**Official** Australia in West Indies

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Don't understand this "balance" thing. Game still weight toward Australia. Until the requirement is below 100, it's in Australia's favour, and even then West Indies have a lot to do. One more wicket and then it's Ramdin and the tail. And Ramdin has been so poor that I'd favour Jerome Taylor to bat before him at the moment.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Anyway, surely this will be Johnson's last Test match for a while.

He's looked better in this Test than he has all series, so it'd be a bit harsh to drop him now, considering that they persisted with him when he was dire.

 

[howardj]

He's looked better in this Test than he has all series, so it'd be a bit harsh to drop him now, considering that they persisted with him when he was dire.

...starting from a very low base though.

He was back to being ordinary in the second innings here again.

We can't afford to carry a spinner and a quick.

 

[tooextracool]

It's a special bowler who's capable of producing a ball like that from around the wicket.

Reminded me very much of Donald's little burst against Atherton in 98. Similar in more ways than one.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

...starting from a very low base though.

He was back to being ordinary in the second innings here again.

We can't afford to carry a spinner and a quick.

I've been a vociferous critic of Johnson's selection, but it's still extremely poor policy to drop him when he's showing his first signs of improvement all series long.

 

[tooextracool]

Didnt really realize that Marshall is only 22 and has almost no FC experience considering hes been considered for WI colors for a while. I remember seeing him a few years ago in SL when he looked like he had never played a left handed bowler before. Seriously never seen anyone look more at sea against Vaas' inswingers in that series and clearly was not upto the mark at that time which is hardly surprising on hindsight given that he probably had no FC experience at that point.
He certainly looks more like a test batsmen now, a much tighter technique than almost everyone who has played test cricket for WI recently and is more likely to be a successful test cricketer than the likes of Marlon Samuels. My only concern though, and this is something that I have noticed with a lot of young WI batsmen, is that he doesnt really lean into his drives. Seems like an epidemic in WI really and you'd think the coaches would spot and correct these technical issues.

 

[Mister Wright]

Next wicket is the killer for the West Indies. Chanderpaul pretty much needs to bat all day and Bravo needs to go well into the last session.

 

[Laurrz]

hate days like this, gonna be in a ****ty mood for rest of the day

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

My only concern though, and this is something that I have noticed with a lot of young WI batsmen, is that he doesnt really lean into his drives. Seems like an epidemic in WI really and you'd think the coaches would spot and correct these technical issues.

I actually thought he had good movement and balance playing off drives for the most part. He certainly gets into good positions to drive and seems to shift his weight nicely most times. Several of his cover drives were near perfect. More impressive than his technique though is Marshall's confidence. He has the swagger of a quality batsman and the technique to back it up.

 

[tooextracool]

I actually thought he had good movement and balance playing off drives for the most part. He certainly gets into good positions to drive and seems to shift his weight nicely most times. Several of his cover drives were near perfect. More impressive than his technique though is Marshall's confidence. He has the swagger of a quality batsman and the technique to back it up.

Certainly, he gets into very good positions when he drive, moves his feet well and plays with his bat close to pad when driving. But the standing cover drive is a hallmark of many of the recent WI squad members- Gayle, Dw Smith, Morton, Samuels and so on. I've never uploaded a file on this forum below so I am not sure how this will show up, but here is a picture of Marshall driving from todays innings and here also is a picture of Vaughan who is one of the best cover drivers in the game today. There is a stark difference because Vaughan leans into his drives whereas Marshall doesnt, which is why you might have noticed many of his drives go in the air earlier today. A smarter captain than Ponting might work that out fairly soon IMO.

 

[Jono]

hate days like this, gonna be in a ****ty mood for rest of the day

Good day's cricket, no need to be in a ****ty mood at all. Its a great contest.

Far too used to dominating are you Aussie fans

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

That's not necessary epitomizing the Marshall cover drive though. He doesn't lean into his drives as consistently as Vaughan, but I don't think it's a serious problem. A lot of his drives in Antigua and in this match were executed well enough that they would not be caught, regardless of the field setting, unless Ponting was feeling revolutionary.

 

[howardj]

I've been a vociferous critic of Johnson's selection, but it's still extremely poor policy to drop him when he's showing his first signs of improvement all series long.

He's improved this series from woeful to sub-standard.

The team comes first, and right now we need a 3rd bowler to support Lee and Clark.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I still think it would do him more harm than good right now. He was picked when he was playing poorly and could be dropped when he's improving. The selectors have gotten themselves into this, and it would be detrimental to the player to change their policy now. It's like the Iraq war. Utterly mismanaged.

 

[tooextracool]

There were at least a couple of drives that were uppish that landed safely, i remember at least 2 drives of johnson today after tea. Its not a serious issue, its just something I've noticed with a lot of WI batsmen recently and Im just surprised that its not been sorted out. I do definetly like the look of him and am very surprised to see such a lot of improvements in his game since his last test outing.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

There were at least a couple of drives that were uppish that landed safely, i remember at least 2 drives of johnson today after tea. Its not a serious issue, its just something I've noticed with a lot of WI batsmen recently and Im just surprised that its not been sorted out. I do definetly like the look of him and am very surprised to see such a lot of improvements in his game since his last test outing.

In some cases it may be an issue of stubbornness. Some of these young players are having some success at domestic level playing a certain way, and even when they struggle at Test level, they continue to be decent domestic players. There's then no reason, theoretically, to change the way they play. It's just a stubborn attitude.

Of course, I don't agree with it, as the gap between domestic and Test cricket is huge. Particularly in the West Indies. But, for example, Devon Smith has dominated at domestic level playing a certain way, so it probably doesn't strongly occur to him that he should adjust his technique. Runako Morton is the same. There needs to be a clear understanding of how much work is required to transition from domestic cricket to Test cricket. And by the same measure, an understanding that players should always attempt to improve.

Dwayne Smith is a different case altogether.

 

[tooextracool]

Apparently Dw Smith recently scored 72 from 27 balls in a t20 game for Sussex. Interesting to say the least. Wonder how long before he will be back in the limited over setup?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

With Gayle a doubt for the one-off T20/ODI series, and Chattergoon almost certainly ruled out, I'd say he's very likely to be called up to play Australia. He's continued to be a very useful bowler, but no significant improvement in his shot selection yet. He wouldn't be the worst selection for T20/ODI if he bats at 8 or lower.

 

[roseboy64]

Game in Australia's favour as it stands. One or two less wickets and it'd have been in the balance. Still though, if these two can take it to around 150 runs left and Ramdin doesn't edge in the slips again who knows....

 

[Burgey]

Bravo having Symonds-like luck.

Casson looked far better this time around than 1st innings, though still doesn't look very threatening. Lee superb, Clark tight, Clarke - well, he just keeps taking wickets at test level.

Johnson - dire.

Katich also fields like me on a hot day in January after umpiring the kids all morning - ie horribly.