England v West Indies ||2nd Test ||Trent Bridge

[Bullet Drive]

This is Bravo's chance now. Sort of settled in. Middling the ball well and timing it. He just needs to occupy the crease and he'll have a century to his name. Stay out there. Nothing loose!

[Bullet Drive]

Beautifully played. Timed so well by Bravo for

[Bullet Drive]

Pure timing. Just timing. Nicely balanced. Bravo 21*

[DeadlyVenom]

Originally Posted by cricketindiafan Averages around 50 in Aus, 55 in SA, 69 in NZ, 36 in England isn't horrible either.

I'm not saying hes not a good player, but it seems by the tone of some that he is the solution to all of the WIndies problems. Even with him in the team they will be a crap team.

Their problems are deeper than not having Gayle in the side.

[IndianWillow]

Originally Posted by cricketindiafan Averages around 50 in Aus, 55 in SA, 69 in NZ, 36 in England isn't horrible either.

True.

What is up here? Gayle is being discredited just because he is the star of IPL. But IPL is just one of the feathers on his cap. He has respectable records without IPL too. Gayle would make a big diff to the WI side.

[Bullet Drive]

Swann to Bravo

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Hit hard, maiden.

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On comes Bresnan. The fake hero of the first innings.

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Bresnan starts off by bowling a 73mph delivery.

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Samuels 2(13) - Bravo 21(37)

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Bresnan starts with a maiden. One of those horrible test maidens.

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WI still 16 behind.

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Almost a chance for the short leg fielder. Swann bowling well.

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Lot for the left hander to think about.

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Bravo takes a single. 22*

[Bullet Drive]

Nice quick single there from Samuels. 1 run to him. 3*

[Shaheerthe2nd]

double post

[Shaheerthe2nd]

Originally Posted by DeadlyVenom I'm not saying hes not a good player, but it seems by the tone of some that he is the solution to all of the WIndies problems. Even with him in the team they will be a crap team. Their problems are deeper than not having Gayle in the side.

I'm not so sure about that. The top order is being repeatedly knocked over and thus exposing the likes of Chanderpaul and Bravo to the new ball far too early.

With Gayle in, the top order will be strengthened and thus the middle order won't be exposed to the new ball.

But we won't know, until he returns, and so hopefully, he'll be opening the batting in the 3rd test match!

[Bullet Drive]

Warne is a very good commentator.

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Bravo is

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Decision has been reviewed. Looks plumb.

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Hitting middle stump. Waste of a review. He looked good yet he has to go. Spot on and plumb. 4 down.

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In comes Ramdin. Has kept very well all tour. Needs a 50 here.

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45-4. Broad back into the attack.

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WI are 4 down and still are trailing.

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Prior has kept very poor all day!

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All these WI batsmen hang back in the crease!

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Ball is reversing already! 17.5 overs.

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46-4

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Beautiful stroke

[Asif321]

Barath , Powell , Edwards who have brought them into interantional level never seen any one scoring a 40

WI needs to change them asap

[Bullet Drive]

50-4. Reversing.

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Nicely worked away from Ramdin. 56-4.

[Ruri]

Deficit broken.

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60-4

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lead of 2

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61-4.

[James]

Wonderful delivery, 2nd LBW for Bresnan. He is having a brilliant game. I was wrong.

[Ruri]

LOL 5 wickets down before the day's up.

[Bullet Drive]

61-6

[Ruri]

6 down! What a joke this batting lineup is.

[ads101]

Bresnan proving doubters wrong.

[James]

Edwards gone now. Surely he will not play up at Durham. Lasted two balls. Could have been given out to either of the appeals, but becomes Bresnan's third LBW victim in the end.

Feel sorry for him, he is probably not a bad guy but as a player he is just terrible.

[ads101]

Originally Posted by Ruri 6 down! What a joke this batting lineup is.

probably will set a target of 10 runs now at this current rate. Shocking batting.

[Sherlock]

Well Done Bresser, and good captaincy by Strauss to keep faith with him after a indifferent 1st innings.

