Pinch me Im dreaming! It is barely sinking in! Anyway, here are my thoughts/random impressions:

1) Hats off the Matty Hoggard. I dont think its just the conditions, but he really is an improved bowler, getting to swing the ball in and out at will. Great come back from injury. I thought he was unfairly dropped in Sri Lanka. Is this the new Angus Fraser? Is Caddick so sure of getting his place back now. Hoggard is such a hard worker, and seeems such a down to earth guy, I cant think of anyone who deserves the success more.

2) Flintoff. Is worth is team these days as a bowler alone. Just look at the facts, and the way hes bowled in the last year. Id still bat him at seven, because Ashley (though he hasnt done that much wrong really( is just a passenger at the moment. And theres no point in Freddie not playing his natural game, which is attack, attack and more attack. Its good to have a batter like that in the side, but its better if he comes in at 7 or 8 IMO. Lets have a look at Collingwood, or better yet, Geraint Jones for the fourth test.

3) Yes, West Indies batting was feeble again at times. But HATS OFF TO BRIAN LARA. This guy is playing with an injury, and is in the wars, but he was/is still the best of the West Indies even with a fractured frikkin finger!

4) TEAMWORK. England finally have a stable side, playing with passion, commitment, and collective responsibility to each other. Cricket is a balance betweent the individual, and the spirit of the team. We have individual talent, but at the moment we have the latter in abundance. West Indies also have the individual talent, but dont seem to have the latter. That is the difference between the two sides.

5) COMPARISONS There is a curiously negative mentality, that when a sport player/team achieves something great, the kneejerk reaction is then to go on to compare it to previous supposedly better teams/performances. So, despite all that Lara does, he is not as good as Viv. Despite Sehwag scores a 300, it is not as good as Laxman. Despite that we are 3-0 now, we still are compared unfavorably to the England teams getting beat 5-0 in the eighties. Why do this? I know its all part of fun the, but sometimes I feel its taken too far, and the base motive is often jealousy, or stubborness to support ones prejudice. Pro sport is all about going out and doing the best in the conditions given to you. Denegrating the worth of this performance because of the "weakness" of the opposition is worthless. Its easy to look back, and in nostalgia, and say this team is not a patch on those getting blackwashed in the eightites. But, from that POV, Willis never bowled a bad ball, Botham and Gower never got out to rash shots, and Emburey never bowled boring, defensive spells. I know we are not beating Marshall, Garner, Viv et al, but only history will put into perspective how good this England side is. Lets wait till their careers are finished before we declare Vaughan is not As good as Gooch, or Jones is not as good as Willis, etc.

Admin - Link to original thread in the England forum: Fantasy Cricket in Barbados!