WI tour of Eng, July 3-30

[Arthur Crabtree]

He looks astonishingly like KP to me. Even mannerisms. The way he slices his cover drive is textbook KP.

Didn't KP have a weakness being uppish with his on drive when he started too?

[sussexpob]

Didn't KP have a weakness being uppish with his on drive when he started too?

I guess you could say my concerns about Brook when he meets quality spin might render the comparison very similar in the coming years.

When KP was at his best, he made the best spinners of his era look rubbish. Warne and Murali both got annihilated by him at points, and that 100 he made at Mumbai will live on as one of the greatest innings I have seen on a dusty, spin paradise.

But the hard hands, all action, all blazing approach against spin was the cause of his initial decline in tests. He went through a period where he kept getting out to spin, and while the left armer thing was always the narrative of the time, really it was the fact that opposition captains would throw any part-timer or poor spinner on and he could get out. And his career never really was the same after, he continued to generally decline after he lost that dominance against spinners. I think by memory in the end of his career, he got out to spin an unbelievably amount of times (something like 40% ish of his total dismissals, but the latter half is over 50-60% by memory).

It started with innings like the Oval in 2005 or Edgbaston in 2006.... when he flogged the two best spinners of all time into the stands at will... and ended with Paul Harris bamboozling him

[Durhamfootman]

In truth his first wicket was a total gift , the hapless McKenzie somehow flapping at a long hop and Smith taking a good low catch

it was an excellent catch, I thought. There are a few keepers who would have missed that

[Durhamfootman]

Also Root's gone past Jayawardene and Chanderpaul and is just 13 behind Lara on the all-time run makers list - 8th on the all time table, and the next few aren't that far ahead. He's almost certain to go past Cook now, question is how many more can he get?

oh crikey.... they'll have to give him a knighthood, now that the precedent has been set

[bigfluffylemon]

I can think of less worthy recipients.

All the outgoing PM honours, for example.

[Durhamfootman]

and Gareth Southgate

[Arthur Crabtree]

And they're off. WI win the toss and bat.

[Arthur Crabtree]

As for the current game it will be interesting to see whether they stick with the Woakes/Atkinson new ball pairing or try using Wood from the start . I suspect the former.

As you say.

[Arthur Crabtree]

WI bring up 50 partnership without losing a wicket. As they did in their last innings.

[sussexpob]

WI bring up 50 partnership without losing a wicket. As they did in their last innings.

I need to go make a sandwich for lunch, what odds do I get on coming back to 85/6?

[Arthur Crabtree]

You've already picked up one.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Fifty for Brathwaite.

[sussexpob]

Only 3 this time.... way off!

Under 200 all out?

[mikesiva]

McKenzie and Louis will be eaten for breakfast by the Saffer pacers next month.

Braithwaite strangled down the leg side by Wood for 61.

Hodge bowled Woakes for 13, leaving it alone.

[sussexpob]

I struggle to remember seeing a 3-6 that was ever this bad in my time watching cricket. How on God's Earth did England concede 400 to these lot last test? Get more than a few balls in the right areas and those bats get hung out waiting to prod an edge away. Woeful.... just really terrible technically. Some of those Bashir wickets in the last innings for instance were comical.