England lost last night to bow out of the Twenty20. It was decided after Mr Duckworth and Mr Lewis got involved due to a number of rain delays.
England made 161-6 off their 20 overs, but that was revised down to 80 off 9 overs when the West Indies took to the field.
I do feel a bit sorry for them, because I don't think that this Windies batting line-up is capable of sustaining its scoring rate to chase down the full total. And it did have to be the first rain-affected game of the tournament.
Bopara hit a maiden Twenty20 half century, and then the West Indies were reduced to 16-3, but the bowling seemed to go flat to let Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnarash Sarwan see them home with 5 balls to spare.
It did seem to be a strange decision to drop a batter in favour of another bowler, but I really can't work out the best way to set up a team in this format so I think I'll leave that to others to pass judgement.
Never mind - at least they all have time to get prepared for the Ashes now.
Showing posts with label west indies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label west indies. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
England Won - Now For The Important Stuff
England managed to finish off a very poor West Indies side by an innings yesterday, despite losing over a day to bad weather. At least the crowds were a little improved over the weekend, as England bowled the Windies out twice on a track that had seemed flat from the first ball.
Now we can move on to the main event; the visit of the Aussies.
For now I am going to ignore the fact that the first test is not being played at Lords, which is scandalous. I will return to this at a more appropriate time.
Ricky Ponting has been getting a few digs in early. He has promised to put extra pressure on Andrew Strauss, as the Australians always target the opposition Captain. He has also stated that both Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison will be back in the England side.
I can't see Harmy getting back in, but it will be interesting to see how Vaughan gets on with Yorkshire over the next few weeks. Personally, I think he has left it too late. Ravi Bopara seems to have taken a firm grip on the number 3 slot after his two centuries, which leaves Vaughan with no place to go.
The main question mark will be over which bowler loses their slot if and when Andrew Flintoff returns. My feeling is that we could end up with just Stuart Broad and James Anderson, with two spinners, if the weather is as expected. If not then Graham Onions has done himself no harm. I'm not convinced that he will be a big enough threat against the Aussie top six, but I will be quite happy to be proven wrong.
Anderson has really come of age in the past year. He now has great control over his bowling, being able to vary his style to suit the conditions. Having worked hard on his batting he can now be trusted with the night watchman slot. He's probably the second name on the team sheet at present.
Now we can move on to the main event; the visit of the Aussies.
For now I am going to ignore the fact that the first test is not being played at Lords, which is scandalous. I will return to this at a more appropriate time.
Ricky Ponting has been getting a few digs in early. He has promised to put extra pressure on Andrew Strauss, as the Australians always target the opposition Captain. He has also stated that both Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison will be back in the England side.
I can't see Harmy getting back in, but it will be interesting to see how Vaughan gets on with Yorkshire over the next few weeks. Personally, I think he has left it too late. Ravi Bopara seems to have taken a firm grip on the number 3 slot after his two centuries, which leaves Vaughan with no place to go.
The main question mark will be over which bowler loses their slot if and when Andrew Flintoff returns. My feeling is that we could end up with just Stuart Broad and James Anderson, with two spinners, if the weather is as expected. If not then Graham Onions has done himself no harm. I'm not convinced that he will be a big enough threat against the Aussie top six, but I will be quite happy to be proven wrong.
Anderson has really come of age in the past year. He now has great control over his bowling, being able to vary his style to suit the conditions. Having worked hard on his batting he can now be trusted with the night watchman slot. He's probably the second name on the team sheet at present.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Is Cricket Dying?
I have decided to start this blog because I am worried about the state of my favourite game.
The West Indies captain, Chris Gayle, has spoken out over the last few days about his views on Test Cricket. He feels that the Twenty20 format will become more important than Tests to him.
I cannot believe that a West Indian captain could say such a thing. How will his players feel about the test that starts today? Their motivation must be so low if the captain feels this way.
Now don't get me wrong; I think Twenty20 has been a breath of fresh air that has done much to raise the profile of the game. And i realise that the huge sums of money on offer to players who take part in tournaments like the Indian Premier League are hard to ignore.
I also think that one-day cricket is a good format. The 50-over game is the correct one, rather than 40-overs, and this is the form that needs to be played in the County game.
But 4 and 5 day cricket matches are the pinnacle of the sport. This is where players hone their skills and make a name for themselves.
Does the West Indian captain really believe that these forms of cricket should be abandoned to be replaced by roadshows of Twenty20 competitions? Or is he just disillusioned with the game. He has always been a very laid-back individual. Maybe he has become bored with all the things that come with it.
Of the captaincy he said: "It's definitely not something I'm looking to hang on to. I need some time for myself, to be honest with you, it's a lot of travelling. There's always something you have to go and do, you know, extra.
I know that cricket in the West Indies has been struggling for a while now, but surely the captain has to exude confidence and enjoyment for his whole team and indeed for his country.
The West Indies captain, Chris Gayle, has spoken out over the last few days about his views on Test Cricket. He feels that the Twenty20 format will become more important than Tests to him.
I cannot believe that a West Indian captain could say such a thing. How will his players feel about the test that starts today? Their motivation must be so low if the captain feels this way.
Now don't get me wrong; I think Twenty20 has been a breath of fresh air that has done much to raise the profile of the game. And i realise that the huge sums of money on offer to players who take part in tournaments like the Indian Premier League are hard to ignore.
I also think that one-day cricket is a good format. The 50-over game is the correct one, rather than 40-overs, and this is the form that needs to be played in the County game.
But 4 and 5 day cricket matches are the pinnacle of the sport. This is where players hone their skills and make a name for themselves.
Does the West Indian captain really believe that these forms of cricket should be abandoned to be replaced by roadshows of Twenty20 competitions? Or is he just disillusioned with the game. He has always been a very laid-back individual. Maybe he has become bored with all the things that come with it.
Of the captaincy he said: "It's definitely not something I'm looking to hang on to. I need some time for myself, to be honest with you, it's a lot of travelling. There's always something you have to go and do, you know, extra.
"Lunch or dinner, some other thing, there's always something for the captain."
I know that cricket in the West Indies has been struggling for a while now, but surely the captain has to exude confidence and enjoyment for his whole team and indeed for his country.
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