Story A Journey with England (Summer of Cricket) >> Cricket Coach 2007

[treva]

Great stuff here Rabeta. Some great indepth writing. West Indies played well against Lancashire on what I can imagine as being a very cloudy day in Lancashire. Suprised at selection of Deonarine for the West Indies. Pietersen is a big blow and Strauss will need to get some runs. Good 1st innings score for the Windies but if England can get a decent one too we have a good game on our hands...

 

[Hooper]

As I said before Well done, but if you are looking to improve. Add more graphics, I know it would be hard for a simulation game, but it would make it easier on the eye

 

[freddiw]

wow 6 wickets for collingwood well done

 

[rabeta]

The next day, England wanted to build a big lead, and make things tough for the Windies. Cook and Struss started off just like they had done in the previous day, positively and looking good at the crease. However, Cook fell quite early in the morning to the bowling of Edwards, the West Indies needed to make the most of the new ball on this flat pitch and they needed to make sure England did not get away. This wicket was an important one both interms of the match and their confidence. Vaughan came in and straight away looked comfortable at the crease, picking up a few early singles. However, when Dave Mohammad came on, he started to trouble the batsmen with his variations. It wasn't long before Strauss, not the best player of spin in the England team, fell to him, and England had lost their second wicket. England needed a partnership, they couldn't have wickets falling at vital times. Owais Shah, only playing his second Test Match, strode to the crease and made his mark, asking for middle and leg. They started slowly, picking up the singles, but then started to hit some boundaries and they were both looking very good. Eventually, Vaughan got to his well deserved hundred, it was a great celebration, after such a long absence from Test Cricket. Shah also brought up his hundered after they added another 70 runs together, and he also knew how important his knock was, and it showed the critics what a quality player he was. Not long after though, three wickets fell in quick succession, so close to the end of the day. Perhaps a slight sign of inexperience from Shah.

However, as end of play was announced, England were in a very strong position, and they need Prior, on debut, and Bell, who thrives on batting at 6, to build England a commanding lead.

Scorecard at end of Day 2

Join later to see what happened on Day 3.

 

[freddiw]

good work rabeta

 

[rabeta]

It was the start of Day 3, it was a very intriguing Test match, and looked to have result written all over it. England needed to push on and build a commanding lead but the Windies needed to skittle England out and then give them a very competitive target to chase.

Matt Prior and Ian Bell would begin the day, they had both been sent out late last night, deciding against the night watchman, thanks to dismissals towards the end of the day. Bell hit a few boundaries and was starting to look comfortable before Prior fell to become Best's first victim, he had mistimed a stroke and was caught in the covers. The tail was in, and England desperately needed it to hang around. Harmison didn't last long though as he was caught of Edwards, and then all hope was lost of England putting on a huge lead when Bell was caught at slip by Gayle. The tail didn't hang around for too long, even though Hoggard and Anderson added a few together. England's lead was under 100, which was exactly the thing they would have been dreading the night before with the loss of the two late wickets. Fidel Edwards was by far the pick of the bowlers, he put the English batsmen under pressure at all times, and then never looked comfortable with his fast, slinging bouncers.

It was the West Indies turn to bat now, England needed to take wickets at regular intervals, and it looked good when they Gayle and Sarwan early. Smith played well but was annoyed to get out, but it was Chnaderpaul and Ramdin that really stood in their way, with both of them playing great innings to take West Indies past 200, they ignored the fading light and pushed West Indies on past 200. England needed the wickets of these two quickly in the morning to get them into the tail, this was turning to be into a very good Test Match, but if Chanderpaul and Ramdin carried on in the same light, it would turn into more of a struggle for survival for England, and less of a fight for victory.

Scorecard at the end of Day 3

Join us later for the update for how things stood at the close of play on day 4.

 

[treva]

Some very good play on these first 3 days and with it being half way through the 3rd innings there will definitely be a result. Quick wickets are what are needed tommorrow to stop Chanderpaul and Ramdin giving the Windies a great chance...

 

[kersnort]

Some good work here Rabeta, and if Chanderpaul and Ramdin can carry on, i then think the Windies will win it.

 

[rabeta]

4th Day

This was the big day in this Test Match, it would decide who would win it, or may in fact tell us who won it. England had looked good for the win before Ramdin and Chanderpaul constructed an extremely good partnership at the end of day 3. It was all set up, West Indies needed this partnership to keep on flourishing, and England needed early wickets.

It was big Steve Harmison to open the bowling, Chanderpaul was facing. The England management had worked hard the night before on the plans to bowling against him, as they knew he was a hard player to get out with his unorthodox technique, and knew that he could be the thorn in their side. Just 3 balls into the days play and Chanderpaul was gone! The England players were ecstatic that the plan had come off, they had tried to mix up the length to him, throwing in the very full ball and then giving him the short ball, making sure it was very short though, aiming for his head, they didn't want to give him any chance to tuck it into the leg-side. The yorker got him, it came right after a bouncer that had thrown him back and he was clueless to the fast yorker that came in from Harmison. It had been a brilliant knock from Chanderpaul but had ended now, a huge breakthrough for England.

