West Indies v. England - spoiler

[dellzeqq]

for those of us with half an ear on the cricket, this has been a remarkable morning - chastening, almost humiliating for England's bowlers, but uplifting for all of us who cherish cricket's unpredictability. The West Indies resumed with eight wickets gone, and when the ninth fell on the third ball of the day, the England openers started to mentally rehearse their strokes. Twentyfour overs and an amazing 125 runs later, Tino Best has hit the highest number of runs by a number 11 in a Test Match ever. He's on 82 (whoops, 84), while his partner has added another 35 or so.

The match is heading toward a draw, but, aside from Jimmy Anderson, the England team must be pretty fed up and a tad concerned.

 

[Ashtrayhead]

Tino Best out for 95! Good knock for a number 11....

 

[Dayvo]

The series was won by England after the first two Tests, so there seems to be a certain amount of 'down-grading' the importance of the 3rd Test, James Anderson's omission (resting, FFS) being the evidence of this.

Obviously, and unfortunately, the South Africa series is more of an 'event' than the West Indies series, although I was very pleased to see the Windies show some spirit and fight, after the first one and a half Tests.

Cricket (internationally) is strong and thriving when the Windies are a force to be reckoned with. I hope the selectors/coach don't interfere too much with the side, (the Keven Pietersen 'retirement', for example) but with so much money at stake (gate money-wise) with the three forms of cricket (20/20, 50/50 and Test) then there will be a large number of 'specialist' players for the various forms of the game.

Maybe they should have a back garden and Howzat! squad, as well!

 

[bobcat]

Shame for Onions, I was really hoping he would go through the "windies" batting and give the selectors something to think about. Even so, well played Tino Best!