**Official** Bangladesh in West Indies

[Revelation]

i'm from the WI and i;ve never heard of him. Let's hope that the selectors know what they are doing. They (well Lara) were on spot with Edwards, but crickteters don't just fall from the sky and the same cannot apply to everyone.

 

[tooextracool]

Not better openers but better players are there.

it depends on whether you can call gayle an opener....AFAIC if WI want to retain gayle in the test side then they must get his batting position right, bat him at 6 because he is clearly vulnerable to the new ball.

 

[tooextracool]

i think bravo has real potential both with ball and bat and ian bradshaw has an amazingly smooth action(if only he had a little more pace). i dont think there are any problems with the bowling attack at present that they need to call on dillon or collymore who were just mediocre bowlers with a little bit more experience.
the batting lineup is what worries me, gayle has been inconsistent, i havent seen anything special from ricardo powell yet and devon smith hasnt played too much ODI cricket.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

i'm from the WI and i;ve never heard of him. Let's hope that the selectors know what they are doing. They (well Lara) were on spot with Edwards, but crickteters don't just fall from the sky and the same cannot apply to everyone.

Darren Sammy is a Bravo-type player. Decent batsman and decent bowler.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I just cannot understand the West Indian selection policies.
Again, there will be another new cap on this tour.

I don't see the problem with exposing a prospective allrounder to English conditions though. I doubt he'll play that much, but it'll be good experience. As much as I like Collymore and Dillon, I'd have to agree that their time is probably up, especially as Edwards, Best etc are bringing the goods.

 

[garage flower]

I doubt Gayle's spot in the one-day side is under any threat whatsoever, regardless of his present batting form.

Probably not, given that he's effectively an all-rounder in the short game, but if he struggles for runs in England - as a few of us are predicting he might given his technical shortcomings - then he ought to be under pressure.

Sarwan and Lara are certainly ahead of him in the batting pecking order; Shiv probably is; Dwayne Smith and Powell are preferred starters due to their big hitting and fantastic fielding and Bravo is staking a claim as another all-rounder.

If Gayle does struggle for runs early in the tri-series he could come under real pressure from Devon Smith.

Still, after all that, I certainly wouldn't consider dropping him unless his bad runs continues for quite a while.

 

[Tim]

It's all well and good to bring in new players, but how can a team gel if the team is constantly changing and with 20 year olds only being given 1 series to prove if their up to standard or not?.

 

[roseboy64]

I've never heard of Sammy either.If he was going to be given a chance it should have been against Bangladesh.If he failed against them as Joseph did then we know he's not top level material.Nobody in the WI has ever named him as emerging talent as far as I know so I don't see why he should have been given a callup instead of guys like Marlon Samuels and the Hinds' who have shown that they can perform(to some extent).

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

It's all well and good to bring in new players, but how can a team gel if the team is constantly changing and with 20 year olds only being given 1 series to prove if their up to standard or not?.

Well recently those 20 years olds have been given more than a series. Bravo will play in his 3rd consecutive ODI series and Dwayne Smith in his 4th. Edwards has been used sparingly due to the desire that he stay fit, but he's been in the squad in 4 straight series.

Ravi Rampaul heads for his 5th consecutive ODI series and Sammy will play his first. Over all I think the WICB is improving, albeit still blind to the basic deficiencies in the infrastructure of West Indian cricket, but that's another story (and an upcoming feature article ).

 

[Tim]

Fair enough then, we'll see how they go in England.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I've never heard of Sammy either.If he was going to be given a chance it should have been against Bangladesh.If he failed against them as Joseph did then we know he's not top level material.

IMO you're far too harsh on Joseph. He failed in the first match, but then most of the side had an off day. In the second match he came out with one ball left in the innings. Surely you can't blame a man for being caught on the boundary first ball in those circumstances!

 

[roseboy64]

I know but he's supposed to be a batsman.The only reason he played was because Lara "declined" from playing.To give a few guys a chance to view future talent for when he retires.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

If Gayle does struggle for runs early in the tri-series he could come under real pressure from Devon Smith.

Still, after all that, I certainly wouldn't consider dropping him unless his bad runs continues for quite a while.

Simply, Devon Smith can't bowl. Regardless of Gayle's batting form, he's probably the most effective ODI bowlers in the West Indies team and among the best situational bowlers in the world in limited over cricket. Gayle won't be dropped.

 

[Craig]

Well recently those 20 years olds have been given more than a series. Bravo will play in his 3rd consecutive ODI series and Dwayne Smith in his 4th. Edwards has been used sparingly due to the desire that he stay fit, but he's been in the squad in 4 straight series.

Ravi Rampaul heads for his 5th consecutive ODI series and Sammy will play his first. Over all I think the WICB is improving, albeit still blind to the basic deficiencies in the infrastructure of West Indian cricket, but that's another story (and an upcoming feature article ).

So where is Sammy from?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

St. Lucia.

 

[roseboy64]

No wonder nobody knew about him.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I knew about him. The WICB knew about him. That's enough.

 

[garage flower]

I knew about him. The WICB knew about him. That's enough.

I've certainly heard his name mentioned as a prospect. Don't see any problem in calling him up and having a look at him in what should be an interesting, if hardly vital, series.

 

[garage flower]

Some worrying reports from the Board XI game despite an encouraging batting performance.

Apparently, around 7 catches dropped in the Bangladesh inns, which stands at just 120-odd for 4. More slip-shod cricket by the sounds of things.

 

[garage flower]

Windies have named their squad for the 1st test:

Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Dave Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins.

A bit of a surprise to see Mohammed suddenly recalled, but there's no reason why he shouldn't still be regarded as the best specialist spin option - after a fairly promising debut in South Africa - so I'm happy enough with that.

Can anyone though, shed any light on the continued absence of Ryan Hinds? Is he injured? Has he annoyed the Master Blaster by suggesting that Vivian is really a girl's name? Whenever the name Hinds comes up in selection meetings does everyone say: "Nah, he's that useless Jamaican left-hander who never moves his feet and always drives the ball in the air. Let's pick Dwayne Smith."
"Ah, but isn't he that infuriating Bajan who hits everything in the air....".
"Then what about Daren Gan- Ugh!"

**at which point the men in white coats appear, grab the clearly bewildered selector in a choke hold and quickly carry him away, to strangled/addled cries of: "But he.. *choke* *splutter*...plays so straight...He'll score - aaargh, that's my trachea your crushing! - hundreds. Daaaaarrreeeennn....."

Or, am I making a mountain out of a molehill and he's actually not good enough?

Answers on a postcard to.....Hang on, on second thoughts you could just reply to this thread.