**Official** England in The West Indies

[Neil Pickup]

Some new wallpaper for all you non-intrasigent cynics:

All photos from www.bbc.co.uk/cricket

 

[Neil Pickup]

Just a side bit of information - the three previous least expensive seven-fors in Tests.

J Briggs 19.1-11-17-7 - Eng v SA (Cape Town) 1888/9
MA Noble 7.4-2-17-7 - Aus v Eng (Melbourne) 1901/2
W Rhodes 11-3-17-7 - Eng v Aus (Edgbaston) 1902

So that's another record for Harmy, then.

 

[Rik]

Some new wallpaper for all you non-intrasigent cynics:

He looks like he can't believe his luck, which wasn't too far from the truth. Amusingly Vaughan looked like he had just won the lottery with someone else's ticket during the post match interview, he knew he'd just been handed the match on a plate. Odd for luck to favor England though, it never usually does!

 

[marc71178]

Whether or not those wickets were gifted or not, I think Harmison earnt them.. He bowled very well in that second innings...

So congratulations where it is due, hes done nicely for himself and those stats dont look too bad

Glad to see that you're big enough to praise him when he does well Rich.

 

[Gaijin-san]

I think it's Hari-Kari.

Nope. Ask a Japanese friend, or acquaintance, if you have one. Failing that, keep it in mind until you do. :P

Originally posted by Neil Pickup
Harmison committed Hara-kiri (spelt OK, Ged?)

Well done. I'm surprised you think I would view this thread, though.

I don't know what happened. I don't think I want to know.

 

[Rik]

Nope. Ask a Japanese friend, or acquaintance, if you have one. Failing that, keep it in mind until you do.

I looked it up on Google. Seems well over a million people can't spell it then

 

[Rik]

Glad to see that you're big enough to praise him when he does well Rich.

Has nothing about how "big" someone is. It's about people's perceptions. Certainly I don't see Liam being told he's "small" here, especially when he's echoed everything I said about what I saw of the day's play on TV.

 

[Rik]

Just a side bit of information - the three previous least expensive seven-fors in Tests.

J Briggs 19.1-11-17-7 - Eng v SA (Cape Town) 1888/9
MA Noble 7.4-2-17-7 - Aus v Eng (Melbourne) 1901/2
W Rhodes 11-3-17-7 - Eng v Aus (Edgbaston) 1902

So that's another record for Harmy, then.

Ahhhh the days of uncovered pitches and gentlemen players! Appears those days are still very much in mind even now!

 

[Craig]

7-12?!

I wonder if a few heads will roll now?

This spell is one occasion where Harmison was in "the zone".

 

[Rik]

No one has mentioned Hoggard yet, so I'll be the 1st. I think he showed exactly how useful he is for England, as the leader of the attack. He's the only England bowler willing to consistantly pitch it up so he will go for a few but will allways trouble the batsmen with his swing, and he bowled well in this Test without full reward. Jones came through well, and when he pitches up he can be deadly, but Hoggard has been unfairly forgotten, he played a blinder.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Now it's time for us Windies supporters to look forward to the next Test I guess. It will be played here in Trinidad, so no TV coverage, but I'll be going to see a day (day 3 likely) so hopefully we'll hold out until then. :P

I would suggest adding another right-hander into the mix to add some variety to the left-hand bias, but Gayle, Smith, Chanderpaul and Hinds are supposedly the best of the batsmen in the region (although only two of them looked it) so that won't be happening. That in mind, I'd keep the batting lineup as is. Hopefully Lara will be fit. If not, they'll stick Powell or Dwayne Smith in there. Of those two I prefer Powell, but ideally I would like to see Floyd Reifer.

The bowling will have to change. Sanford must go. He shouldn't even be allowed to spectate at Test cricket anymore - dreadfully substandard he is. Edwards shouldn't play unless he's 100% fit. Yes, we want to beat England, but preserving his career is more important than a quick fix of glory. This is the way I would have it for the next match...

CH Gayle
DS Smith
RR Sarwan
BC Lara *
S Chanderpaul
RO Hinds
RD Jacobs +
D Mohammed - a spinner should play at the QPO
M Dillon
TL Best
CD Collymore

If Edwards is fit, I'd pick him for either Collymore or Dillon. Tough choice, but Dillon took 8 wickets for QPCC (admittedly not a high standard of cricket though), so he may get the edge.

