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*Official* England in West Indies

Athlai

Not Terrible
Anderson's a tricky one because if the ball swings at any stage the WI are gone.

Harmy only played three tests in 2008, all with several months between them. For a bowler notorious for needing rhythm to be successful, i don't think it's fair to say he's been very very dire based on two of those matches (because he was really good against SA).

WI is somewhere he's travelled well before though, and a four-test series with two warm-ups gives him time to adjust. I'm not saying he's a quality bowler- as i said, i'm not a fan- but Broad and Bravo? Really?
Bravo has the golden touch and has a wicked slower ball. Broad bowls a pretty immaculate line and length despite that being all he does. Somehow they both get wickets and moreso than Harmison has done (since he was good ala2005)
 

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Bravo has the golden touch and has a wicked slower ball. Broad bowls a pretty immaculate line and length despite that being all he does. Somehow they both get wickets and moreso than Harmison has done (since he was good ala2005)
Broad doesn't get wickets, not in tests. Well, extremely rarely. Absolute beast of an ODI bowler though.

Bravo, well, he's played 30-odd tests now and still averages about 40 with the ball. And unlike Edwards or Taylor, he hasn't been showing any real upturn since he debuted.
He's better than that suggests, and a more than serviceable fifth option. But Harmy's definitely better.
 

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Thought about this earlier in the thread, and came up with a few possibilities:

1. They already know what Swann can do
2. Swann is going to play the second warm-up and they didn't want to bring Rashid on tour without giving him a game at all.
3. They want to experiment with the wrist/finger spinner combination

I'd say option 2.
 

Scaly piscine

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Match ends in a win...Monty getting another 3 easy wickets, all the others got at least a wicket each.

Now on to the more testing stuff, should be this side against WI A

Strauss
Cook
Shah/Bell
Pietersen
Collingwood
Shah/Bell
Prior
Swann
Sidebottom
Anderson
Harmison

Doubt Monty will miss out but really Swann should definately play and that means Monty should miss because we can't play 2 seamers or have the tail start at 7

I know it's only a final warm-up game, but the decisions over picking Bell and Monty are hugely important. If they're picked we're screwed because they'll play against West Indies and fill their boots - before reverting to being useless against good opposition and costing us the Test series.
 

FBU

International Debutant
Anderson's a tricky one because if the ball swings at any stage the WI are gone.

Harmy only played three tests in 2008, all with several months between them. For a bowler notorious for needing rhythm to be successful, i don't think it's fair to say he's been very very dire based on two of those matches (because he was really good against SA).

WI is somewhere he's travelled well before though, and a four-test series with two warm-ups gives him time to adjust. I'm not saying he's a quality bowler- as i said, i'm not a fan- but Broad and Bravo? Really?

Don't forget reverse swing -
Atherton
All of England’s seam bowlers put a notch in the right-hand column. Stuart Broad, playing only because of Andrew Flintoff’s withdrawal through injury, and James Anderson were the pick, with a brace each. Broad experimented to good effect with his length and slower balls, and Anderson found the most reverse swing in a particularly good spell immediately after lunch.
 

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Don't forget reverse swing -
Atherton
All of England’s seam bowlers put a notch in the right-hand column. Stuart Broad, playing only because of Andrew Flintoff’s withdrawal through injury, and James Anderson were the pick, with a brace each. Broad experimented to good effect with his length and slower balls, and Anderson found the most reverse swing in a particularly good spell immediately after lunch.
I don't believe I've seen Anderson reverse the ball, but if he can that's all the better. The only current England bowler I've seen do it is Flintoff. Edwards can get a fair bit for the Windies. I don't really know about the others.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Thought about this earlier in the thread, and came up with a few possibilities:

1. They already know what Swann can do
2. Swann is going to play the second warm-up and they didn't want to bring Rashid on tour without giving him a game at all.
3. They want to experiment with the wrist/finger spinner combination

I'd say option 2.
I certainly hope so, because there isnt much doubt in my mind(and there shouldnt be in most peoples minds) that Swann was leaps and bounds ahead of Monty in terms of the way he bowled in India.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
1st Test:
Limiting Australia sufficiently to a 4th innings target of 287. Then bowled out for 191 by Stuart Clark.

2nd Test:
266-5 and a draw chasing 372.

3rd Test:
387 all out chasing 475.

By any unbiased consideration, that's competitive.
It was indeed competitive, a lot due to the fact that Chanders batted like a demi-God. The WI batting almost completely relies upon Chanderpaul to the point where if he has a bad series, which hes been due for a while, I'd be really worried.
 

roseboy64

Cricket Web Content Updater
Sewnarine Chattergoon in for the injured Darren Bravo in the WI A team. Dwayne Bravo won't be match fit in time for the Tests but is a very strong possibility to play in the ODIs.
 

sammy2

Banned
It was indeed competitive, a lot due to the fact that Chanders batted like a demi-God. The WI batting almost completely relies upon Chanderpaul to the point where if he has a bad series, which hes been due for a while, I'd be really worried.
Don't wait for this to happen.
England has a bigger problem in gayle being inform, and playing really good. Sarwan is due to score some runs aswell.
WI has more proven dangerous than England, if the up and coming players in the WI squad play good I think England can be easily beaten.

Jerome taylor is the most reliable bowler from both squads, he will always get a wicket in his first few overs. The english openers aren't capable of hitting the WI bowlers around the way gayle can.
WI have good strike bowlers, I think this will give them the edge, powell is a worm, don underestimate him.
 

Athlai

Not Terrible
Don't wait for this to happen.
England has a bigger problem in gayle being inform, and playing really good. Sarwan is due to score some runs aswell.
WI has more proven dangerous than England, if the up and coming players in the WI squad play good I think England can be easily beaten.

Jerome taylor is the most reliable bowler from both squads, he will always get a wicket in his first few overs. The english openers aren't capable of hitting the WI bowlers around the way gayle can.
WI have good strike bowlers, I think this will give them the edge, powell is a worm, don underestimate him.
Sidebottom is more reliable than Taylor.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Hope Taylor comes to the party, bit unlucky in New Zealand but he didn’t do as well as I thought. I really fancied him to clean up. The only good thing about Daren Powell is apparently a poor test at home and his test career is over.

Really looking forward to the first test, the Sabina Park test last year against Aus was fantastic and if not for some dumbass batting, the Windies could have taken the test.

Got a real bad feeling that Ian Bell could have a good series. :dry:
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Sewnarine Chattergoon in for the injured Darren Bravo in the WI A team. Dwayne Bravo won't be match fit in time for the Tests but is a very strong possibility to play in the ODIs.
Shame. I was hoping that Bravo Jr. could impress. Interested to see how Kemar Roach gets on. I thought he should have got a game in New Zealand.
 

sammy2

Banned
Sidebottom is more reliable than Taylor.
I like sidebottom, he came back into international cricket when W.I was in England, so I know exactly what he is capable of doing. I don't see him doing much damage in the carib. Just like mitchell johnson was being called to retire because of his ineffectiveness playing in the carib. If it wasn't for clark Aus would have been beaten aswell. Because even mcgill retired because he couldn't get any wickets. I just hope WI players show up believing they can win, and we will see.
 

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