West Indies tour of Bangladesh, 2020-21

[qpeedore]

I just...yeah.

Well, in 2009 we found Kemar Roach. This time we found Akeal Hosein, even though I've been following his career closely over the past couple of years. I would have liked to see Walsh Jr. play.

But it's not even the bowling, is it? I don't think the spinners did that badly. It's the batting - barring the two good innings from Powell and one from Mayers, nobody stepped up.

I'll be looking at that warmup game closely.

Roach, perhaps the only highlight of that disaster that was 2009, also against Bangladesh, has become our bowling leader. He needs to marshall the troops, and in retrospect, he probably could have been a good candidate for vice-captain. But with Blackwood being perhaps the best of the batsmen on form, well, it's fair that he gets the nod.

If the pitches keep playing like they are, it might be wise to just pick two specialist seamers and three specialist spinners. Mayers didn't do terribly compared to the rest of the team, and he adds a third seam option. Then you have the part-time spin options to the three specialists. This is where I see Cornwall, Warrican, and Permaul all getting a game. Alzarri will have to sit out. We've shown that the batting isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, so stack the bowling and get them out cheaply.

I'm a typical West Indian, aren't I? Clutching at straws...sigh.

White. Wash. That's all I can say. Let's at least hope to be competitive, because if we get beaten within 3 days by a team that's supposed to be comparable to us in the current era, I'm going to riot. Socially distanced, of course.

(EDIT: Oh, since Bangladesh doesn't have any Elite umpires, Richard Illingworth becomes the first neutral umpire in post-Covid times.

Good on him, I like that. Since the umpiring in Bangladesh isn't the best I hope that Illingworth will share his knowledge and experience.)

 

[qpeedore]

Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell hit half-centuries after Rahkeem Cornwall five-for

Jomel Warrican also picked up three wickets for the visitors to help bundle the BCB XI for 160

www.espncricinfo.com

Definitely the first bit of good news all damn tour. Cornwall is now becoming something of a subcontinent specialist. Good on him, I've mentioned before that wicketkeepers have said they hear the ball fizzing from him as they collect, and he's not the easiest to keep to.

 

[qpeedore]

Da Silva, Reifer knocks headline West Indians' effort on last day in draw

Mukidul Islam took four wickets while Khaled Ahmed picked up a three-for for the hosts, in Chattogram

www.espncricinfo.com

Even if we don't do well in the Tests, still a bit heartening to see the fringe players getting a good performance. The Bangladeshis are now the ones with a couple questions to answer in terms of selection.

 

[Aislabie]

Okay so it's a Bangladeshi home Test, so we can assume that everything will turn square. With that in mind, I'd pick:

Kraigg Brathwaite
Shayne Moseley
John Campbell
Jermaine Blackwood
Nkrumah Bonner
Kyle Mayers
Josh da Silva
Kavem Hodge
Rahkeem Cornwall
Kemar Roach
Jomel Warrican

Honestly there's not much of an option to do anything else. That's literally the strongest I can make the batting. I don't see any point in Permaul playing - the third spinner, if he matches one of the first two, is only there to break things up anyway so you might as well just pick Kavem Hodge for some semblance of extra batting.

Oh, and they'll obviously open with Campbell rather than Moseley, but I feel like this could be a chance to give Moseley a go at the top of the order

 

[Aislabie]

That was a surprisingly close guess at the Windies selection ^^^

And honestly, they didn't have a bad first day of the series - credit to Warrican

 

[Bevab]

The biggest surprise of this test to me is not Mehidy's century but 'The Fizz' actually playing a test. To make it even weirder, this is a home test.

 

[Mijurkat]

The biggest surprise of this test to me is not Mehidy's century but 'The Fizz' actually playing a test. To make it even weirder, this is a home test.

The biggest surprise of this test match is the exclusion of Abu Jayed. That's really heart-breaking.

 

[qpeedore]

Consider the fact that they have had to exclude good players to be a good thing.

All in all we haven't done that badly so far but Bangladesh are definitely ahead. Letting them get that many runs and then losing 2 cheap wickets doesn't help our cause at all.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

The biggest surprise is West Indies aren't following on already.

 

[Aislabie]

Well this definitely wasn't a fantastic review from Moseley.

Honestly, the main positives that can be taken from this game so far for the West Indies are Kraigg Brathwaite batting well, Jomel Warrican bowling well, and Nkrumah Bonner looking like he might be an actual decent Test all-rounder. I thought his leg-spin looked pretty good, and he batted with decent composure before the close.

 

[Bevab]

The biggest surprise of this test match is the exclusion of Abu Jayed. That's really heart-breaking.

Hadn't even noticed that he was excluded. Then again, should we have been surprised given their love for one pacer and three spinners at home strategy?

 

[Aislabie]

Hadn't even noticed that he was excluded. Then again, should we have been surprised given their love for one pacer and three spinners at home strategy?

Is it wrong that I don't care very much that Abu Jayed got excluded? Someone else should get the chance to stat-pad against batsmen who won't take them for four an over

 

[Aislabie]

What a ball to receive first up in the morning

Post automatically merged: Feb 5, 2021

Also, sending out debutants at numbers three, four and five must be pretty unique

 

[qpeedore]

281 to go. I'm very certain we won't be seeing an Indian sort of fourth innings here. But 285 is pretty much just under 100 a session, which is gettable without too much risk. The problem is that it's a fifth day turning square pitch.

 

[qpeedore]

Lunch on the final day and we're right up there in terms of runs and more importantly no wickets fell. Can't stress that last part enough. I think if these guys keep going as they do, we can get another 90-ish in the second session and then we're in with a chance during the third. They don't need to bat any differently or even think about the runs. All they have to do is do what they have already been doing.

Talking points...

- Bonner always was a good player and it's good to see him applying himself. He's been at the fringe for so long, I'm happy he is making use of his chance.

- I always associated Mayers with aggressive batting and he's showing that, but he's also showing respect to the good deliveries. I didn't expect to see him doing this good, so it's a pleasant surprise. Hope he gets to his century and goes beyond that to keep us batting deep into the day.

- Illingworth is normally a better umpire than that, he missed two LBW calls. Although to his credit, the first had bat and pad very close together and the second was spinning a hell of a lot.

- That last shout, the one they reviewed...that looked so out to me. I saw it and I thought there is no way he's surviving this review. To see it predicted to just clip the bail, I was surprised. I thought that was hitting three-quarters up leg stump.

- The lunch break couldn't have come at a better time for both teams. For us, it's a chance for both batsmen to get a well deserved rest and clear their heads a bit before going back out. For Bangladesh it gives them a chance to regroup, because they were starting to look pretty flat in the last 30 minutes or so.

I planned on just watching the first season but seems as if I'm watching the next one too. Time for a major power nap.