England v West Indies, 1st Test, Edgbaston, 17-21 August, 2017

test cricket needs two tiers. WI is an embarassment.

Well, they're certainly not justifying a 3 match series. We should have played 5 against the Yarpies, at least they provide some semblance of a contest...

All this on the most blameless pitch of the summer.

Yeah, 19 wickets in a day suggests a minefield. I suspect pretty much any county side would have put up more of a fight.

We're used to the West Indies being crap now, particularly away from home (it's 17 years since they won a single Test here) but the lack of fight here was pretty shameful. We saw it from South Africa and on one occasion England when things weren't going their way in the recent series, it's become a bit of a theme in Test cricket, but this was another level really. Anderson and Broad are great bowlers but batsmen should be relishing the challenge, not folding like a pack of cards.

If the Windies can gather up all their money chasing mercenaries from the various T20 comps then they may have a competitive side again.

skully wrote:Will the Windies get into Day 4?

I sort of asked this in jest!!!

How ordinary of the Windies. Basically dismissed twice in a day. Useless.

Well done England!!

Big Dog wrote:If the Windies can gather up all their money chasing mercenaries from the various T20 comps then they may have a competitive side again.

Who do they really have that's a proven Test player though? T20 specialists wouldn't really improve this team.

England players really cashing in this summer against the woeful Windies and depleted Saffers.

Good practice for them, in advance of the T20 goldfish we are likely to send out for the Ashes series.

With the amount of money that gets thrown around it may well be worth centrally contracting some players from the dirt poor countries to the ICC on the condition they make themselves available for tests.

Bradman wrote:With the amount of money that gets thrown around it may well be worth centrally contracting some players from the dirt poor countries to the ICC on the condition they make themselves available for tests.

Good idea. It may also protect them from Kolpak agreements.

beamer wrote:

Big Dog wrote:If the Windies can gather up all their money chasing mercenaries from the various T20 comps then they may have a competitive side again.

Who do they really have that's a proven Test player though? T20 specialists wouldn't really improve this team.

Yeah, they've only got Gayle who'd improve the test side, and he's better off away from the West Indian side. Dwayne Bravo is a proven failure while Pollard couldn't hack it at 50 over level let alone tests. Russell may when he's not banned for drugs, but he's barely played a dozen FC matches. Samuels is a better prick than player.

What happened to Darren Bravo, he looked half decent... sounds like he had some sort of argument with the board.

beamer wrote:What happened to Darren Bravo, he looked half decent... sounds like he had some sort of argument with the board.

You could probably make up quite a handy eleven out of all the players who have pissed off by the WIBC in recent years.

Basil wrote:

beamer wrote:What happened to Darren Bravo, he looked half decent... sounds like he had some sort of argument with the board.

You could probably make up quite a handy eleven out of all the players who have pissed off by the WIBC in recent years.

Like in this article?

They include a few potentially WI-qualified English players like Belf-Drummond, Archer and Barker (when historically the movement has always been the opposite way). And of course the one WI player who has made a century against Jimmy Anderson with the pink ball in England this season. He's 43 but still the best batsman they have available...

Just when the West Indies thought it couldn't get worse - it did. Brathwaite's bowling action has been reported.