
If there were massive divisions in the side, I would be worried, but I do not think they are, England captain Andrew Strauss said.I think there were some quality performances in the first Test, so it's not all doom and gloom, but given what happened, we need to get over it.We will need to re-formulate some of the plans in terms of how we play the West Indies' bowling, and also some of our plans for their batsmen as well.So there is plenty of work for us to do, but we have got to remain calm and hopeful. We need to make whatever adjustments are necessary individually to become better, sooner rather than later.West Indies captain Chris Gayle admitted that a single Test victory - as dramatic as the opening Test was - will not be enough to satisfy his side, let alone their fans, that they have turned the proverbial corner."We're not going to be lackadaisical for sure," he said. "But we will not put any additional pressure on ourselves because the expectations are going to be high. People are going to be looking for us to go out there and do even better.But we just need to play some good, simple, basic cricket like what we did in Jamaica. People said we batted too slow in the opening Test, but patient innings really, really count, since time is very important, especially in a Test match.So it's going to be really important for us to stick to the basics. We have to take it one step at a time and see how we cope with it.The first session will be key as well because we know that England will be coming hard at us.Though the team management have called for cool heads to prevail, England are more than likely to make changes to their line-up.Two soft dismissals and the rising tide of criticism should see Ian Bell lost his place to Owais Shah.Monty Panesar's hardly fruitful toil on a pitch where Sulieman Benn snared eight wickets places him under the microscope with Graeme Swann waiting.Steve Harmison and Ryan Sidebottom looked way below their best and James Anderson presents a viable alternative.
Though there could be few complaints about their batting in the opening Test, West Indies chose to fortify their batting reserves.They have brought left-handed all-rounder Ryan Hinds and utility player Lendl Simmons into their 14-member squad.But the selectors face a difficult choice about how to accommodate either or both of them, since only one sure place has opened up in the batting, following the omission of Xavier Marshall.
1 comment:
Well, the first day has been abandoned and it seems the test match will be moved. This tour gets better and better for England....!
Really like the site by the way. Would you be able to email me when you get the chance?
Thanks a lot,
Thomas
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