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Gayle’s turnaround
By Rich Abbott Friday, last week, 1 Comment »
Oh dear. Last month, Chris Gayle made this bold prediction ahead his side’s ODI series against Australia: “We’re going to beat them 4-1. Not to worry.” They lost 4-0.
After yesterday’s 2 run defeat to Zimbabwe, he said this: “If we continue like this, Zimbabwe could beat us 5-0.” The anti-McGrath.
At least he can console himself with the fact that he’s rubbish at predictions.
1 Comment »Strauss drags England back
By Mark Tilley last year, at the end of March, 1 Comment »
For all the criticism they have received, it was refreshing in the extreme to see Andrew Strauss and co. show us that there’s still an England cricket team out there. Yesterday’s win was something of a jolt to the system – it came out of the blue, especially when in the game’s infancy Chris Gayle was happily dispatching England’s best and brightest way back into the Bajan public in the stands. Once he was nipped out by the progressively angry Stuart Broad, it was as if the tide of the match had reversed completely.
England bowled cannily, with the possible exception of one Steve Harmison, and picked up key wickets when it mattered. Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled the medium pacer role to absolute perfection, wobbling the ball around at a deceptive speed, not so much keeping the lid on West Indian scoring but almost stopping it in it’s tracks. He picked up three wickets into the bargain, including the one everyone cherishes so when bowling at the West Indies, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Only the brilliant Dwayne Bravo really annoyed the tourists. At 173-7, England might have entertained thoughts of an easy win but Bravo played a whole host of textbook and more unorthodox shots on his way to a commanding 69 off 72 balls. Without him, West Indies would have had significantly less hope than they did after compiling an achievable but respectable 239 all out.
Andrew Strauss then demanded the centre stage. I mentioned previously that Strauss would have to lead his team from the front and inspire them in ways only a captain should. Well, he certainly achieved that goal and answered a hell of a lot of critics simultaneously. Chasing a revised 135 off 20 overs due to persistent rain, Strauss’ 79 off 61 balls was exactly the kind of innings you would want in the match situation. Bold, authoritative and assured, Strauss, with the understated and excellent support from Ravi Bopara, guided England to their target with time to spare and proverbially stuck two fingers up to those who had lambasted his one day credentials.
As hard as it is to believe, England have levelled the series at 2-2. Both sides head to St Lucia for the final game and it’s sure to be a nail biter (or an England collapse). Yesterday’s win will have surprised a fair few and shows that England, albeit an unconvincing side in all formats of the game at present, shouldn’t be written off. Even though at times watching them makes you want to question your love for the game. It’s an endless struggle, England fans, get used to it soon.
1 Comment »All to play for
By Mark Tilley last year, at the start of February, 20 Comments »
The first test is evenly poised – England were slightly disappointing with the bat but still managed to post a competitive total. With the ball, they were admirable but the gargantuan partnership between Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan meant that damage limitation was always going to be the objective. Having said that, England fought their way back into it, led by the irrepressible Andrew Flintoff.
The fourth day looms with the West Indies holding a slender 34 run lead, with three wickets left. If England can wrap up the innings quickly then a good second innings could set up a victory charge on the final day. However, Brendan Nash currently stands in their way, having repelled everything England threw at him last night in a painfully slow but important innings. If the Windies can forge a lead of over 60 or 70 then the pressure will all be on England.
England? Pressure? No problem. It’s not like they’re prone to a batting collapse when trying to save the game, although Adelaide in 2006 and Hamilton in 2008 do spring to mind. However, having put the mockers on England, my money is on the draw. The Windies have looked impressive so far, much more disciplined than what many have come to expect from them. England have fought it out but haven’t been at their best and with two days to go, the only chance of a victory for either team is a massive effort from whoever wants it most. Like I said, I think they’ll settle on a draw and move on.
Thoughts on the outcome of the game?
20 Comments »“Do I have $1.5m for Mr Dhoni?”
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of February, 13 Comments »
The IPL cattle market is, for now, over and the players have been sold, branded and sent to their respective clubs. One of our chaps in India did a brilliant job of live blogging the whole thing (I think most media outlets stole/borrowed the details), and it was fascinating seeing which players went to which clubs and for what sum. Albie Morkel went for $675,000; Adam Gilchrist for $700,000. Chris Gayle cost $800,000 while Kolkata bid $950,000 for Ishant Sharma.
The hype of the IPL is almost overflowing at the moment, but I still can’t see the tournament lasting the long haul. Super-powered teams have been forced together in the past – World XIs and so on – without great success, so why will the IPL be any different? It’s a quick injection of easy money for the players and a bit of fun for us, but don’t expect it to last. He says, desperately hoping he is right…
What do you make of it all?
13 Comments »West Indian winners
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of December, 2 Comments »
Ryan has a couple of cracking shots of the West Indies celebrating their win over South Africa in their dressing room…including Dwayne Bravo doing a spot of karaoke:
And Chris Gayle
Bravo to them all
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of December, 2 Comments »
I’d added Sky Sports last night in preparation for a mammoth day in front of the box with a bottle of anything, watching what I hoped would be an historic win for West Indies, only to realise I had family duties in Dorset of all places. Not a chore, but still – no mobile reception and no way of following the cricket.
So I was relieved to see West Indies have beaten South Africa so comprehensively – bloody brilliant news and a fine achievement. Excluding their wins over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, today’s win was their first victory overseas since beating England in 2000 at Edgbaston (remember that bitch of a pitch?). Looking back to that game, the Almanack says:
West Indies, having failed to win a Test outside the Caribbean since February 1997 – since when they had suffered ten consecutive overseas defeats – won this opening match by an innings inside three days, just as they had on their previous visit here in 1995. It was the 1,500th Test to be played.
