Jones over Reid?

[kopdan]

why?

Jones is ok but Reid has done nowt wrong to suggest Jones should come back in to the test team.

[Shaggy]

I just don't get it.

[Sir Bob]

I think Jones has to play. Read is a better keeper but Jones is a better batsman & we need jones' extra abilty with the bat at 7. This should allow Monty to play as the spinner rather than giles who could bat at 8. If Read had played & Monty as the spinner our tail would have been very long. Read, Mahmood, hoggard, Harmy & Monty would have been a very long & weak tail.

[Shaggy]

I see that but for me it falls down because Jones is actually a **** batsman, yet everyone says he's good. In the summer, Read came into the side and straight away made higher scores than Jones had done for yonks. Jones continually fails with the bat. Granted, Read didn't have a good ICC but that's a different ball game.

[Sir Bob]

You make a fair point about Jones, his batting was poor last season & in fairness to Read he's not done alot wrong. I think picking Jones is a gamble but I feel Jones has the potential to score more runs than Read. Jones needs to re find the batting form he showed against the aussies last time around. In theory as well, the aussie pitches should suit Jones. Jones is very much a cutter & puller of the ball & the extra pace & bounce in australia should suit him.

Having said all that picking Jones is a gamble but 1 I feel we have to take.

[kopdan]

dont forget, Jones is actually a batsman by trade. He failed last year in both disciplines he excels at.

Reid came in and made a difference IMO.

I would let Reid show he is capable against the Aussies and not the selectors who have problems making decisive decisions.

[Anfield Mole]

Reid all the way for me. On paper Jones is a better batsman, however his batting has been rubbish all year. When Reid got a run in the side, he got runs.

However, to my mind the crux of the issue is their keeping, a good wicket keeper should be able to save as may runs with the gloves as he scores with the bat. Jones has not been able to do this all year, Reid may be able to. What is James Foster of Essex doing this winter?

[mersey86]

I feel very sorry for Read. The point in favour of Jones is his batting but Read's average has consistently been higher over the last couple of seasons and Jones has let England down at several crucial junctures. While being a Read fan, I will concede this: Jones does look like a very classy batsman and, statistics aside, I do feel our tail looks a little shorter with him at number 7.

[Slim]

On Australia's bouncy pitches having a man who couldn't catch a cold let alone the ball could be a wrong decision. Jones' glovework is suspect and always has been. It seems bizarre that the selectors are picking their wicket keeper not based on his actual ability to keep wicket. Dropping Reid because of a poor Champions Trophy is no excuse - using that criteria half the team should be dropped.
I admit the tail looks long with Reid in the team, but the reason he came in in the first place was because Jones failed with the bat in the summer.
What has changed now?

[Red Chilli]

Jones will make hay on Australian pitches.

I've no problem with this selection if it allows us to pick Monty over Giles.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Better mates with Freddie??

[Red Chilli]

Better mates with Freddie??

Irrelevant.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Maybe they like Jones ass when he bends down....surely these are the issues that have looked at when your picking a test team

[Slim]

Well Jones missed a couple of stumpings yesterday by all accounts so normal service has been resumed!

[Cantankerous]

From this article:Wisden article

Someone else agrees with Silver Fox

This inconsistency may derive from another one. Read was brought back while Andrew Strauss was captain, but now Strauss, like Read, has been replaced without doing anything wrong. Andrew Flintoff has long since bonded with Jones. They have dismissed 28 batsmen together, and they have constructed some excellent sixth-wicket partnerships, built on their contrasts - little and large, rapier and bludgeon - whereas Flintoff hasn't played a Test with Read for two and a half years.

I still cannot believe that Read has once again not been given a chance to prove himself. If he'd played in the first test and done badly, then there might have been an excuse to drop him.

Apart from that, he's not even been given a chance to show whether he is in any sort of form in either of the two tour matches we've played.

Meanwhile Jones, who has played, has so far scored 13 in each warm-up game. Hardly setting the world alight is he?