West Indies in England (2012)

Finally International cricket re-starts as the English Summer begins... This should be a tight series as I expect the WI to give ENG a good run for their money... and Gayle force will be back for the ODI's!

They'll definately pose a challenge in the LOI's sledge, in fact I'd say WI are favts in LOI's... in tests of course ENG start off as favorites but WI can fight it out if the likes of Bravo, Samuels and Chanders play well. I think Ravi Rampaul will do some serious damage with the ball. He is THE man to look out for this series, I rate him very highly.

The Tests will be one sided, rain is the only thing that will save West Indies.  I expect Windies bowling to pose problems, but as far as the batting goes, it would surprise me if they manage to pass 200 in an innings.

ODI's and T20 will be closer though.

Not looking much into tour match, but still there is some good news  for WI, 377/8 in their second dig, though against much weaker lineup. Every batsman seems to be in some sort of groove , which augers well for WI.When the 1st test starts , everything could be different. Top class English bowlers at home conditions that suit them may run through WI line up.

First WI innings will be the key, they should not bother about scoring rate and just try to score a decent total of 400 and above.Barath,Powell,Edwards,Bravo,Chanderpaul and Samuels is a decent enough line up. They need to be patient and take session by session, not look at the reputation of English bowlers.All WI need is to put one little doubt in English bowlers mind. England have become No1 team but since getting that coveted crown have only won 1 test and lost 4.

From England's point of view, all they need to do is get WI under 200 runs at Lords.If that happens WI batsman will not recover for rest of the series.

England should easily win this 3-0. If by chance WI pull out a drawn series , then seriously I would call this England team as " The No 1. that wasn't".

Player to watch out for: Ravi Rampaul ( if he can swing it as good as he is capable of , could be a real threat to England's plans).


Edited by MalhotraRaj84 - 13 May 2012 at 8:55am

This gets underway shortly, Strauss has won the toss and opted to bowl unsurprisingly. Bresnan plays ahead of Finn and Onions - understandable really, but they ought to be looking to get Finn into the side at the moment in my opinion, even if it means losing Bresnan's batting ability..

Edited by Clobber - 17 May 2012 at 10:39am

Finally come real cricket. This is soooooooooo better than the useless 20 overs money machine.

I think the Windies at least battled hard for the most part - Samuels perhaps excepted; he seemed to have done all the hard work, then suddenly decided he needed to play some shots and threw it all away.

Despite the figures, Anderson was the pick of the bowlers yesterday, although as a Broad supporter I think it is fair enough that he picked up a hatful yesterday after all the times he has bowled sensationally to end up with 1 or 2 poles whilst Anderson runs through the tail for a 5-for.

No surprise with windies batting really.  And damn, Anderson was really getting swing.  Sad that I can't see as much test Cricket as I could due to work. 

Nonetheless, Windies is a good bowling team.  Whilst they should lose, I don't expect their bowling to be treated as badly as England did India.  Windies did make a big mistake by not playing Shillingford.  Fidel Edwards is a big waste of time, I don't know why the media keeps on saying Windies have a good pace attack and includes Edwards name.  After 10 years of cricket, his average is 35+.  Please God, let Ravi Rampaul be fit for the next test match!  Marlon Samuels is another that needs discarding for good.  11 years of Cricket and can barely average 30!!

WI have fought back to some extent today, their bowling as expected is much better, 7 down now England and WI need to somehow wrap this up quickly, lead is around 100 now.

Hats off for Chanders, once again the man is fighting it out! superb stuff by Chanderpaul again. 135/4 the WI, rain predicted on final day, they need to ensure they get a decent lead here, samuels, sammy and Ramdin need to support Chanderpaul as much as they can.

191 to win for England.

ENG should knock this down with max 2/3 wickets down, but still WI have done themselves proud .
(I know match is not over till the last run isn't scored,but then I am talking about the most probable outcome)

Credit due , the Windies batters really dug in and have given themselves a chance of a win.  2 down , but one of them's Jimmy , so they still must be warm favourites to get the 181 still required.  The pitch is as good as you'll see on day 5 in England and sensible batting is all that's needed.  Fine job by Stuart Broad - 11 wickets in a match is a tremendous effort , especially when you're fellow bowlers are all serious wicket takers. 
            It's been a good contest , the difference between the sides can probably be put down to the toss - the Windies had to bat in the toughest conditions of the entire match on day 1.   If the ball refuses to swing again , this should go the home side's way , but if it does swing we could see an upset.

Comfortable in the end , but not before a typical wobble from the English top order.  The positive approach in the run chase was especially pleasing after the nightmare against Pakistan , but the difference in quality of the two attacks is huge. Roach is a real speedster and at the batsmen all the time , but he lacked support.  Saqlain wouldn't have got much turn , but his psychological effect on the batsmen might just have caused further jitters.  Maybe a spinner should be included for Trent Bridge for this reason alone , but it's swing that wins matches in Nottingham.  Expect Anderson to be top English wicket taker up there and if Rampaul's fit , for him to make inroads as well.
                England should win and win well , but they're still not firing on all cylinders. Bresnan might find himself on the sidelines even though his record now reads - tests played 12 - test wins 12 !!  He bowled alright , but Finn or Onions might well be more effective.    It probably won't happen - this team doesn't swap and change , especially after winning , but it should be discussed.
   A final thought - does anyone agree with me that the best way to unsettle Cook is to bowl from around the wicket?  He seems to play at deliveries that should be left well alone.

Originally posted by Sledger Saqlain wouldn't have got much turn , but his psychological effect on the batsmen might just have caused further jitters.

Did I miss something here?

Shillingford = Saqlain!!! lolzzz, Shilling won't mind that though!