*Official* England in West Indies

[ozone]

Thank god thats over. Good news is we're now officially unbeaten in 3 tests.

 

[zaremba]

How bloody tiresome.

Won't anyone produce proper cricket pitches these days? I know that the Windies were desperate to hang on to their 1-match lead but if you ask me this kind of pitch deserves nothing but condemnation.

Looked as though the game might turn interesting at one point once the Windies posted 14,000-3 declared and set England (basically) 2 1/2 sessions to bat. There was a chance we'd muck it up Adelaide style. But in the end the pitch was the winner, the match was drawn and the game was the loser.

 

[aussie]

^^^
Word out Zaremba.

Queen's Park Oval better have some life in it go damnnn. What this series has proved so far though, is that England have ALOT more problems that we thought going into the Ashes.

 

[Scaly piscine]

England have been useless on slow pitches for a while.

On a slow pitch like the one in the first Test you need to be crafty and disciplined - use slower balls, cutters and so on. Hoggard's about the only player who could do a good job on a slow pitch and England sure as hell fall in a heap whenever someone does something they're not used to, like fast off-cutters.

 

[alw1971]

Harmison Quote :-

Harmison, 30, said he was told by England's interim coach Andy Flower, shortly before the toss, that he would not be playing. "'Andy Flower told me I was being left out because I was not bowling quick enough nor was I hostile enough for what they wanted. I was bitterly disappointed," he told the Mail on Sunday.

"I'm going to put my heart and soul into bowling fast and hostile enough in the nets at Trinidad next week to give them something to think about," said Harmison.

What took him so long?

Maybe a kick up the backside is what he needed!

What exactly was he throwing down in the nets to get dropped in the first place?!

Well done Andy Flower for telling him straight!

 

[Richard]

Haha..Strauss' wicket fell 10 minutes ago and no-one has posted.

See? that's what flat pitches do to Test cricket...if even CW can't be bothered anymore...

Haha, this thread is almost as dead as the pitch

Haha, 26 posts (excluding the ones about Googling Jekyll) during a day's play, and 4 in the 10 hours after it... that's a surefire sign of a boring day. This time I emphatically got lucky rather than unlucky with the night I was going out on.

At least Cook will hopefully have broken the seemingly self-held grip of the lack of century now.

Now please can Queen's Park Oval have some life in the pitch... of whatever type.

 

[Richard]

Harmison Quote :-

Harmison, 30, said he was told by England's interim coach Andy Flower, shortly before the toss, that he would not be playing. "'Andy Flower told me I was being left out because I was not bowling quick enough nor was I hostile enough for what they wanted. I was bitterly disappointed," he told the Mail on Sunday.

"I'm going to put my heart and soul into bowling fast and hostile enough in the nets at Trinidad next week to give them something to think about," said Harmison.

What took him so long?

I seem to recall this being said about 3 times previously.

 

[Richard]

Sad to see the once great Barbados pitch in this state - the number of pitches that need to be dug up around the world is really reaching joke proportions

Anyway, at leat it will give Richard cause to revise his thinking and declare the current era the easiest batting conditions in history

Umm... eh?

 

[Richard]

I think it happened in Guyana in 1998 - and we were stuffed out of sight.

We were stuffed by the toss that game. Most disgraceful case of toss-decides-match I've ever seen. Though Adelaide the following winter (when Australia picked just 2 quickies and won) came pretty close.

Prior to that, maybe the India tour of 1984/5, when Chris Cowdrey was the 3rd seamer.

 

[cowboysfan]

^^^
Word out Zaremba.

Queen's Park Oval better have some life in it go damnnn. What this series has proved so far though, is that England have ALOT more problems that we thought going into the Ashes.

difficult to believe the windies will prepare a sporting wicket when a rare series victory(unbeaten too)in sight.they would prepare another road .

 

[Richard]

To an extent they're dictated to by the soil type. If the soil is loose and crumbly, the pitch will help spinners and make a result almost certain whatever the groundsman tries to do with it.

Obviously, you'd imagine WI would be happiest with another flatty and that's fair enough - if the soil allows that to be prepared, England have only themselves to blame for losing the series as it was they who failed to take the last wicket in Antigua.

