*Official* West Indies Tour of England 2020

[Starfighter]

I see Stokes doing it all himself again.

 

[morgieb]

Next two days going to be intriguing as anything. Do wonder if England have enough time to force a positive result in their direction....though I wouldn?t want to chase anything over 200.

 

[DriveClub]

Still think England has a good chance to win from here, a lower order cameo from stokes, butler etc and WI crumble under 4th innings pressure. WI would've liked another 30-40 runs lead.

 

[harsh.ag]

55-31-14 in favour of Windies-draw-England

 

[Pothas]

Think an England win is just as likely as a draw.

 

[harsh.ag]

Betway thinks an England win is more likely than a draw. I was going by the rainfall. But perhaps the forecast is clear.

 

[morgieb]

Betway thinks an England win is more likely than a draw. I was going by the rainfall. But perhaps the forecast is clear.

Yeah next two days look clear.

Flip draw and England around and I think your odds are close to on the money though.

 

[Howe_zat]

Fourth day

Think the third day was pretty even, but yesterday killed us, not without a chance, but can't be confident with our batting line-up. Should be really sunny, who knows maybe picking a spinner will be our trump card, but long way to get to a point that that matters.

Yeah pretty much. Was only listening to it for most of the day but it seemed like neither side were able to get over the other repeatedly. England conceded a considerable lead but Anderson and Bess were at least able to chip away which meant when the good spell finally came we didn't have a huge amount left to do to get through to the tail.

I kept expecting England's attack to come back into it and restrict the lead, but it took Stokes with the second new ball which is a big idictment of the way that Wood and Archer have performed. We have played this game with three fourth seamers it feels like.

 

[Howe_zat]

Ultimately though the real damage - aside from the obvious, which is Root missing makes for a very fragile top order - is that England decided last week that we were going to pick an attack to bowl second in a high scoring game, and then never reconsider that when the weather on the first two days looked like making a mockery of that. Batting first wasn't just an error based on the conditions on the morning, it's also a poor reading of the players that both sides have avaiable.

The West Indies adapted their plan and we didn't. It rather feels like Stokes had his plan for the game given to him and understandably for a stand-in captain didn't adjust on the morning of the Test, even though that's presumably why we retained a 13-man squad in the first place.

Archer and Wood having a higher ceiling and with more variety than Broad and Woakes makes a lot of sense as a game plan if you expect the game to be 400 plays 350. As it is, it's more like an early season game where the bowlers can not only get a lot out of the conditions but also have a responsibility to do so without conceding runs. Bowlers who 'take the pitch out of the equation' can be a negative too.

 

[StephenZA]

Did anybody expect 400+ innings with these batting line-ups? I feel the bowling would have to be pretty terrible.

 

[honestbharani]

Taking the pitch out of the equation only makes sense when it is not helping you, as a bowler. Otherwise, gimme the guys who will utilize it best every day of the week.

 

[Howe_zat]

Fwiw I thought Dom Bess did a lot right yesterday and played a significant role in keeping England in the game.

 

[honestbharani]

If England make 300, do we fancy Windies chasing 200? I actually think they might pull it off.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

If England make 300, do we fancy Windies chasing 200? I actually think they might pull it off.

A lot depends on how many tricks the pitch plays on day 5. Sometimes 200 on a day 5 track is like 400 but so far it seems like this one isn't going to become a minefield.

 

[honestbharani]

Yeah, we do have to remember it will basically be a day 4 track with the amount of overs it has had on it and having been under covers for almost entire day on Day 1.

 

[honestbharani]

Honestly think Buttler should tee off when he does bat. His solid looking 30s won't cut it and there is a good chance he won't hang around if he tries to defend too much early on.

 

[the big bambino]

If England make 300, do we fancy Windies chasing 200? I actually think they might pull it off.

You'd have to look at the WI batting line up and ask "who would i bank on to get those runs?" Pretty scanty isn't it? For temperament Holder. The WI best chance is that England's batting is so fragile I think they'd be grateful to get 150 in front and in that case both sides would think themselves capable.

 

[honestbharani]

Yeah a chase of 150-180 would be an even game. 200, even I would say is in England's favor as things stand. Just a gut feeling about Windies scoring 200. If they make 200 in the 4th dig for the win, will be a big pleasant surprise tbh.

 

[Flem274*]

i know selectors feel more comfortable when you have some extreme pace in the bank but i thought playing both was definitely an error and you could even argue broad is intimidating enough with his bounce to play anderson-broad-woakes-bess and get both bowling allrounders in there.

england is probably one of the most forgiving places for not having extreme pace as well thanks to the conditions and the duke ball swinging for longer (not to say england never has flat or tough decks - lords and cardiff spring to mind historically - but this one here doesn't require extreme speed imo).

 

[Woodster]

Honestly think Buttler should tee off when he does bat. His solid looking 30s won't cut it and there is a good chance he won't hang around if he tries to defend too much early on.

Buttler still seems a little perplexed as to how he’s supposed to bat in Test cricket. The reaction would be most disapproving if he gets out teeing off but we have to accept that that is possible if we want him to bat in his most natural way and affect Test matches more than he is doing currently. Personally I’d rather he be dismissed attacking the opposition than what he’s doing currently by snicking off when he’s feeling for one or just tamely chipping one to an infielder because in his mind he’s battling his naturally attacking instincts.

Everyone knows it’s very different to ODI cricket and certainly not as easy as just going out hitting the ball like in ODI’s. Think he said recently improving his defence is the key to allow his attacking game to flourish, which doesn’t sound like he’s going to take the aggressive option, but it does make sense. You do at stages (generally when you first get out there) have to defend in Test matches, even the great Adam Gilchrist and Brendon McCullum needed that solid foundation with which to build. Buttler has now played 41 Test matches, that should be enough for him to find the right tempo and balance of defence and aggression to make the most of his obvious x-factor.