Had we won or drawn this Test, I would play Ravi Rampaul for Sanford in the next one. However, I would like to see some experience in there with the situation as is.

I'm hesitant to pick Dave Mohammed right now. He seems very much out of form at the moment.

 

[Craig]

Of those two I prefer Powell, but ideally I would like to see Floyd Reifer.

How old is Reifer?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

How old is Reifer?

Reifer is 32 years old and has been one of the most consistent batsmen in regional cricket over the years, especially in the last 2-3 years.

 

[Craig]

Hmmm I doubt they will go for him because of his age.

Buit Drakes was of a similar age when he got picked for his first Test.

 

[badgerhair]

No one has mentioned Hoggard yet, so I'll be the 1st. I think he showed exactly how useful he is for England, as the leader of the attack. He's the only England bowler willing to consistantly pitch it up so he will go for a few but will allways trouble the batsmen with his swing, and he bowled well in this Test without full reward. Jones came through well, and when he pitches up he can be deadly, but Hoggard has been unfairly forgotten, he played a blinder.

Indeed he did, and it was easy not to mention him given the amazing amount of carp being doled out by some people towards what was under any circumstances a pretty reasonable performance by a bowler who seems to be continuing to improve.

I'd hoped Hoggard would do well, because there were some good signs from his pre-tour interview cycle. He now seems to have confidence that he has a specific job to do, and knows what it is and what is expected of him - and feels that it is a job he can do. I think a lot of his failures in the past have been partly because he didn't have that certainty about his role. He now knows that he has to swing the ball when it's new, and try and bowl pressure line and length when it's not, because by drying up the runs he makes it easier for his colleagues.

Steve Harmison was quick to say after the game how important it had been that Hoggard was making life tough and giving nothing away at the other end.

Unless the ball does swing, though, Hoggard does not have any great variation, just discipline - and that's not usually enough to take wickets a-plenty.

But if it is now understood between him and the management that his success is not to be measured solely by the number of wickets he takes but by how well they think he has fulfilled the tasks assigned to him - and putting the brakes on effectively will be one of them - then he ought to feel less tempted than he was in the past to try over-aggressive bowling which he's not very good at on pitches which didn't favour it anyway.

I suspect he will go through his career never getting quite as many wickets as people think he deserves, because people like Harmison and Jones will reap the benefit the way Trueman fed off Statham.

And he's setting a standard which Anderson now has to reach and exceed to get back into the side, which is also a good thing.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Shane Warne]

West Indies at their worst, are the poorest team in the world.

 

[badgerhair]

West Indies at their worst, are the poorest team in the world.

That's a bold claim. Pakistan can be shockingly awful when they want to be.

Chers,

Mike

 

[Rik]

Andre brought up a very interisting point when I was talking to him earlier. What now for Harmison? Not many people are going to read past the figures, so immediately he's got amazing pressure put on him. What now? Will he carry on and become one of the best in the world (or at least damn good) like Ntini, or will he follow Brett Lee and many others on the path to under-achievement? At the end of his career we could quite easily see "...apart from his 7-12 against the West Indies he failed to scale such heights again." Now that he's done it he will be expected to perform a lot more, against a lot stronger teams, against batsmen who actually value their wickets. Let's see what happens. Best in the world or down that lonely path? I'm going for the latter, seems I'm not the only one.

 

[Rik]

That's a bold claim. Pakistan can be shockingly awful when they want to be.

They can be, but as bad as this? (Sorry Liam!!!)

Chers,

Mike

Chers? Come on Mike you are slipping

 

[Gaijin-san]

I looked it up on Google. Seems well over a million people can't spell it then

And you're one of them. Seriously, all you've done now is inflate my ego, by informing me that my knowledge is more accurate than 'well over a million' other people's.

As I've said, 'Hara' is stomach, 'Kiri' is cut. Gee, figure out how that works. I'm sure you're smart enough.

Harakiri - There's a dictionary definition for you.

Alternatively, you could look up the movie 'Harakiri' on Amazon.com.

Also Rik, I'm quite sure you're not noted for your spelling.

I was happy to explain it the first time, but now I've just had to prove myself right once and for all. :P