But England's hopes are not totally extinguished just because WI would obviously like another utterly lifeless deck. You can't always get exactly the pitch you want - oh no, not by a long chalque. If the soil dictates a result pitch, a result pitch is what we'll get.

 

[Uppercut]

To an extent they're dictated to by the soil type. If the soil is loose and crumbly, the pitch will help spinners and make a result almost certain whatever the groundsman tries to do with it.

Obviously, you'd imagine WI would be happiest with another flatty and that's fair enough - if the soil allows that to be prepared, England have only themselves to blame for losing the series as it was they who failed to take the last wicket in Antigua.

But England's hopes are not totally extinguished just because WI would obviously like another utterly lifeless deck. You can't always get exactly the pitch you want - oh no, not by a long chalque. If the soil dictates a result pitch, a result pitch is what we'll get.

Chalque?

One of the most bizarre mis-spellings i've ever seen.

Anyway, i think England have a bit of a right to feel cheated if that happens. They were promised a 4-match series and got a 2-match one. It's the pitch both teams play on, so it doesn't take away from the West Indian victory, but i'm thinking a lot of people feel hard done by when they're not given a fair crack at a comeback.

 

[Woodster]

Yes it's easy for us to feel a touch bitter, as we're 1-0 down in the series, but when Test match cricket is seemingly battling with the shorter formats in terms of overall excitement, it is shocking that so many recent pitches are being produced that does not offer a fair contest between bat and ball. I'm pretty sure no-one wants to watch the predictable and at times boring run-fests we've had to endure of late.

 

[Richard]

Chalque?

One of the most bizarre mis-spellings i've ever seen.

Always spell it that way in that particular cliche TBH. "Long chalk" just doesn't look right. Hints at a massive great thin piece that a teacher is sitting at the back of the room writing on the board with, which just doesn't sit right with me.

Anyway, i think England have a bit of a right to feel cheated if that happens. They were promised a 4-match series and got a 2-match one. It's the pitch both teams play on, so it doesn't take away from the West Indian victory, but i'm thinking a lot of people feel hard done by when they're not given a fair crack at a comeback.

Those who want 4-Test series' (and not 2-Test ones) will certainly have been cheated if the QPO deck is another rank road which offers no chance of a result. But England won't. As I say, we've only ourselves to blame as we should've won the ARG Test easily. The reason we didn't is because we couldn't achieve the not-really-all-that-arduous tasks of dismissing Denesh Ramdin, Daren Powell, Sulieman Benn and Fidel Edwards in, what, 50 overs or so.

I've said it before - I absolutely hate to see a Test series concluded with flat pitches just so the home team hangs onto their 1-0 lead gained in the opener - it's selfish, and it puts one team's interests ahead of the game at large's interests, which I always hate to see. If the pitch at the VRS had been like that, and a full game had been got in (wouldn't say it'd be the case at The ARG because as I said to get a pitch there at all was a very fine effort indeed) then maybe I would feel cheated as an England fan.

However, it should be 1-1 at the moment, because we should've won in Antigua.

 

[Jigga988]

Always spell it that way in that particular cliche TBH. "Long chalk" just doesn't look right. Hints at a massive great thin piece that a teacher is sitting at the back of the room writing on the board with, which just doesn't sit right with me.

Those who want 4-Test series' (and not 2-Test ones) will certainly have been cheated if the QPO deck is another rank road which offers no chance of a result. But England won't. As I say, we've only ourselves to blame as we should've won the ARG Test easily. The reason we didn't is because we couldn't achieve the not-really-all-that-arduous tasks of dismissing Denesh Ramdin, Daren Powell, Sulieman Benn and Fidel Edwards in, what, 50 overs or so.

I've said it before - I absolutely hate to see a Test series concluded with flat pitches just so the home team hangs onto their 1-0 lead gained in the opener - it's selfish, and it puts one team's interests ahead of the game at large's interests, which I always hate to see. If the pitch at the VRS had been like that, and a full game had been got in (wouldn't say it'd be the case at The ARG because as I said to get a pitch there at all was a very fine effort indeed) then maybe I would feel cheated as an England fan.

