On current form, he surely is! Both Vaas and Vettori have turned in to all rounders and i don't think their bowling is as good as it was in the past! Monty on the other hand has bowled against excellent players of spin and has done extremely well!
oh i totally agree, Monty is even finding mild turn on a flat deck at Headingly. His economy is brilliant compared to the other bowlers for England at the moment, he seems fairly solid with the bat n he will be threatening on every pitch he plays on.
A Little Hard Work never killed anyone....but why take the chance?
Whilst Monty is doing well Ashley Giles is still the number one spinner in England. It remains to be seen how his operation and continuing injury problems will affect him but I for one feel that he will come back with a more fluid action - to surprise his critics. Time, as ever, will tell.
Originally posted by Bobby Smith: Whilst Monty is doing well Ashley Giles is still the number one spinner in England. It remains to be seen how his operation and continuing injury problems will affect him but I for one feel that he will come back with a more fluid action - to surprise his critics. Time, as ever, will tell.
Gilo is not a spinner. He is a slow left arm bowler. As much as I like Gilo, we now have to stick with Monty. We have finally got a proper spinner who can win matches for us. We have been crying out for this for years now.
Please dont discard him because his batting may not be up to scratch.
Giles may be the number one spinner in Fletchers and Vaughans eyes but the majority of players and the British Public have spoken and not only that Monty has spoken through his actions on the cricket field. His batting is improving to a comperable level and when Monty struggles to get wickets he gets the next best thing MAIDENS and his pin point accuracy is a world away from Gilo's so called technique. While Monty can tie up and end and chip away, Gilo spills runs.
A Little Hard Work never killed anyone....but why take the chance?
People are way too quick to denigrate poor Ashley's record in Test Cricket. The man was (is?) a sound cricketer who could nearly always be relied upon to chip out 25 runs and contribute a 2-65 with the ball. In addition he had a fantastic pair of hands that very rarely dropped a catch. Too many people are getting excited and jumping on the Monty bandwagon without taking into account every part of the joyous game of cricket. Ashley is the second bona fide all rounder in the England team - when Freddie is fit. I am not denigrating Monty just calling for a bit more respect for Mr Giles.
Agree with you Bobby ...... easy to forget that Ashley has 1300 odd runs and 140 wickets in just over 50 tests, so while he's certainly no dud.
Monty - potentially far better bowler but has to improve both batting and fielding technique somewhat.
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Originally posted by shakes: also four 50's in 50+ matches and he's a bona fide all rounder?
Thats a handy tailender nothing more.
I'm with you. I'll yield to no-one in my admiration for what Giles has achieved as an England player, but I think his race has been run. In Monty, we have a genuinely gifted spinner who will win us matches. Gilo (bless him) did not unless it was on raging turners on the sub-continent when most of his bowling was done in tandem with Robert Croft.
Monty will never be Jonty Rhodes, but he is putting in plenty of work on his fielding. As for his batting - any runs he scores should be seen as a bonus. The hard work should have been done by the frontline batsmen.
First time EVER in my lifetime that England have had a genuine match-winning spinner in their side.
Others may occasionally have flirted with it, but either lacked the application, temperament or talent. Monty CAN be the real deal.
If his batting and fielding improve then so much the better for him and all of us, but if he gets dropped at any time in the foreseeable future, then it really is time to jettison the multi-faceted obsessed Fletcher forthwith.
The end of the World Cup may well be the time for Fletcher to stand aside. He has been in the job for eight years and has done a wonderful job. But I think the cracks are starting to show - his less than effusive praise for Panesar after the sedcond test was embarrasing and his blind faith in G. Jones was misplaced.
It depends on how you look at it. Do we want a frontline spinner who can take wickets, but precious little else, or an all round spinner who is a decent bat, decent fielder, but not much more than a control bowler?
Just out of interest, why don't we call him 'Muddy', rather than 'Monty'?
Originally posted by B@sil: The end of the World Cup may well be the time for Fletcher to stand aside. He has been in the job for eight years and has done a wonderful job. But I think the cracks are starting to show - his less than effusive praise for Panesar after the sedcond test was embarrasing and his blind faith in G. Jones was misplaced.
Agree with every word.
As I understand it, Big Dunc will stand aside after the World Cup anyway.
Let me say that I have never felt uncomfortable when Giles bowls to the Pk batsmen. Monty is the real deal, a wkt taker. It takes some spinner to trouble MoYo...and he does!
Originally posted by JamieEatWorld: It depends on how you look at it. Do we want a frontline spinner who can take wickets, but precious little else, or an all round spinner who is a decent bat, decent fielder, but not much more than a control bowler?
His batting his better than alot of Number 11's ive seen (McGrath, Kaneria, Munaf Patel cause he can actually hold a bat and has a selection of shots) and his fielding is only commented on because he is not Jonty or Colly like in the field and because of his two dropped catches. (Peitersen dropped SIX catches during the Ashes last year during his debut series, the only reason no one would say as much is because he could bat) Monty's area is bowling and he is doing a bang on job of it i must say. I personally dont see why the debate on his all round abilities is such a vast and drawn out affair. Comparing him to Tuffnell is just wrong in my mind.
A Little Hard Work never killed anyone....but why take the chance?
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Originally posted by Bobby Smith: People are way too quick to denigrate poor Ashley's record in Test Cricket.
..Dear Bobby, Ashley Giles is a bits and pieces player and as far as Test cricket goes Giles averages 20.72 with the bat and has 140 wickets @ 39.60 Perhaps you have only watched him play on the days he has had a good game?
The man was (is?) a sound cricketer who could nearly always be relied upon to chip out 25 runs and contribute a 2-65 with the ball.
.....Bobby, please take the blinkers off and watch all the replays.........
In addition he had a fantastic pair of hands that very rarely dropped a catch. Too many people are getting excited and jumping on the Monty bandwagon without taking into account every part of the joyous game of cricket. Ashley is the second bona fide all rounder in the England team - when Freddie is fit.
.. Bobby, I hate to break the news but one thing Ashley Giles an't is a true allrounder.... Ashley Giles was fortunate to have played in a good English team with a good pace attack in a time where England had little other choice in the spin bowling department.................
I am not denigrating Monty just calling for a bit more respect for Mr Giles.
Giles has received more respect already than he has earn't Bobby. Perhaps it's time you stopped looking over your shoulder at what was and started looking straight ahead at what's next?