All of this puts into perspective just how massive today’s feat is, and also what an impact Chris Gayle has on that motley bunch. South Africa played poorly (from what little I saw and read) – particularly batting in their first innings – but West Indies outplayed them in most sessions. We’ve seen them win occasional sessions, even whole days, but never consistently.
Today is a triumph; roll on the second Test. Oh, and this was Dwayne Bravo’s first win in 24 Tests…
2 Comments »Christmas cricket
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of December, 8 Comments »
Now that England’s misery has been put on hold until the New Zealand series in 2008, attention turns to the southern hemisphere. It’s probably the first Christmas for 10 years that I’ve not had Sky to watch Boxing Day Tests, so I was a bit peeved when I woke up this morning to see what a good day India had enjoyed against Australia at Melbourne. Peter English:
Groups of Australians spent the afternoon wondering whether they were being unpatriotic for smiling when India started running through the home team. For the first session those local supporters who demand nothing but dominance by Ricky Ponting’s men were satisfied with the direction of the game. Their disgruntlement when it changed in the second session was offset by the joy felt – and heard – at the ground by cricket supporters who are desperate to see Australia challenged. After the first day there is hope this series might be the fair fight fans have been craving since the 2005 Ashes.
It promises to be a cracking series between the best two sides in the world. Whether it will match or better the 2005 Ashes is impossible to predict (and unlikely, I’d imagine) but any team who can challenge Australia gets my vote of confidence. Even if it is India…
Several thousand miles away in Port Elizabeth, West Indies have raced to 190 for 3 on the first day against South Africa, with Chris Gayle launching a terrific 66 from just 49 balls. Have a read of his innings – he took Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn apart. Brilliant stuff and I can’t wait to see the video.
8 Comments »I must be getting old
By Scott 3 years ago, mid-September, 3 Comments »
I remember back in the day when going at 5 runs an over was a fair rate of knots. In this brave new world of Twenty-20, even 10 an over isn’t always enough, as the West Indies found out this morning. Pity Chris Gayle, who scored the first ever International century in this form of the game, 117 off 57, and still ended up on the losing side.
A hell of a way to make a living, being a bowler in this day and age.
3 Comments »The war of bling tossers
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of June, No Comments; be the first!
From Lawrence Booth’s Spin:
No Comments »But the Spin is concerned that cricket-lovers the world over are about to be deprived of the richest chapter yet in the – for some reason – unwritten history of tossing. Because if England plump for Paul Collingwood ahead of Kevin Pietersen to lead their one-day side, it means we will have to foresake the dream pairing of Pietersen and Chris Gayle. Imagine the fun. The toss would never take place on time, the coin would get lost in all the bling, and the polite handshake would degenerate into an orgy of fist-pumping and high-fives. It’s high time the England and Wales Cricket Board saw sense.
Kevin Pietersen’s hundred against West Indies
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 3 Comments »
© Getty Images
Another quite brilliant innings. He is one of the most expert pacers of an innings I have seen; to watch him build the foundation in his first fifty, then explode during the second, was quite special. But what made it even more special was yet another confrontation with the opposition, this time with Chris Gayle.
Things were getting seriously heated, for no apparent reason. It went on for a good hour or hour-and-a-half, with Gayle chirping from the slips and Pietersen giving it back at the end of each over. There were shoulder barges, glaring, swearing, petulance from the bowler, daring-do from the batsman. Inside this Test, an entirely separate and very personal battle was taking place.
Aptly, Pietersen eventually fell to Gayle. They smiled, shook hands, and off he went. They may not be best mates, but they were big enough to acknowledge one another’s performance and not let their disagreement become bigger than the game. It was cricket at its most compelling.
3 Comments »Sarwan and Gayle’s tour diary blog
By Will 4 years ago, at the end of October, 3 Comments »
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle are blogging their Champions Trophy thoughts at Cricinfo, which is worth keeping an eye on. See here.
3 Comments »Tsunami match at Lords: the Teams
By Will 5 years ago, mid-June, 3 Comments »
The team-sheet for tomorrow’s game has changed since it was announced a month ago – here’re the finalised teams:
MCC: SP Fleming (captain); CH Gayle, S Ganguly, VVS Laxman, JH Kallis, A Flower, KC Sangakarra, SM Pollock, A Kumble, H Singh, S Akhtar.
International XI: BC Lara (captain), V Sehwag, ST Jayasuriya, GC Smith, RS Dravid, S Chanderpaul, CL Cairns, SK Warne, WPUJC Vaas, M Sami, N Ntini.
Some handy players there. Looking forward, in particular, to seeing Laxman (whose name I think is pronounced correctly as “Latchman”?), Gayle, Shoaib, Sehwag and Cairns. The rest? Well, they’re just making up the numbers, aren’t they?
I’ll be blogging, live from the ground with anything I think might be interesting. There are some big hitters in both sides – I’ll need to keep my eye on the ball, something I was never particularly good at…
3 Comments »West Indies need (just) 280
By Will 5 years ago, at the start of June, 1 Comment »
West Indies finally found their lengths – King had another shocker – to bowl Pakistan out for 309. They now require the small matter of 280, on a pitch which whilst not quite being a minefield, it soon could well be…
Time for a Gayle Special…
1 Comment »Flintoff v Gayle
By Will 6 years ago, at the end of November, No Comments; be the first!
This made me smile…
“I don’t really consider myself a big-hitter. If you want to talk about power, talk about Chris Gayle of the West Indies – that boy is strong.”
That’s Andrew Flintoff talking – good thing is, I think Gayle would say the same about Freddie…and for what it’s worth, I think they’re both as powerful as eachother.
No Comments »