**Official** West Indies in England Thread

[V Reddy]

Lawson actually looked quite good in the Natwest series and appeared to be returning to match fitness and form. Very encouraging.

How is his action now? I read on Skysports site, both Lloyds and Wills were doubting the legality of his action and that he needs to work on it more

 

[MoxPearl]

-England to win 1
-West Indies to win 1
-Rain will be the winner with West Indies thrashing england as the rain comes down.

I just wanna see how england will go against a full strength side.. cause they aint proved it this summer in england yet

 

[Revelation]

England-3
West Indies-0

Lara to get to 10,000 runs and probably to 28 centuries. Could be another 500+ series for him.

Harmison to do well at home. Possibly 20-25 wickets.

Vaughan to rebound. Could be a 500+ series for him too.

Edwards to be WI best bowler. Probably about 20 wickets.

Debutant of the tournament: Dwayne Bravo

 

[Adamc]

England-3
West Indies-0

Lara to get to 10,000 runs and probably to 28 centuries. Could be another 500+ series for him.

Harmison to do well at home. Possibly 20-25 wickets.

Vaughan to rebound. Could be a 500+ series for him too.

Edwards to be WI best bowler. Probably about 20 wickets.

Debutant of the tournament: Dwayne Bravo

If Vaughan scores 500+ for the series I will eat this post.
I expect Sarwan to play a key role, IMO he is the most technically proficient of the WI batsmen and has the ability and temperament to score heavily on seaming pitches if they appear. The outcome of Harmison v. Lara may well decide the series, but the contest I am most looking forward to is Best v. Trescothick. 1-0 to Best after the Lord's ODI so far.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

How is his action now? I read on Skysports site, both Lloyds and Wills were doubting the legality of his action and that he needs to work on it more

It's certainly better than last year and the ICC don't have a problem with it, so I don't either.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

England-3
West Indies-0

Lara to get to 10,000 runs and probably to 28 centuries. Could be another 500+ series for him.

Harmison to do well at home. Possibly 20-25 wickets.

Vaughan to rebound. Could be a 500+ series for him too.

Edwards to be WI best bowler. Probably about 20 wickets.

Debutant of the tournament: Dwayne Bravo

That scoreline looks about right, possible 2-0 England though.

Lara does look in superb nick atm. Wouldn't it be funny if he didn't even get past 10,000 this series though...

Harmison is bowling as well as he'd hope so I'd back that.

I don't see Vaughan scoring consistently.

I think Collins will be our best bowler. I don't expect Edwards to be fit at any point in the series.

Bravo adds an energy to the team that we could definitely use. He's also not a half bad player.

 

[garage flower]

Is Bravo a test number 6? I could see them playing him at 7 as he's done well in the ODI's with an extra batsman at 6. Maybe Dw Smith, who's hugely talented and should only get better with experience. Is Banks the spinner? If so, it's unlikely he would do a vast amount over here. Most spinners don't, although I suppose Old Trafford & The Oval have been known to take spin.

Bravo probably isn't a test no. 6, but I think he's a better bet than Dwayne Smith at the moment. He's been much more successful in first class cricket than either Smith or Powell and seems to be a lot more level-headed than either, despite his worrying tendency to work straight balls aerially through mid-wicket. Obviously, he'd also bolster the bowling attack significantly. If available, Marlon Samuels or W Hinds would still be my pick for the troublesome 6th batsman spot.

I missed most of Banks wicket taking exploits against Bangladesh, but apparently he was giving the ball some air and getting decent turn. Impressed with the bat and with his attitude when first coming into the side and only lost his place through injury. I'd definitely pick him.

 

[garage flower]

Chanderpaul to be man of the series and Harmison to have a strong (not spectacular) series.

Shiv doesn't seem to be in any kind of form to me. Sarwan looks in great nick and I'm hoping he'll really step up to support BCL.

As a Windies fan, I'd probably settle for a strong, non-spectacular performance from Harmison.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I've been saying it since before he debuted. I think Banks is the ideal no.6 batsman for the West Indies. He has the potential to be better than Hooper. His technique and temperament are sound and he's a potentially better bowler IMO. The WI selectors seem to fancy picking him as a fourth bowler, but I don't think he (or any other finger spinner in the world bar Harbhajan) is worthy of playing as a fourth bowler outside of the subcontinent. He's just not going to be effective enough on non-turning pitches to justify it.

