Cricket

Chris O'Connor said:
You can't say England were lucky with the toss in one series and virtually ignore it's effect in the following.

The toss in Sri Lanka was certainly helpful, but the tosses in this series were far more vital and the one in the second the West Indies test was so important it was match winning..

Sri Lanka are rated higher than the Windies and are therefore at least on a par with them

It's all selective use of what suits
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I've got eyes. Sri Lanka's attack would be bottom of the league fodder in league 2. Sri Lanka are crap, badly crap. The tosses in this series were no more vital at all.

The main factor in the series is the fact once again England's top order has failed.. as it did in Sri Lanka, as it did against India. The big difference is the Windies have pace which blew away our lower order
 
arminisgod said:
I've got eyes. Sri Lanka's attack would be bottom of the league fodder in league 2. Sri Lanka are crap, badly crap. The tosses in this series were no more vital at all.

The main factor in the series is the fact once again England's top order has failed.. as it did in Sri Lanka, as it did against India. The big difference is the Windies have pace which blew away our lower order
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Sri Lanka in the intense heat and humidity of Sri Lanka on turning wickets and no pace, compared to abroad on green seamers or bouncy tracks, are so different, they've beaten quality opposition at home including South Africa, Australia before their best players were banned (and Pakistan in the UAE)

Our top order has been a long standing problem

I've commented many times on all this, time and again, including the West Indies strengths and importance of tosses, and won't waste time doing so yet again

Your statement that the tosses were no more important in the West Indies says it all for me.....

...there would be little point
 
Stokes joins Foakes and Woakes on the injured list with a bruised heel.

This is a huge year ahead for both the test and ODI teams with both the World Cup and the Ashes to come, the pressure on virtually every match will be immense, key players needed and their fitness paramount. By comparison this dead test match is completely meaningless and should be treated as such, nothing can be gained by risking players.

Therefore no risks will be taken with anyone and it's likely all three will miss out.
 
West Indies have replaced the suspended Holder with real pace in the guise of the 20 year old Oshane Thomas - whose bowling has been recorded as reaching 95mph.

England, having already been badly beaten on this tour, could be perhaps forgiven for wanting it to be all over as quickly as possible, Thomas and Gabriel may well oblige them in that at least, it'll be a real test of fire and pace.

Fit again Ben Foakes is dropped to make way for another batsman, they're almost certainly chasing a lost cause but are nevertheless still searching for an antidote to their Caribbean Collapso sickness.

Bairstow will drop down the order and keep, but thanks to picking an unbalanced squad, a spinner too many and a batsman short, and with Root still disinclined to bat at three, they have little choice other than recalling Keaton Jennings to open - surely for his last ever chance as pace really does seem to be his personal nemesis. Denly will bat three and Wood will be in the eleven at the expense of Curran or Stokes. Ben Stokes will only play if fit to bowl.
 
Stokes fit, Curran left out. West Indies won the toss again and are bowling. England 22-0, Jennings dropped and would have been out if the West Indies had reviewed an LBW. There was a rain delay which seems to have freshened up the pitch.
 
That really was a man swimming out of his depth innings from Jennings, out the same way so many times.

He's good against an all spin attack, and great for the subcontinent, but has been found out against pace, time and time again. Unlikely to ever play again for England or at least not until we tour the subcontinent again.

What a major error it was in picking too many bowlers including three, Stone, Woakes and Leach (admittedly injury was a factor) who didn't even play and not picking a Jason Roy, Vince or Clarke instead.

A spinner less and a batsman more.

They had no choice but Hobson's choice, Jennings or noone.
 
England 219-4 after 78 overs, Stokes (60) and Buttler (57) have unbeaten half centuries.

An extraordinary and quite disgraceful slow over rate from the West Indies - there should be 90 bowled in a day we'll be lucky of it's 80.

An extraordinary incident in the last half hour when Ben Stokes was apparently out ct and bowled Joseph and back in the pavilion for 52 with the score about to be 194-(5*) and then it was discovered that the bowler had overstepped and it was a no ball, luckily it being discovered before the next ball had been bowled.

Result under the new rules although he'd stepped over the boundary line, Stokes was waved back on into the middle and the new batsman, Bairstow walking to the wicket had to turn back to the pavilion

Result - the score was turned back to 194-4 and Stokes resumed his innings on 52 not out

Now 219-4
 
231-4 at the close

Although they lost the toss and were inserted, it wasn't anything like as big an advantage as the second test especially, but even the first one too, not a win the toss win the match this time.
 
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