It's a record that needs to improve...and FAST. Tbh that's why i was delighted for your lot against India...first the lower sides have to start beating the top teams at home and then build from there...our recent home record is quite good aswell but we haven't faced the top sides in the Caribbean for a while. The next one will be England in 2015 in a four test series.Yeah strange to think only 11 matches have been won out of the 71 played for the bottom 6 against the top 4.
Of those:
Pakistan won 6
Sri Lanka won 3
and
NZ won 2
Dwayne Bravo is back fit now...and is doing good in the training camp by all accounts. Also the 5th bowler might well be someone who's a spinner like Samuels or Jermaine Blackwood.If you play Roach and Taylor, you need a pace bowling all-rounder at 6 or 7 in case one breaks down. Who plays that role with Sammy gone and Bravo injured?
Could we see a shock recall for Dwayne Smith on IPL form and lack of alternatives (though he doesn't seem to bowl much these days)?
Yep...Carter is playing against Bang A today so he might put himself in the picture if he does well. Pollard would have also been another interesting option but i doubt the selectors are thinking about him right now...long term we have a Barbadian lad named Raymon Reifer (Floyd Reifer's cousin) who has been doing very well and is similar to Cory Anderson with his left-arm bowling and hard hitting in the middle order...although Raymon is probably more of a genuine "quick" than a medium pacer.If the West Indies wanted to select a batting allrounder who bowled medium pace and Bravo hadn't recovered yet, the prime candidates would be Pollard and Jonathan Carter.
Brathwaite can **** off for King Kirk, and Mini Bravo should stay in his rightful first drop spot with Chanders moving up to four. My knowledge of West Indian cricket beyond the immediate squad is extremely limited but Samuels is imo worth persistence and should get a breather at five where his technique can be less exposed while he gets his eyes back.Picking a third spinner when the two quicks have injury clouds hanging over them would be insane. I could understand it - and would support it - if Roach and Taylor weren't just coming back from injury (and in Taylor's case, being incredibly injury prone to begin with), so it has to be Bravo or a medium pacer in that slot IMO.
Gayle
Brathwaite
Samuels/Edwards
Bravo
Chanderpaul
Bravo/All Rounder
Ramdin
Taylor
Narine
Roach
Bishoo/Benn/Shillingford
Looking at that squad i'm happy...a little surprised Brathwaite isn't in instead of Powell but i guess because Kieran has a ton to his name against NZ they went with him...For Immediate Release
Sunday, May 25, 2014
West Indies Test Training Squad vs New Zealand
FULL SQUAD
Denesh Ramdin (Captain)
Sulieman Benn
Darren Bravo
Dwayne Bravo
Shiv Chanderpaul
Kirk Edwards
Shannon Gabriel
Chris Gayle
Jason Holder
Sunil Narine
Shane Shillingford
Kieran Powell
Kemar Roach
Marlon Samuels
Jerome Taylor
They really rate him, I'd probably take him over Gayle these daysWhy Powell? Why?
Elaborate on that statement and justify it as I don't see it..there's no question imo interms of alround skill he's actually better than Darren Bravo....
this...darren bravo is light years ahead of pollard
He plays a wider range of shots..Darren although he's pretty complete he does love the off-side way more than the legside..where-as when Kieran is in full flow he'll hit the ball to all sides of the ground and do it in style..front cover drive, legside sweep, cut on the off-side etc...and he likes to use his feet to the spinners aswell while Darren tends to stay on the backfoot most of the time. But as Darren showed with his 200 in NZ he's a gritty little git and not just all flash...and that's what seperates the two, Powell hasn't learned the art yet of being gritty and digging deep.Elaborate on that statement and justify it as I don't see it.