[Shaheerthe2nd]

Alright, time for some Sammy fireworks. :sammy

[James]

Claim the extra half hour! Go on

[Bullet Drive]

STUMPS! Englands day. England to win morning session tomorrow! ;)

[Ruri]

Effectively 3-6 in the second innings, I'll take that over getting a 150 lead and one hour of bowling!

[talha3]

I know it will eventually go up but it's amazing that Bresnan's career average is 25ish whereas Broad and Anderson's are over 30.

[Ruri]

Originally Posted by talha3 I know it will eventually go up but it's amazing that Bresnan's career average is 25ish whereas Broad and Anderson's are over 30.

He started in a really good time for England bowling where it was consistently tight. And he started a bit later than Broad and Anderson so his skill was a bit more refined straight off the bat. He's been good though.

[LegCutter]

Wow this is humiliating for the West Indians, my college team probably has a better middle order than their team

[James]

Bresnan has the stats of a very good all-rounder.

[cricketworm]

Collapso kings are back! I think WI collapsed in 2nd inning for more than 100 times!

[Sherlock]

England still have a problem of which player to pick in the 6-7 position. Bairstow is decent but maybe Test cricket has come to quick for him.

After Collingwood, Morgan and now Bairstow have been tried, the latter maybe needs more time but, at the moment he looks like a "fish out of water".

[Shaheerthe2nd]

Originally Posted by Sherlock England still have a problem of which player to pick in the 6-7 position. Bairstow is decent but maybe Test cricket has come to quick for him. After Collingwood, Morgan and now Bairstow have been tried, the latter maybe needs more time but, at the moment he looks like a "fish out of water".

James Taylor.

Lad needs to be given a chance

[Ruri]

Originally Posted by Shaheerthe2nd James Taylor. Lad needs to be given a chance

Push Prior and the rest of the order up, get Steven Finn in at 11. 5 bowlers wouldn't be bad.

[Square Drive]

wi

[James]

Our batting isn't good enough to play 5 bowlers against South Africa.

[KingKhanWC]

WI top order is no better than Bangladesh. You won't win anything with this batting. Credit to England they fight well in the field.

[DeadlyVenom]

Originally Posted by Ruri Push Prior and the rest of the order up, get Steven Finn in at 11. 5 bowlers wouldn't be bad.

At the moment you are bowling out sides for next to nothing theres absolutely no need for 5 bowlers, especially at home.

[WalkingWiggett]

Originally Posted by KingKhanWC WI top order is no better than Bangladesh.

It's worse if anything. Tamim Iqbal scored 103 vs this England team at Lord's not a million years back. Tino Mawoyo (Zim) scored 163* vs Pakistan at Bulawayo last year.

[Anfield]

Darren Bravo has been a big disappointment.

[WalkingWiggett]

Originally Posted by Anfield Darren Bravo has been a big disappointment.

Yeah, he's got talent but he's no Lara, in spite of a few superficial similarities. However, he is a must in this team. He has demonstrated the ability to play long innings and score Daddy hundreds. With due respect to India and Bangladesh, those aren't the most testing attacks, and I would like to see Darren Bravo score a century against a top Test attack (ENG, ZAF, AUS, PAK), but there's no such thing as an "easy" Test ton.

[KingKhanWC]

Originally Posted by WalkingWiggett It's worse if anything. Tamim Iqbal scored 103 vs this England team at Lord's not a million years back. Tino Mawoyo (Zim) scored 163* vs Pakistan at Bulawayo last year.

Lendl Simmons should have been persisted with. He did o.k but was dropped too early imo. Openers are key batsmen. The best teams have openers with experience.

[Ruri]

Originally Posted by DeadlyVenom At the moment you are bowling out sides for next to nothing theres absolutely no need for 5 bowlers, especially at home.

I have a hidden agenda. I like all our pace bowlers and it sucks that one of them must sit out despite being so good, I really don't care for any of our fill-in batsmen.

