1st Test- Pak V WI

[Remie]

WI won the toss and chose to bat.

WI 206 all out (Lara 61, Mohammed 35, Gul 5/65)

Pak 39/1 at stumps.

[dwolfman]

The commentators weren't very complimentary of Gul still he came away with a 5-wicket haul, although a lot of that happened when I went to sleep. 

52-run 7th wicket partnership between Lara and Mohammed, disappointing batting from the team. Too many loose shots, especially during a time of consolidation.

Since I was sleeping while we were bowling I don't know how the guys are doing. Just the three fast bowlers used so far. The score is on the board and the guys just have to work hard now to make a match of it. We still have a second innings to bat and depending on that effort a day 4 and 5 wicket to bowl at Pakistan.

[Remie]

From the hi-lights that i saw 206, although dissapointing, gives the bowlers something to work with on that pitch. It is seaming around, so if the bowlers get the ball in the right areas then there is a chance we can get back into the game.

One thing that i picked up from watching the hi-lights was that Mohammed could read Kaneria out of his hand, so he knew which way the ball was turning. Not many batsman in world cricket can pick Kaneria's googly, but Mohammed was picking it. It was a great inninngs from Mohammed and it has left us with a fighting chance in the match.

[weary1969]

206 and we decided to bat. I eh know what to say

[Remie]

Pakistan are 265/4 (Yousuf 107 n.o., Malik 61n.o.)

Pakistan were 140/4 but they have run away from us and it doesnt look good.

[dwolfman]

We need a batting collapse tomorrow morning or a massive second innings effort from this point. Not as much in the pitch as day 1 either according to commentary.

[Remie]

At 145/4 Ramdin stumped Yousuf off a ball from Mohammed. West Indies appealed and the square leg umpire did not refer it to the third umpire, he just gave it not out with his naked eye. Replays show that Yousuf's back foot was still on the line when the bails were broken, so it should have been given out. Pakistan would have then been 145/5. I have watched the hi-lights but for those of you that have not seen it, Cricinfo's commentary says

50.4 Mohammed to Mohammad Yousuf, no run, a googly, beats the bat of Yousuf, drags his foot out slightly, Ramdin collects the ball and whips off the bails, loud appeal for a stumping, not referred to the third umpire. 
Replays show Yousuf's leg was on the crease, surprising it was not referred

The West Indies have been cheated, and that decision could have cost the us the test match.

There are no excuses for decisions like that. All the square leg umpire had to do was refer it to the third umpire who has the benefit of television replays. Instead the square led umpire, Asoka de Silva, has tried to be a smart arse and has decided what was an even test match at that point.

I can understand bad decisions when umpires have to make split second decisions for lbws, caught behinds, etc, but for run outs and stumpings they are not acceptable because all they have to do it refer it to the third umpire.

Having said all that, Pakistan have still played the better cricket, and we will really have to step up our game to come out at the end of the series with a positive result.

[NYtriniwhiteboy..]

that is extremely poor...the technology is there and especially for something like a stumping or run out it must be used man...
as usual we get screwed

[Quags]

They go give a make up call ,hopefully 

[dwolfman]

No make up calls. This radio commentary is the worst! *Steups*

330/6 in over 112.

[TrinInfinite]

No make up calls. This radio commentary is the worst! *Steups*

330/6 in over 112.

what is baffling is that west indies are using mohammed as a stop bowler right now, in a non-attacking fashion, that i fine is rediculous...

[dwolfman]

I went to sleep at that point. A strike bowler having to bowl a negative was more than I could manage.

Brian Lara began with two crisply struck fours off his first two balls, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan was putting the innings back on track when umpire Asoka de Silva, ruled Sarwan lbw when the ball was clearly going over the stumps.

3 years later this man is still changing the outcomes of test matches with awful decisions. He needs to go sit with Hair... don't need him officiating in these matches.

[TrinInfinite]

I went to sleep at that point. A strike bowler having to bowl a negative was more than I could manage.

