I also believe that with such a large pool of talent to choose from it"s wrong to pick anyone that represented England last year, to represent England this year. i.e. a once every 2 years at most rule would be a fair way of giving more of the good players their chance.
Personally I disagree.
Of course you disagree Steve, that"s hardly le shock de la jour. But how disappointed would you be if you had been generally quite successful in APAT terms yet overlooked for someone who took their place last year? Wouldn"t that frustrate you slightly?
As for the other nations - yes some people are a shoe in because of numbers but that could be balanced by some nations having and A + B teams and perhaps having some of the smaller nations either combined or compete every two years depending on previous years placing - I dunno (just rambling ill thought out suggestions perhaps) but I believe something should be done to ensure that more of the top English guys get their chance to play in such a unique competition.
So my bottom line suggestion is either restrict appearances or give us a B team next season.
FWIW I have withdrawn my application. Personally I don"t see an issue - restricting selection because someone played the last game is something that happens at my 11 year old son"s cricket club - surprised people think it should happen at an international tournament event like this, but c"est la vie.... I would hate to be selected, and then find that I"m resented for it, or that Brian"s selection process is questioned.... Last thing I want to do is put Brian in any difficult situation, so to ease any pressures, I have taken myself out of his equation, and will focus on the other WCOAP events. Disappointed, but wish whoever does make the England team all the best.
England FTW
This is fantastic news. As a total unbiased, neutral, Welshman, I think the fact that one of the better, proven English players is withdrawing from selection process is brilliant.
On a serious point, Brian has been selected as England captain due to a number of factors which include his standing in the APAT community, his poker experiences and his passion for the English team.
To think that anyone would want to hinder his already difficult task further by suggesting he should have stipulations within his selection process really baffles me.
The APAT team event is a unique event, pitting country versus country and if you ask any of the players that have played before about it, they will only speak in glowing terms about the pride and honour of representing their country.
To suggest England should have additional teams, or players that have represented their country before shouldn"t be allowed to put themselves forward seems totally ridiculous to me.
If Brian feels that having Steve in the team would be best for the England cause, then what"s the problem ? You have to trust in Brian"s judgement in the same way all of the countries trust in their captains picks.
They are not always right, and some of the past captains have said if they had their time again, they may pick differently (Well, that"s what Dewi said when he picked me in Season 2
), but they have been chosen to select a team to represent their country, and they should have the option to pick anyone they feel is right for the job.
It is impossible to please everyone, but at least, let"s give the captains a fair chance to make the best selections they feel they can.
That is all.
