btb

Fuckin' hell Edwards. Bowl short-of-a-length, 3/4 inches outside off stump (it's a Test match you're gonna get away with it) and set the field accordingly - wide second slip, deep gully, cover, third man. Anything down the leg side, anything that can be driven is just poor bowling.

Weather looking brighter today. Given that Hugh Morris said this series was preparation for the Ashes the lost day will provide a better test (sic) of England's ability to force a win with the clock ticking. Although the Wisden Trophy will be changing hands again if the West Indies could come out of the six (seven if you prefer) Tests with an aggregate score of 1-1 it'd be a creditable performance overall. *********************** First hour - England 53/1 in 10 overs. England certainly playing with a bit of urgency, other than going slow it's hard to see what tactics the West Indies have.

Stumps - Day 2 England 302/2 (90.0 ov) Better day for the West Indies. Draw must be back on as a possibilty, Cook & Anderson the ideal starting pair from a West Indies POV. Will resume my raindance tomorrow morning.

Day 1 England - 302/2 I haven't been so disappointed with a performance like West Indies' today since Saints on Saturday. B) 1000 runs would be a possibility if England were interested - but more likely a declaration around tea tommorow with England somewhere around 550. Do the Windies want to be here? It doesn't look like it. What's to come from the West Indies? A couple of cheep & cheerful Innings, no doubt, with the game struggling to make it into Sunday.

Last time West Indies toured England won despite losing a day to the weather. Collingwood produced one of his rare significant performances.

Defeat in three days - shite. ECB having to refund monies from Saturday's ticket sales - priceless!

179/5 - Century partnership for Nash & Ramdin. The ECB will be hoping the match stretches into Day 4, if England win tonight ticket holders are due a refund!

75/4 - Doesn't look the cricket is going to interfere with tomorrow's football. B) 79/5 now!

Probably down to cost but tours are very much truncated these days, with less warm-up games. Of the West Indies bowlers only Edwards has played county cricket, AFAIK Baker on his first tour would have been playing his third match in England, Benn pretty much the same. There's no excuse for the poor fielding but as I said earlier I feel the Windies were demoralized by England's total and with no confidence in being able to reach it batting conservatively just decided to go out and have a bash. Again I feel there's no excuse for them getting bowled out in a little over 30 overs. I'm disappointed that the charachter showed in the batting performances in the Caribbean has been ditched for a return to the cheap & cheerful displays we had become used to. As a follower of West Indies cricket it's the manner of defeat that I find, well, disappointing. I had no illusions about the likely outcome of this series but England should've been made to work a lot harder. Anyway I'm off to resume my rain-dance!

After 19.2 overs he was on a hat-trick. As for knowing my stuff, I didn't have to wait until the West Indies came in to know that they were going to struggle to match England's total. Anyway I'm off to do a rain dance.

West Indies 99/4(19.2 ov) Swann on a hat-trick! A bit of a desperate performance (with the exception of Simmons) from a West Indies team with no confidence in their ability to match England's 377 by orthodox means.

Swann opens the bowling from the Pavillion End!

Bresnan & Onions may be playing their first Tests but they'll be playing in familiar conditions and Onions is in great form. Compare that to West Indies where only three of the specialist batsmen (Chanderpaul, Gayle & Sarwan) have played in county cricket. If England can't get 20 wickets here.................. 377 all out! Edwards will be on a hat-trick in the Second Innings always presuming England have to bat again.

England 377/8 (111.0 ov) As bad as it can get for the West Indies, difficult to see anything other than an England win from here.

Ah statistics - slice them & dice them, can be served hot or cold. Nothing in the above post backs up your original point - that Collingwood "regularly digs them out of a hole". Edit - IMO Collingwood has only twice changed the result of a Test Match -West Indies in 2007 and New Zealand last year.

Well I do (to an extent) 9 Test centuries but only one in a Test England went on to win - most of his runs have come in high scoring draws. As for Baker being pish - possibly but it's only his second game in England. It's a sign of how weak the West Indies bowling is that he's being asked to come in as first change. ***************************************** If England can score 350 there's a good chance they'll roll over the West Indies cheaply. ***************************************** England 289/7 (90.0 ov) - despite a poor fielding performance & West Indies being short of a bowler. Looks like a good score if England's seam attack can perform well.

See that's where I disagree with you. He scored a lot of run in the Caribbean last winter but failed the one time it counted and again today he's out for 8. It's Bopara digging England out of a hole today not Collingwood. Edit - Century for Bopara, congrats!

Oh for a fourth seamer! Why is Bravo still playing in the IPL? Edit - As I type he's bowling for Mumbai Indians!

Re Paul Collingwood Do any other cricket fans think he's over-rated? IMO today is another example of him not contibuting when the going gets tough. *************** On another notemonly one more wicket and the Windies will be into England's lower order - possibly before Tea on Day 1!

I understand what you're saying but this is Lords at the beginning of May. unless we lose a lot of time to bad weather I predict a finish in four days.

Looks like England'll intend to play Broad & Swann at 7 & 8. First Test - May 6-10, very early in the English summer to be playing a Test Match but I guess that's the way it got to be to fulfil contracts. Definitely a toss to win and insert the opposition.

Congats to England winning the ODI series 3-2. Disappointed that any momentum West Indies might have taken from the Test Series seems to have slipped away - how much of that is down to the internal strife is open to question.

Go Chris, go!

Great start for West Indies (Currently 43/5), my main worry is the weather and the possibility of the Duckworth/Lewis formula being applied. B)