***Official*** England in West Indies 2015

[OverratedSanity]

It's a huge problem for us tbh. Kieron Powell or Adrian Barath were supposed to be the annointed ones but for various reasons they aren't around or performing at the moment.

Devon Smith always goes back and scores a shedload of FC runs. This year the openers that scored big runs were Devon, Kraigg and a guy called Tyrone Theopile who has only really done it for one season and so isn't ready yet.

Kirk is done I'm afraid, can't even get into the Barbados side.

What happened to Barath? Scored that amazing hundred on debut and haven't heard from him since. Does he even play FC anymore?

 

[Howe_zat]

Jordan bowls like he could be 5mph faster if he didn't give up running halfway through his delivery stride.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Not seen much since lunch, pitch looks very flat. Should save this WI if they bat sensibly as nothing is happening.

 

[weldone]

Is the CW commentary happening now?

 

[weldone]

Wow, this partnership is making the match somewhat interesting.

 

[harsh.ag]

Bravo scoring a hundred here would so good for test cricket.

 

[91Jmay]

1 down at close and it is interesting. Pitch getting flatter as it goes on.

 

[91Jmay]

Stunning. What a catch.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Brilliant catch, better than his one in the first innings.

 

[ImpatientLime]

holy balls.

seriously, start including this man in your 'best fielder in the world' discussions. insane agility and hands.

 

[91Jmay]

Loose shot that from Bravo in circumstances.

 

[Jarquis]

Serious grab.

 

[Shady Slim]

i guess an advantage of benn and samuels not turning it at all is that the keeper knows exactly where it'll go for a stumping

 

[Niall]

Some much needed good news for Cook and Trott, its due to the West Indies lack of money why they failed this test.

West Indies v England: Tourists falter after James Tredwell takes control of first Test in Antigua - Telegraph

Its Scyld Berry, unsurprisingly.

Almost two years have passed since Alastair Cook scored his last Test century. Another pair of failures here – 11 and 13 – has made it look as though his dire run is interminable.
Cook, drawn half-forward to cover-drive, stabbed a low catch when England began their second innings 104 runs ahead. Opponents know exactly where and how to bowl at him, unlike in his golden youth when he reeled off Test centuries, 25 in all, the most for England.

In this Test, however, there has been a very extenuating circumstance. The balls are of a peculiar manufacture at Test level, and the new ones in West Indian hands have boomeranged round corners. The finest Dukes ball has a recommended retail price of £85. On the verge of bankruptcy, the West Indies board opted for a cheaper version that swings wildly for 15 to 20 overs and then expires.

Darren Bravo was standing innocently at first slip when Gary Ballance faced up to a straightish ball from Jason Holder. It swung so much after pitching that Bravo caught it at first slip without the West Indian wicketkeeper moving. If a ball swings like that, opening the batting is nigh impossible.


The same extenuating circumstance applies to Jonathan Trott, who scored nought and four. It may not be possible to convert him at the age of 33 into an opening batsman – he is curently moving around too much to keep his head steady – but no judgment should be passed on the basis of this Test and this batch of balls. Certainly James Tredwell was unconcerned. Asked if the opening air’s failures were a worry he responded: “Not at all.”
China built this Sir Vivian Richards stadium, where England laboured through much of the third day of the opening Test, at the end of which they had extended their lead to 220. Building this stadium, and the one in Grenada where the second Test will be staged, is a manifestation of China’s soft power.
Unfortunately for James Anderson, who was desperate to beat Sir Ian Botham’s record of 383 Test wickets but finished one short, soft power in cricket seems to come with a string attached: soft pitches. Almost every delivery has kept low after the initial hardness has gone.

So it was a far cry – or rather one long howl of frustration – from traditional West Indian pitches. They used to be rolled and rolled, and not just up and down, as the roller was twisted from side to side so the superficial grass was ripped out and the surface turned into a matt sheen.
Given what Tredwell called “a pretty turgid wicket at times”, a batsman who dropped roots after the new ball had lost its hardness was impossible to excavate unless he made a mistake. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jason Holder did make fatal errors, trying to drive Tredwell through the covers. Jermaine Blackwood did not, batting through the innings for an unbeaten 112 off 220 balls.

