England tour of West Indies 2015

[blockerdave]

The guy's scored 22 hundreds for his country. I think a little bit of respect should be shown.

of which 4 have been against anyone good

 

[Samuels]

Diluted West Indies attack concedes advantage | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

"Let us imagine, for a moment, a parallel universe where, with England on 34 for 3, Denesh Ramdin was able to throw the ball to Dwayne Bravo."

"Let us imagine a world where T20 cricket had not turned the heads of players. Where the West Indies Cricket Board had not alienated others and where they had the funds and the vision to provide central contracts that ensured the retention of their best players. Where West Indies finally made the most of the talent in the region."

"Sunil Narine, another whose career path seems to be defined by the shortest format, might have made a difference, too. He is unproven at Test level but, bearing in mind England's uneasy relationship with spin, he may well have proved a more testing proposition than Benn."

Rampaul would have been more useful than Bravo at that stage. That said, I believe Bravo himself killed his Test career. Gayle did something similar but yes both of them have been fine test players for us in the past and the former would have definitely made the difference for the good. At our full strength we make a good attack, at least on paper.

 

[IceAgeComing]

The problem with the West Indies is that they look really good for a session, then seem to give up and start bowling rubbish

@Samuels where did your title come from?

 

[blockerdave]

please don't give root the captaincy, i wouldn't want to ruin a young player by forcing them into a toxic role in an impossible situation

problem is, if Cook doesn't start scoring or we lose to NZ/Aus it's hard to see Cook staying, in which case it becomes very hard to not give it to Root.

the main thing, to remove the toxicity of the situation, the captain has to be given a proper role in determining team culture and personnel. no fan of cook (to put it mildly) but there's no question he's had one hand tied behind his back... the KP sore has been festering for over 12 months when it should have been killed last year by dropping him rather than sacking him...

Cook is there because he's weak. The next captain can take the role on his own terms.

 

[Samuels]

The problem with the West Indies is that they look really good for a session, then seem to give up and start bowling rubbish

@Samuels where did your title come from?

The bigger problem is WICB and WIPA do not get to terms with. If we really really play with all the resources (read players) we have we can do better than looking good for a session, way better.

I saw an option where I could type a title. Only after that I realized it replaces your usual usertitle. I am liking it so decided I will keep until an admin nips my bud.

PS: You can change that too.

 

[Samuels]

Good, good comeback. 6 wickets for 23. With Jordan still there we need to wrap it up real fast before England cross the psychological barrier. Then, I hope Devon Smith fails big time because if he puts decent runs on the board I am afraid the selectors might get back to choosing oldies in the test squad which will only put us back.

 

[IceAgeComing]

Buttler, with his 22 ball duck, was showing his incredibly positive nature which will help the England team.

 

[blockerdave]

people might think i'm jumping the shark with my criticism of Bell, and i know he got a good ball but this shows again how he bottled it getting out at a crucial time last night.

since they did all the damage first thing in the morning with a new ball and fresh bowlers, it was imperative Bell was there to see off the new ball yesterday. Filling your boots is one thing, you gotta do the hard yards for the team.

 

[MUFC1987]

Where are all of the Ian Bell haters?

I'm probably in that camp, but I think he's earned his place in the side at the moment. He's had a good last couple of years. But saying that, it also comes with the fact that most people must surely agree that he should never be near a limited overs side and that he should have been dropped on at least two or three occasions during his Test career.

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All this talk of getting Ali and Stokes and maybe even Woakes in the side and batting down to 9 is crazy though. Stokes looks good enough to bat in the top 6, so keep him there, likewise with Ali. We're in danger of going back to the old days of playing as many bowlers who can bat as possible and then struggle to take 20 wickets.

Oh, and surely it's about time that Broad batted at 11, below Anderson. He's mentally gone, batting wise.

 

[dp458]

I'm probably in that camp, but I think he's earned his place in the side at the moment. He's had a good last couple of years. But saying that, it also comes with the fact that most people must surely agree that he should never be near a limited overs side and that he should have been dropped on at least two or three occasions during his Test career.

-----

All this talk of getting Ali and Stokes and maybe even Woakes in the side and batting down to 9 is crazy though. Stokes looks good enough to bat in the top 6, so keep him there, likewise with Ali. We're in danger of going back to the old days of playing as many bowlers who can bat as possible and then struggle to take 20 wickets.

Oh, and surely it's about time that Broad batted at 11, below Anderson. He's mentally gone, batting wise.

Bell has been dropped and has come back, when he bats well england win, none of his centuries have come in defeat.
We have to stick with Stokes at 6, Ali was purely a stop gap, until Stokes and a spinner showed there head. Moeen will struggle as a top 6 batsman in tests.
Woakes gets the side as a bowler for me, his batting is a bonus, for me he is a better red ball bowler than everyone else apart from anderson, and should open with him, he showed in the tri series that he gets swing and has good line and length. Im less sure of his place in the ODI team, but then his batting comes into consideration but only for the pj cricket, where he can bat 8 and take the new ball
Broad is under threat i think, he is a number 11 with thee bat atm, and his bowling is dubious, deffo doesnt warrant the new ball

 

[IceAgeComing]

I like the fact that TMS has these listeners questions bits with famous cricketers, but asking viv richards what his favourite roast dinner is is a silly thing to do

 

[themusketeer]

I saw an option where I could type a title. Only after that I realized it replaces your usual usertitle. I am liking it so decided I will keep until an admin nips my bud.

PS: You can change that too.

Holidays advantage .

 

[IceAgeComing]

man this cricket is so exciting that TMS are reading out the rules on shoes wondering whether the shoes that the players are wearing are legal

 

[blockerdave]

Amazing to think that Chanderpaul, still one of the hardest guys to get out, was batting alongside Lara when he made his 375 in 1994... Tests still had rest days then!!!

Absolute legend.

 

[SpitfiresKent]

i know he got a good ball but this shows again how he bottled it getting out at a crucial time last night.

He didn't ''bottle it'', he just got a good delivery.