West Indies Tour of England - May to June 2012

[sifter132]

The Messiah is back!
West Indies news: Chris Gayle pulls out of Somerset deal | West Indies Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

So Gayle should be back for the short stuff. I for one can't wait...only so people will shut up about bloody Chris Gayle! It's a shame in many ways that Gayle has been built up into this colossal figure whose absence apparently destroys any hopes the West Indies have of winning. Good player...but that good? Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I think the saying goes...

But that said, Gayle is a very likeable fella - one of my favourites, and of course he plays an attractive brand of cricket. Win-win-win for everyone here.

 

[puddleduck]

Yeah Gayle is a very good limited overs bat, but there is definitely something different in smashing a mixture of bowlers around a park on tiny boundaries with impeccable batting surfaces, to having the hopes of a nation rest on your shoulders on a green seamer with 50 overs to bat and two world class fast bowlers swinging the ball and nipping it off the pitch.

Still, good to see him back, and I hope he produces some special knocks in his next series

 

[War]

I would say the hype is warranted. In T20s he is certainly the most destructive batsman in that format and he basically is the Tendulkar of T20 cricket.

Throughout his career his ODI exploits has always made him one of best ODI openers over the past 10 years.

In test his career of course hasn't been the greatest. But during his 2-years as skipper, he averaged 10 points higher than his overall career average and scored his career best of 333.

 

[WestIndian]

Yeah Gayle is a very good limited overs bat, but there is definitely something different in smashing a mixture of bowlers around a park on tiny boundaries with impeccable batting surfaces, to having the hopes of a nation rest on your shoulders on a green seamer with 50 overs to bat and two world class fast bowlers swinging the ball and nipping it off the pitch.

Still, good to see him back, and I hope he produces some special knocks in his next series

Dude that statement is a 2-way street, we may not have the batting depth but you better believe that we have the bowling to raise hell in England with swing and pace on these same wicket!

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

18 over seriously in 2 days? We will only see 3 days of Test Cricket for sure this test series

 

[VC the slogger]

West Indies team by the looks of it have been working very hard and can do very well if they play to their potential.I expect them to come good on England..

 

[barmyarmy]

Complete different conditions to their recent series though.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Expect West Indies bowling to trouble English batting. I just hope they can add Sunil Narine to the mix. He will rekindle the not so fond memories of Ajmal in the minds of a lot of English batsmen.

 

[War]

Five pressing questions for England cricket to answer this summer - The Top Spin | Mail Online

 

[Sureshot]

Still proving the Daily Mail is good for nothing other than starting the fire with.

Anyways, decent start for the Lions. Brooks with a couple of early breakthroughs and Dernbach with t'other. Shiv and Bravo in at the moment and good to see Coles being given a chance, real talent that lad is.

Edit: Coles gets Shiv, I wonder if there's a chance he can get some ODI's this summer? Maybe if Broad gets injured.

 

[Sedition]

Pretty disastrous from what looks to be the Windies strongest XI, minus Sammy. Really need to sort their openers out. Barath's first class numbers suggest he's worth persevering with, not so much for Powell and Brathwaite. Pretty frustrating when they have one of the most sought-after openers in the world playing kiddy games over in India.

 

[WestIndian]

Pretty disastrous from what looks to be the Windies strongest XI, minus Sammy. Really need to sort their openers out. Barath's first class numbers suggest he's worth persevering with, not so much for Powell and Brathwaite. Pretty frustrating when they have one of the most sought-after openers in the world playing kiddy games over in India.

Nah let Gayle earn his pay, he will pound the leather in the ODIs. But seriously we don't have an opening pair, our middle well only Shiv, all we have is bowling in the current squad.

 

[barmyarmy]

Lions get a 200 run first innings lead. Only problem is that their batting lineup is potentially better than the actual England one.
I know Compton didn't get any runs in the first innings but I'd still say pick him for the first test.

 

[Sureshot]

Ah, scathing English pessimism, how I've missed you for the last month!

I think it's time to give Taylor some Test matches, a batsman who can be a 5th bowler won't be needed this summer, certainly not against the WI, the conditions will be very bowler friendly. Looking at Strauss in the recent match, no runs and 3 drops, his head has gone, time for him to go.

Of course he won't go, he'll be captain till the end of the double Ashes, but alas, we can dream.

Nice to see Brooks continuing his good work. Our seam bowling backup for Tests is luvverly.

 

[Sedition]

Nah let Gayle earn his pay, he will pound the leather in the ODIs. But seriously we don't have an opening pair, our middle well only Shiv, all we have is bowling in the current squad.

It's a good sign that Bravo is making 30s and 50s despite the form slump, and not on the easiest tracks either. Edwards is doing the opposite with a lot of single digit scores though.

I think it would create some good competition for Barath, Brathwaite and Powell to step up and try to hold that opening spot if Gayle was there though. As it stands now, all three are regularly playing, but no one's been convincing and they're probably not working as hard as they could be.

My understanding is that Gayle isn't really interested in tests though, so yeah don't pick him if that's the case, but again it's bloody frustrating when the openers are such an obvious weak point.

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Just noticed that James Taylor guy for England too, has a lot of numbers on his side for a 22 year old. I guess being born in England is working against him though.