And two, it wouldn't be too bad I think. The extra option of Finn may have prevented the Samuels Sammy partnership, and usually, our top 5 + Prior are very good in home conditions.

[WalkingWiggett]

I think the 5-1-5 arrangement is OK for England especially if the gun Finn gets to play (and who on earth doesn't like S.T.Finn?!) but I highly doubt the Andocracy will even consider this for home conditions, even though Prior's a genuine proper bat.

[James]

Ruri -

Hidden agenda is clouding your vision.

Broad, Anderson and Swann have been fantastic for some time now, often bowling sides out for 200-320 regardless of conditions. We don't need a fifth bowler, particularly when Bresnan and Finn are as good as they are. And Strauss seems to be better at managing four bowlers than five.

There are three weaknesses in this England team. One minor, one moderate, one major. I believe that together they create an argument for the six batsmen + Prior and four bowlers strategy.

The minor problem is the lack of a number six, but whether this solves itself or not, it shouldn't matter too much. We just have to keep picking somebody until it works. I still have hopes for Bairstow, who has scored his first-class runs this season in difficult conditions.

The moderate problem is the ineptitude against top quality pace bowling on helpful tracks. See Jamaica, Jo'burg, Perth. This makes South Africa favourites for the Headingley test. Although Swann probably gives us the edge at The Oval and Lord's is a toss-up, in no home test should England be the underdogs. For this reason, we should be packing the side with batting. Even then Dale, Morne and Vernon will provide our ten-long lineup with a serious challenge.

England's major problem is the inability to play quality spin, and the fear of everything that goes with it - mystery bowlers, men around the bat, scoreboard pressure. Tahir is obviously a long way behind Ajmal, and then Rehman, and probably even Herath. But there's always the chance a spinner can take a hatful against England, so weakening the batting is a no-go again.

[WalkingWiggett]

James is right and I was certainly not insinuating that 5-1-5 is the best option for Flower XI, merely that they're a strong enough team to be able to contemplate it, at least for a brief moment before dispatching the notion to the Recycle Bin on one of the Andys' laptops.

[JibranAnsari]

brilliant by england today

[James]

Yes they did well in the end. Indian trolls have disappeared too.

[Bullet Drive]

How about Nick Compton? In sensational form this season? Or possibly Hildreth? I'm a very big fan of James Taylor though. He will have a very successful career.

[truthseer]

@James- One thing I'll say against that is that neither Bopara nor Bairstow are going to do much against Steyn and co. Neither will Morgan. So why not get an extra bowler with Prior at 6?

[James]

Three number six batsmen having a few failures is no reason to stop looking for a fourth.

[truthseer]

In a high profile series against South Africa that will decide the number 1 spot?

[WalkingWiggett]

Well, they could recall Freddie Flintov...

[James]

Reducing the length of the batting lineup against the best bowlers in the world is an inherently problematic idea.

If four bowlers (three in Adelaide) can bowl out Australia in Australia, Pakistan in the UAE and Sri Lanka in the subcontinent, then they can bowl out South Africa in English conditions.

When England have won tests against South Africa in the past - home and away - they have swung the new ball and the spinner has also played a big part.

In short, England teams can bowl out South Africa teams. But can they score 450 against them? Less sure.

[Robert]

I've always been a five-bowler man.

It's having come up watching Botham destroying bowling attacks and running through batting lines (and taking scores of catches).

Prior can do it, if he keep Bres at #7 and Broad at #8.

[truthseer]

Originally Posted by James Reducing the length of the batting lineup against the best bowlers in the world is an inherently problematic idea. If four bowlers (three in Adelaide) can bowl out Australia in Australia, Pakistan in the UAE and Sri Lanka in the subcontinent, they can bowl out South Africa in home conditions.

Finn adds variety that might be useful against South Africa. By the way, none of those sides have a batting lineup coming anywhere near that of S.A. You have Kallis, Smith, Amla, De Villiers.

[WalkingWiggett]

Sri Lanka has three middle-order bats averaging 50+ even if some may call them FTBs.