Awesome presentation mate, I love the banner and the lighting on the pictures. The writing is brilliant too. I think with the confidence of the first game Windies might be able to snatch another win but it wont be easy. kiu!
Second npower Test, Old Trafford, Pre-Game Report!
The second test match of the summer is about to get underway, and were here at Old Trafford, where the atmosphere is immense and there is an air of excitement around the ground as they wait to see what unfolds. However we have some news from the middle, firstly the line-ups which look unchanged, so it should be an ever contest as it was for some parts of the first test match, lets take a look at them;
The pitch also looks a belter, great for batting mind you, both capitains will want to win the toss and be out there in the middle to put on a big total as runs are to be had on this pitch. The carry through will be good and some bounce is on offer, but after the early stages of the match this wicket should become a little flat and a joy for batsmen as the ball literally comes onto the bat.
England will want to get Strauss and Cook out there if they win the toss, as both of them guys are class stroke makers and didn't do too bad in the last test match, however this can all only happen if England win the toss, lets see if they did or not!
WEST INDIES HAVE WON THE TOSS AND HAVE ELECTED TO BAT FIRST.....
I reckon the toss could be crucial. West Indies have done the right thing in batting first. England will have to find something out of nothing. Also mate, why don't you download the new 08/09 roster made by Pakistani_Army?
So with this test underway, all the excitement is being let out now, however the fans may be a bit bored of what they've seen today and also pretty happy. England have had a pretty decent session. Although at one stage it looked as if the West Indies were going to begin their onslaught of last week, when Hinds started smashing a few fours here and there. Despite losing an early wicket Hinds marched on until he was also dismissed, unfortunantly he threw away his wicket but gave West Indies a good start.
The Windies then build up a good partnership with Hinds doing most of the hitting and Chanderpaul really having to work for his runs. However Hinds hard hitting went over his head as he tried to smash a swinger from Simon Jones only to find his off peg knocked back!
Now to the good part, it's been a good session as far as England are concerned, they good a very early wicket which is just what you need when you lose the toss on a good batting wicket. Anderson got the first break through getting a good edge to the gully position on the second over, this set the tone for the innings and held the Windies back a bit. As you can see Hinds had the wood on Simon Jones earlier as you can see by his figures he has been the most expensive bowler, but he has got rid of him and things seem to be shaping up nicely for England going into the Lunch break. They'll want a few more in the next session!
Sarwan scored a hundred ?? but score still 72??? Anyways England have got two openers back to the pavilion thats good they need Chanderpaul and Sarwan out now or else they both could kill England.
Windies going alright, pretty even session. There will be pressure on them to score a few more runs in the next 2 sessions though but they wouldn't mind if they drew I guess.
The tea break has come and we've had another well slightly boring session, with thanks to Chanderpaul who has quickly been given a new nickname of "Chanderbore" he has been out there pretty much as an opening batsmen since Gayle went but he has been slow about his work, although his runs may come in handy if he turns it up a notch, all in all this session would be stamped as a sucess by England!
England Pick up Critical Wickets!
England have got yet another two wickets this session, two wickets per session doesn't sound too bad if you look at the last test match, it was probably two wickets per day. Anyway the two wickets they got in this session were crucial and ones that they will be more than happy with, as both the centurians of the last match are gonski. Although having said all this England will want at least three more breakthroughs befor the close of play as that will give them time to build on a big total without much pressure.
The first wicket to go was Sarwans in this session, he was looking controling yet again just as he did in the last test match, he was timing the ball magnificently. At one stage it looked as if there was going to be a repeat of last week, except last week Freddie Flintoff wasn't bowling as tight as a line like he was today. He cramped Sarwan for room and got the edge which Solanki took first time, hell if he dropped it there would have been a bad atmosphere around the camp.
Smith then went an over befor tea, he never looked to get his eye in, played a few good looking strokes but apart from that he didn't really get going and was struggling for a large part of his innings. Stuard Broad dissmissed him having bowled a lenghty spell he probably thought he wouldn't be picking up a wicket but he got the important one of Smith who we know from first hand experience can be dangerous. He nicked one to Alistair Cook at gully position and he made no mistake. Stuard Broad was also unlucky when he got an early nick off Chanderpaul but this edge came one ball after Vaughan had taken out the slips because of Sarwans constant boundary hitting, or it would have been two key wickets for Broad who has bowled very well!
