Just like Headingley. But well bowled to Monty!

Harmison and Plunkett havnt bowled well, but as FF says who do you bring in? All of the usual suspects are just more of the same. At times Sidebottom bowled very poorly today, he never got slagged off, infact cricinfo (do they know anything about cricket) praised Sidebottoms accurate bowling.

The fact is Harmisons career record is no worse than Brett Lee's and Brett Lee has never had to play against the Aussies. Infact their respective records in ahes tests is very comparable.

The fact of the matter is we can play appallingly bad and still hold a decent advantage over the West Indies.

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Mark.

Yes we can get away with it against the West Indies, but IMO England would be punished against an in form team.

Harmison's confidence has gone, or he is carrying an injury - it was strange seeing Sidebottom bowling quicker than him, he needs to keep bowling as fast as he can - and hope his form gets together.

The West Indies collapse today reminded me of England in Multan, and I think the second Test in Australia - they blew their game from a decent position.
yep - England would have been in a right mess without him.

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Ern

Bless you for trying to maintain a positive, I'm generally an optimistic guy but England's bowling Monty aside is just not test class. You can put any spin and excuse on it you like (potential world beater has the yips (again); young pup learning his trade in the big arena; consistant bowler just dropped short today) but on face value england's attack was embarrassing for all concerned, team, coaches and fans. As Ernest says the thing was the West Indies batsmen were even worse than England's bowlers. I posted at Headingley that I was depressed by that situation - it's sadly got worse in this match.

England's leading wicket taker this year.

20 - Ntini
19 - Asif
15 - Kaneria
13 - Pollock, Panesar

42 extras in 52.4 overs is a disgrace. Nowhere near Test standard. The main culprits were Plunkett and Harmison. Prior was diving around all day trying to stop byes. Prior looked very tidy behind the stumps. Can't believe he wasn't rated by some members of this board. Welcome aggression shown by Sidebottom. Hoggard aside, England's seamers don't show enough aggression. Harmison's demeanour is like a gentle giant. He needs to get steamed up when he bowls a shocker to gee himself up.

Interesting to see Fidel Edwards give Vaughan a hot reception when he came into bat. It's a worry that opposition teams see Vaughan as a potential early wicket. There's no way I'd select either Strauss or Vaughan in their present form if the next series was an Ashes. On the flipside, Vaughan looks fit and seemingly enjoying the battle. Hopefully, his batting keeps improving during the rest of the summer.

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Administrator

Bit harsh in his two Test inngings so far this series he has scored a 100 and 40odd...Not exactly a terrible. I think you will find that Vaughan gets targeted because he is the Captain, and that has always been a tactic of Tests teams, target the Captain first.

You rather undermine your own case their: the "tidy" gloveman is the one that does NOT dive around (because) his anticipation and footwork are so good that he can take even wide ball's "on the walk": a wicket-keeping coach might APPROVE when the 'keeper whose footwork is good then springs athletically to take a really REALLY wide ball... but he's never use the word "tidy" to describe a necessary evil.

On Prior's 'keeping: it sucks. At one point yesterday he let through a ball on the leg side that had come of bat / glove.... and didn't even get close to it: the commentator at the time (might have been Gus Fraser) noted that at decent gloveman would have made that into a chance. This was NOT an isolated incident, just typical of what happens when a slip catcher wears gloves.

Pror also dropped a sitter off Sidebottom in the last Test.

Wicket-keeping aside, his batting also sucks: he's got a decent eye for the ball... and can bash balls with flashy shots square of the wicket... but he's been getting slammed for his basics: his forward defensive hasn't convinced anyone, and his shots off the front foot are no better than those of Geraint Jones.Once again, informed commentators would beg to differ: he was slammed quite violently on the radio (and on this board) for appalling control of length and for failing to maintain the high standards he set at Headingly: for failing to get the ball in the business area. His figures reflected this failure - he got carted.

He's an experienced campaigned but perhaps this was inexperience at Test level. Hopefully he'll learn from the pasting he got (and from the rocket up the backside one assumes he got in the dressingroom)... but he's not the first seamer to get carried away with an encouraging pitch!

Did you actually see the highlights or are you relying on what others tell you once again?

Some of the stuff that Plunkett and Harmison were bowling (wickets withstanding) was rubbish.

It is all well and good to bring up this deal about footwork but no keeper could anticipate that.

Every keeper would have been diving for most and nearly all of Harmison's wides.

Some of those byes should have been called wides because they were frankly stupid and I have no doubt your vaulted Taylors and Andrews would have been watching them go by.

The cricinfo commentary team obviously disagreed: "Sidebottom to Chanderpaul, no run, a good line immediately from Sidebottom - his control has been exemplary again, on the whole."
Quick learner is Sidebottom. He bowled three spells on Day 2. The main reason I think Sidebottom turned his form around after Tea was his extra aggression.

1st spell: 6-2-25-0
2nd (mini) spell: 2-0-16-0
3rd spell: 4-1-7-3

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Administrator