**Official** West Indies in England Thread

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Collymore in, Rampaul out

Rampaul's shin splints means he returns home for treatment while Collymore gets the call to replace him. Finally, some consistency (line and length) in the bowling department.

 

[badgerhair]

yeah and you were in the crowd, 80 yards from the pitch...the two captains could see the pitch right there in front of them.

i would take a guess that Harmison,Hoggard etc would have used the conditions better.

In other words, an exact replay of Hussain at Brisbane.

It's conditions like these in which one should always remember WG Grace's advice that you should bat nine times out of ten on winning the toss, and on the other time, you should think about putting the other side in and then bat first anyway.

Bowling first is being too clever-clever, and it isn't going to work. Certainly not on what was obviously not a bowler's pitch, however closely you looked at it.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Mister Wright]

In what series did Hussain decide to bat first at the Gabba? Presumably a different one to the one in which he made his decision to bowl first and to which I referred.

Cheers,

Mike

Yeah, my bad. I meant to say bowl first.

 

[Nate]

WHY THE HELL DID THEY PICK EDWARDS!! bloody crazy...

 

[Craig]

Quite frankly is England and West Indies continue as they did today, 400 not out is under threat. Imagine the headlines of Robert Key as world record-holder.

Well there would be some very very tough selection desicisons by the England selectors.

EDIT: We would also never hear the end of it by a certain vice assistant admin

 

[Craig]

Chris Gayle has gone to hospital for an X-ray on his index finger. Pedro Collins has injured his shoulder with the fall he took on the first ball of the day. As they say, when it rains, it pours...

I wonder if Daren Ganga is walking around his house in Trinidadand getting his cricket kit bag organised?

--------------------------------------

But well done to Robert Key and Andrew Strauss for their hundreds. The form Key has been in the County Championship this hundred is a just reward for his form, a spot in the England team (albeit to injury) and makes a century.

If he continues this, he make it very hard for England's selectors not to hand him a BA airline ticket to South Africa with England's tour squad.

 

[Richard Jenkins]

Well day two dawns slowly, the sun pulls itself obove the horizon and stirs the weary limbs of both teams from their beds. What will happen today is anyones guess! 800 for 6 dec. at close of play? 450 all out? Key fills his boots? Or England Calipsocollapso? Will Flintoff even get a bat?

Weather set fine, and selection isues a big talking point with these back to break your back test matches.

 

[Swervy]

Well day two dawns slowly, the sun pulls itself obove the horizon and stirs the weary limbs of both teams from their beds. What will happen today is anyones guess! 800 for 6 dec. at close of play? 450 all out? Key fills his boots? Or England Calipsocollapso? Will Flintoff even get a bat?

Weather set fine, and selection isues a big talking point with these back to break your back test matches.

A few things I am looking forward to here:
Like to see Key get 200
Like to see Vaughan at long last get a 100
Like to see Flintoff really get going
Like to see WI show a bit of backbone and fight themselves back into the game

 

[garage flower]

I don't really understand what this is all about. It looks dreadfully like trying to take offence at any imagined slight. Not being given things which don't exist and have never existed doesn't seem to me to be any kind of insult at all. There is no such thing as an advance ticket for the fifth day of a Test match at Lord's, and hasn't been for as long as I can remember, so why the Windies team expected to be given them, I can't imagine.

Cheers,

Mike

The ticket issue is far less important than the ignorance and arrogance displayed by the ECB in "greeting" the tourists.

 

[Revelation]

hmmmm......Key 400??That means another 230 for him and probably 450 for the team. 841 declared?? Do you think Vaughn will push for that?That means that England will have to bat until tomorrow and only have 3 days to get WI out twice.

Daren Ganga isnt in T&T actually. He's in the USA with other WI players and former players playing in a PRO league there

 

[tooextracool]

Yes, you cannot spot a technical flaw even if it jumped up and kicked you in the backside, and even though the flatness of a wicket doesn't affect the player in question's technique.

no you cant find technical flaws against rubbish bowling on a flat pitch, thats quite obvious. there have been several players in the past that have come in and scored on flat wickets and failed when there had been the slightest bit of movement. you cant go around calling key the perfect player after just 1 inning on a flat pitch. and quite frankly he didnt look very comfortable against sarwan yesterday either.

 

[tooextracool]

Ah yes, 'Tresco only scores at the Oval' is back.

Batsmen have favoured grounds of course, but they don't score solely at one ground...

seriously, you didnt need to make 3 posts on the same quote......i'll tell you what i think about strauss, he has brilliant powers of concentration and excellent shot selection. i have not said that he can only score at Lords, id like to see him score everywhere else. the 62 at headingly was an extremely jittery one, so the point is that he is by no means proven yet

 

[tooextracool]

you being serious????

i dont know if you've observed his defence,particularly of the ball angling away from him, but it tends to be extremely trescothick-esque. he doesnt move that front foot at all and it was what got him out in the 3rd test against NZ of cairns. while it remains to be seen whether or not that will cause him too many problems i'd like to see him work on that.

 

[tooextracool]

Just wondering what WI need to do to get back into this game...remember last year at the oval SA 345 for 2 with about half an hour left on the first day..looked like game over SA win.

But SA were all out 484,and ended up losing by 9 wickets.

If WI can get the bowling together quickly tomorrow,and take all their chances..and restrict England to no more than 500..who knows..Lara might play a blinder and put England under pressure...you never know.

Maybe i am being super optimistic for WI..if England bat like today and WI bowl like today..England should see 700 by just after tea

perhaps a more suitable example with people going on comparing lara's decision to hussain's, would be to use that match in brisbane itself. australia were 364/2 on the first day and 493 all out on the 2nd

 

[Swervy]

i dont know if you've observed his defence,particularly of the ball angling away from him, but it tends to be extremely trescothick-esque. he doesnt move that front foot at all and it was what got him out in the 3rd test against NZ of cairns. while it remains to be seen whether or not that will cause him too many problems i'd like to see him work on that.

you might be right...i havent really noticed...he does have better footwork than Tresco,but yeah maybe it is something to work on

 

[Swervy]

Just wondering what WI need to do to get back into this game...remember last year at the oval SA 345 for 2 with about half an hour left on the first day..looked like game over SA win.

But SA were all out 484,and ended up losing by 9 wickets.

If WI can get the bowling together quickly tomorrow,and take all their chances..and restrict England to no more than 500..who knows..Lara might play a blinder and put England under pressure...you never know.

Maybe i am being super optimistic for WI..if England bat like today and WI bowl like today..England should see 700 by just after tea

well WI have bowled better today and could possibly have got a wicket or two...but england are still scoring quickly...still looking at 700 by about half an hour after tea

 

[Pedro Delgado]

200* for the Pie Man!

 

[marc71178]

Vaughan is beginning to find his touch.

What would Flintoff do if he got an hour and given licence?

 

[Pedro Delgado]

What would Flintoff do if he got an hour and given licence?

Go to the pub?

 

[Tom Halsey]

Goodbye Graham - poor shot.

Freddie in! Get the popcorn ready, and prepare for some interesting watching mefinks...