Brian Lara began with two crisply struck fours off his first two balls, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan was putting the innings back on track when umpire Asoka de Silva, ruled Sarwan lbw when the ball was clearly going over the stumps.

3 years later this man is still changing the outcomes of test matches with awful decisions. He needs to go sit with Hair... don't need him officiating in these matches.

 i totally agree, where de hell dey find dis man tuh come and officiate we match, schupssssssssss, he thief mohammed when the score was 145/4, now this bullshit against sarwan, he gettin pay off or wha...

[ann3boys]

well another one down. allyuh very quiet. guess there's not much to say, except 'we'll try better next time'

[Jefferz]

Mohammed pelt away he wicket, Darren Ganga make another huge batting misjudgement, Lara notch up another century and West Indies get calpetted by a weak team.

So whats new?

[Organic]

though it seems we get the worse calls in circket...alot of them fellas still throw away they wicket.
this aint the first time mohammed do that..at a critical time.
when i said ealier that he maybe able ot bat ah lil bit but he lacks common sense or restrint or both i came under fire.
i am glad to see htough that he bowled very well.
fidel edwards need to get benched until get get some more controled.
i eh care how fast yuh is..he does give away to much runs. he to wild.
hopefully ravi can come in and maybe try somehting

good luck in de second match..
good knock lara and chanders..
lara is still the best test batsman.

[ribbit]

though it seems we get the worse calls in circket...alot of them fellas still throw away they wicket.
this aint the first time mohammed do that..at a critical time.
when i said ealier that he maybe able ot bat ah lil bit but he lacks common sense or restrint or both i came under fire.
i am glad to see htough that he bowled very well.
fidel edwards need to get benched until get get some more controled.
i eh care how fast yuh is..he does give away to much runs. he to wild.
hopefully ravi can come in and maybe try somehting

good luck in de second match..
good knock lara and chanders..
lara is still the best test batsman.

edwards is fass becoming the next tino best. 

[Remie]

Overall im not to disheartened by the result. The batting, bowling and fielding was dissapointing, but at various times in the match we were competing with Pakistan. If the batsman learn from their mistakes this match, i.e. do not give away their wickets cheaply, and the bowlers just step it up a little bit then we still have a good chance of getting a result from this series. In this test match, Asoka de Silva, has cost us at least 200 runs with poor decisions, so it shows the match was still even, although Pakistan won by 9 wickets. But even with the poor umpiring our batting really needs to improve because you cannot consistently win test matches posting only 206 in your first innings. You cant afford to play catch up cricket at the international level.

[TrinInfinite]

Overall im not to disheartened by the result. The batting, bowling and fielding was dissapointing, but at various times in the match we were competing with Pakistan. If the batsman learn from their mistakes this match, i.e. do not give away their wickets cheaply, and the bowlers just step it up a little bit then we still have a good chance of getting a result from this series. In this test match, Asoka de Silva, has cost us at least 200 runs with poor decisions, so it shows the match was still even, although Pakistan won by 9 wickets. But even with the poor umpiring our batting really needs to improve because you cannot consistently win test matches posting only 206 in your first innings. You cant afford to play catch up cricket at the international level.

i hate to say this but i think they should give powell a chance over edwards and if ganga bats the way he did again, then morton should come een for the 3rd test....

[Organic]

Overall im not to disheartened by the result. The batting, bowling and fielding was dissapointing, but at various times in the match we were competing with Pakistan. If the batsman learn from their mistakes this match, i.e. do not give away their wickets cheaply, and the bowlers just step it up a little bit then we still have a good chance of getting a result from this series. In this test match, Asoka de Silva, has cost us at least 200 runs with poor decisions, so it shows the match was still even, although Pakistan won by 9 wickets. But even with the poor umpiring our batting really needs to improve because you cannot consistently win test matches posting only 206 in your first innings. You cant afford to play catch up cricket at the international level.

