The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Chris Read wins back his place

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Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006

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Chris Read wins back his place

Ted Corbett

Geraint Jones's continued wretched batting prompts the change by selectors

LONDON: Chris Read, who lost his place as wicket-keeper to Geraint Jones at the end of the series against West Indies in 2004 — the start of England's period of triumph culminating in the return of the Ashes a year ago — has been brought back for the third Test against Pakistan at Leeds, starting on Friday, because the selectors have grown tired of waiting for Jones to justify his place with a big score. They insist it has nothing to do with Jones's broken finger from the second Test; he is simply not making enough runs.

Duncan Fletcher, the coach, and the captain Michael Vaughan, made that change in West Indies without consulting the rest of the selection panel. That alone caused controversy but the pair argued that they needed more runs and that Jones would provide them. You can imagine the media uproar in this country.

Barely a week has gone by without someone demanding the return of Read. While Jones scored heavily, it was possible to ignore his clumsy wicket-keeping that put down 20 catches. Now the same argument is being used to bring back Read.

Only last week-end, discussing the World Cup with a former England captain, I asked who his keeper would be. "There's only one," he snapped "Read is the best and it is time he was back."

Mercy dropping

Jones's wicket-keeping has improved but at the same time his batting has deteriorated to the extent that in normal circumstances the selectors must have considered leaving him out as a kindness.

He clearly needs a rest, not least to clear his head. In his last two innings at Lord's and Old Trafford he has looked like a man under pressure. In his last five Tests he has made just one fifty. In this instance the circumstances are not normal. Fletcher has been insistent that Jones is the right choice although when an England development group was chosen recently David Graveney, chairman of the selectors and the co-selector Geoff Miller stared Fletcher down as they insisted that Read be chosen.

I suspect that Fletcher had also come round to that way of thinking as much as anything because the absence of Andrew Flintoff's all-round qualities means there is a long tail. Meanwhile Read, a classy keeper who seems to draw the ball into his gloves rather than have to go chasing it — Jack Russell, Alan Knott and Bob Taylor have had this quality in the last 25 years — has been scoring heavily.

This summer he has made 110 for Nottinghamshire against MCC at Lord's, 102 against Yorkshire and 150 for England `A' against Pakistan at Canterbury and has an aggregate of 601 runs at 42.93. His Test average is a wretched 15.31 but at 27 he still has time to improve. I hear from sources at Trent Bridge that he is now an assured batsman capable of batting at No. 7 in Tests.

Graveney said: "We feel that Jones will benefit by a break from Test cricket" and Read added: "I knew I had to work on my batting to return to the side." Jones declared: "It's a blow but I will work hard with Kent to get back." Read for Jones is the only change in the squad but it is likely that Jon Lewis will replace Sajid Mahmood in the team so that England can make the best use of that tricky Headingley pitch.

The squad: Andrew Strauss (capt.), Marcus Trescothick, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Chris Read, Sajid Mahmood, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis.

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