***Official** West Indies in England***

[Pup Clarke]

Haha, just looked at the cricket fixtures and the 1st test between England and India is on the 19th of July which is what....15 days!!!!!. Never knew England were playing India that soon.

 

[Richard]

Time and time and time waits for no-one.

 

[Pup Clarke]

But England will only lose games by him playing on non-spin-friendly wickets (which today emphatically was). No point him playing and getting hammered, and I thought it was fair enough to drop him.

Not to mention that I cringe at the look of the tail had he played today.

[/QUOTE

Richard, just because the pitch isn't spin friendly (and how do you know that, there were no spinners on show today?) doesn't mean that Panesar will be completely ineffective. Sure, I'd be surprised if he took a few wickets but I'd equally be surpised if they took him apart and really milked him from ball 1. Panesar>>>>>>>>>>>>Yardy imo even in one day cricket.

Edit - sorry about my poor quoting, hadn't done it for yonks but I'm sure you understand.

 

[Richard]

Richard, just because the pitch isn't spin friendly (and how do you know that, there were no spinners on show today?) doesn't mean that Panesar will be completely ineffective. Sure, I'd be surprised if he took a few wickets but I'd equally be surpised if they took him apart and really milked him from ball 1. Panesar>>>>>>>>>>>>Yardy imo even in one day cricket.

Have seen enough to suggest Panesar isn't really that good either, TBH. If he's going to learn, I'd prefer he learned what he can at Northants first.

He hasn't been completely taken apart all that often, yet, but I can certainly see it happening. Circumstances to date have mostly circumvented it.

Edit - sorry about my poor quoting, hadn't done it for yonks but I'm sure you understand.

If you edit it to say sorry, just edit it to correct. Only takes a ] in a certain place (which I'm sure you know).

 

[iamdavid]

This england team just has the look of an experimental XI to me, too many players who lack authority at the top level. God knows what compeled them to give Yardy a one-day cap in the first place. And they just lack a match winner with the obvious exception of Pieterson, nobody else in that line-up is going to strike fear into the heart of the opposition.
Good to see Shah showing some maturity at international level...and what are peoples takes on Mascarehas so far?..havent seen alot of him in action

 

[open365]

It's the "be able to" bit that's difficult, though, isn't it? Who currently playing and likely to be available for WC2011 is a good death-bowler? It was claimed Kirtley was back in 2002 - soon found-out what crap that was. It's been claimed all sorts of bowlers are - but often proves false.

http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2004-05/ENG_IN_RSA/SCORECARDS/ENG_RSA_ODI2_02FEB2005.html

 

[Pup Clarke]

Rich, just for the record Kirtley is a damn fine death bowler. Anyone who's watched one day cricket on sky in recent years will surely agree with me

 

[Bob Bamber]

England just weren't up for it today were they. They bowled quite well , but the attempt at the chase was pretty poor. They never looked like getting going. It just proves that England still lack any realy grit to really beat the best sides.

 

[Burgey]

It's the "be able to" bit that's difficult, though, isn't it? Who currently playing and likely to be available for WC2011 is a good death-bowler? It was claimed Kirtley was back in 2002 - soon found-out what crap that was. It's been claimed all sorts of bowlers are - but often proves false.
And right now, I don't see anyone bashing down the door, either.QUOTE]

But no one's born a good death bowler. England need to develop some before the next World Cup. If that means short-medium term pain while some of these blokes get better at it, surely you have to put up with it.
Also, there has been a trend in recent times for sides to get belted in the last 10 overs - happened to Australia at home last summer as well. 70-80 in the last 10 overs may not be as bad as it once was considered to be. It may well be part of the evolution of the game.

 

[FBU]

As an opening bowler you expect to take one or two early wickets but you don't expect to come back for your second spell and see the same batsmen still there. Yardy and Mascarenhas may be fairly economical but they need to take wickets otherwise the batsmen will be set when facing the last ten overs by the fast bowlers and they haven't mastered the art of death bowling to set batsmen yet. Then can manage it if there are new batsmen coming to the crease.

