I think Chris Rushworth is the ultimate example of this phenomena. 494 first class wickets at an average of 22.82 and an economy of 2.98. The only time there was ever any chat about him getting a call up was after his 2015 season when he took 83 (eighty-three) wickets at 20.61. Even then it never seemed to be seriously considered and he has never played for the Lions. Meanwhile his teammates Mark Wood and Brydon Carse (who are both brilliant bowlers) have been given call-ups based on potential, ie. pace, without anywhere near the record.
Maybe for England James Anderson is actually the reason these players have been so overlooked. A sense that you can only "get away" with having one medium-fast bowler in the side at once. Seems like flawed logic, like the idea you can only have one left armer at a time, but there could be something in that.
That is fair. I'd add something else on top of that with him, the Durham factor is a real bias when it comes to bowlers. For Carse and Wood their pace trumps it. But a good bowler in Durham is often thought to only have that record because of the conditions. So I just checked, Rushworth averages 19 in Durham, and 25 away. But 25 is still a real good average, so it doesn't quite hold up.
Is Benny Howell English Rajat Bhatia?
I think Chris Rushworth is the ultimate example of this phenomena. 494 first class wickets at an average of 22.82 and an economy of 2.98. The only time there was ever any chat about him getting a call up was after his 2015 season when he took 83 (eighty-three) wickets at 20.61. Even then it never seemed to be seriously considered and he has never played for the Lions. Meanwhile his teammates Mark Wood and Brydon Carse (who are both brilliant bowlers) have been given call-ups based on potential, ie. pace, without anywhere near the record.
Maybe for England James Anderson is actually the reason these players have been so overlooked. A sense that you can only "get away" with having one medium-fast bowler in the side at once. Seems like flawed logic, like the idea you can only have one left armer at a time, but there could be something in that.
That is fair. I'd add something else on top of that with him, the Durham factor is a real bias when it comes to bowlers. For Carse and Wood their pace trumps it. But a good bowler in Durham is often thought to only have that record because of the conditions. So I just checked, Rushworth averages 19 in Durham, and 25 away. But 25 is still a real good average, so it doesn't quite hold up.