Kyle v Keegan

[FlowerPower]

This might be irrelivant by the time the match starts 10am tomorrow...but why and when did Kyle overtake Keegan?...we all had Keegan at 8...or is this more mind game...

[andybligz93]

were just going to have to wait and see if it was worth it , you never know jarvis has the x factor to roll through a lineup the lad can bowl over 140 km unlike anyone else in the squad sept maybe chatara

[eugene]

Its hard to see Keegan picking up too many wickets on this wicket. Steady bowling doesn't seem like wicket-taking bowling to me.

[FlowerPower]

Its hard to see Keegan picking up too many wickets on this wicket. Steady bowling doesn't seem like wicket-taking bowling to me.

Thats my point right there...Meth actually DOES take wickets, and has done so consistantly, more than the undeniably talented Jarvis, a work in progress who has not played more than 6 FC mathes (two were actually earned vs the Aussies a couple of weeks ago!). If he is a suprise "lets hope Heath has seen what we definitely haven't, save for those of us at the nets" factor then by all means go with Jarvis, but if its a tried and trusted, more wickets (IN the bag, not POTENTIALLY), more economical, predictable...then I'm afraid, little (not impossible) can convince me Kyle is a better bowler than Keegan.

Another point to ponder (a bit hindsight I admit)...if the pitch is as flat as it is, surely you'd want more control and consistancy, which equals in the absence of Keegan, Mpofu and Price will bowl to the ground trying to manage the scoring rate of the Tamims and Ashrafuls, Chigs, Vitori, and Jarvis may go for runs...now Price can bowl all day, but surely Mpofu alone will wilt, now contrast with Price, Mpofu Meth for pulling back the run rate (and Mpofu and Meth can interchange here) then Vitori and Chigs used sparingly, and note Mpofu and Meth are not exclusively defensive wepons, as they ACTUALLY have wicket taking abilities, compared to Jarvis' POTENTIAL wickets....but hey its only my opinion and as young Bligz says time will tell...I am desperately hoping I am wrong...

[Kriterion_BD]

simple answer...who do you one day envision banging in bouncers and hitting KP, Sehwag, Kallis, Amla, or Ponting on the helmet and yorking the likes of Trott, Raina, or Mahela? Jarvis or Meth?

ODI cricket you might go with a control swing bowler. But in Tests you have to pick a strike bowler, and there aren't too many genuine pacers in the world. The Keegan Meths are a dime a dozen.

[FlowerPower]

...and so that we are not debating in a vaccum the stats (yes too early to read into Jarvis' as he has only played 6 FC matches, but what else can we use....):

Kyle: Played 6 Taken 15 at an Ave of 32.86, at a SR of 53.4 and an economy of 3.68
Keegan: Played 22 Taken 87 at an Ave of 17.29, at a SR of 40.1 and an economy of 2.58

Ok lets try comparing apples with apples, the matches they played against the same opposition:

v Aussie A
Kyle: Bowled 21 overs Taken 0 at an Ave of --, and an economy of 4.28
Keegan: Bowled 29 overs Taken 1 at an Ave of 84, and an economy of 2.89

Granted Kyle didn't get a second innings to come back from (this was not same match they played a match apiece)...

v Bangladeshis (head to head)
Kyle: Bowled 24 overs Taken 4 at an Ave of 17, and an economy of 2.83
Keegan: Bowled 27 overs Taken 4 at an Ave of 11, and an economy of 1.62

Again one can moan about the poor pitch and so on, but both bowled on the same pitch.....

Note nowhere does Kyle out perform Keegan, NOWHERE...and Keegan has done it longer, yes WHEN Kyle has done his time and overtaken Keegan, by all means promote him, but based on what we KNOW, I cant see why...granted, Heath may have the luxury of knowing what we dont, but purely on what is there for all to analyse I fail to see it. And I must add I have not seen these guys in action in FC, so as they say stats may not give a total picture...but the picture would have to be VERY convincing....

[FlowerPower]

simple answer...who do you one day envision banging in bouncers and hitting KP, Sehwag, Kallis, Amla, or Ponting on the helmet and yorking the likes of Trott, Raina, or Mahela? Jarvis or Meth?

ODI cricket you might go with a control swing bowler. But in Tests you have to pick a strike bowler, and there aren't too many genuine pacers in the world. The Keegan Meths are a dime a dozen.

Granted, and note I am not saying Kyle is useless, he is an asset for us and I am a fan, just saying he is a work in progress, and if anything he should be competing with Vitori and Chigs as an impact bowler...if we feel he has a better impact than Vitori and Chigs then fine, and I do disagree, you do need control (as much as you also need genuine pace) in the Test arena (think Hoggy for the Poms in tandem with Freddy, Michael Clark tandem with Lee for the Aussies)...in the now and present I dont think Jarvis is there yet, and his wicket taking ability has not surpassed that of Meth yet...may in the future...but not yet....

[FlowerPower]

They have gone Kyle for overall balance. Because of Mpofu and Price, they didn't need the control that Meth has. They wanted a different quality. IMHO

Plausable reason, but why do you want variety?...To get wickets, ...so replace Meth with Jarvis?

[FlowerPower]

....and oh did I also say that Keegan gives some wag to the tail...looks we may need to have the tail wag (317-5), otherwise all the good work is undone and the Bangladeshi are back in it...hate to say I told you so, but for me I would have gone Meth....

[hhm]

....and oh did I also say that Keegan gives some wag to the tail...looks we may need to have the tail wag (317-5), otherwise all the good work is undone and the Bangladeshi are back in it...hate to say I told you so, but for me I would have gone Meth....

He's been in the tail of late and you know what, he hasn't wagged! I used to say initially, and the guys will confirm this, that Meth was Elton's replacement. As soon as I realised he was simply not up to scratch where his batting was concerned, I acknowledged that Elton, for all his failures, does not have a replacement yet. Meth should only be concerned about his bowling.

A tail that will wag is not our solution. Our solution is to ensure we have a top & midlle order up to 7 (incl the wk), which will get the runs they are employed to deliver on, plus a seamer all-rounder who will do his part with the ball as much as he will with the bat. We don't have the luxury to allocate time for our out-and-out bowlers to spend time improving their batting in the nets! As it is they struggle to take 10 wickets, and if they do, it's not within the acceptable amount of time! They should strictly focus on bowling and not be expected to chip in with the bat or judged when they don't!

Instruction: 'Batsmen bat and declare at 450/8, bowlers bowl and skittle out the opposition for 230 then enforce the follow-on!'. Yes, only a dream, but that's the mentality you should have.