yeah rem..at times..but as i does always say dais our problem...
we need to play a whole game good.
we not consistent enough
having potential
and spraks all well and good
but cricket is a team sport..
and the best teams in any sport...play as a team regardless of the stars they have
we played as a team for th emost part in the one dayers..
so..
we need the WI to show up for the next game..
not lara and chanders and maybe colloymore and taylor.. the whole team

[Remie]

I totally agree with you that we are not going to win anything unless we play as a team and everyone turns up to the party, but in my opinion we have been playing as a team and all the players have been pulling in the right direction for a good few months now, since and during the India series. I think what is holding us back from winning games now is not so much a lack of teamwork but mental flaws in our players. Bravo and Ramdin in the first innings were batting with Lara, and if one of them had of stuck around with him, like Shoaib Malik hung around with Yousuf it would have gone a long way to posting a good first innings total. Bravo and Ramdin were looking comfortable at the crease and then they both played ridiculous shots, showing they obviously were not mentally tuned in to playing a test match innings, especially given that it was the first session of the first day of the first test of the series. I think the mental attitude to cricket has to be looked into if we want to win any type of cricket matches consistently.

The teamwork seems to be there, and the batting, bowling and fielding techniques seem to be fine on the whole but we are still losing games we should not be. I put it down to the mental side of the game. I could be over simplifying it, but that is my opinion.

But at the end of day you should always learn from your mistakes. We are throwing 21 and 22 olds into the furnace of test cricket at a time when international cricketers tend to peak in their late 20s and early 30s, so as long as guys like Bravo and Ramdin learn from the mistakes that were made last test match then we can only improve. The worrying thing however is that Ramdin has got out a number of times like that so who is coaching him?

But in my previous post i did say i wasnt too disheartened because with the right coaching and experience this mental aspect of cricket can be corrected and i hope King and Lara are doing this right now. I expect to see an improvement in the next test. If we dont then we are back to square one and the coaching system will really have to be looked into.

[TrinInfinite]

I totally agree with you that we are not going to win anything unless we play as a team and everyone turns up to the party, but in my opinion we have been playing as a team and all the players have been pulling in the right direction for a good few months now, since and during the India series. I think what is holding us back from winning games now is not so much a lack of teamwork but mental flaws in our players. Bravo and Ramdin in the first innings were batting with Lara, and if one of them had of stuck around with him, like Shoaib Malik hung around with Yousuf it would have gone a long way to posting a good first innings total. Bravo and Ramdin were looking comfortable at the crease and then they both played ridiculous shots, showing they obviously were not mentally tuned in to playing a test match innings, especially given that it was the first session of the first day of the first test of the series. I think the mental attitude to cricket has to be looked into if we want to win any type of cricket matches consistently.

The teamwork seems to be there, and the batting, bowling and fielding techniques seem to be fine on the whole but we are still losing games we should not be. I put it down to the mental side of the game. I could be over simplifying it, but that is my opinion.

But at the end of day you should always learn from your mistakes. We are throwing 21 and 22 olds into the furnace of test cricket at a time when international cricketers tend to peak in their late 20s and early 30s, so as long as guys like Bravo and Ramdin learn from the mistakes that were made last test match then we can only improve. The worrying thing however is that Ramdin has got out a number of times like that so who is coaching him?

But in my previous post i did say i wasnt too disheartened because with the right coaching and experience this mental aspect of cricket can be corrected and i hope King and Lara are doing this right now. I expect to see an improvement in the next test. If we dont then we are back to square one and the coaching system will really have to be looked into.

i agree breds, i think we need 3 strike bowlers doh, mohammed, taylor and one more, it should be colly....

[dwolfman]

From the Arena today. Understanding Fidel

[Remie]

From the Arena today. Understanding Fidel

That is one of the best articles i have read in a long time. It is so true, and i could not have put it any better. 

[TrinInfinite]

From the Arena today. Understanding Fidel

very good article bredda, but i like the focus on what king and his staff are doing to remedy this problem....