England tour of the West Indies 2019 (3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 3 T20s)

[PhatBoy]

Gabriel batting prediction time:

I give him 2 balls against Broad

Hahahahaha and there it is - albeit Wood was the one bowling

 

[PhatBoy]

Sheesh.
The ball that smashed off Bairstow’s grille for 4 byes earlier was over 150 clicks

 

[JimDocker]

Apparently that was the 18th wicket off a no ball for the West Indies in 3 years

Didn't Michael Holding only bowl one no ball in his entire test career ? I heard a ridiculous stat like that once but been unable to confirm it.

 

[VirgilHilts]

A predictable collapse from us again this morning but a surprising performance with the ball. Mark Wood was terrific but, as a Warwickshire supporter, I can't help but feel sorry for Olly Stone who but for injury would probably have been equally terrific.

 

[PhatBoy]

A predictable collapse from us again this morning but a surprising performance with the ball. Mark Wood was terrific but, as a Warwickshire supporter, I can't help but feel sorry for Olly Stone who but for injury would probably have been equally terrific.

I knew wood was quicker than the others but didn’t realise he could get it to 150km which he did several times.

Pretty annoying that we have largely blunted Anderson for most of the series and made he and Stokes (their two best bowlers IMO across the first two tests) really earn every wicket, while we’ve just handed them on a platter to Moeen f***ing Ali.

 

[VirgilHilts]

Pretty annoying that we have largely blunted Anderson for most of the series and made he and Stokes (their two best bowlers IMO across the first two tests) really earn every wicket, while we’ve just handed them on a platter to Moeen f***ing Ali.

Now over 170 times in Tests that Moeen's been underestimated. His batting has dropped off a cliff recently but he's still very valuable to England.

 

[PhatBoy]

Now over 170 times in Tests that Moeen's been underestimated. His batting has dropped off a cliff recently but he's still very valuable to England.

Absolutely, no denying it, he’s crucial for you. I can’t help but think from watching this series thought that almost every single time he’s come on, it’s as though the batsmen think ‘right, seen off the new ball, time to relax.’

 

[VirgilHilts]

I'm sure you're right and, given how many wickets Broad and Anderson have between them, you can't really blame batsmen for thinking that.

 

[footyfan1978]

Nice day for pace bowlers. Well done Mark Wood. Your best Test performance. Not seen a pom bowl that quick for probably over a decade.
Looks like 2-1 which a shame. Really hoped Windies bats would dig in and reward their bowlers good morning work but folded like pack of cards after good opening stand.

 

[PhatBoy]

Really feel like we’ve found one with Campbell. He’s got a sound enough defence, enough shots to make sure bowlers can’t just do what they want.
If WICB is fair dinkum they will do whatever they can to get him as much first class exposure as possible. If you can consistently make starts in test cricket, there is nothing techniqually or physically stopping you from developing into a test standard player. All comes back to experience and mental strength from there on.

 

[Richard Pryor]

Didn't Michael Holding only bowl one no ball in his entire test career ? I heard a ridiculous stat like that once but been unable to confirm it.

Seems to be a rumour that could be true, although not sure why a cricinfo writer wouldn't be able to track down the Test stats for no-balls:

Still, some bowlers find a way around no-balls. It is often claimed that Michael Holding sent down only two in his Test career.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-south-africa-2012/content/story/591092.html

Another equally impressive Windies bowling anecdote is that Curtly Ambrose was never hit for six in a Test.

 

[Ishikawa]

I'm pretty critical of Australia at the moment but England's batting stocks are even worse. Does not help that they're going all in with the '100'. Denly does not even remotely look like an international cricketer and a couple of good seasons when he's nearly 33 just suggest a solid domestic player in a good period, not someone who's suddenly got the skills for higher honours.

I honestly think Vince is a better option then some of the players they have at the moment, his issues are similar to Harris' where he's prone to brain fades but he also kept getting picked when he wasn't really in good form.

For the Ashes, England need to consider giving Ballance one last shot. I know he's had his issues with technique but i think he's got the record to deserve a last chance given some of the rubbish batsman that the've played in the last couple of years. Guys like Malan, Jennings and now Denly (granted Malan played a good innings here in Australia but he was never up to it long term).

Also why would I call Ollie Pope a journeyman, he's 21 and has 5 FC hundreds, I'd slot him in for the Ashes as well if his form holds up. Someone else already mentioned it but Hameed isn't comparable to Renshaw. He averages 30 after 50 games and he's not far off being dropped to the 2nd XI if his form continues. Nothing to suggest he's not just someone who had a good season but once people worked him out he didn't have any answers, happens a lot in FC cricket.

I rate Balance too and feel he has been overly maligned. But in essence it's one flawed batsmen for another and the guys in the side have performed domestically and intermittently enough in the chances they've got at test level to justify retention. They keep cycling out these guys who come in and "do ok" and it hasn't worked.

Lovely spell of bowling by Wood, I do like him though I actually think he'll pose less a threat than Woakes would in the upcoming Ashes. Just seems the kind of skiddy, reverse swinging bowler who does better on drier wickets than what we'll see in England.

