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on Thursday! Lords Test against the West Indies.
England Test squad against West Indies:
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex, capt), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Graham Onions (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Surrey), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)
Bairstow in place of Bopara? I like the look of him overall, as he seems nicely consistent.
Was chatting to a knowledgeable Bajan recently, who assured me that the West Indies were well and truly on the way back. Having grown up with Ambrose, Garner, Marshall et al, I truly want to see them back to that sort of glory. However, could they please do so against the Aussies or someone else? 😉
So, what do we reckon? Taut first test, I reckon. And I reckon we'll lose it.
Series win for England, however.
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Muke, you're almost certainly right!
Druidh, look on the bright side, it's not soccer! 😉
England to win comfortably. They will have been hurt by winter tests and looking forward to home advantage.
No rain forecast for tomorrow....
Overcast though, so could be a very good toss to win. I'd have a bowl, I reckon. Try and get early wickets, then unsettle the tail.
I reckon the west indies will struggle in 'typical early English summer' conditions. I.E. Murky, dank and bloody chilly.
Not sure about Bairstow. He's a batting keeper isn't he. We need a batsman-bowler in that slot. I personally would have experimented with Broad up the order and another bowler but hey.
Bloody love tms, and particularly the first half hour of play on the first morning of the first test match of the summer. Win or lose it's good times 🙂
Yep, he's a gloveman as well. I had thought that Broad was destined to move up the order a little as well, but he seems to have faltered a bit. Will be interesting to see how that goes.
TMS is simply marvellous, isn't it?
[url=
time I hear this tune fire up, I smile![/url]
I still miss Johnners. Especially for [url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8157299/Test-Match-Specials-greatest-gaffe-the-Leg-Over.html ]"that"[/url] piece of commentary.
I shall be there on Saturday 🙂
More tweed jackets, red trousers, panamas and bacon & egg ties than you can shake a stick at at Paddington this morning.
Anyone for cake?
England have won the toss and will bowl first, no surprises there.
Bresnan preferred to Finn and Bairstow plays.
Radio on, cup of tea being made by a minion, office door closed 🙂
And a very decent start
Hmmmm, cake!
Another slice, if you please. To go with the second wicket.
32-2. Tidy first hour!
pah at work today but i shall be in the land of TMS tomorrow
Feel sorry for Finn he has done very well when he has played.
TMS is simply marvellous, isn't it?
Indeed it is
Cake you say what they eating?
Anything interesting happened with buses, birds or random passer bys.
Anything interesting happened with buses, birds or random passer bys.
Henry and Sir Viv on at the moment. Anything could happen....! 🙂
Impressed with the discipline shown by the batsmen so far. Need a couple of wickets after lunch
wundred...for 3
How to sell cricket:
[i]look on the bright side, it's not soccer![/i]
😆
Bit of a mixed bag of a day so far...
111 for 4! 😀
I knew it all along......
Blowers is a crip
Tuffers a Blood?
Henry keeps chatting about how great Mick Hunt is.
😯
cricket is bloody boring.
cricket is bloody boring.
Yet nowhere near as boring as people who take the time to tell you how boring cricket is, on a thread about cricket.
Anyway, 156-4. Strauss needs a couple of wickets before the close or he's going to regret bowling first...
Yep, needs a couple to fall. Chanderpaul being the prime target.
However, no one bar Anderson looks like taking one at the moment.
and your wish is granted 🙂 187-6
not Shiv tho - he'll be there to the end now I reckon
Marvellous!
Meanwhile, in the IPL, Gayle has just hit a ton off 53 balls.
Nicely in to the tail now!
Just travelling back now. Lovely day out as guest of an mcc member. Was a proper testmatch day, batters dug in against dis iplined bowling and then a flurry at the end with the tail. Bizarre run out but shiv salvaged some face, although was surprised he took the singlle at the end which exposed / sacrificed Edwards. Still hope he gets his ton - suspect this will be bis last chance to get on the board.
Only sad part was that our usual party is one light this year. We miss you Neil; timed out by the big umpire at 51 🙁
Only sad part was that our usual party is one light this year. We miss you Neil; timed out by the big umpire at 51
Glass raised to Neil. 🙁
A half century isn't enough of an innings in life.
Glad to hear you all remember him.
51, big shame.
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Lest time bails you out.
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Remembered with a pint, and a memorial scotch egg, after the scotch egg debacle of 2001. When one member of the party was trusted to procure sufficent scotch eggs for the whole party and turned up with MINI PICNIC EGGS! Neil was apolectic, incandescent even.
just checked, Chanderpaul is already on the board. Hope he gets out early tomorrow 😉
Remembered with a pint, and a memorial scotch egg, after the scotch egg debacle of 2001. When one member of the party was trusted to procure sufficent scotch eggs for the whole party and turned up with MINI PICNIC EGGS! Neil was apolectic, incandescent even.
This may just be the best thing I have ever read!
🙂
I shall procure a proper Scotch Egg on the morrow for lunch. I hope to do Neil proud. 🙂
Thanks CFH
As it was a nice evening I walked back from Lords to Waterloo. I toyed briefly with heading to Pimlico to try this Cask place I've heard about but opted instead for a pint in the Clachan by Liberty. Nice Doombar set me up for the rest of the walk. Sore feet now - didn't have decent walking shoes on - and my wife has just refused me a foot massage, which after the hard day I've just had is beyond reasonable. I even offered to take my socks off first....
Shame! I was in Cask earlier....! 😉
Mrs OtherJonV sounds a sound woman. 😉
Rather overcast in the southern extremities of That London's Famous City of Westminster today. No sign of any rain, at least until tomorrow, so time to make hay while the sun struggles to break through the cloud.
Early wicket is really vital this morning.
Pity the WI don't have Gayle, watched him hammer 100+ in the IPL yesterday.
Does anyone know if the other Bravo will be over when the IPL finishes?
well that went well
how early did you want your early wicket?
Even the old duffers on the member's benches in front of the pavilion can't have had time to doze off before that happened.
Pressure on strauss though. If the Windies bowlers match the discipline of some of their batters, this won't be easy by any means.
Ooof! On a call so I missed the opening of play!
Like I said, "Early wicket is really vital this morning."
🙂
I watched the highlights last night. The two things that struck me were Barath's wonderful cover drives (some off some good length balls) and Anderson's dismissal of Powell, which was a thing of great beauty - setting him up with the outswinger, then bringing the next ball back in.
The odd thing about Shiv's stance is at the point he plays the ball, he ends up playing pretty conventionally. I'd forgotten that.
6-0.
+1 to both those observations.
Made Powell look daft, which was totally unfair because it was a beautiful set up job.
And i was very impressed by Barath, those 3 drives made a lovely thump of the middle of his bat live. Made his dismissal even more strange, out of character - although in fairness was a similar shot to the cover drives, so if he'd caned that too we'd have all purred with delight.
Hoping the rain will stay away tomorrow - its a long way from Manc to sit under a brolly!