Andrew Strauss Warns Ipl Players They Will Have to Adapt Quickly
England captain Andrew Strauss says players playing county cricket have an advantage over those playing the shorter form of the game in the IPL
Andrew Flintoff's Chennai Super Kings may have won out over Kevin Pietersen's Bangalore Royal Challengers yesterday but, according to their England captain, players who chose the Indian Premier League over county cricket may be the big losers this summer.
Andrew Strauss said that England hopefuls playing four-day cricket for their counties have an edge on those currently playing the shorter form of the game in South Africa, adding that the onus will be on the returning players to re-adapt to Test cricket in little over a week.
"I suppose there is a slight advantage about being back in England and pushing your claim forward," said Strauss at Lord's yesterday. "Obviously if someone back in England is scoring hundreds they are pushing their claim, whereas others who aren't, it is hard for them to push their claim.
"The challenge for those guys [playing in the IPL], and it is an important one, is they're going to have to adapt their game from playing Twenty20 cricket to playing a Test the next week and that is on their shoulders and they have to do that," he added. "But they're all good enough players to do that, so they're aware that that is something that they have to do."
Barring injury, Pietersen and Flintoff's places in the Test side are secure but the other England players in South Africa looking to stake a place in the Ashes side – Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Graham Napier – will take notice of their captain's comments. Shah and Bopara, who both made claims for the No3 berth in the Caribbean, may find themselves under increasing pressure from a resurgent Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan.
"That No3 spot is a hotly contested one. Owais Shah is the one in possession, Ravi Bopara came in and got a hundred there in the West Indies, so that is four good options for the one place. That is going to be a tough decision to make," said Strauss, before adding that he had a "pretty good idea" who would be facing the West Indies at Lord's on 6 May.
Someone who is honing his Test cricket ahead of the Ashes is Australia's new batting sensation, Phillip Hughes, whom Strauss's county, Middlesex, controversially signed on a six-week contract before he made history by becoming the youngest player ever to score two centuries in the same match when he did so in his second Test for Australia in South Africa last month. The 20-year-old said playing the long form of the game in English conditions is "going to be a great lead-up to the Ashes.
"The choice was IPL or County Cricket and I had always wanted to play county cricket and nowhere is better to play it than Middlesex, their home ground being Lord's," he added. "IPL was only Twenty20 cricket and I wanted to play three forms of the game and improve my game."
Andrew Strauss said that England hopefuls playing four-day cricket for their counties have an edge on those currently playing the shorter form of the game in South Africa, adding that the onus will be on the returning players to re-adapt to Test cricket in little over a week.
"I suppose there is a slight advantage about being back in England and pushing your claim forward," said Strauss at Lord's yesterday. "Obviously if someone back in England is scoring hundreds they are pushing their claim, whereas others who aren't, it is hard for them to push their claim.
"The challenge for those guys [playing in the IPL], and it is an important one, is they're going to have to adapt their game from playing Twenty20 cricket to playing a Test the next week and that is on their shoulders and they have to do that," he added. "But they're all good enough players to do that, so they're aware that that is something that they have to do."
Barring injury, Pietersen and Flintoff's places in the Test side are secure but the other England players in South Africa looking to stake a place in the Ashes side – Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Graham Napier – will take notice of their captain's comments. Shah and Bopara, who both made claims for the No3 berth in the Caribbean, may find themselves under increasing pressure from a resurgent Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan.
"That No3 spot is a hotly contested one. Owais Shah is the one in possession, Ravi Bopara came in and got a hundred there in the West Indies, so that is four good options for the one place. That is going to be a tough decision to make," said Strauss, before adding that he had a "pretty good idea" who would be facing the West Indies at Lord's on 6 May.
Someone who is honing his Test cricket ahead of the Ashes is Australia's new batting sensation, Phillip Hughes, whom Strauss's county, Middlesex, controversially signed on a six-week contract before he made history by becoming the youngest player ever to score two centuries in the same match when he did so in his second Test for Australia in South Africa last month. The 20-year-old said playing the long form of the game in English conditions is "going to be a great lead-up to the Ashes.
"The choice was IPL or County Cricket and I had always wanted to play county cricket and nowhere is better to play it than Middlesex, their home ground being Lord's," he added. "IPL was only Twenty20 cricket and I wanted to play three forms of the game and improve my game."
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