**Official** West Indies in England Thread

[marc71178]

Lol yep - but considering there were plenty of year 8's and stuff in the team, it wasn't a bad achievement.

They threw the game to make sure your lot weren't batting too long.

When you bat, there's 9 Essex Boys in the car park...

 

[SpaceMonkey]

More like 6/11 of the Test side, with Bravo, DwSmith, Lawson, Banks and Baugh by no means certainties.

I think Lawson is pretty much a certainty. Especially given his recent form and Edwards unimpressive warm up games / fear of injury.

 

[Craig]

Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith picked up injuries in the field during the MCC 1st innings. Bravo is uncertain to be 100% by the 1st Test it seems.

Smith got a cut on his inner thigh by his spikes whilst sliding and Bravo picked up a groin strain whilst jumping over a chair and crashing into a picnic table chasing a ball to the ropes.

ROFLMAO.

What are the chances of Darren Sammy playing at one point in the series or was he taken just for the experience?

 

[Tom Halsey]

They threw the game to make sure your lot weren't batting too long.

When you bat, there's 9 Essex Boys in the car park...

No, we had to chase 254!

England U17 player Nick Prowting masterminded the chase with 125*.

 

[wpdavid]

More like 6/11 of the Test side, with Bravo, DwSmith, Lawson, Banks and Baugh by no means certainties.

Best, Sarwan & Jacobs will presumably come back in the 1st test, which is how I did my sums. I'm assuming that Baugh definitely won't and that 2 of Bravo, DwSmith, Lawson & Banks will.

Is there anyone not playing against MCC that I've forgotten?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

ROFLMAO.

What are the chances of Darren Sammy playing at one point in the series or was he taken just for the experience?

Sammy's not in the Test squad.

 

[garage flower]

Best, Sarwan & Jacobs will presumably come back in the 1st test, which is how I did my sums. I'm assuming that Baugh definitely won't and that 2 of Bravo, DwSmith, Lawson & Banks will.

Is there anyone not playing against MCC that I've forgotten?

Sylvester Joseph is the other batsman in the squad and I think Rampaul is in the test squad (Mr M will no doubt confirm).

Given the apparent injuries to Bravo and Dw Smith, not to mention their inability to score any runs, Joseph must be in the reckoning. Rampaul, assuming he's in the squad, probably isn't in contention unless the injury jinx continues.

Should the injuries to Bravo/Smith prove serious, it would be nice to think the selectors may call up W Hinds or Samuels (or Hooper!) as cover. Won't happen though.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Yes, I believe Rampaul is in the squad.

Dwayne Smith will expectedly be fit. I can assure you that Hooper won't be called up and likely not Marlon Samuels. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Daren Ganga will be the man to England if there is another major injury to a batsman. A bowler would see Collymore there.

 

[Langeveldt]

As a massive Daren Ganga fan I hope he gets the call up and I hope he converts some of that batting beauty into serious runs...

However I no longer blame the WI board for dropping him.. Especially with Devon Smiths emergence...

 

[Richard]

Giles got some turn at one ground last year - can't remember which one it was though. Still got smacked, mind.

Giles certainly didn't turn any deliveries appreciably - no-one was going to get any assistance whatsoever from the Edgbaston or Oval surfaces, the Trent Bridge pitch might have been uneven as f**k but it didn't turn, and the only assistance at Lord's was on the first-day, for the seamers.
When Giles turns the ball he rarely gets smacked.

 

[Richard]

You wouldn't think that judging by the number of whinges I've had to put up with about Surrey preparing wickets to suit Saqlain. and how unfair it is that the wicket there takes spin before tea on the final day ...

I suppose I could add Tufnell in 1991, Murali in 1998 and, to some extent, Vettori in 1999 to your list but no, I don't really expect Banks or Giles to take a hatful there either.

Murali turning the ball doesn't mean much - Salisbury turned it too (the difference in figures being down to the massive difference in accuracy). Any wristspinner can turn it on glass.
Surrey have definately prepared wickets to suit Saqqie and Sals, or at least they did a lot in 1999 and 2000, and occasionally in subsequent years, but that doesn't mean the pitches for the Test-matches have turned. Rarely has an Oval wicket offered anything to any bowler in the last quarter of a century. Rarely, not never.
And I don't remember 1991 as the first cricket-match I watched on TV was a year later. So I'll have to take your word if you watched it.

 

[Richard]

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?

I've thought Collymore's axing has been one of the more inexplicable I've seen since it happened, I must say.

 

[Richard]

Not a convincing performance from what was 8/11 of the test side, but we probably shouldn't read too much into it. Apparently Lara wasn't happy with the standard of the MCC side when he saw the teamsheet, so it's a good job WI won. From an England viewpoint, Hoggard's performance was good news. Not sure how fit Jones is yet.

Hoggard's first-innings was good news, the second was the horrible Hoggy who sprays it all over everywhere and goes for over 5-an-over. All right, he still got 4 wickets again, but he had a shocker compared to the first-innings.
I really am not sure what the point of drafting in 4 South Africans was, nor calling Stephenson out of retirement for the 3rd time. Good as Benkenstein and Willoughby are, surely someone else could have been found?

 

[Richard]

Halsey to say that Alastair Cook is the next Bradman in 5...4...3...

Worrying thing is, he looks every bit like the next "big thing" who turns-out to be completely hopeless.
Like Shafayat has been thus far.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Worrying thing is, he looks every bit like the next "big thing" who turns-out to be completely hopeless.
Like Shafayat has been thus far.

Add Peng to that. He looked a million dollars when he first broke onto the scene, but he's struggled to make over 20 in an innings over the last 2 years

Hildreth of Somerset looks very good tho, and more importantly he's getting the scores too. Lets hope he carries this on for the rest of the season and into next year.
As for Shafayat he did look good but from the start looked like a great leg side player but hopeless outside off stump, you can forgive a 16yo that but he seems to be still the same even now.

Mutchell of Durham looks good too, bit inconsistent but he does get the occasional good score.

 

[Craig]

Sylvester Joseph is the other batsman in the squad and I think Rampaul is in the test squad (Mr M will no doubt confirm).

Given the apparent injuries to Bravo and Dw Smith, not to mention their inability to score any runs, Joseph must be in the reckoning. Rampaul, assuming he's in the squad, probably isn't in contention unless the injury jinx continues.

Should the injuries to Bravo/Smith prove serious, it would be nice to think the selectors may call up W Hinds or Samuels (or Hooper!) as cover. Won't happen though.

I hope Carl Hooper never plays for the WI again.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

As a massive Daren Ganga fan I hope he gets the call up and I hope he converts some of that batting beauty into serious runs...

However I no longer blame the WI board for dropping him.. Especially with Devon Smiths emergence...

I've been one of Ganga's fiercest critics lately but I must say, I'd prefer to see him in English conditions than Gayle. That said, Gayle has batted far more maturely on this tour so far than I thought he would.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

West Indians v Sri Lanka 'A'

WI 161/2
DS Smith 6
RR Sarwan 28
SC Joseph 91 not out
S Chanderpaul 31 not out

Mefinks Joseph is very close to a Test debut...

 

[Adamc]

West Indians v Sri Lanka 'A'

WI 161/2
DS Smith 6
RR Sarwan 28
SC Joseph 91 not out
S Chanderpaul 31 not out

Mefinks Joseph is very close to a Test debut...

There was talk a few years ago that Joseph and Sarwan were the pair to take WI into the future... could still eventuate.

 

[Nate]

what ever happend to collymore?? what i saw of him was awesome...