Blackwood comes from St Elizabeth, the same south-west Jamaican parish as Jerome Taylor, who is in this West Indian side, and Andre Russell, who could have been but preferred to play in the Indian Premier League with Kolkata Knight Riders. Blackwood and Russell share a house in Jamaica and, if a mortgage is involved, it can be assumed to be in Russell’s name.


Blackwood, 23, played a sparky innings for one in his sixth Test and a previous highest score of 66 not out. His signature shot is a lofted off drive for six, as played to second ball of his innings from Tredwell. When he tried the shot against Anderson he just sliced it into no man’s land – such was Anderson’s luck on what might have been his day of celebration.

Three centuries in consecutive games – the only three before yesterday in Blackwood’s first-class career – had propelled him into the West Indian team last season. But the formative phase seems to have been his two years in the regional Under-19 tournament, something which England lack, when he made a double-century for Jamaica.

England might have – would have – dismissed West Indies sooner if Cook had not taken so many defensive options. Here he could be criticised. They were conservative options, to be precise: ones designed to conserve runs rather than take wickets.

Chanderpaul would have gone first ball on Tuesday if Cook had posted a third slip. He might argue he had two slips and a gully (no short leg), but Chanderpaul is 40, in the twilight of his distinguished career, and Wisden is not required to confirm he has yet to run down the pitch to his first ball from a pace bowler and welly it straight at mid-off or mid-on.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Question for WI posters:

Would you rather Smith played a match-saving (or possibly match-winning) innings (big daddy hundred) and becomes a guaranteed selection for the next 5 years, or he gets knocked over early, the WI lose heavily but find a better long-term opener?

 

[Beamer]

What happened to Barath? Scored that amazing hundred on debut and haven't heard from him since. Does he even play FC anymore?

He got dropped from the T & T team after a run of low scores. Everything seemed on track, he averaged in the late 40s in FC cricket after 3 years, scored that debut hundred etc. Then the Champions League T20 came, followed by the IPL. Barath made a lot of money during that time and developed some really bad habits including hitting the ball at waist height into the covers. Word out of Port of Spain is that he got too much too early and didn't want it badly enough anymore to correct these technical problems. Apparently he has started working on his game again with Gordon Greenidge and others now but I hope it's not too late.

Question for WI posters:

Would you rather Smith played a match-saving (or possibly match-winning) innings (big daddy hundred) and becomes a guaranteed selection for the next 5 years, or he gets knocked over early, the WI lose heavily but find a better long-term opener?

I'd rather he played a match saving knock tbh, it will be good for team morale and there is currently no opener who has scored enough runs consistently to force selection. Shai Hope has opened before but I guess it's a tough ask to throw a youngster in as a make-shift opener against Anderson and Broad

 

[Tangles]

This talk about Cook is premature. Let's give him a few Ashes tests to see how it goes.

 

[Furball]

The thing is, he didn't go downhill. He played his last Test in May 2013, having missed the first four games of the season, and still made 1000 runs @ 50 for the 2013 County season. 2014 was 961 @ 43, so nowhere near as good as his previous three seasons, but hardly "oh no look he's **** now". Three century partnerships with Cook. Two tons of his own vs. NZ in NZ (so a pretty decent attack). Counts for nothing and he's dropped after two bad games. It's inept.

Has already made three half-centuries in between some failures this summer, ftr, after moving from Somerset back to Middlesex. Played a pretty big role in Middlesex hanging on for a draw. It's all pretty irrelevant though, can't see him coming back now. Basically in the Ed Cowan position of "he's good enough to be picked and do a solid job if a position opens up, but he won't be", so he's still holding out some hope but accepting that it might be time to plan for life after cricket.

The selectors as a whole were a ****ing disgrace in 2013. The 3-0 home Ashes win masked how much of a ****ing shambles their selections were all summer, and they then compounded their summer long nonsense by throwing all logic out of the window when selecting the touring party for the return leg.

 

[Tangles]

In a tough spot with Cook being captain with the Ashes up coming. Changing an opener or a captain before or during is a bad situation but both?

 

[Antihippy]

They did it for the world cup. So they've got precedent!