***Official*** West Indies Tour of the UK 2017

[quincywagstaff]

There is nothing particularly strange in an imbalanced test match. Of the highest innings victory margins, there are 38 above England's innings and 209 runs.

There is nothing particularly strange in an imbalanced test series. There are 56 test series (three or more tests) in which every test has been lost by a side.

There isn't anything odd about a losing streak either. West Indies still have a long way to go to reach Bangladesh and Zimbabwe's record losing streaks.

And there is nothing odd about a perceived 'super power' flopping like a pair of saggy **** for entire decades (or more). England were utter rancid for the duration of the 1990s (and sizable chunks of the '80s also). Pakistan and India have had similar whole decades of cricketing excrement. Even the Aussies have had their patchy periods such as the '80s when even England were beating them, before Border kicked them up the backsides.

That is just the way test cricket has always been. It took the Kiwis about 5 million years to win a test series. Teams do have whole wilderness periods, and go downhill, only to see others surpass them.

True, but in terms of away Tests we’re not talking about a series of two or even a few years; the West Indies have been dire for over 20 years now. It's become the prolonged norm.

Outside of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh they haven’t won a Test series away from home since 1995. They haven’t won a Test in Oz/Eng/SL/India/NZ since 2000.

And the majority of these away Test series in the past 20 years they’ve not only lost but largely been uncompetitive in (they were generally OK under Gayle in the late 00s, early 10s).

I guess what is most disappointing about this particular Test is it came after the away series against Pakistan in the UAE last year which was one of their most competitive away efforts in recent years. So to see them back to their worst in this Test and extinguish all the promise from that series was particularly dispiriting.

 

[Beamer]

I guess what is most disappointing about this particular Test is it came after the away series against Pakistan in the UAE last year which was one of their most competitive away efforts in recent years. So to see them back to their worst in this Test and extinguish all the promise from that series was particularly dispiriting.

Absolutely 100% agree. It's the illusion of progress that kills. They were looking pretty good over the last 18 months, particularly the bowling.

I see Boycott reckons we're the worst team he's seen in 50 years. Ridiculous obviously, but I hope the guys are reading all these articles and realise how much hurt they are causing West Indians, particularly those based in the UK. If that doesn't make them pull their socks up nothing will. He's also made racist comments about ex west indies cricketers getting knighthoods. What a nice chap......

 

[Scaly piscine]

The problem with WI is they're won 2 Test matches away from home in the last 16-17 years, if you take out Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. And lost over 50.

It's not about a one-off complete no-contest. It's about their regular complete no-contests, and in turn you could go on forever about West Indies cricket.

I wish England wouldn't invite them over so often.

 

[honestbharani]

I think most were just completely ambivalent about SL vs India series.

This series has context I guess in how awful the squad that England will send to the Ashes will be. So I suppose there's a hint of feeling at all in that.

Gnske's face to heel turn perhaps the second best in history since the double turn with Bret and Austin.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Has Boycott been sacked by TMS yet? Seems a ridiculous comment he made about a knighthood.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Has Boycott been sacked by TMS yet? Seems a ridiculous comment he made about a knighthood.

Ah I wondered if there were any bleeding heart liberals on here.

Apart from the fact that what he was getting at was broadly true - even Ambrose has a knighthood for instance whereas you have to go back to Botham and then another decade before then for the last English players knighted. Boycott is one undoubtedly one of England's greats who has a done a lot of good things. He's a guy well into his 70s, if he's saying things off the cuff and trying to be humorous then he will occasionally say things that are in poor taste. Unfortunately for the liberal PC ****wit brigade nothing short of a lynching is enough of a punishment for this, because an awful lot of them, like yourself, want to silence people they can be mock outraged about.

That he's getting hounded for it is ridiculous enough. There's nothing particularly offensive about what he said, it is just horrible outdated and so inappropriate.

He apologised and that should be it.

 

[Starfighter]

Careful with those opinions Scaly. Don't you know the most important human right is to not be offended?

 

[mr_mister]

Boycott seems like a **** based on nearly every story i've heard about him.

why waste your breath defending him

 

[Gnske]

Has Boycott been sacked by TMS yet? Seems a ridiculous comment he made about a knighthood.

I love black people and I still found it funny.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Ah I wondered if there were any bleeding heart liberals on here.

Apart from the fact that what he was getting at was broadly true - even Ambrose has a knighthood for instance whereas you have to go back to Botham and then another decade before then for the last English players knighted. Boycott is one undoubtedly one of England's greats who has a done a lot of good things. He's a guy well into his 70s, if he's saying things off the cuff and trying to be humorous then he will occasionally say things that are in poor taste. Unfortunately for the liberal PC ****wit brigade nothing short of a lynching is enough of a punishment for this, because an awful lot of them, like yourself, want to silence people they can be mock outraged about.

That he's getting hounded for it is ridiculous enough. There's nothing particularly offensive about what he said, it is just horrible outdated and so inappropriate.

He apologised and that should be it.

Learie Constantine was not just knighted but even made a life peer. Baron Constantine. First black man to sit in the House of Lords.

 

[ImpatientLime]

Ah I wondered if there were any bleeding heart liberals on here.

Apart from the fact that what he was getting at was broadly true - even Ambrose has a knighthood for instance whereas you have to go back to Botham and then another decade before then for the last English players knighted. Boycott is one undoubtedly one of England's greats who has a done a lot of good things. He's a guy well into his 70s, if he's saying things off the cuff and trying to be humorous then he will occasionally say things that are in poor taste. Unfortunately for the liberal PC ****wit brigade nothing short of a lynching is enough of a punishment for this, because an awful lot of them, like yourself, want to silence people they can be mock outraged about.