However, it should be 1-1 at the moment, because we should've won in Antigua.

If you hate seeing a test series conclude with a flat pitch then too bad...

Question, if it's the ashes, England are 1-0 up coming in to the last test and you prepare a flat pitch, will you be complaining then... and if Windies win this series it might as well be as big a test accomplishment as you guys winning the Ashes, seeing as though we havn't won a proper test series in donkeys years...

Tbh, I don't exactly enjoy watching what cricket was on display, but the match could've turned quite easily if Windies had took the catches in the first test match... it only got a bit flat during the last two or three days...

Anyhoo, Trinidad is never that flat is it??? Chances are some turn will arise even though seemers been taking most wiockets on it lately... Windies will do their best to ensure it's a flat pitch though

 

[Jigga988]

K... how about an avatar bet, lets say if Windies lose the series by more than 1 match (btw weather's pretty good about now) I lose. If Windies lose by 1 then a tie - no one changes nothing and if Windies draw the series or better I win. Up for it or are you too scared to let Curtley go?

Yeah sure I'll take that. Two weeks.

Don't think I've forgotten Uppercut, will give you your new avatar upon the finish of the last test, but could be sooner... seen a couple good Graham Norton pictures... but if anyone's got any suggestions as to what Uppercut's new avatar should be post it on this thread...

 

[Prince EWS]

Don't think I've forgotten Uppercut, will give you your new avatar upon the finish of the last test, but could be sooner... seen a couple good Graham Norton pictures... but if anyone's got any suggestions as to what Uppercut's new avatar should be post it on this thread...

His favourite player.

 

[Richard]

Dunno, ol' Norton'd be more of a punishment to me... (and for anyone who read that post, I'm never doing an avatar bet with you)

Not sure whether you get him in Aus TBH, and even if you do, hundreds of people like him (he'd not be asked to host this, that and everything if they didn't). But I cannot stand the guy.

Wonder if ol' Will likes him or not. Of course, if he doesn't he'd be best-served pretending he does here and now... otherwise, Morton it is.

 

[Richard]

If you hate seeing a test series conclude with a flat pitch then too bad...

I don't neccessarily hate seeing a series conclude with one - I didn't mind in 1994 or 2004, for instance. But I don't like to see more than one in the same series, and none at all if the series is of less than four Tests. Just feels like, if you do that, the series is of two Tests, or that it's been downgraded from five to three. The only place for really flat, no-chance-of-a-result pitches is in a five\four-Test series... and just the once.

Question, if it's the ashes, England are 1-0 up coming in to the last test and you prepare a flat pitch, will you be complaining then... and if Windies win this series it might as well be as big a test accomplishment as you guys winning the Ashes, seeing as though we havn't won a proper test series in donkeys years...

If it's the second really flat one of the series, yes, I will be complaining - because it'll mean we basically have a three-match Ashes, and it's been a long, long, long time since The Ashes was played over a series that short.

Anyway, as I said, I'd not be complaining about it from the England-loss POV - it'll be England's fault if they lose the series with the QPO game being drawn, because they should've knocked-over that last wicket at The ARG. I'd only be complaining because the series would in effect be a two-Test series, and I absolutely hate two-Test series'.

Tbh, I don't exactly enjoy watching what cricket was on display, but the match could've turned quite easily if Windies had took the catches in the first test match... it only got a bit flat during the last two or three days...

It was as flat as it was throughout the game. WI dropped plenty of catches, yes, but the chances weren't created because the pitch was doing much, they were created because the England batsmen played some bad shots.

In any case, only a couple of the chances really made a massive impact - the Strauss and Bopara drops, both of which cost circa 100 runs.

Anyhoo, Trinidad is never that flat is it??? Chances are some turn will arise even though seemers been taking most wiockets on it lately...

So I hear. But that a wicket is never normally pancake-flat doesn't mean it isn't ever going to be.

 

[Uppercut]

His favourite player.

You guys should definitely consider adding his name to the filter.