West Indies in Australia

[angryangy]

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,17326181-23212,00.html

Big blow for the Windies. He was starting to look good in teh 2nd test, also the Windies will miss his off spinners which they would have been counting on for the 3rd test.

Not so bad, Dwayne Smith was probably coming back in anyway.

 

[sachin]

Whens the next test start?Anyway,i think LARA NEEDS TO MAKE SOME BLOODY RUNS!
He's ruining the whole test series with his crap perfprmances!

 

[Shadow007]

Whens the next test start?

Friday.

 

[aussie1st]

Not so bad, Dwayne Smith was probably coming back in anyway.

From what I hear he is hit and miss like Afridi. He can hit it far but he can also get out very quickly. But he is good in the field. The bowling of Samuels is what they will miss. They will have to bowl Gayle and Sarwan now.

 

[jdbais]

From what I hear he is hit and miss like Afridi. He can hit it far but he can also get out very quickly. But he is good in the field. The bowling of Samuels is what they will miss. They will have to bowl Gayle and Sarwan now.

Dwayne Smith is also a useful part time bowler. You are right he can be a destructive batsman but can also give it away easily. He made a century at quicker than a run-a-ball on his debut.

Whens the next test start?Anyway,i think LARA NEEDS TO MAKE SOME BLOODY RUNS!
He's ruining the whole test series with his crap perfprmances!

Only if the umpires give him a bloody break. He was looking very good when he was given out in the first innings in Brisbane and was also looking good until he was given out in the second innings at Hobart.

 

[aussie1st]

Dwayne Smith is also a useful part time bowler. You are right he can be a destructive batsman but can also give it away easily. He made a century at quicker than a run-a-ball on his debut.


Only if the umpires give him a bloody break. He was looking very good when he was given out in the first innings in Brisbane and was also looking good until he was given out in the second innings at Hobart.

I agree Lara is trying to look for form as was the case for Hayden. But the umpires keep giving dodgy calls and so Lara has to start from the beginning.

 

[jarl]

The umpires have robbed Lara and the public of being able to witness one of the finest players ever, I wanted to see Lara get the record for most amount of test runs this summer.

 

[angryangy]

From what I hear he is hit and miss like Afridi. He can hit it far but he can also get out very quickly. But he is good in the field. The bowling of Samuels is what they will miss. They will have to bowl Gayle and Sarwan now.

"Miss" is an interesting term. The ability to bowl a few overs quickly and cheaply is about all those guys bring.

 

[aussie1st]

Dwayne Smith fielding in the 2nd test was outstanding. He seems to be able to bowl medium pacers too which will be needed on the Adelaide oval.

But he may not play as another guy who can bowl medium pacers in Wavell Hinds may start. He would be more consistent with his scoring and he has more experience than Dwayne Smith.

 

[angryangy]

The way he fielded ought to show the selectors that he has to be on the field at all times

Though, don't get me wrong, I like Wavell Hinds.

 

[aussie1st]

Thats what makes it a tough call for the selectors. Smith is an excitement machine in the field but his batting is way to inconsistent. Hinds on the other hand is consistent with the bat. His fielding won't be up to the standard of Smith.

 

[jdbais]

Now that Gayle is out, the team practically picks itself both with both Smith and Hinds certain to play.

 

[aussie1st]

Now the selectors won't have to pick.

WEST Indies's already fragile batting line-up has been weakened further with opener Chris Gayle to miss the final Test in Adelaide after undergoing minor heart surgery in Melbourne.

Gayle, who was forced to retire hurt during last week's second Test in Hobart after experiencing nausea and dizziness due to an irregular heart beat, surprised team officials by undergoing the procedure on Tuesday evening.

After being forced from the field during the opening hour of last week's match at Bellerive Oval, Gayle announced he would undergo minor corrective surgery at the completion of the Australia tour.

But the 26-year-old opted to enter hospital as soon as the squad returned to the mainland en route to Adelaide.

He spent Tuesday night under observation in Melbourne and will remain in the Victorian capital before returning to the Caribbean next week.

Despite a modest 103 runs from four Test innings in the series against Australia, Gayle remains one of the struggling tourists' few genuine world-class batsmen and represents a significant loss.

Gayle's absence comes just days after underachieving middle-order batsman Marlon Samuels was sent home to receive further treatment for a knee injury.

It leaves ailing West Indies with a bare minimum touring party of 13 fit players and ensures deposed opener Wavell Hinds will return, after fracturing his left little finger, to partner Devon Smith at the top of the order.

And all-rounder Dwayne Smith, who made a significant contribution as a substitute fielder during the Hobart Test, will slot into Samuels' vacant middle-order berth.

The biggest headache facing the overworked West Indies's brains trust entering the dead-rubber Test which begins tomorrow is who will occupy the role of part-time spinner with Gayle and Samuels absent.

On a flat Adelaide pitch which is expected to provide its traditional encouragement to batsmen, West Indies faces the nightmare prospect of tackling the strong Australia batting line-up with a reliance on a couple of barely part-time tweakers.

Captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul (eight wickets from 90 Tests) and his deputy Ramnaresh Sarwan (20 from 57) will share the responsibility of slow-bowling duties as well as lifting the team's appalling over-rate.

So desperately short of a competent slow bowler are West Indies, it is not inconceivable that 36-year-old batting hero Brian Lara may cap what is expected to be his final Test in Australia with a chance to capture his first Test wicket.

Certainly in the absence of Gayle and Samuels, Lara will carry an even greater burden as the mainstay of his team's batting.

Despite failing to reach 50 in any of his six Test innings (for the World XI and West Indies) in Australia this season, Lara's arch-rival and close friend Shane Warne believes the brilliant left-hander is not a spent force at international level.

Warne predicted Lara was overdue for one of his trademark huge hundreds and said he expected the enigmatic Trinidadian to return to Australia when West Indies tour here again in 2009-10.

"I think he'll be back," Warne said yesterday.

"It depends on whether the West Indies can unearth three or four other batsmen that can take his place."

The Australian

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,17343793-32465,00.html

 

[aussie1st]

Team for the last test match

AUSTRALIA: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (captain), Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath..

Warne didn't bowl today but is expected to be fit for the test match.

 

[angryangy]

Yeah, bit of a shock, Gayle's heart surgery. Well, better that it can be fixed I guess.

Hopefully it's a team that feels urgent and not fearful. I know Wavell Hinds is capable of putting up a hell of a fight, could be vital at the top of the order.