England looking good with four big wickets. If they can get Chanderpaul out early after tea then they should be able to skittle out the lower order for a measly total.
If Chanderpaul gets out now, his Innings will have been a complete waste. However, this is how he naturally plays so all is good for him. The game is evenly balanced for the moment. Great works Mohsin bhai!
The first innings of the second test match has finally been ended with some excellent bowling by the England boys. A lot of positives have come out of this first innings. The bowling has been good, but this match hangs in the balance and either team can take it. It all depends on how England bat chasing this first innings total by West Indies.
West Indies Fought Hard!
The West Indians fought hard as wickets fell at regular intervals all they could do was get as many runs as possible. However it wasn't as easy as that for some people like Chanderpaul who eventually picked up the pace with his batting, and got some valuable runs, with the help of the others in the team. He got a good knocked, and so did a few others such as Ramdin and Samuels who got started then lost his wicket, he won't be happy with himself as he could have tipped the balance into the West Indies hands.
Flintoff Rocks The Windies, On a Hattrick!
Andrew Flintoff has bowled wonderfully well, he said he wanted to get back on form with the bowl and there wasn't a better time to do it. He bowled some magnificent spells and got the breakthroughs when they were much needed. Flintoff at one stage got himself onto a hattrick which didn't go by without a shout of excitement, as he nearly got an LBW for his third wicket, having got two straight clean bowleds the previous two balls.
The first wicket was the very important one of Chanderpaul who was becoming a bit of a nuisance at the crease. He was playing solid until Flintoff began his magic and bowled a lovely pitched up delivery which happened to unfold Chanderpaul right away as his off peg went for a spin. This was the start of some wonderful bowling.
The second wicket was possibly better than the first one, Banks was convinced that he had played the perfect defensive shot, when saw his off stump flying out of the ground. It was a truely amazing delivery which somehow got through Banks, we still can't figure out how but there might have been a tad bit of movement in the air, which was enough to rattle the West Indian spinner.
So Flintoff on a hattrick, the third ball was as good as the first two and it was nearly out, Flintoff got the ball swinging nicely and it wrapped the batsmen right on the pads, looked as plumb as ever, but to everybody's suprise it was given not out, it was the most unluckiest decisions and it would have been a wonderfull hattrick, but it wasn't to be for Flintoff this time. England have a tough target to chase and it's not to be underestimated, people will say there should have been a much bigger score, but they have enough runs to apply pressure to England if they don't begin well!
How have you managed to get the stumps to fly out the ground? I've never had that happen to me
Good total by the Windies, it certainly could have been a much lower score. Flintoff was bowling well with the ball, which is good for England. Great work as per usual mate, keep it up
Second npower Test Match, Old Trafford - Lunch Day 2
We've reached lunch as the first session of day two is complete. It's been good cricketing action to watch with England performing well and West Indies battling hard to not let this match slip out of their hands. However one more good session for England and the West Indies could be out of it, and one more wicket falls for England then the West Indies would have tipped the game evenly once again.
England Power Away!
The two openers in Cook and Strauss have done a great job in getting the innings up and running. They have put the ghosts of the first test behind them and stuck to business as usual, except with a bit more aggression. Both men have showed that this track is still and exceptional one and a dream to bat on, god knows how the Windies struggled to post a bigger score. Anyway it's good news for England as both openers are timing the ball easily and scoring boundaries which is what is needed if they want to post up a big total!
Windies Pick Up Strauss!
Well as soon as things were looking goo for England and Andrew Strauss, the West Indies bounced back and picked up the wicket of Andrew Strauss which was a vital wicket as he was leading a match winning attack. The wicket came in form of an "LBW" and in all fairness it looked plumb lbw as we can see below, Strauss chose the wrong shot selection and paid the price caught walking over his crease.
Annimation
As we can see with HawkEye, that ball was clearly going to hit the middle stump Strauss walked over his crease and was trapped leg-befor. We've seen it in the last test were he did get a few close calls but the pitch was a bit slower so he had time to get bat on it, this pitch is much faster. There could have been a chance of an inside edge but the bat was way past his pads when the ball thrashed the pads.
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His wicket should trigger another collapse for Windies!
