**Official** West Indies in South Africa Thread

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

We beat them 3-1. Your point?

And when last did you beat us at home?

 

[Tim]

Jono you say that NZ is the better team, but West Indies have the stronger lineup...can you just explain what you mean mate? cheers.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

IMO WI has a better batting lineup, but NZ has a better bowling lineup. That said, a fit WI bowling lineup might not be as bad as some would think, catching granted.

 

[BlackCap_Fan]

Jono you say that NZ is the better team, but West Indies have the stronger lineup...can you just explain what you mean mate? cheers.

He meant WI has a better batting lineup,but NZ has a better bowling lineup.

But NZ does not have a bad Batting lineup.Fleming,Astle,Cairns, Oram and maybe Bond(BIG hitter)can all bat well and hit hard.

have I missed anyone?

 

[Jono]

Yeah Tim I meant batting line up, probably should of been less vague lol.

I am not stating NZ's batting line up is poor, but I believe the West Indies batting line up is outstanding. Lara, Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle. Dwayne Smith looks promising and will mature. Very strong and with a better bowling line up and improved fielding they could be a much better team and would produce results. I hope they do as I have always loved the West Indies.

 

[PY]

But NZ does not have a bad Batting lineup.Fleming,Astle,Cairns, Oram and maybe Bond(BIG hitter)can all bat well and hit hard.

I'm struggling to believe that Bond is even involved in that sentence. :O

 

[garage flower]

IMO WI has a better batting lineup, but NZ has a better bowling lineup. That said, a fit WI bowling lineup might not be as bad as some would think, catching granted.

That's a fair point. Add a fully fit Jerome Taylor and Jermaine Lawson to the mix and you, potentially, have the penetration that the current line-up lacks. Fidel Edwards has already shown that he can blow away the weaker international sides and, by all accounts and looking at the stats, Ravi Rampaul has developed nicely during the African tours. It also sounds like Tino Best may come into the equation as an international quality strike bowler this season.

On the whole, there appears to be more bowling talent than batting talent in the Caribbean at the moment.

On the batting side, other than Devon Smith, I can't think of anyone who's really pushing to replace the injured/out of form trio of Ganga, Hinds & Samuels, though Dwayne Bravo continues to make a case as a genuine all-rounder option.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Shazam Babwah and Ryan Ramdass are also quite talented. Imran Jan, Narsingh Deonarine and Sewnarine Chattergoon aren't out of the equation either.

 

[marc71178]

they don't have the collective talent that NZ have.

In terms of punching above their weight, I don't think any team does.

 

[marc71178]

yeah :rolleyes:

well we did beat WI in a test series.

1-0.

And the West Indies were pumelled by the South Africans!!!

It won't be a walk in the park for them, but I still expect them to win easily.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Due to New Zealand's better bowling and fielding I don't expect the South African batting to prosper anywhere near as much as they have in this series. Still Jacques Kallis is in superhuman form right now and they've still got a fine batting machine there.

The South African bowling is massively improved too. Andre Nel is a very promising bowler and IMO he was the best in the recent Test series. The fact that Ntini took more wickets shows how good that seam trio is.

As I said before, I think Ntini and Nel should open the bowling in the Tests because they're both very aggressive and they will certainly create a very testing period at the start of the innings, thus maximizing South Africa's pace resources.

The fourth bowling is the real issue at the moment. As of yet that spot is undecided. Andrew Hall seems very much out of form right now as does Paul Adams, so it will be interesting to see who fills that slot. Perhaps Mr. Boje?

 

[Tim]

Last time NZ toured South Africa, Boje was very much a thorn in their side...he might be worth selecting for NZ.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I'm sure he'd love to play if he wasn't broken.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Boje is fit. He played for the SA 'A' team against the West Indies on Friday.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Thought he was out till next summer.. Oops :P

Well, playing the WI is different to playing proper Test Standard opponents...

 

[garage flower]

Shazam Babwah and Ryan Ramdass are also quite talented. Imran Jan, Narsingh Deonarine and Sewnarine Chattergoon aren't out of the equation either.

But none of these are seriously pushing for a place in the international side at the moment (which isn't to discount the possibility of them being plucked from - relative - obscurity a la Fidel)

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

But none of these are seriously pushing for a place in the international side at the moment (which isn't to discount the possibility of them being plucked from - relative - obscurity a la Fidel)

Narsingh Deonarine is very close to selection IMO. Babwah has 94 on debut and 100 in his 3rd game.

He also literally smashed a century in either his first or second RSB game for T&T.

 

[Salamuddin]

And the West Indies were pumelled by the South Africans!!!

It won't be a walk in the park for them, but I still expect them to win easily.

If RSA do beat NZ, that win won't have come easily.
NZ are a good test side .

 

[Craig]

Shazam Babwah

Based on a few games?

Babwah should play this season and perhaps next to see how good he really is.

Anyway where does he bat and who might get left out for him?

 

[Tim]

Picking players after 3 or 4 domestic games is crazy...maybe if they are extremely talented..but picking 3 or 4 all at once is insane if you ask me.

South Africa may find batting on NZ pitches a little more difficult than what they've been batting on in South Africa too.