Yardy has a strike rate of 63.00 and Mascarenhas doesn't have a strike rate as he hasn't taken a wicket in two games. At least Flintoff will replace him when he is fit. Bopara is a proper batsman who has a good bowling strike rate of 32.00. Until then I don't hold out much hope of wickets from the bits and pieces players.

Trescothick, Prior, Shah, Pietersen, Bopara, Flintoff, Collingwood, Schofield, Plunkett, Broad, Anderson.

Schofield in limited overs
Batting average 21.83 high score 75*
Bowling average 24.93 econ 5.06 s/r 29.52

 

[roseboy64]

Time and time and time waits for no-one.

Know your idioms young man.

 

[Raghav]

Know your idioms young man.

 

[Perm]

Good performance from Dimitiri Mascarenhas and Matt Prior, but geez Chanderpaul and Samuels were good in that partnership. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Chanders ton up as I feel asleep just before it happened but he really accelerated once he had scored 70 runs.

 

[aussie]

If, that is, Prior turns-out to be any use in ODIs, something that has yet to happen to date.

yea, but i see no reason why he can't. Don't know what the bloke has done but this season at least he looks a proper batsman and for England's sake lets hope Prior can be the competent keeper/bat that England have been looking for since Stewart left.

 

[aussie]

It's the "be able to" bit that's difficult, though, isn't it? Who currently playing and likely to be available for WC2011 is a good death-bowler? It was claimed Kirtley was back in 2002 - soon found-out what crap that was. It's been claimed all sorts of bowlers are - but often proves false.

Flintoff is the only really good death bowler England have had for about the last 7 years now... 2000 was about the last time Gough consistently bowled really well at the end of an innings... did it in one or two games in SA in 2004\05, but not much apart from that, was much better at the start as of 2000\01.

And right now, I don't see anyone bashing down the door, either.

Word out, it shows how important Flintoff is to the ODI side, not only is his aggressive batting in the lower-middle order so important but he is also England's main wicket-taking & death bowler in ODI cricket. Ha though job...

With regards to death bowling though i reckon Simon Jones does have great potential to be a good death bowler but geez the bloody bloke just won't get fit.

 

[aussie]

As an opening bowler you expect to take one or two early wickets but you don't expect to come back for your second spell and see the same batsmen still there. Yardy and Mascarenhas may be fairly economical but they need to take wickets otherwise the batsmen will be set when facing the last ten overs by the fast bowlers and they haven't mastered the art of death bowling to set batsmen yet. Then can manage it if there are new batsmen coming to the crease.

Yardy has a strike rate of 63.00 and Mascarenhas doesn't have a strike rate as he hasn't taken a wicket in two games. At least Flintoff will replace him when he is fit. Bopara is a proper batsman who has a good bowling strike rate of 32.00. Until then I don't hold out much hope of wickets from the bits and pieces players.

Trescothick, Prior, Shah, Pietersen, Bopara, Flintoff, Collingwood, Schofield, Plunkett, Broad, Anderson.

Schofield in limited overs
Batting average 21.83 high score 75*
Bowling average 24.93 econ 5.06 s/r 29.52

Na..

 

[Dasa]

Interesting to see that all of Chanderpaul's 100s before this one were made when opening the batting.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Thank god we've now found a proper keeper-batsman, who could justifibly do a jaob opening as a pure batsman, and who can keep.

 

[Perm]

Thank god we've now found a proper keeper-batsman, who could justifibly do a jaob opening as a pure batsman, and who can keep.

A little early for that sort of thing, especially if you are talking about ODI cricket.

 

[PhoenixFire]

A little early for that sort of thing, especially if you are talking about ODI cricket.

You don't really need to see an awful lot of Prior to know that he has class and can play like a real batsman. I don't think it's getting carried away because he has made runs in some less than friendly conditions.