Wavell Hinds came in next, the West Indies needed the lower order to hang around with Ramdin, he was not out on 70. Ramdin carried on his good work from the night before, and Hinds was moving the ball around well. Monty made the breakthrough though, with a very good delivery to Hinds, it turned and bounded, clipped the outside edge, and a very good take from Prior behind the stumps. This would have been a big confidence booster for him on his debut, after only making 11. Their weak tail was now exposed, and Anderson and Harmison cleaned it up, Ramdin went for 89, a great knock, but now it looked like it may not be enough. Harmison picked up a quality 5-fer, bowling very well, and making the most of the bounce he gets, troubling all the batsmen, who are used to playing on slower tracks. He showed in this performance that he had come back from a horrific time Down Under, and had made real use of his break from international cricket. England needed 184 to win, a small total to chase down, but if the Windies stuck to their disciplines well, anything can happen.

Cook and Strauss set about chasing the target positively, and made the most of the loose deliveries that were served up to them but the strike-bowlers, but sometimes wayward bowlers, in Best and Edwards. Edwards was very expensive and he was taken off and Collymore came on. He bowled quite tightly, giving little away and got his reward for this when he got Cook. However, Strauss played amazingly well, taking the game away from the West Indies and Vaughan was very capable support for him. Strauss went on to get a very well deserved 100 for his efforts, proving to the doubters that he still had it, and this performance secured his place in the side for the next could of games. The reached the target easily in the end, scoring the winning run off Chris Gayle. A great win for England, makes it very hard for the Windies to come back from this in just a 3-match series.

Match Scorecard

1st Test Result: England win by 9 wickets. England are 1-0 up in the 3 match series.

Thanks a lot for the comments so far

 

[treva]

Harmison and Strauss were awesome. Probably the key to England winning this game. Vaughan ahs to be my man of the match though. 186 runs is fantastic! Well deserved win for the skipper and England. Just as comfortable as the real series

 

[rabeta]

Harmison and Strauss were awesome. Probably the key to England winning this game. Vaughan ahs to be my man of the match though. 186 runs is fantastic! Well deserved win for the skipper and England. Just as comfortable as the real series

Thanks a lot for the comment Trev. Yes Vaughan deserved man of the match, a brilliant hundred in the first innings, seconded by a get role played with Strauss in chasing down the target. He looks in great touch, and this after being out of test cricket for so long! Hopefully his form will continue. I wouldn't call the win comfortable though, looking at the result it was, but in actual fact England were the favorites at all times, but at the end of Day 3 anything could have happened. England just bowled very well on Day 4, Harmison especially.

 

[Left_Hander]

That is really a convincing win for the English. Collingwood must've shocked you with his six wickets in his first innings. Vaughan and Shah were great with the bat. Fidel Edwards was great with the ball but I guess his efforts were in vain. Harmison destroyed any hopes of a West Indies victory and Strauss and Vaughan did good to chase down the target without giving the West Indies a chance of getting a positive from that innings.

I also like the presentation. Very nice work.

 

[Brett_Lee]

This is a very good read. Nice presentation. But hopefully we see some of your graphic skills implemented in future

Keep up the great work

 

[rabeta]

Thanks for all the comments

Day 1 of the 2nd Test

A cloudy day at Edgbaston, and the two captains were ready for the toss. Both sides were unchanged. It was a difficult decision for Vaughan when he won the toss, it was a nice deck, which looked good for batting, but the overhead conditions may play a factor. Vaughan decided to have a bat, and hoped that his batting line-up were good enough to see off this new ball, and could make use of a nice track. Strauss and Cook came out to the middle. The survived the first few overs, playing some attacking cricket, making the most of the loose deliveries from Edwards and Best. They were the attack bowlers, but also had the tendency to spray it around, and Cook and Strauss were looking in a punishing mood. It wasn't too long though, before Strauss fell to the bowling of Best for 13, a loose drive went straight into the hands of Edwards. Cook and Bell came together, and Cook carried on on his way, and Bell played some nice shots early on. England were gaining on the hundred mark with only one wicket down when Cook edged into the slip cordon. He was frustrated after getting a good start, playing at a ball that didn't need to be played at. Vaughan now joined Bell, but it wasn't long before this partnership was broken, Best getting another one. England kept getting starts but all failed except for Prior, but even himself didn't get a half-century. The tail hung around but this was a poor score on a good pitch. Not one player had managed to get to fifty, even though there was only one score not in double figures. It was something the England management would have to talk about. However, nothing should be taken away from the West Indies, they bowled very well and never let England get away. A special mention to Tino Best, who bowled fantastically, swinging the ball in conducive conditions at real pace. He blew the England top order away.

The West Indies came out with only two overs to face, and didn't lose a wicket in them, which was a real positive for them. They had had a very good day, especially on the back of losing the first Test. England had to do something very special tomorrow, and needed their bowlers to put on a show to keep themselves in the match.

Day 1 Scorecard


Join us for day 2 later.

 

[Pakistani Army]

The england tail wagged which is a good sign. Great detail rabz.