**Official** West Indies in England Thread

[superkingdave]

Not on that occasion - maybe you missed it but it definitely went round...some members of the pavilion carried it - maybe only one or two - but that still counts

Mister Wright - you try getting some ****ed blokes to do a Mexican wave in that kind of heat...'tis not an easy task...actually...I lied...it probably WAS an easy task...

LOL yeah it did get round a couple of times later on...had to laugh at the Kids in the Lions Den trying to get one going at 12:00, thats enthusiasm for you!

Pickup, they'll porbably decide on the ticketing arrangements for Day 5 nearer the time depending on the state of the game i would have thought it will probably be a tenner or free if there's little play left.

 

[superkingdave]

Don't give me that! The 'GABBA faithful stringently get the Mexican Wave going (bypassing the Members section with a few boos) several times a day, and more than three times in one go, I might add, in 35+degree celcius temperatures.

I bet we could build a higher plastic beer glass tower than you though!

 

[tooextracool]

That TEC was questioning that if Baugh isn't good enough then was he picked.

i'll just let you know that i dont happen to follow WI domestic cricket......

 

[tooextracool]

On the cricket side West Indies batted well although it wasn't always pretty, i thought Anderson bowled well in his first spell and wa unlucky that Thorpe dropped a catch of him as he did in the last test, after his first spell he was poor.

once again i question how much of anderson you actually watched? no he didnt bowl well, he was awful, by far the worst bowler of the day. oh yes he got the ball to swing but despite having the conditions to his favour early on he managed to bowl total rubbish and end up with no wickets. generally he bowled 3 balls an over on target followed by 2 balls wide down leg side and 1 ball short and wide outside the off stump. yes he should have had a wicket if thorpe could catch but the fact is that it was a poor ball to which joseph played a useless shot to and it wasnt like he was accurate before that ball either. i'll never understand why he keeps getting picked when he hasnt improved whatsoever since last year.
on a slightly different front though i thought jones did a far better job with the gloves in this test compared to his previous performances so it does appear as though the work hes been putting in with russell is actually paying off.

 

[Swervy]

once again i question how much of anderson you actually watched? no he didnt bowl well, he was awful, by far the worst bowler of the day. oh yes he got the ball to swing but despite having the conditions to his favour early on he managed to bowl total rubbish and end up with no wickets. generally he bowled 3 balls an over on target followed by 2 balls wide down leg side and 1 ball short and wide outside the off stump. yes he should have had a wicket if thorpe could catch but the fact is that it was a poor ball to which joseph played a useless shot to and it wasnt like he was accurate before that ball either. i'll never understand why he keeps getting picked when he hasnt improved whatsoever since last year.
on a slightly different front though i thought jones did a far better job with the gloves in this test compared to his previous performances so it does appear as though the work hes been putting in with russell is actually paying off.

yeah Anderson was a slight disappointment with these odd balls that he tries to bring into the batsmen that fly down leg side...when he gets it right he does look dangerous and is a wicket taker,and he does appear to be getting the spring in his step back again. I think Boycott hit the nail on the head about Anderson...how can he get into his stride when he has only bowled 150 overs this season...he still has a lot of learning to do..he is still young and still very inexperienced at first class level, the consistancy will come with the experience,because I think he just tries to do to much to quickly, ie he should bowl 5 overs stright of normal outswing instead of these 'inswingers' once in a while

He could have had a couple of wickets to be fair yesterday

 

[superkingdave]

once again i question how much of anderson you actually watched? no he didnt bowl well, he was awful, by far the worst bowler of the day. oh yes he got the ball to swing but despite having the conditions to his favour early on he managed to bowl total rubbish and end up with no wickets. generally he bowled 3 balls an over on target followed by 2 balls wide down leg side and 1 ball short and wide outside the off stump. yes he should have had a wicket if thorpe could catch but the fact is that it was a poor ball to which joseph played a useless shot to and it wasnt like he was accurate before that ball either. i'll never understand why he keeps getting picked when he hasnt improved whatsoever since last year.
on a slightly different front though i thought jones did a far better job with the gloves in this test compared to his previous performances so it does appear as though the work hes been putting in with russell is actually paying off.

Well yes given the fact that i was at the match i probably didn't have the best view, but the batsmen did look in trouble against him, a lot of false strokes were played against him.

 

[Timewell]

I bet we could build a higher plastic beer glass tower than you though!

Aaaah...that was classic! The tower in the B block next to the pavilion was HUGE! to the extent that it looked like it was almost 90 degrees...

 

[Timewell]

The reason why Anderson is bowling nowhere near as well as when he first came onto the scene is that he has been used too much. He will never get his "old" self back now...he needs time to recover, and should not be used as frequently - perhaps only 10 overs an innings, maybe a little more. Don't take him on the Winter tour...take Jones and somone with a bit more experience...Anderson needs a rest though...and a bit of support from his, supposed, fans. Constantly being told how **** you are, believe it or not, does NOT help his confidence.

 

[Swervy]

The reason why Anderson is bowling nowhere near as well as when he first came onto the scene is that he has been used too much. He will never get his "old" self back now...he needs time to recover, and should not be used as frequently - perhaps only 10 overs an innings, maybe a little more. Don't take him on the Winter tour...take Jones and somone with a bit more experience...Anderson needs a rest though...and a bit of support from his, supposed, fans. Constantly being told how **** you are, believe it or not, does NOT help his confidence.

cant take up a space on a test team (and for that matter in Lancashires team) just bowling 10 overs an innings.....the guy shouldnt be tired anymore..he has hardly bowled.