That he's getting hounded for it is ridiculous enough. There's nothing particularly offensive about what he said, it is just horrible outdated and so inappropriate.

He apologised and that should be it.

tl;dr version - it was just banter

 

[TestMatch]

Apart from the fact that what he was getting at was broadly true - even Ambrose has a knighthood for instance .

Broadly true only if you historically ignorant and highly simpleminded.

People like Richardson and Ambrose was knighted by the tiny island of Antigua, not the Queen and not by or for England. Boycott - if he weren't a motor mouth with an arrest record - would be applicable for an entirely different type of knighthood. And of course at least 3 of the knighted West Indians were knighted, not just for their cricket skills, but pioneering (inadvertently or otherwise) civil rights issues within cricket. Of these, only two were actually knighted by the British High Office (when the receiver of the award was the member of an island which was still a British colony): Constantine in 1962 and Worrell in 1964. From 1966 onwards, Barbados started running its own honors system, independent of Britain. Of these two, one was knighted for being the first black captain, the other not for cricket, but for essentially being a good propagandist for the Crown in the 1930s and 1940s, simultaneously smoothening race relations and seducing black immigrants over to fight in the war and make up labor shortages.

So Boycott is not "broadly correct" (hilariously, he is complaining about two black knighthoods in a world in which the entire Ashes team got MBEs!). He then goes on to rationalize his ignorance with racism; he does not have a knighthood because black people are privileged and get awards undeservedly, awards that would be better off given to poor, more talented white players, players who are at the mercy of reverse racism.

The Queen should knight Flintoff just to tick Boycott off further. No, make Moeen Ali Vice Admiral of the Fleet or something. Or name an aircraft carrier after Nasser Hussein.

 

[S.Kennedy]

The 2005 MBEs was totally ridiculous. A classic example of what is wrong with our honours system, gratuitous knee jerk self-masturbation. Hate to say it but I agreed with the Aussies at the time (and still do) when they put forth the point that they never received MBEs for destroying England in eight consecutive Ashes 1989 - 2003.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

He apologised and that should be it.

That is how I see it but the way things are these days he may get sacked. Ron Atkinson did for his comment. Also after the way the BBC has been slaughtered over the pay thing they might make Boycott an escapegoat so to speak.

 

[Pup Clarke]

If that comment was by anyone else other than Boycott he/she would be sacked without a moment's hesitation.

 

[MW1304]

No need to say anything about Scaly's post here, it speaks for itself.

I certainly wouldn't shed a tear for the **** if they sacked him, though I wouldn't actively demand it. It's a deplorable comment, beyond apology.

 

[Gnske]

Broadly true only if you historically ignorant and highly simpleminded.

People like Richardson and Ambrose was knighted by the tiny island of Antigua, not the Queen and not by or for England. Boycott - if he weren't a motor mouth with an arrest record - would be applicable for an entirely different type of knighthood. And of course at least 3 of the knighted West Indians were knighted, not just for their cricket skills, but pioneering (inadvertently or otherwise) civil rights issues within cricket. Of these, only two were actually knighted by the British High Office (when the receiver of the award was the member of an island which was still a British colony): Constantine in 1962 and Worrell in 1964. From 1966 onwards, Barbados started running its own honors system, independent of Britain. Of these two, one was knighted for being the first black captain, the other not for cricket, but for essentially being a good propagandist for the Crown in the 1930s and 1940s, simultaneously smoothening race relations and seducing black immigrants over to fight in the war and make up labor shortages.

So Boycott is not "broadly correct" (hilariously, he is complaining about two black knighthoods in a world in which the entire Ashes team got MBEs!). He then goes on to rationalize his ignorance with racism; he does not have a knighthood because black people are privileged and get awards undeservedly, awards that would be better off given to poor, more talented white players, players who are at the mercy of reverse racism.

The Queen should knight Flintoff just to tick Boycott off further. No, make Moeen Ali Vice Admiral of the Fleet or something. Or name an aircraft carrier after Nasser Hussein.

tl:dr - I don't understand light hearted banter

Windies lose one test match and the sadposting all of a sudden skyrocketed.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I do not see much wrong with it but then I'm not exactly politically correct myself haha.

If that cantankerous old bugger gets sacked from TMS, I'm not sure I will listen to TMS. Nothing amuses me more than when Geoff is off on one, whether it be ''bowling too full at Headingley'' or England's selection stupidity and batting collapse woes. I listened to the first test on TMS and he completely hammered the West Indies I know.

 

[Scaly piscine]

That is how I see it but the way things are these days he may get sacked. Ron Atkinson did for his comment. Also after the way the BBC has been slaughtered over the pay thing they might make Boycott an escapegoat so to speak.

Ron Atkinson's comment was on a completely different level and in a rather different context as if I recall correctly it was said during an advert break? But it was always something that could accidentally end up getting out on air and you have to be professional in those circumstances. Again though I don't think he should really have been sacked because he didn't appear to be a racist. It's different to the likes of Andy Gray where he was genuinely a ***ist tosser.

The PC lynch 'em mentality is ridiculous.

 

[vcs]

The 2005 MBEs was totally ridiculous. A classic example of what is wrong with our honours system, gratuitous knee jerk self-masturbation. Hate to say it but I agreed with the Aussies at the time (and still do) when they put forth the point that they never received MBEs for destroying England in eight consecutive Ashes 1989 - 2003.

What other type of masturbation is there?