Nice day for pace bowlers. Well done Mark Wood. Your best Test performance. Not seen a pom bowl that quick for probably over a decade.
Looks like 2-1 which a shame. Really hoped Windies bats would dig in and reward their bowlers good morning work but folded like pack of cards after good opening stand.

Plunkett was the last to be thereabouts the 150kmh mark. Should have been used for the Ashes last summer, but they opted not to and hasn't had a look in again in the test side since (though should still play an important part of their World Cup campaign)

 

[to1994]

I rate Balance too and feel he has been overly maligned. But in essence it's one flawed batsmen for another and the guys in the side have performed domestically and intermittently enough in the chances they've got at test level to justify retention. They keep cycling out these guys who come in and "do ok" and it hasn't worked.

I know what you mean but I think Ballance is an exception. He's not just another Vince, Stoneman, Malan etc. he averages around 10 runs higher in FC cricket averaging 47. That's not everything but I do think he could have success at least at home against Australia compared to some of the others and deserves a last shot with how poor they've been.

Then there's the case of Keaton Jennings, he now averages less in Tests then Mitch Marsh and is in his 17th Test match. Yes, you don't want to drop people too quickly but that's far too long and now they're stuck in the position of having to debut someone in an Ashes series while Burns is still no lock.

 

[Damon_3388]

This Mark Wood 5-fer getting a bit overhyped on CricInfo, given that he went for nearly 5 runs an over in the process.

 

[t_94]

This Mark Wood 5-fer getting a bit overhyped on CricInfo, given that he went for nearly 5 runs an over in the process.

Not really considering you generally have to bowl a team out twice to win a test match.

 

[PhatBoy]

This Mark Wood 5-fer getting a bit overhyped on CricInfo, given that he went for nearly 5 runs an over in the process.

Yeah they’ve cashed in on it. He did bowl well but he also bowled against a side with a notoriously combustible batting line up.
There’s a guy in the other team who’s taken 4+ in four out of five innings this series ffs, against, objectively speaking, a better batting line up

 

[VirgilHilts]

It's amazing how a bit of scoreboard pressure can change things around.

 

[PhatBoy]

Been a pretty sloppy effort from the Windies tbh, discipline has been right down. Fielding has been fairly poor. I think by and large the bowling has still been ok but obviously England have batted better, and the pressure (partly due to the scoreboard obviously) hasn’t been as relentless.

 

[VirgilHilts]

Holder's absence can't be overestimated either.

 

[footyfan1978]

Nice day for pace bowlers. Well done Mark Wood. Your best Test performance. Not seen a pom bowl that quick for probably over a decade.
Looks like 2-1 which a shame. Really hoped Windies bats would dig in and reward their bowlers good morning work but folded like pack of cards after good opening stand.

Plunkett was the last to be thereabouts the 150kmh mark. Should have been used for the Ashes last summer, but they opted not to and hasn't had a look in again in the test side since (though should still play an important part of their World Cup campaign)

Not seen Plunkett in a Test match. Cannot remember last pom bowler to consistently bowl high 140's and into 152 km/h as he did in spell saw yesterday.
Cannot recall if Harmison bowled that quick. He was probably around that mark at his quickest. Darren Gough probably just below at his fastest. Devon Malcolm at his quickest would have gone over 152km/h.
Not sure how quick John Snow was back in their 70's. He looked quite slippery in some stuff I saw recently on youtube. Still think Devon Malcolm quickest I seen for Poms.

 

[PhatBoy]

Not seen Plunkett in a Test match. Cannot remember last pom bowler to consistently bowl high 140's and into 152 km/h as he did in spell saw yesterday.
Cannot recall if Harmison bowled that quick. He was probably around that mark at his quickest. Darren Gough probably just below at his fastest. Devon Malcolm at his quickest would have gone over 152km/h.
Not sure how quick John Snow was back in their 70's. He looked quite slippery in some stuff I saw recently on youtube. Still think Devon Malcolm quickest I seen for Poms.

Harmy absolutely bowled that fast. He took 7-12 against WI once bowling like the wind.

 

[swingdog]

Another equally impressive Windies bowling anecdote is that Curtly Ambrose was never hit for six in a Test.

No one would dare.

 

[PhatBoy]

Seems to be a rumour that could be true, although not sure why a cricinfo writer wouldn't be able to track down the Test stats for no-balls:


Another equally impressive Windies bowling anecdote is that Curtly Ambrose was never hit for six in a Test.

Logistically the only way I could see it happening is a top edged hook shot. I don’t think there’s been a more awkward bowler to ‘smash’ that I can think of

 

[VirgilHilts]

Logistically the only way I could see it happening is a top edged hook shot. I don’t think there’s been a more awkward bowler to ‘smash’ that I can think of

Joel Garner maybe. Those frikkin yorkers coming down from a hundred feet up.

 

[JimDocker]

When I was in grade 6 in 1978, we went on a school trip to Kalgoorlie. The West Indies were playing there during WSC.
We were walking through a shopping centre and Joel Garner walked past us within a few feet.
He was the biggest human I had ever seen !

I saw him play plenty of times after that, but that first occasion seeing him in the flesh was awesome in the true sense.