It was a shame that the first Test fizzled out in Monday’s rain. Considering the weakness of England’s bowling attack, the West Indies just might have won. Their batsmen, right down to number eleven, had shown a lot of class and character in their first innings to deny England an invincible lead, and it’s not inconceivable that they might have pulled off an heroic win.
Shot of the day on Sunday had to be when Daren Powell strolled down the pitch to an appalling Harmison and casually swotted him to the boundary. ‘I’ve never seen that before,’ said one commentator. ‘What do you call a shot like that?’ ‘Contempt’ came the reply.
England had to hurry along in their second innings. Alastair Cook batted excellently again and Strauss was adequate. Shah failed again and I think it was nerves and sheer desperation getting the better of him. It’s something like eighteen months since he played in his first test match and now it looks as if he’ll be dropped again, probably to make room for Vaughan, who seems to have a divine right to play, whether fully fit and fully performing or not.
It’s a similar situation with Flintoff. How long is it since he put in a match-winning performance? He and Vaughan can’t go on forever living off the glories of the 2005 Ashes series.
But if Flintoff is fully recovered from his ankle injury – if he is – he would justify his place as a bowler. As a batsman he is past it, and in any case, if we want someone who can score a century in double quick time, we have Pieterson, as he proved on Sunday. Not to mention Prior.
Our bowling, that’s the chief concern. Harmison should be a world-class bowler, but looks like a beginner. Plunkett is unreliable and so is Anderson, but both still likely to play in the next test. Ditto Mahmoud. Hoggard is injured. (How’s Simon Jones getting on, I wonder?) Other names raised recently are Onions of Durham and Chris Broad, both untried. Panesar bowled very well, but he can’t win a test match on his own.
Shot of the day on Sunday had to be when Daren Powell strolled down the pitch to an appalling Harmison and casually swotted him to the boundary. ‘I’ve never seen that before,’ said one commentator. ‘What do you call a shot like that?’ ‘Contempt’ came the reply.
England had to hurry along in their second innings. Alastair Cook batted excellently again and Strauss was adequate. Shah failed again and I think it was nerves and sheer desperation getting the better of him. It’s something like eighteen months since he played in his first test match and now it looks as if he’ll be dropped again, probably to make room for Vaughan, who seems to have a divine right to play, whether fully fit and fully performing or not.
It’s a similar situation with Flintoff. How long is it since he put in a match-winning performance? He and Vaughan can’t go on forever living off the glories of the 2005 Ashes series.
But if Flintoff is fully recovered from his ankle injury – if he is – he would justify his place as a bowler. As a batsman he is past it, and in any case, if we want someone who can score a century in double quick time, we have Pieterson, as he proved on Sunday. Not to mention Prior.
Our bowling, that’s the chief concern. Harmison should be a world-class bowler, but looks like a beginner. Plunkett is unreliable and so is Anderson, but both still likely to play in the next test. Ditto Mahmoud. Hoggard is injured. (How’s Simon Jones getting on, I wonder?) Other names raised recently are Onions of Durham and Chris Broad, both untried. Panesar bowled very well, but he can’t win a test match on his own.
Update
The squad has been announced for Friday. I'm not keen, by the way, on these back to back tests. Players with niggling injuries don't have time to recover; others don't have the opportunity to address their faults or prove themselves in a county match; the counties lose out; and the public, deprived of that sense of anticipation, get bored.
As I expected, Vaughan is back. Let's hope it's not just his (rather tarnished reputation) that's earned him his place. Shah dumped, probably forever, poor bloke. Flintoff in the squad, a triumph of hope over experience. And - surprise, surprise - Ryan Sidebottom - tantalised by the thought of escaping from the 'one test club', which he joined six years ago. His dad, Arnie, is also a member.
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