*Official* Bangladesh in West Indies

[stumpski]

Raining now ... seems oddly fitting, somehow.

Rubel Hossain and Mahmudullah will debut when it gets going.

 

[roseboy64]

TBF both parties have blame in this but would back the WICB to share most of it.

 

[TT Boy]

No Brathwaite. Better him than some 36 year old hack.

Windies XI - Omar Phillips, Dale Richards, Floyd Reifer (capt), Travis Dowlin, David Bernard, Chadwick Walton (wk), Darren Sammy, Nikita Miller, Tino Best, Ryan Austin, Kemar Roach.

Got some pace there but two spinners in Miller and Austin.

Bangla Boys won the toss and elected to bat.

 

[killagee]

From my point of view the standing after 2 tests will be 1:0 WI

 

[Chubb]

I'm surprised Bangladesh batted first. I'd sooner get in amongst those inexperienced batsmen in these conditions. They can sit back in the field and get accustomed to it now.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

No Brathwaite. Better him than some 36 year old hack.

Tbf, Reifer has been quality more often than not at domestic level, by Caribbean standards. And is the only batsman with Test experience, so that's a fair enough selection. Would prefer Brathwaite to Dowlin though.

 

[Pothas]

Madness... but the result will be an interesting if very low-quality match. Bangladesh should win, but will they? Could Ireland, Kenya or the Netherlands beat this West Indies team? Wish I could watch some of it.

Bit of a no win situation for Bangldesh really, will gain no plaudits if they win but a loss would be disasterous and greatly stengthen the case for those who think they should lose test status. Hope they win it, even if it does prove nothing.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Well obviously it's better to win and stay where they are than to lose and take 5 steps back, in public estimation. That's motivation enough to win.

 

[Craig]

You know it would of been a joke had a 16 year old had played.

 

[roseboy64]

WEST INDIES CRICKET BOARD STATEMENT REGARDING MEETING WITH WEST INDIES PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION

 

[NUFAN]

It's funny that Mortaza could become Bangladesh's most successful captain of all time if he wins both of these matches, how's the weather for the rest of the Test?

Edit: Roseboy, does this mean that the 'real' Windies team will play in the Second Test?

 

[roseboy64]

If you read he statement it said former players and the meeting lasted 23 minutes.

 

[NUFAN]

I read the statement and I read this part:

As an act of good faith, WICB has determined that, in the best interest of West Indies cricket, it will pay to its former players the sums it had offered to pay during its previous negotiations with WIPA.

But yeah re-reading it I understand the situation.

 

[roseboy64]

Yep. Oh and reports indicating more showers.

 

[pup11]

This is pretty painful to watch for me as cricket fan, I have immense respect for West Indies cricket and its history and to see West Indian cricket hit such lows, time after time is very, very disappointing.

I was listening to Tony Cozier yesterday, he felt that West Indian cricket should withdraw itself from international cricket for the next 3-4 years, and restructure the system from the grass-root levels, and he felt that if it isn't done quickly, cricket in West Indies could soon find itself on the verge of extinction.

 

[G.I.Joe]

This is pretty painful to watch for me as cricket fan, I have immense respect for West Indies cricket and its history and to see West Indian cricket hit such lows, time after time is very, very disappointing.

I was listening to Tony Cozier yesterday, he felt that West Indian cricket should withdraw itself from international cricket for the next 3-4 years, and restructure the system from the grass-root levels, and he felt that if it isn't done quickly, cricket in West Indies could soon find itself on the verge of extinction.

No way, pup. Cozier is thinking with his heart, not his brain. The issue at hand is that of a cash crunch. If the WI players haven't been paid for 4 series', the only explanation is a lack of funds (or the appearance of) at the WICB. Its now plain obvious that the ODI series against India was scheduled for the sole purpose of tiding over that crisis. Now that the series is over, and the WI players have held up their end of the bargain, they have demanded to see some of those earnings trickling down their way. They have been denied still, which reflects poorly on the financial incompetence of the fat cats at the WICB. Withdrawing from cricket for 3-4 years would sound the death knell for WI cricket; no play would equate to no income. The only solution, obviously unlikely to be put into place, would be to dissolve the current WICB and get a new set of board members installed.

 

[morgieb]

If Floyd Reifer the only specialist batsman with test experience, and Tino Best got called up despite his ICL links, then the side must be DTSTL.

Oh well, at least gives Bangladesh a chance to win for once.

 

[NUFAN]

Where's Allen Sanford when you need him?

 

[shivfan]

Very very sad and dire situation..it will be such a shame if Windes lose a test home series to Bangladish.. Just thinking.. those of you who was watching cricket back in 70s, 80s and even early 90s..did you guys ever thought that a dominate team such as West Indies would have to go through this one day? I mean think about.. back in those days winning a test series against West Indies was such a highly accomplished achievement..this is in a sense a legacy that the those teams left behind.. today it seems that not only West Indies players but also officials and board doesn't care about the legacy that those teams of West Indies left behind..it is such a shame..

Ah, Kumar, what can I say?

When we watched the dominance of the Lloyd and Richards era, we thought it would never end....

That's what makes the current situation so hard to accept. I compensate for it by reading about the good old days, and being nostalgic.

Hopefully, it will continue to rain in Kingstown!

 

[shivfan]

Tbf, Reifer has been quality more often than not at domestic level, by Caribbean standards. And is the only batsman with Test experience, so that's a fair enough selection. Would prefer Brathwaite to Dowlin though.

I agree about Reifer....

He has been one of the top run-getters in this season's domestic four-day competition. He's only been overlooked because of his age. However, given the current situation, someone of his age is probably needed to lead a very inexperienced team.

Personally, I think someone of Dowlin's experience is needed too, given how limited our batting is for this match. If Braithwaite was to come into the team, IMHO it would have to be at the expense of one of the bowlers/allrounders. I mean, we have two pacers, two spinners, and two allrounders!