree. It's actually bowlers trying to minimise a disadvantage they get from using a rubbish cricket ball that goes soft after 20 overs and hasn't got a seam on it."
ENGLAND SELECTION
Willis: "You shouldn't lose a Test match if you lose two complete days to rain. England were given a lifeline and spurned that opportunity. Didn't they watch any video of Matt Prior's innings there to draw the Test four years ago? What's wrong with batting out for a draw these days?
"I'm fed up with people always saying you've got to play your natural game and mustn't go into your shell. What's wrong with going into your shell? Paul Collingwood would have been in his shell alright.
"There aren't many options to come int. They have to drop Moeen Ali, and if Mark Wood is fit, he has to play. England have to have a pace bowler in there. I would also risk Liam Livingstone."
Selvey: "I think you can go further than that. Even by keeping the same batsmen, you can still juggle them around. It could change the whole dynamic of things.
"I would move Dawid Malan up to No 3, Jonny Bairstow up to No 5 and take the gloves off him - I don't think we're getting the best out of him as a batsman, as it stands - and then have Ben Foakes keeping wicket. He averages 41 in county cricket, he is a pretty considerable batsman. Then I'd have Wood in for Craig Overton.
"Even within those parameters, there is room for tinkering. Could Malan open the batting, for example? Would it help Alastair Cook to go to No 3? Would that free him up a little more?"
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