2nd Test: West Indies v Pakistan: Jamaica 2-6 June

[Shaka]

Good to see Kaneria come back well again. he was banned from bowling in the first innings, and has taken some licks from Lara in particular, but the great thing about this lad is he never gets downhearted. This is the 2nd time in 3 test matches he has done the damage in the 4th innings when the pressure is on. Looks like only rain can save the Windies now.

[Zainub]

I think being banned from bowling in that first innings made him more hungry for wickets.

I'm also very happy with way Razzaq has been bowling. Shabbir's also improved.

At the start of the innings I thought Afridi was also going to be an important bowler for us on this wicket, but so far, we've only used Razzaq, Ahmed and Kaneria and more than half the side are already out! Brilliant!

[Occasional Fan]

Originally Posted by Shaka

Looks like only rain can save the Windies now.

Aarrghhh! Don't say it! I so hate to see good games peter out into rain-affected draws. The good news is that the BBC forecast for Kingston today is fine and sunny with a top temperature of 32C. (Sounds wonderful: we are expecting a peak of 11C here today, which is very cold for this time of year.)

[Paoli]

Can rain only save it? I'm not sure...166 is alot with four wickets in hand, but you don't know. 166 could quickly turn into 130, and before Pakistan know it, the Windies may need 70 or 80 with four wickets in hand. In saying that, Pakistan SHOULD win- if there had've been a specialist batsman there, the Windies would have a chance, but the Windies have pulled off big last day chases in Kingston before. In 2003, Omari Banks made 49 not out as the No.8 to guide the Windies home.

Looking back at this test, it has certainly been quite enjoyable. Good scores of 370 odd and 400 odd in the first innings have made it a spectacle. Pity this test only conjured up 24 posts to the fourth day- A minnow bashing in Durham has received more posts than Bangladesh's first innings scores in both test matches.

[Zainub]

Low response for this test can be explained by M's absence Paoli, haven't seen him around for a while, may be he's busy. It also doesn't help that there is such huge time difference between my time zone and West Indies' ... There's also been a low response by crowds in Sabina Park, barring Sunday, when we had a full house I think, there have been pretty low crowds all the way through.

I don't think anyone can save West Indies now, both my heart and my mind say that. The pitch is very tricky, tons of unpreditable bounce, it's tough enough to handle for top order batsmen let alone tail enders. Browne's batting record does not inspire confidence, neither does the history of West Indian tail enders, they give in very easily. Plus, as OF added, the forecast is also promising. West Indies are past it now, that dropped catch of Browne I'm afraid is going to cost them the match. I have this strong feeling that we might end up winning by exactly the number of runs scored by Inzi - i.e. 117. Interestingly Browne has a history of dropping only great batsmen (previously he's dropped players like Kallis, Waugh brothers and Tendulkar before they've gone on to make big scores).

[Occasional Fan]

I have an idea Maranello might be somewhere in Central Asia at the moment. He mentioned to me in a PM a few weeks ago that he was going to be in one of the former Soviet Central Asian republics for a couple of weeks' work (maybe more). I'm sure he'll be back in due course.

[Milo]

I think the fact that so few people have (and many appear to morally detest) Sky Sports makes a difference. I also suspect many people are only interested in test matches that include England.

As for Browne, the Steve Waugh drop at Kingston in 1996 was probably the worst single dropped catch in West Indian cricket history. This led to their first series defeat in over 15 years and began the downward slide that has reached a pretty much an all-time low.

[Rachael]

Nothing so exotic: see http://www.world-a-team.com/showthre...0475#post50475

[Zainub]

Central Asian Republics haan, interesting, very interesting, that's just north of Pakistan.

I bet he's getting hickups now ...

[Occasional Fan]

Ah-ha! I missed that! Well, the cream teas are better in Cornwall and Devon, but if it's mare's milk and horsemeat you're after, you can't do better than a yurt in Kazakhstan! (And I am sure M told me that he was headed out that way: maybe that is what he included in "doing other things" in his post!)