I'd love to see this lineup take shape:

CH Gayle
DS Smith
RR Sarwan (C)
BC Lara
S Chanderpaul
OAC Banks/DDJ Bravo
RD Jacobs (wk)
Tough spot to fill - a bowler who can bat. If Bravo establishes himself a bit more with the ball it will be very helpful in this regard.
TL Best
PT Collins
FH Edwards

Backup: RO Hinds, JJC Lawson, CS Baugh, DR Smith, RL Powell, D Mohammed, R Rampaul

If we are to play a specialist spinner it should be Dave Mohammed. As a wrist spinner he should be more effective than Banks and can bat a bit too.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Shiv doesn't seem to be in any kind of form to me. Sarwan looks in great nick and I'm hoping he'll really step up to support BCL.

As a Chanderpaul fan over the years, it pains me to say that he doesn't look like he's interested much in playing cricket anymore. It's a bit like Lara was up until a year and a half ago. Chanderpaul has always been the one solid piece in the West Indies lineup (and Jacobs) but he's really starting to worry me now.

 

[garage flower]

I'd love to see this lineup take shape:

CH Gayle
DS Smith
RR Sarwan (C)
BC Lara
S Chanderpaul
OAC Banks/DDJ Bravo
RD Jacobs (wk)
Tough spot to fill - a bowler who can bat. If Bravo establishes himself a bit more with the ball it will be very helpful in this regard.
TL Best
PT Collins
FH Edwards

So, in the present circumstances, would you go for Banks AND Bravo as per my team, or risk a 4th specialist bowler?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

So, in the present circumstances, would you go for Banks AND Bravo as per my team, or risk a 4th specialist bowler?

I depends on the type of surface. However, if I were to pick Bravo and Banks, the West Indies had better post at least 350-400 in a complete innings. If they'll still be falling away for 200-300 runs, there's no sense in picking either Banks or Bravo ahead of a specialist bowler.

 

[Protea]

Isn't Fidel Edwards a bit of a gamble? He has tons of talent and can bowl brilliantly at times, but he loses it in pressure situations. I remember the 4th Test at Centurion when SA were required to score 40-odd to win. He tried to knock the heads off of Smith and Gibbs rather than attempt to get them out, thus regaining some pride. He bowled 2 or 3 no balls over Smith's shoulder, all going for 4 byes. How do his domestic records read?

 

[marc71178]

I just wanna see how england will go against a full strength side.. cause they aint proved it this summer in england yet

There was a picture that LE put on the forum last November that would be very apt here...

 

[marc71178]

As a Windies fan, I'd probably settle for a strong, non-spectacular performance from Harmison.

To be fair, he was pretty much that in the NZ series, and he took 21 wickets!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Isn't Fidel Edwards a bit of a gamble? He has tons of talent and can bowl brilliantly at times, but he loses it in pressure situations. I remember the 4th Test at Centurion when SA were required to score 40-odd to win. He tried to knock the heads off of Smith and Gibbs rather than attempt to get them out, thus regaining some pride. He bowled 2 or 3 no balls over Smith's shoulder, all going for 4 byes. How do his domestic records read?

Fidel Edwards was clearly overworked and fatigued in South Africa. His domestic record would read about the same as his Test record, but just a bit better. He came into Test cricket after playing just one domestic game.

He's young and largely inexperienced. Give him time.

 

[roseboy64]

But when was Collymore actually in poor form this season? He bowled one bad over in an ODI and has never been heard from since. All through the Test series he was constantly beating the bat, getting edges that dropped short and having catches dropped. How is that poor bowling form?

The question was is Collymore in poor form or is he injured and i said poor form would be more accurate.Get it?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

The question was is Collymore in poor form or is he injured and i said poor form would be more accurate.Get it?

No I don't, because Collymore's not in poor form. Neither is accurate.

 

[Craig]

England-3
West Indies-0

Lara to get to 10,000 runs and probably to 28 centuries. Could be another 500+ series for him.

Harmison to do well at home. Possibly 20-25 wickets.

Vaughan to rebound. Could be a 500+ series for him too.

Edwards to be WI best bowler. Probably about 20 wickets.

Debutant of the tournament: Dwayne Bravo

IMO Tino Best will be the best WI bowler.

I saw him last year on his Test debut v Australia at Barbados, I saw there was potential there if he could fix his run up and his delievery jump, and to his credit he has.

How fit is Simon Jones?

If not James Anderson should play ahead of him.

 

[wpdavid]

To be fair, he (Harmison) was pretty much that in the NZ series, and he took 21 wickets!

Yup. I was pleased to hear him recognise that he wasn't bowling at his best. His attitude is *so* much better nowadays.

Anyway Marc, time to get off the fence. Which 2 from Jones, Hoggard & Anderson should support SH, assuming they're all fit?