Arthur Crabtree wrote:Lara in SL was a ten. Or Harbhajan v the Aussies in 2001. Freddie in 2005 is a 9. Eight for Stokes is a high mark.
Freddie a 9 in 2005? You're a harsher grader than I am, AC.
That said, I agreed with the rest of your marks I didn't query, which is most of them. Cook and Anderson in particular had poor returns for such experienced players, Hales was terrible, and Moeen mostly anonymous.
Come the summer, I think Finn will certainly be first choice third seamer if fit, and they will probably persist with Bairstow unless Buttler makes an overwhelming case in the pre-season, but 2, 3 and 5 are problematic. I would probably give Compton another shot at opening and persevere with Taylor, but the number 3 berth is worrying (although this is hardly a new problem - it was pretty hopeless for most of the 2000s until Trott made it his own). Maybe Vince?
Hard to believe it's only just over two years since at least eight if not nine places in the side were nailed on certs, and probably ten pre-Strauss retirement. Only the third seamer position ever really got much debate when England were number one. How times change. Now only Cook, Root, Broad, Anderson and probably Stokes can be assured of their places, and even then Cook and Anderson had some pretty poor returns this series. If they have another poor series, questions will be asked about whether they're too old and it's time to move on - especially Anderson.