SA v WI 4th test

[oracle]

LOL now I've seen it all South Africa use's Boucher as its 11th bolwer , and takes a wicket !!

[Alison]

Does anyone know what the record is for number of bowlers used in a Test match?

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

I think this match has now completely turned into a farace. Not content in Devilliers, he who kept bouchers gloves warm, getting a bowl but old iron gloves himself. I'm half assuming that he bowled with his gloves on. I feel very very sorry for the poor spectators who shelled out for pointless excercise one how to score runs against average bowlers on pitch that was dead on day one and dead on day 5. Bet the beer tents did a roaring trade.

[John]

Seen about 10 minutes cricket today. Had to turnover for the big match bearing in mind the state of the two matches. Normally cricket would come first. This is a rare exception.
I am supporting Liverpool (rare again).

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Richie Benauds Love Child

I think this match has now completely turned into a farace.

Oh come on my friend, surely the chaps are entitled to a bit of fun. A match that has been dead for a few days; the last session, of the last day, of the last Test, of a hard fought series; some light-hearded bowling changes are par for the course in these circumstances. I have seen numerous dead rubbers which are headed to a certain draw to end in this manner; a cricket tradition really!

As you say, there are plenty of other ways for the crowd to keep themselves entertained. Those who came in today knew that they were not going to see a result or even a hard-fought draw!

[Leafy Seadragon]

Originally Posted by Rachael

these pinch hitters really do bring nothing to the party except runs

Rachael, I get your point to some degree. However, I think that its pretty much a case of horses for courses. When a team has considerable batting depth, as say India or Australia, then scoring enough runs isn't always the issue. Scoring the runs quick enough to provide time to bowl the opposition out can be as much the challenge, particularly on docile wickets. In these teams, Sehwag and Hayden are good options, with a bonus that they also meet your 50+ average criteria. In teams without this batting depth, a more evenly paced opener is likely to provide more balance to a side.

An opening batsman who attacks the opposition provides that averages 40+ is generally achieveing a few things (keeping in mind that the other two openers cited in your post average 43 & 47 - Trescothick and Gibbs). Firstly, they typically still see off the strike bowlers (although described as overgrown pinch-hitters) as they generally only score at 50 to 60 per hundred balls. So even scores of 40 odd are likely to see off the first ten to fifteen overs and accordingly the opening bowlers. No, they don't always manage this, but nor do your more 'composed' openers. Interestingly, Langer scores at a similar rate to most of the above players (53 per hundred balls). Secondly, they get a side into position earlier. I would rather be at 1/60 after one hour than after two.

I agree that they are less likely to see off the opening spell than an opener who scores the same runs off more balls. But they are also more likely to take the game away from the opposition from the outset. Going back to your statement, a batsman's primary responsibility is to score runs, although yes I recognise that its far from the only responsibility

[Occasional Fan]

Originally Posted by Richie Benauds Love Child

I feel very very sorry for the poor spectators who shelled out for pointless excercise one how to score runs against average bowlers on pitch that was dead on day one and dead on day 5. Bet the beer tents did a roaring trade.

I'd be pretty disappointed if it were my money. Same last year. Will there ever be a result in Antigua again? It seems that the pitch is prepared with other objectives in mind.

[Teatime FatCat]

I agree totally. Surely this was a three-test series with some kind of flat wicket batting exhibition that lasts for 5 days tacked onto the end. It was the same against england last time they were there.

This pitch is set up each year to allow Brian Lara et al to have a tilt at the world record and it's a farce, and devalues the record. Drop it from the international itinerary say I!!!!!

[Zainub]

I actually managed to watch quite a lot of that match yesterday. On a positive note, they are constructing a new Stadium in Antigua.

But....Tony Cozier said they might take the square from the ARC (that is the Antigua Record not recreation ground!) and put it in the new one...

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Leafy Seadragon

When a team has considerable batting depth, as say India or Australia, then scoring enough runs isn't always the issue. Scoring the runs quick enough to provide time to bowl the opposition out can be as much the challenge, particularly on docile wickets. In these teams, Sehwag and Hayden are good options.

You make a point I have made on many other occasions: that in Test cricket, one-dimensional, ODI style batsmen with high strike rates are generally of maximum value to dominant sides in one-sided contests... but where does one find the most appalling examples of overgrown pinch hitters? Pakistan and the West Indies: Afridi and Gayle are players that Australia could have warranted risking over the past few years... but what sense do either make for the teams in which they play?

Australia strikes me as a special case in terms of aggressive strokeplay.. partly because of their dominance.. but mostly because so many of the Aussie pitches are so appallingly batsman-friendly that even Warne and McGrath need aggressive fields for extended periods to make inroads. Move to England, where the pitches and conditions are more likely to produce real cricket (genuine contest between bat and ball) and that all changes: provide conditions in which medium pace swing bowlers and finger spinners actually stand a chance of gaining the upper hand and the batting priorities should change accordingly.

Sadly.. England seem unconcerned: Hussain's focus on making this team "tough to beat" seems to be getting replaced by a Vaughan-side looking to emulate the headier big hitting of the Aussies without actually having the players to do it and ends up doing it's level best to beat itself without the need for intervention on the part of the opposition.

Sadly, of course, most teams now seem transfixed by the challenge of winning on tracks that aren't fit for cricket. Instead of focussing on seam bowlers who can get lateral movement when the conditions ARE fit for cricket they focus on speedsters who might get lucky when the conditions are NOT fit for cricket. Instead of finding spinners who can expolit decent rough and uneven bounce when pitches are properly prepared for a contest between bat and ball they focus on utility bowlers who can "block and end up" whilst the other bowlers are rotated in another hopeless struggle (or "miracle spinners"). Instead of focussing on batsmen who can actually cope with lateral seam movement and challenging spin bowling they focus on potential ODI giants who might turn a match in a flash.

The culmination is a tendency towards a World XI side that might read "Gayle, Afridi, Jayasuria, Sangakkara, Symonds, Laxman, Jones, Boje, Sami, Ntini, Lee. I say tendency because you could also field a World XI that read "Langer, Bell, Butcher, Dippenaur, Thorpe, Chanderpaul, Read, Kumble, Kasprowicz, Hoggard, Balaji". Sadly, Antingua is now just one more ground on the long list of those places where (as a coach) you might actually tend to favour the former side!