West Indies v England, 3rd Test, Bridgetown, 1-5 May, 2015

So England have decided that a 4 day test is a bad idea and have reduced it to 3.

That ball was going to hit the wicket if it hadn't hit the pad, hawkeye got it totally wrong, you could see from the live picture how close to the wicket the ball was.

Noddy gets rid of Katie with a very marginal call, so evens it up if the first one was out... (although remember "right in front" on a 2D TV picture is a couple of feet away in reality...)

The Nodster on a hat-trick... the Burnley Lara on a king pair!

Can we just stop sending Broad out to bat and list him as 'retired pansy'.

It is just too embarrassing.

And that was against Holder.

Can you imagine how he's going to look against Mitch and co.

Come on the Windies. That quick shot of the England "management" on the balcony wasn't full of happy faces.

Sturat actually made 37 in his first innings after the injury, and hasn't had as much batting as you'd think since... three ducks and a 10 in Tests, and four dismissals (plus a bunch of not outs) for 40 runs in JAMODIs. So maybe he does just need time in the middle to sort things out. Get the fastest bowlers on the county circuit in to bounce him in the nets.

He was gone before the injury.

The last Ashes found him out to be a scaredy cat.

No point in bouncing him as he just doesn't fancy it. Wasted energy for any net bowler - although maybe a bit of fun for them making him hop about.

It happens to a lot of lower order batsmen who could be decent. They come in looking like they could become a number 7, and end up batting 11 only because there aren't 12 in a team...

Bowden is such a chump.

Trying to even it up for the dodgy LB he gave against Jordan.

He needs to be retired asap.

beamer wrote:It happens to a lot of lower order batsmen who could be decent. They come in looking like they could become a number 7, and end up batting 11 only because there aren't 12 in a team...

Is Broad following a similar path to Alex Tudor?

Early days looked really handy and got 99 I think, can't recall who that was against.

Then got one on the noggin in Oz and that seemed to be it from him in terms of wanting to bat.

Lindsay no.2 wrote:Bowden is such a chump.

Trying to even it up for the dodgy LB he gave against Jordan.

He needs to be retired asap.

He was once, and then the buggers brought him back.

Anyway, 123 a.o.

Windies 192 to win

Bowden is just awful. We have something to defend, I suppose. WI should do this though...

Buttler's given us a chance, but it only takes one batsman to get in. I think a gritty farewell knock from Shiv will get them there by 4 or 5 wickets.

Brass Monkey wrote:Bowden is just awful. We have something to defend, I suppose. WI should do this though...

Aye, we played as though the pitch had wall-to-wall landmines in it - it's not that bad. We were just shoite.

WI should play it like a one-day match.

I don' think they'll make it if they play like they have previously. Quick 20s from each of the top 3 will pave the way for the others to make it.

Their openers look like gimmes for Jimmy if they try to defend - so they should look to go over the top of cover and swing hard in the hope that any edges go over slip or get there seriously quickly.

Bravo too loose for my liking to play diligently - so may as well go for it.

Marlon can smack it - so mahy as well stand and deliver.

Shiv is the only one who can stick.

Blackwood keep doing what you do kid.

Then Ramdin and Holder to knock a few around and that should do it.

Interesting to see how they go about it. But if they try to grin it then they'll collapse like England just have.

Good on yer Brathwaite.

That's got to be the way.

From England's point of view, they have to hope that either Moeen or Root will turn up as there will be that awkward spell between the ball reversing orthodoxly and reverse kicking in.

Just one question.

Why reason would Billy Bowden have for not giving Anderson out straight away? If he can't see that that was plumb, then he shouldn't be umpiring in tests.

Lindsay no.2 wrote:Bravo too loose for my liking to play diligently - so may as well go for it.

Underrating him a great deal. Scored a 200 following on in New Zealand batting some 10+ hours which saved a match (with the help of some rain). He has the ability to stick.

WideWally wrote:Just one question.

Why reason would Billy Bowden have for not giving Anderson out straight away? If he can't see that that was plumb, then he shouldn't be umpiring in tests.

Around the wicket stigma?

ETA: he really should not be umpiring tests though.

WideWally wrote:Just one question.

Why reason would Billy Bowden have for not giving Anderson out straight away? If he can't see that that was plumb, then he shouldn't be umpiring in tests.

The trouble is, there's virtually nobody not English or Australian who's up to umpiring in Tests these days. Who's Snoozonia's number 2 since Benny Hill retired? Come to think of it, who's India's number 1 umpire?

tricycle wrote:

Lindsay no.2 wrote:Bravo too loose for my liking to play diligently - so may as well go for it.

Underrating him a great deal. Scored a 200 following on in New Zealand batting some 10+ hours which saved a match (with the help of some rain). He has the ability to stick.

I hear you.

He has the ability but does he have the application?

My feeling is that he is nowhere near consistently diligent as to be reliable. Also, I think he knows he's got no-one pressuring him for his place so he can afford to be sporadically good/great.

Last test I thought he was gritting in - he left really well for a while against Jimmy and looked to be 'in the zone'. Then out of nowhere just wafted lazily at a nothing ball and got out.

And in the first innings here he looked plain awful. No composure or desire by the look of it.

WideWally wrote:Just one question.

Why reason would Billy Bowden have for not giving Anderson out straight away? If he can't see that that was plumb, then he shouldn't be umpiring in tests.

Just one answer.

He's shit.

Lindsay no.2 wrote:

tricycle wrote:

Lindsay no.2 wrote:Bravo too loose for my liking to play diligently - so may as well go for it.

Underrating him a great deal. Scored a 200 following on in New Zealand batting some 10+ hours which saved a match (with the help of some rain). He has the ability to stick.

I hear you.

He has the ability but does he have the application?

My feeling is that he is nowhere near consistently diligent as to be reliable. Also, I think he knows he's got no-one pressuring him for his place so he can afford to be sporadically good/great.

Last test I thought he was gritting in - he left really well for a while against Jimmy and looked to be 'in the zone'. Then out of nowhere just wafted lazily at a nothing ball and got out.

And in the first innings here he looked plain awful. No composure or desire by the look of it.

Agree with all that. When he does get apply himself, he is very good.