The mysterious case of Owais Shah
Owais Shah is in danger of becoming the most high-profile casualty of England's desperation for Ian Bell to succeed at No
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Owais Shah is in danger of becoming the most high-profile casualty of England's desperation for Ian Bell to succeed at No. 3, says Lawrence Booth in his latest post on the Guardian website.
Of course, this may all be a very English debate. More ruthless sides would have dispensed with Bell some time ago and ensured their most obviously wristy player was in the side, hitting the ball to parts of the ground the opposition had never even thought of defending. But, as Pietersen has discovered, unorthodoxy takes longer to be accepted in English cricket. Shah's greatest crime may have been to neglect the game that needs playing off the field, as well as the one on it.
On the same website, Toby Radford, Shah's coach at Middlesex since 2007, and Graeme Fowler, the former Lancashire and England batsman, debate the merits of including Shah in the England Test side.
Mathew Varghese is sub-editor (stats) at Cricinfo