**Official** England in The West Indies

[tooextracool]

Plus re:WC2003 and the following ODI series between WI and Aus, England couldn't beat Aus but the WI eventually did. Discounting the fact that the series was already won by Aus(poor showing by the players but they eventually got back to the form they were in in the WC during the opening match vs SA.What i'm really trying to say is that the WI are a much better ODi side than England(marginally).And about Gough, Anderson and Flintoff, they're not as imposing as Pollock and Ntini but the WI did pretty well aganist them, didn't they?

first of all WI played australia at home and the series was already over before they won those last 2 games. sure england couldnt beat australia..but they came closest to beating australia that anyone else in that entire wc..they should've won but just didnt finish the job.for me that england team was good enough to reach the semi finals of the wc.
IMO gough,anderson and flintoff are better than pollock and ntini....its 3 on 2 here and compared to the WI bowling attack i think they are ahead by a mile.

 

[Adamc]

Weather report, anyone? Apparently the ground is wet and there is a high chance of further rain

 

[Swervy]

first of all WI played australia at home and the series was already over before they won those last 2 games. sure england couldnt beat australia..but they came closest to beating australia that anyone else in that entire wc..they should've won but just didnt finish the job.for me that england team was good enough to reach the semi finals of the wc.
IMO gough,anderson and flintoff are better than pollock and ntini....its 3 on 2 here and compared to the WI bowling attack i think they are ahead by a mile.

yeah gotta agree, England looked like a top 4 team in the world cup,and would probably have made the semi's if the Zimbabwe issue hadnt happened.

Gough is a proven performer (see last year) in ODI's,Anderson is a game winner in my opinion in ODI's,and Flintoff has quietly improved his bowling so much that i think in ODI's he could be considered in the top 5 pace bowlers in the world. WI's bowling attack just hasnt got that in their favour.

For me England are a lot more rounded as a team..WI will rely on the odd player having a great game (more likely to be Lara, but also Gayle or Sarwan) to give them a chance.

 

[Swervy]

i will also be very interested to see if harmison can carry forward his test match form...his problem with wides appears to be sorted.

I hope for his sake, he doesnt think too much about it and just steams in and bowls.

 

[luckyeddie]

Weather report, anyone? Apparently the ground is wet and there is a high chance of further rain

The last I heard, they were using a helicopter to dry out the pitch. Poor weather forecast, poor forecast for the reserve day too.

 

[marc71178]

????????????? Much better marginally????????????????

I saw that.

For me, they're 2 of about 6 or 7 that are very close to each other - the 3 to remove are Australia, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

 

[marc71178]

Haha, well so India have superstar players who know when the chips are down and can step it up? That makes India a worse team than Australia? You can't beat us, so quit your whining. When you win a Test Series against India, then come talk to me!

And when India start winning series consistently and embark on 16 or 17 match winning runs, maybe you can come talk to us.

 

[marc71178]

Weather report, anyone? Apparently the ground is wet and there is a high chance of further rain

Radio here just said play to start in 2 hours.

 

[marc71178]

i will also be very interested to see if harmison can carry forward his test match form...his problem with wides appears to be sorted.

Lillee and Cooley identified his problem (in the action) and have fixed it - the difference is clear to be seen - although some of the comparisons I've seen in the Wisden Cricketer shock me!

 

[Rich2001]

Radio here just said play to start in 2 hours.

Yep just heard that too on TV, they think it might be just over the 2 hours mark though and in which case the game would be reduced to a 40 over game, so not too much lost.

 

[Swervy]

Radio here just said play to start in 2 hours.

i guess we are looking at a 35over slog...nice one

 

[biased indian]

come on w.I hit harmison for 60 in his 7 overs and win the match

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

The last I heard, they were using a helicopter to dry out the pitch. Poor weather forecast, poor forecast for the reserve day too.

That's typical Guyanese weather. That's why they lost their Test match for this season. It was moved to Jamaica instead.

 

[garage flower]

Windies have gone for Dwayne Smith ahead of Hinds and Bravo and Bradshaw are also playing, with Collymore missing out.

I guess (and hope) that Smith's inclusion has a lot to do with his medium pace being more suited to the conditions.

A shortened game should certainly suit the Windies, who's batting looks worringly inexperienced and fragile, particularly with Lara out.

Looking forward to seeing the new faces though.

 

[marc71178]

come on w.I hit harmison for 60 in his 7 overs and win the match

Actually I don't think he'll play.

For me:

Trescothick
Vaughan
Strauss
Collingwood
Flintoff
Clarke
Read
Giles
Anderson
Gough
Kirtley

 

[PY]

Interestingly enough, I heard on the radio that it was going to be a 25 over slog-a-thon. And one of the guys on TalkSport (W.I. fella who's name escapes me) said England would have the advantage because of Twenty20, now I think I'm right in saying that none of the England players will have played Twenty20 because of their central contracts?

I also heard that England were considering not playing a specialist keeper and getting an extra batsman in? That would be rather innovative to say the least......anyone know of any precedence of this?

 

[garage flower]

Actually I don't think he'll play.

For me:

Trescothick
Vaughan
Strauss
Collingwood
Flintoff
Clarke
Read
Giles
Anderson
Gough
Kirtley

Given the form of Vaughan and Trescothick - Antigua not withstanding - that also looks like a shaky batting line-up.

It strikes me as bizarre that Jones replaced Read for the tests because his batting was better, but then Read returns for the 1-dayers to potentially bat at 7 in a side that again seems to lack batting depth.

 

[garage flower]

Interestingly enough, I heard on the radio that it was going to be a 25 over slog-a-thon. And one of the guys on TalkSport (W.I. fella who's name escapes me) said England would have the advantage because of Twenty20, QUOTE]

I'm not sure about that. Most of the Windies batsmen play test matches like they're in a Twenty20 game!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Windies have gone for Dwayne Smith ahead of Hinds and Bravo and Bradshaw are also playing, with Collymore missing out.

I guess (and hope) that Smith's inclusion has a lot to do with his medium pace being more suited to the conditions.

A shortened game should certainly suit the Windies, who's batting looks worringly inexperienced and fragile, particularly with Lara out.

Looking forward to seeing the new faces though.

I actually would prefer Smith to Hinds in a shortend match such as a 25 or 30 over affair. He has more potential to get the ball over the ropes and the rest of the batting lineup is pretty solid, especially with Bravo and Bradshaw. Rampaul isn't too bad himself.

 

[Swervy]

Mark Nicholas has just suggested:

Trescothick
vaughan
Collingwood
Clarke
Flintoff
Blackwell
Strauss
Read
Gough
Kirtley
Anderson