**Official** England in The West Indies

[Richard]

And you also refuse to accept that players you don't rate can have played well ever.

Rubbish.
I play well occasionally, and I certainly don't rate myself very highly.
Anyone can play well occasionally; it's the consistency that marks how good or bad a player is.

 

[Richard]

So it's all based on one person then?

I bet there's current fielders who have also dropped as few.

Hahahaha, yeah! Right!
Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor and Jonty Rhodes are about the best catchers of the last decade, and I bet they dropped about 60 or 70 catches in their careers. Even Colin Bland, widely recognised (correcly IMO) as the best all-round fielder the game has ever seen, when asked about how many catches he reckoned he'd dropped in his career, said "about 40".
And you think how many First-Class (and in some case List-A!) games these guys have played!

 

[Richard]

you have questioned on another thread several weeks ago what Benaud has said about certain things..was it about Laker or something,you gave the impression that you didnt really respect what Benaud had to say

IMO Richie Benaud is the second best cricket sage of renown ever. I owe him an unbelievable amount; you'd never guess how much I've learnt from cricket from listening to and reading him.
You said you reckon he'd probably not take any notice of me if I tried to point-out that Laker and Croft are about equal in ability. I said if so I would reckon I knew better, having thought the matter through.
What he says about Simpson is barely worthy of questioning. I have done so, of course, and have found that Simpson's catching was electrifying, by any account I can find (reports and video footage).

 

[Richard]

Hopefully this is Sanford's last venture into the top level of cricket. Both Lara and Sarwan seemed reluctant to bowl him, but he certainly wasn't picked for his batting or fielding (which has improved it seems). Sanford looks distinctly less than ordinary and should never have been picked for this or any Test match. This is compounded further by the injury to Edwards.

It really does strain belief that a bowler this bad can have got anywhere near international cricket. I wouldn't have him in a strongest Zimbabwe team; even Dounglas Hondo, Sean Ervine and Travis Friend have to be about as good.
Collymore hasn't been that impressive either (and far too many no-balls) but Sanford has just been woeful.
I too hope he is never picked for international cricket again, it's just painful. You've got to have some sympathy for him.
Possibly could add him to the list including Upashantha, Alamgir Kabir, Kumaran and the like.

 

[Richard]

Lara has a dislocated little finger for those of us who don't know. He will likely bat if needed though.

Edwards has a back strain. It was thought to be only slight initially and he went off the field due precautionary measaures, but now it is feared to be more serious.

Backs something you want to be careful with... always.
I hope no-one pushed Fidel too hard to rejoin the game, as it could have quite serious consequences.
I also hope Lara doesn't put the short-term above the long-term. It would be a shame for him to miss any part of this series, or be sub-par.

 

[Richard]

Doesnt surprise me.

Plays like a millon dollars but gets out to a 5 cent shot. Or a millon dollar ball.

Thing is, though, it's still 46.
Might have got some criticism for it, but at the end of the day his average goes up, not down.
So hence it'll all be forgotten the next time something happens which we can praise him for.

 

[Richard]

60 extras is horrendous...even in club matches it doesn't get to that type of standard (in NZ anyway)

Don't get that many overs in club games, though, do you...
The number of no-balls this innings has been ludicrous; wides have been too frequent (no Test-match should ever see any wides, really); byes haven't been too bad.
Lots has been down to leg-byes which says far more about the batsmen than it does about the bowlers.

 

[Richard]

Best's action has improved 10 fold since when I last saw him play.... He looks pretty good now

Still... a wicket with a Long-Hop, a wicket with a ball that says far more about the pitch than the bowler, and another wicket with a Long-Hop.
Not too impressive for mine. Like to see him when Butchie, Nass and Thorpey are in full flow. Got a feeling he might be in for a bit of a pasting.

 

[Richard]

*stands and applauds the extras column on a chanceless fifty*

Maybe it was chanceless, but they were still gifted plenty by those useless English batsmen who couldn't get bat on those freebee leg-side deliveries.

 

[Richard]

It's because Jones is ridiculously over-rated with the bat thanks to a slog-filled 44 on debut, whilst Hoggard can defend and it's a new ball.

Blimey, someone else who can accept that without trying to pretend it said something about his bowling ability... :rolleyes:
(MCJ again)
Hoggard is a much better batter than Jones IMO. Still, it is worrying that we've got him coming in at nine. After the might of Flintoff, Read and Giles.

 

[Richard]

Don't knock it.

For one who allegedly cannot bat, he did a damn fine hour and a half of staying in and edging a small lead for England.

Thanks to some work with Duncan prior especially to the 2002 summer he found-out he was a much better batter than he ever realised he was.
Still, not one who's likely to do much against a quality attack. And yes, still qualifying as a "rabbit" IMO.

 

[Richard]

And after just 3 overs on the fourth day, Gayle for the second time in the match gifts his wicket to Harmison. Lara not padded-up.

 

[tooextracool]

And after just 3 overs on the fourth day, Gayle for the second time in the match gifts his wicket to Harmison. Lara not padded-up.

and thats precisely why ive always said that chris gayle is not up to test match standard

 

[Neil Pickup]

Harmison traps Sarwan LBW

SJ Harmison 5-4-4-2

 

[Richard]

and thats precisely why ive always said that chris gayle is not up to test match standard

So why then does he average as he does?
He'll hammer Harmison around the park before this series is out, mark my words, proving Harmison's substandardness and his class.

 

[Richard]

Harmison traps Sarwan LBW

SJ Harmison 5-4-4-2

What you clearly mean is Harper gives Harmison another wicket that he deserved no credit for as the ball was quite clearly too high.
As a piece of paper drifts across the ground and Hussain disposes of it.

 

[Neil Pickup]

So why then does he average as he does?
He'll hammer Harmison around the park before this series is out, mark my words.

Well, it's Harmison 2-0 Gayle right now.

 

[Neil Pickup]

SJ Harmison 5.5-4-5-3, then.

 

[tooextracool]

So why then does he average as he does?
He'll hammer Harmison around the park before this series is out, mark my words.

im quite surprised that someone like u thinks highly of chris gayle. if u watch the way he bats u would realise that he drives away from his body and barely moves his feet-no technique. if u analyse all of chris gayle's performances u would realise that he plays well on flat wickets that dont offer much movement and when the ball seams abt he plays shot like he just did. yes i wouldnt be surprised if he does hammer harmison around the park before this series is out because harmison is ordinary and it would most likely happen on a pitch that is as dead as dodo sorta like guyana(if they are playing there)

 

[tooextracool]

can someone gimme an update on the pitch....is it up and down or seaming all over the place??its hard to imagine harmison with god like figures while hoggard hasnt even taken a single wicket