England warm up match is still on...

The 2 day match against a Barbados XI is still on...... The Barbados team includes 16 year old Kraigg Braithwaite, who is the most prolific batsman in the history of our Under 15 competition. There is also a 16 year old fast bowling all rounder called Jason Holder in the team, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall.

15 and 16 year olds eh?

6'7'' at 16?

f***.

Apparently he is 17 actually. Still pretty tall though. He is not that quick but is extremely accurate and is a fairly talented batsman.

Two 16 year olds and a 17 year old in the side.

Kraigg Brathwaite (16)
Renaldo Arthur
Kirk Edwards
Jonathan Carter
Kevin Stoute,
Shamarh Brooks (captain)
Roston Chase (16),
Corey Edwards
Jason Holder (17)
Dwayne Jordan
Barrington Yearwood

England batting first are 68/1 after 18 overs.

Cook dismissed by Holder, caught at mid on. Team is:

Andrew Strauss (captain), Alistair Cook, Owais Shah, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose (wicket-keeper), Matthew Prior, Ravi Bopara, Adil Rashid, Ryan Sidebottom, Amjad Khan, Monty Panesar.

80/2 after 20 overs

Strauss 51 not out
Cook 16 (lame push to mid on)
Shah 4 (caught on the boundary, hooking)

Jason Holder 6 overs 2/7

109-2 at lunch

Amjad Khan, Bopara & Ambrose all in the side. Sidebottom plays too.

More worrying is that after an Owais Shah failure, a certain Ian Ronald Bell sits on 15* at the break.

157/2

Strauss retired hurt at lunch apparently. Bell feasting on the Barbados youth team spin bowlers.

Awesome news for the West Indies bowlers IMHO

You're a cruel man WIFAN

216/4

Bopara is in and has just offered a dolly of a catch that was not accepted.

It would appear that the mighty mouse otherwise known as Ian Bell was dismissed

Huzzah

234/4 Bopara 41 not out

268/4

Bopara and mystery man both on 50's.

BBC saying 268/5 with Strauss having retired out rather than ret'd hurt.

Bopara 53* Ambrose 65* wit Prior making a 3 ball duck.

Come on Bops, let's have a century to give the Test selectors a nudge... though at this rate Ambrose will be getting picked as a batsman

Apparently the two teams have agreed to have 90 overs each innings.

What's the point of this?

319/6

eowyn wrote:What's the point of this?

For England it will be to give the replacements a run out. For Barbados it is a chance to test the brightest young prospects like 16 year olds Kraigg Braithwaite, Royston Chase and 17 year old Jason Holder against international opposition.

Bopara 101 not out.

Ambrose gave away his wicket to Kevin Stoute and his dibbly dobblers.

WIFAN wrote:

eowyn wrote:What's the point of this?

For England it will be to give the replacements a run out. For Barbados it is a chance to test the brightest young prospects like 16 year olds Kraigg Braithwaite, Royston Chase and 17 year old Jason Holder against international opposition.

Sorry WIFAN, I was being facetious. I do hope WI learn something from this match, we won't.

Fair enough

Well so far we haven't learned very much. We knew that Holder was a decent prospect, we know that Bopara can smash ordinary bowling about any day of the week and we know that Bell is great for a pretty 30.

Tomorrow is the big day for me, as a decent innings by Kraigg Braithwaite in his first innings against international opposition would be great.

Rashid dismissed early by Stoute. Bopara and Sidey now in.

335/8

Sidebottom bowled by 16 year old Royston Chase.

We're screwed.