Wright man, wrong time

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 -- England have arrived in South Africa at the beginning of a new era. Starting a Test series as holders of the Ashes is a rare occurrence, but the fact that they commence battle against the Proteas without Andrew Flintoff is more significant. England are unused to life without Flintoff and their cricket betting odds show this.

The first task for the team’s management was to sit down and select a Test squad without the Freddie factor for the first time in more than a decade (even when the big allrounder has been absent through injury, his prospective return always affected selection).

In planning for the future the selectors have turned to two men. Flintoff’s allround skills are irreplaceable, but it seems England cannot envisage a future without five frontline bowlers, so Stuart Broad and Luke Wright will battle it out for the number seven spot in the team.

Broad’s place in the team for the 20-over tour match is safe, thanks to his bowing heroics in the deciding Ashes Test at the Oval. His batting talent is hard to ignore, but the suspicion remains that he is not ready to deliver significant innings consistently from a pivotal position in the order.

Wright is perhaps currently better equipped to do so – although Broad’s tighter technique has better long-term prospects – but the Sussex man’s bowling is far inferior to Broad’s. Wright has struggled to trouble top international batsmen in his limited overs outings and he is more reminiscent of Paul Collingwood with the ball than a frontline wicket-taker.

This highlights the problem of replacing a genuine allrounder; England do not have one and so they should select their best batsmen and bowlers. Wright currently fits in neither category, but his time will come. He needs to do more to become a Test allrounder, with an impressive return in the forthcoming One Day international and Twenty20 series a good starting point.