India in the West Indies

[SaiSrini]

Sreesanth is injured, and is not going to play Test 2 against the Windies.

Obviously, Irfan Pathan is going to replace him what with the pitch sporting a smattering of green on it. Irfan on a green wicket can look to get his bearings right!!

This will be my team for the next test

W.Jaffer
V.Sehwag
VVS Laxman
Y Singh
R Dravid
M Kaif
MS Dhoni
I Pathan
A Kumble
M Patel
VRV Singh

 

[cricket_lover]

I think that should be the final eleven, if there's some grass remaining on the the pitch. India might be tempted to go with 5 batsmen or replace VRV with Bhajji.

 

[ronny_kingsley]

Actually I am certain that he has had more than 3 bad matches. Like I said, he needs certain conditions for his swing to be effective. I said this during the India-Pak series as well, that you cant rely too much on a 75mph bowler, to get wickets on all kinds of wickets.

Well in this season Pathan has taken 49 ODI wickets at under 20 runs per wicket and scored at an average of 35 runs per innings.

In Test matches he has taken 44 wickets at 27 and score runs at an avaerage of 36.

Not bad for a 75 mph bowler.Like it or not he is good enough to make it to most of the current teams.


Now comparing with Hoggard -no comaprsions in ODI's. Pathan rules.

Tests -24 wickets at 26 runs per wicket. Not great differecne ,despite Hoggard enjoying "English" conditions.


Afridi :

ODI's - Batting average of 13 and bowling average of 28.

Tests-Batting average of 55 and just 9 wickets that too at 40.


Cant see why Afridi and Hoggard are better than Pathan ??????

(Also taking into consideration that Pathan is anovice compared to those two )

 

[s2sschan]

Sreesanth is injured, and is not going to play Test 2 against the Windies.

Obviously, Irfan Pathan is going to replace him what with the pitch sporting a smattering of green on it. Irfan on a green wicket can look to get his bearings right!!

This will be my team for the next test

W.Jaffer
V.Sehwag
VVS Laxman
Y Singh
R Dravid
M Kaif
MS Dhoni
I Pathan
A Kumble
M Patel
VRV Singh

I second your selection!

 

[sohum]

I think the pitch being a little green is not enough to warrant three seamers and one spinner. One has to see how well the pitch is bound, because if it is not bound that well, the second spinner might be integral going into the latter stages of the test match.

 

[m_vaughan]

Well in this season Pathan has taken 49 ODI wickets at under 20 runs per wicket and scored at an average of 35 runs per innings.

In Test matches he has taken 44 wickets at 27 and score runs at an avaerage of 36.

Not bad for a 75 mph bowler.Like it or not he is good enough to make it to most of the current teams.


Now comparing with Hoggard -no comaprsions in ODI's. Pathan rules.

Tests -24 wickets at 26 runs per wicket. Not great differecne ,despite Hoggard enjoying "English" conditions.


Afridi :

ODI's - Batting average of 13 and bowling average of 28.

Tests-Batting average of 55 and just 9 wickets that too at 40.


Cant see why Afridi and Hoggard are better than Pathan ??????

(Also taking into consideration that Pathan is anovice compared to those two )

Pathan is a much better player in ODIs than tests agreed. Its stupid to compare him with Hoggard in ODIs, as the latter gets a chance to play for the ODI team, only when the other bowlers are injured. I personally think Hoggard has no future in the 50 over game.

However take a look at the following stats for Pathan in Tests:

Out of the 44 wickets, 21 of them have come against Zimbabwe. And removing the two test matches against Zimbabwe, Pathan's bowling stats look something like this:

Matches: 9
Wickets: 23
Bowling Average: 42.73

 

[Sureshot]

Well in this season Pathan has taken 49 ODI wickets at under 20 runs per wicket and scored at an average of 35 runs per innings.

In Test matches he has taken 44 wickets at 27 and score runs at an avaerage of 36.

Not bad for a 75 mph bowler.Like it or not he is good enough to make it to most of the current teams.


Now comparing with Hoggard -no comaprsions in ODI's. Pathan rules.

Tests -24 wickets at 26 runs per wicket. Not great differecne ,despite Hoggard enjoying "English" conditions.


Afridi :

ODI's - Batting average of 13 and bowling average of 28.

Tests-Batting average of 55 and just 9 wickets that too at 40.


Cant see why Afridi and Hoggard are better than Pathan ??????

(Also taking into consideration that Pathan is anovice compared to those two )

He's a anovice, you're right, very young and talented cricketer, I think he can become a games great, not all bowlers need pace.

Pathan atm, lacks consistency, something which Hoggard has got. Also Hoggy is the best bowler to Left Handers in the world, and probably gets more swing than Pathan.

India have to stick with Pathan, back him all the way, because he will repay you.

 

[ronny_kingsley]

He's a anovice, you're right, very young and talented cricketer, I think he can become a games great, not all bowlers need pace.

Pathan atm, lacks consistency, something which Hoggard has got. Also Hoggy is the best bowler to Left Handers in the world, and probably gets more swing than Pathan.

India have to stick with Pathan, back him all the way, because he will repay you.

I assume consistency with the red ball you mean cos I havent seen any other wayward bowler than Hoggard when it comes to white ball.He just cant control the swing.

Also as far as left handers are concerned there is someone known as Muralitharan who begs to differ with you on that.

 

[m_vaughan]

I think he meant best fast/med fast bowler to left handers.

 

[cricket_lover]

Hoggard's main weapon is his outswing, that can trick a lot of lefty's. Agarkar is very similar to that, they both have similar bowling styles. Agarkar is good in ODI's, while Hoggard in tests.

 

[m_vaughan]

Agarkar bowls one bad ball in an over, while Hoggard is more consistent.

 

[Sureshot]

I assume consistency with the red ball you mean cos I havent seen any other wayward bowler than Hoggard when it comes to white ball.He just cant control the swing.

Also as far as left handers are concerned there is someone known as Muralitharan who begs to differ with you on that.

Hoggard has never been given a chance in ODIs imo, he always gets targetted by the batsman and as he used to have very little variation was easier to know.

I honestly think if he was to be given a run now, he'd do better.

In ODIs, aswell, his control of the swing was fine, a little erratic but he just got targetted.

And as for the other bit, yeh Murali is great to Lefties now he has the Doosra, but the stats showed in the series vs Sri Lanka on Sky show that the two most succesful bowlers to Lefties are/were Hoggard and Caddick.

 

[cricket_lover]

Agarkar bowls one bad ball in an over, while Hoggard is more consistent.

in tests, i agree. Agarkar can be wayward at times, while Hoggard is quite decent. The thing with hoggard is that, once he gets hit for few boundaries, he tends to lose that line (thats common with most bowlers though).

Back to the match..

It would be better for India to go with two spinners (Bhajji and Kumble). I don't think Powar will be that effective, but he might get a chance as well. I don't think the grass will stay for that long time, but considering the over-cast conditions, Pathan will play a big role.

 

[rocklara]

well from what I've heard, this st.lucian pitch will be definitely different to the past tests pitches. I have been here on this ground, and its close to the ARG's. However the curators have prepared a slightly different pitch, so the grass can be held in for a few days. See you guys at beasejour!!!

 

[aussie1st]

Well after the pitch they produced before where I think 3 Bangladesh batsmen scored 100s the curator obviously was under pressure to prepare a pitch that would produce a result rather than a high scoring draw.

Pathan will be perfect on this pitch especially if India can win the toss. On the flip side Bradshaw will be a handful on this wicket and Collymore if he is fit will also prove difficult.