But you are right about the confidence side of things...he needs to develop the confidence to bowl his stock ball 95% of the time...he doesnt need to try and take wickets with every ball. He has a lovely outswing when he gets it right,he should be trying to bowl in the same spot instead of trying different things all the time....and that comes with confidence.He needs to go back to county cricket and bowl more overs of the same outswing and take wickets with that consistantly...then he can try the other stuff

 

[SpaceMonkey]

cant take up a space on a test team (and for that matter in Lancashires team) just bowling 10 overs an innings.....the guy shouldnt be tired anymore..he has hardly bowled.

But you are right about the confidence side of things...he needs to develop the confidence to bowl his stock ball 95% of the time...he doesnt need to try and take wickets with every ball. He has a lovely outswing when he gets it right,he should be trying to bowl in the same spot instead of trying different things all the time....and that comes with confidence.He needs to go back to county cricket and bowl more overs of the same outswing and take wickets with that consistantly...then he can try the other stuff

perfect...he should be given to the county next season and let him bowl alot of overs everyday for a season to get some milage in him. He's only played less than a seasons worth of games in his life so no bowler is gonna be the finished model that early in their career.

 

[Swervy]

perfect...he should be given to the county next season and let him bowl alot of overs everyday for a season to get some milage in him. He's only played less than a seasons worth of games in his life so no bowler is gonna be the finished model that early in their career.

well as a Lancashire supporter I would be more than happy to have him play for us all season.

he has all the tools to become a top class player at test level. England should be looking long term with him and maybe a season of solid county cricket would help put the finishing touches in his bowling. I personally think they should forget about trying to get him in the team for the Ashes(for further experience,but no really to play in the tests unless in an emergency). I reckon take him on tour to SA and have him playing ODI's next year, but completely leave him out the tests, let him learn his trade with Lancashire whilst he has some experienced players to learn off there (Martin,Chapple,Cork etc) and I reckon by 2006, aged about 24 his body should be stronger and his skills with be enhanced

 

[Dar]

Anderson is rubbish, he consistently bowls poorly. And i don't believe that crap of using him too much. Whoever said he should bowl 10 overs a day must be kidding, he's picked as a bowler therefore he should bowl like anyone else. By saying he should bowl 10 a day is like an admission that he isn't good enough

 

[roseboy64]

Darn English weather again!!I was so looking forward to Baugh getting his first Test 50.

 

[PY]

I seem to remember your weather wasn't too hot a few months ago.

 

[Timewell]

Anderson is rubbish, he consistently bowls poorly. And i don't believe that crap of using him too much. Whoever said he should bowl 10 overs a day must be kidding, he's picked as a bowler therefore he should bowl like anyone else. By saying he should bowl 10 a day is like an admission that he isn't good enough

10 an innings - get your facts right. Saying he is crap is rubbish...and like I said before - it would hardly help his confidence. Anderson has been over-used - people that know more about cricket than you - Boycott, Benaud, Atherton, Hussain - all think so. How do I know they know more about cricket than you? Your dismissive and aggressive tone.

Anderson needs to be rested - it is obvious that from his bowling - which AT THE MOMENT - is not very good. It isn't an admission that he isn't good enough, it is my belief that he needs to be rested.

 

[roseboy64]

Yeah but English weather is more consistent.Besides it was hurricane season 'round these parts when the rains came or close to it.

 

[PY]

He was over-used a few years ago but now he is under-done in my opinion, he has only bowled 140 overs I think Geoffrey Boycott said this season. That is just not enough to gain confidence and rhythm.

All I ask is that people give him time. I don't think 10 overs an innings is good enough. He must get a lot of overs under his belt wherever he can.

 

[marc71178]

Joseph has made a decent start.

Impressed me greatly.

Yes he gave a chance to Thorpe, but he played some fantastic straight shots, and looked very good for a debutant.

 

[marc71178]

i even got sun burnt.

Snap, except mine was so bad it put me off my beer

Nice photos by the way - appears you were sat not that far from me at all!

Then at the end it started absolutely leathering it down, and i decided to walk the three miles in to Manchester instead of queing for the metro, got absolutely drenched and reached the station 2 minutes after my train had gone and had to wait an hour for the next.

We'd already decided against the Metro, and were walking back, but just got to the next Metro station when the rain started - that was some serious water fall!

No taxis for 45 minutes, so my mate ended up getting one of his mates to come and get us!

Hoggard was good early on then dropped a little but came back later.
Flintoff again good but dropped a little

I thought Hoggard gave 100% as he is always liable to do.

Flintoff probably didn't benefit from so many short spells.


And who had the bright idea of taking them off for lunch at 12.30 after an hours play?

 

[marc71178]

Overall I thought it was a fairly even day on day 1. England had the West Indies in a lot of trouble at 108-4 and could have collapsed, but Chanderpaul and Bravo showed some fight back and got their team in a position where they can get at least 300.

I'd put England ahead - the tail doesn't inspire me greatly (Mohammed didn't look as if he knew which end of the bat to hold!) and the wicket isn't as bad as that score suggests.

Cant really judge that till England have a bat (hopefully sometime tomorrow morning, then 4 down at the close, and Fred to be not out - his recent form when not out overnight is nothing short of magnificent!)