I'd still open the innings with Gayle. Maybe I'll push Charles down the order and give a partner like Simmons to Gayle who can hang in there. More often that not, a smasher and a drafter combo has worked for all teams at the opening slot and WI should be no different. I'd do away with Ramdin and keep Holder in the side as Charles is doing a decent job behind the wicket. Bowling looks good as of now. Only change I would have suggested is bringing Taylor in if he had had some professional cricket matches under his belt in the recent past. One last thing, I'd like to see Darren Bravo at #3. He is our anchor and you would not want him to eat up too many balls after the 20th over like the case is with Pakistan with Misbah.Ah, the influence of t20.
Since we're on the subject of teams, I would like to throw my windies odi team in the hat for any comments..............
L.Simmons
J.Charles
M.Samuels
D.Bravo
DJ.Bravo (c)
C.Gayle
D.Ramdin (wk)
D.Sammy
K.Roach
R.Rampaul
S.Narine
I guess Pakistanis and Indians often compare each other's team and the fact that the Indian batting is doing exceedingly well and has went through a smooth transition, I think Pakistanis too want their team to go through the same smooth transition of players but one must agree that India have been lucky to get through the transition phase too smoothly. Also, one thing the Pakistanis might just be overlooking is the fact that India is a mine of batsmen and they have tremendously large pool of players which might not be the case with Pakistan. I, in no way trying to say there are no talented players in Pakistan anymore. The selection committee also comes into play when talking about deserving players a chance. As far as smashing is concerned, maybe it has do with their expertise at bowling in T20 and the fact that if they get some good batters in, they can be one of the teams to beat. I agree with you hands down about Misbah. Pakistanis should understand the fact that he is the only man for them who can hang in there for long periods on consistent basis and they will want to promote him to #3 so that if he plays a knock like he did yesterday, there are both ample number of batsmen and overs left for others to build the innings around him with some pace. Thats exactly what India used to do in ODIs in early 2000s with Rahul Dravid being their innings drafter. Same was the case with Australia with Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting taking up the job of sheet anchors. Australia were world champions though but you can get the point I'm trying to convey.What's wrong with (most of) you subcontinental fans? Has the ipl influenced you that much? There's a reason why teams such as Pakistan are slowly getting worse at test cricket. You're all so obsessed with smashing everything. Misbah is the rock in the pakistani team. He is there for all these so called "flair" players to play around. So why is it them always out and him left standing?! Perhaps there's a lesson for you all to learn there.
, but he is not regular wicker keeper Not sure if Jason Holder of MS Dhoni -_- ,
Wahab Riaz bowled the final over , I am happy see a tie there .
IMO it should've been Afridi's over , tail-enders facing an experienced leg spinner whose bowl is over-turning with pace , I am sure we've been celebrating now if that happened . Poor captaincy .
The one run which was really a run but they didn't gave it , maybe it could've been the match decider there .
The Shahzad's dismissal was actually a six , that was also a decisive moment .
am agree with you 100%, poor captaincy and field positions and bowler choice take it away from Pakistan
I'm still trying to understand how is that related to my post.
You know I'd have recommended Misbah to open had you had a formidable middle order or you would have been lacking an opener but you have Azhar Ali to take up the opener's job and at the same time your middle order is pretty fragile. Look at how India have utilized Rohit Sharma when he was the weak link in their middle order given his slow nature of game but now that he is an opener, he almost guarantees India of a solid start and the batsmen that follow make the most of the platform he and Shikhar Dhawan set. England too have done the same by sending Ian Bell to open the innings but the important part is both the teams have good middle order batsmen to take the advantage of the opening stand.
You know subcontinent fans are more or less extremists. They make them demigods for their good performance and the same bunch of cricketers become the point of disgust for a series loss or two but thats why cricket is such a big game in the subcontinent. Thats the beauty of it.
Mate, you don't credit for throwing your wicket away after gaining momentum. Thats where Holder deserves the credit. He, well almost, finished things off for his team. To be there till the end is the key.West Indies were all out of Confidence and Hope when they lost Sammy and Pollard, There were no Chances of having a tie, Ajmal(The best pakistani bowler in the team) Got hit for a 6 and two 4s , then there was a chance of a tie. Narine scored 14 off just 4 Against Ajmal.He could have missed the bowl or got out but he played like a hero and he almost did his job there, Holder finished the innings but the main Part was Narine's Hitting.
And I would Credit Ajmal if he Took few but Main big wickets , eg Marlon Samuels, Simmons , Bravo .
