with such a disappointing outcome, i still feel the need to look at some of the details.
the Windies ARE going to be going home with no great joy from results... but they should be taking some from outcomes.
they did win sessions -some with the bat, some with the ball.
as mentioned, when you are missing a world class batsman and your strike bowler, things will always be an uphill push.
if Benn could keep the skills he has, but add some actual turn i could see him making a big contribution to further success.
Bravo is just cricketing gold, and has a great attitude to go with his impressive skills (disregarding his duck!) and dedication to the job.
Ramdins gloves are great and he is good for runs too.
while the loss is a shocker, i look forward to their potential with a full squad and a little more self belief. It is just a case of filling all the boxes... and while the result says otherwise, i hope they can fulfil what i see as their potential.
Barath... well, there is your future foundation for big innings.
There’s not much going right for WI, is there?! They lose Sarwan at the last minute and are without their opening bowler.
ReplyDeleteAt least there are some positives in Barath, Dowlin, Ramdin and a couple of others. They don’t look like getting 20 Aus wickets in any test still (to me) but there’s a chance they’ll make 400 at some stage. There’s no better opportunity to do this than Adelaide Oval so hopefully WI win the toss and bat through day one.
I maintain that Gayle is not good for WI cricket. He’s as much an opener as Watson with the footwork he has. Surely that technique will bring you unstuck more often than not at the top of the order; before you’ve made 70 odd or more. A few commentators have remarked at the collective of talented individuals in the WI team; whereas Aus has more of a solid team set-up. I think this is well demonstrated in the Aus inclination of partnerships and a spreading of wickets more often than not. This means on their day WI may have someone who stands up but generally it won’t be enough to force a favourable result. Barath had two thirds of his teams’ runs at one point. As Lara will attest after making over 600 runs in a three test series and losing all three tests, it takes more than one star to take a team to ethereal heights.