Australia versus West Indies

nooooo, lee is gone of the next ball after the 6. the new ball works for powell. he pitched it short, lee went for the pull and the overhead catch was taken by collymore. (i quoted most of this from cricinfo)

still amazing performance from lee and warne. both made 47. great contribution from both.

noooooo! i mean yeaaaa, bracken goes for an impressive 37 (for a tail-ender) and the australian innings finally comes to an end for a total of 435.

Originally posted by Superbokkie I think Sledger is being extremely harsh on Chanderpaul. The man does not deserve such abrasive criticism. Remember that he has the impossible task of captaining a side that has gone from bad to worse to atrocious in 10 years. I rate Chanderpaul as a player, maybe not a great captain, but give him a break. Has anybody in the last 12 years been anything BUT negative captain in Australia? Watch Vaughan play defensive fields next summer when Australia are 400-4...

Living in NZ has obviously softened you up Bokkie! Chanderpaul's captaincy is the most ineffectual and lacklustre I've seen since Shaun Pollock captained the Boks! His batting is pretty good , I won't deny that , but he can't inspire his bowlers.

Secondly , this West Indian side is much better than those that Lara was saddled with - there's flair in the batting and raw pace in the bowling. King has made them fitter and more professional - in fact I'd go as far as to say that this side is their best in 10 years!

As for the inane comment about Vaughan and England , just why will an aging Australian side get past 400 for the loss of only 4 sticks when they couldn't amass 400 in any of TEN innings last time?

Going along nicely the Windies , 126-2 with 31 overs left in the day.

    Smith 65* and Lara ominous on 23.

Lara managed to clear the ropes when Warne came into the attack - sending out the right kind of message there!

Bracken didn't cause many problems - maybe this Aussie attack is in serious decline !!

Well Wolf , Lara was adjusted LBW to Brett Lee from around the wicket , but for my money it was missing leg!

Bad luck on him and a real blow to the Windies. Lara gone for 30 and Windies now 138-3 , Chanderpaul joins the resilient Smith.

That decision gives more ammunition to the technology supporters!




Edited by Sledger

Sledger, would the technology have shown a different result? or was it quite inconclusive? Very difficult to get leg before coming round the wicket.

Originally posted by Wolfman Sledger, would the technology have shown a different result? or was it quite inconclusive? Very difficult to get leg before coming round the wicket.

Difficult to say , but it would have probably shown reasonable doubt.

As for getting lbw around the wicket , maybe Lee needs lessons off a certain Mr Flintoff !!

Yep , and having the ability from around the wicket to pitch in line and straighten it to the left handers is really potent.

Cracking legcutter from McGrath , that lateral movement was plain to see yesterday and he was always going to be a major threat. That ball sees the back of Samuels for 5 and the Windies are reeling at 171-5.

Ramdin has joined Smith and has smited two 4's off McGrath straight away - pugnacious lil devil isn't he !!

They're still playing , just over 5 overs to go today. The reason they're still out there is because 27 minutes were lost to rain before the start. That time can be made up , plus the extra half an hour allowed by the blessed ICC for slow over rates.

West Indies clinging on at 182-6 , Michael Clarke turning his arm now - if he nips one out , Ponting will be called a genius!

well, WI are trailing by 253 runs with only 4 wickets in hand. they obviously won't make it much farther unless their tail can do what australia's tail-enders did. australia's tail-enders added around 140 runs to the australian total. if the WI tail enders can do that it'll be a big bonus for them though it still won't be enough to reach the Australian total.

They are getting pillaged by Australia, just as every other team in the world has been pillaged by Australia, prior to the Ashes series.

The defeat to England does not necessarily show the loss of strength by Australia, but rather how much England have improved. I foresee Australia remaining the best team in the world for a good couple of years, until McGrath and Warnie go (if they ever do!!). In fact, the current side can only improve. If Bracken comes good (which I doubt), or if they find a bowler to support Warne, McGrath and Lee, watch out South Africa.

When Clark comes good again (which he will), and they finally drop Katich, and stick someone else in, that will be an amazing batting order. And if Watson can translate his one day form into the test arena, I would go as far as saying Australia are the most perfectly balanced team in the world, possbily ever.

The scary thing is, ladies and gentleman, this Australian team haven't played to their potential for 2 years. They haven't found replacements for the Waugh twins yet, but they still dominate. If they do reach their potential again, before the inevitable dip, well, watch out whoever is in their way.

I would be very careful of arrogance Bokkie. South Africa are on the up, no doubt about it. But I do fear the series against Australia may have come a season too early. I dearly hope that we don't see the same thing happening (as with the Windies now) to South Africa later this year. I doubt we will, but it is a possibility non the less.

anyway, at the end of day 3, australia are at 283/2 (run rate: 4.29), leading by 508 runs with 8 wickets in hand. they are dominating. even if they declare mid way through day 4, they will have plenty of time to bowl out WI.
If australia set WI a target of 600, i think WI will just collapse under pressure chasing such a big target and lose.

australia, i guess declared and i didn't know it.
so ponting was not out on 104, and clarke not out on 14. australia declared at 283 for 2, setting WI a near impossible target of 509 to win. WI were fine at 84 for 2 but then they collapsed and were all out for 129 thanks to a 5 for 30 from Brett Lee and 4 for 48 from Bracken.
so australia have won the first test by 379 runs, and that is a huge margin.
congrads to ponting for scoring consecutive centuries in both innings of the game and to hayden for his ton in the second inning.


what does recman have to say to this, i mean australia are just being destroyed by the windies!!

Edited by saadadvanced7

All too predictable and very disappointing froma neutral's perspective.

Australia were professional and did the job and West Indies showed how little they enjoy a scrap! That sums up this team best - whereas the old Windies had fire in their bellies , this lot haven't so much as a dim spark!!

Don't hold your breath for the rest of the series , what's certain is a 3-0 scoreline and a prediction that the 129 score will NOT be the Windies lowest in the series!!