England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lords, 17-21 May, 2012

Yeah, they were called non-match threads.

Well if amyone said anything on the match thread you might have a point.

Been away for the weekend (nothing dirty!) and just got back home... i'm undecided, is Lords a good cricket wicket or not?

It does seem to get flatter and flatter, but for a side to win there these days you really have to earn it.

taipan wrote:Well if amyone said anything on the match thread you might have a point.

And it did relate to the last (and only other) time that England has been set 191 to win at Lord's although Taips broadened to the match afterwards (coincidentally also, as currently, at Trent Bridge).

Allan D wrote: Bresnan's poorest all-round match of his Test career.

Hope he's still selected. He doesn't seem to like Lords much though, seem to recall being at the game against Bangladesh where he was all kinds of gash too.

12 wins from 12 though

taipan wrote:Well if amyone said anything on the match thread you might have a point.

It was a minor dig at Alain about how threads can digress from their natural topic - i.e. it's no biggedy.

JKLever wrote:Been away for the weekend (nothing dirty!) and just got back home... i'm undecided, is Lords a good cricket wicket or not?

It does seem to get flatter and flatter, but for a side to win there these days you really have to earn it.

Lord's has been a shit, shit wicket for years. I'm amazed that anyone wins there, but they're saved every single year by the inclemency of the weather in (usually) early May... it would be known as one of the top highways in the world were it not for this.

Yeah, got to agree with that ... the Lord's wicket has been a feckin road for donkeys ... no detioration, no cracks, no ultimate challenge. A graveyard for the quicks (unless it swings like a bulls b*llocks) ... and a spinners nightmare.

Time they dug up the square and started all over again from grass (mmmm) seed.

Brass Monkey wrote:

taipan wrote:Well if amyone said anything on the match thread you might have a point.

It was a minor dig at Alain about how threads can digress from their natural topic - i.e. it's no biggedy.

You should know by now that I'm a sucker for Test history, m'sieur.

Merlin wrote:Yeah, got to agree with that ... the Lord's wicket has been a feckin road for donkeys ... no detioration, no cracks, no ultimate challenge. A graveyard for the quicks (unless it swings like a bulls b*llocks) ... and a spinners nightmare.

Time they dug up the square and started all over again from grass (mmmm) seed.

I don't understand, OK they're gasher sides, how Middx/Surrey was such a bowling rout - yet the Test pitch was like cuddly blancmange. Better prep probably. Just seems strange... but there's not really much in it for the bowlers.

Allan D wrote:
You should know by now that I'm a sucker for Test history, m'sieur.

Aye and I'm glad of it... as I say, it was 'repartee'.

thoughts on the ginger wizard? Looks a bit vulnerable to the ball coming in to him, couple of cracking shots. Early days I guess...

Difficult to tell from such a small sample. I can see what you're saying on the gate thing, but it was a cracker of a ball. When he came in we were trying to score a bit more freely, as well, so that always muddies the waters. Couple of cracking shots and he looked really busy at the crease in trying to rotate the strike with a couple of quick singles.

One wonders if Jonny was a stopgap whilst Bopara gets fit and if he'd made a good score they'd have continued with him but as it is they'll go back to Bops or not. I don't really see the point in it, but that doesn't mean the ECB agree with me.

If Fidel is now going to be a mid 80mph range bowler he does not have much of a future in test cricket. Rampaul would have been a hel of a lot better in these conditions. Roach was never going to be abke to do it all on his own.

Easy win, as predicted. West Indies utter crap apart from Chanderpaul, Samuels and Roach. When you're carrying eight players, you're never going to win Test Matches. England were fairly solid all-round and most of the team contributed something. Lots of double-figure scores from the batsmen and wickets shared all around. The margin of victory doesn't reflect the level of comfort we found ourselves in. Talisman Bresnan has to stay in the team. I'd go unchanged for the rest of the series.

So, Finn for Bresnan for Trent Bridge then?

Where's the Bell love?

Fair play to him and Cook. As some jibbler pointed out, he basically got to face Sammy and Samuels whereas Cook faced all of Roach's most fiery best. But he saw us through calmly and I'm forever grateful to him.

Well done to Engulund after a few wobbles. The Axe luckily snaffled the MoM with his paltry 11 wickets, against the might and untold worth of the Belf double of match winning 60s.

Congrats to England here!

WI should certainly play Narine(if available) in the next test. Most England players aren't too good against "mystery" bowlers.

well done to the Pomgolians...great they have pulled off a decent win against the odds.

Is the flack Les Burdett now curating Lords as well as the Adelaide Oval? What an autobahn...the likes of Sehwag, Kallis, Clarke and Tendy would would have made pots of runs on that autobahn

still...both sides got to play on it...the good thing for cricket was that there was a result

....and what a thread...Skully will be pleased...there was Monkeh whooping....Dello jaying/braying...and of all folk Taips in all of a flutter celebrating the whitey only days of 40 years ago...