*Official* South Africa in West Indies

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by WindieWeathers

What about Walton Beamer? can't he be flown back from Bang like Darren Bravo and Shilly have? would also like to see Pascal involved to be honest, this time it was our bowling that let us down because letting South Africa get 300 is criminal really, as for Devon Thomas, is he really training with the lads? if he is then that's good to hear, i really can stand seeing Ramdin at the crease anymore.

Thomas was the substitute fielder. He has also scored two centuries and a 04 in his last 3 innings (admittedly at club level). Walton and Shilly won't get back in time but Bravo and Devon Smith will.

We will just have to wait and see what they come up with. Hopefully it's a squad that will re-ignite my interest in this series.

[akilana]

Originally Posted by Shifter

Yeh they totally didn't deserve to win despite dominating most of the game. That 20 ball innings from Sammy proves Windies were the better team today.

How didn't they deserve to win when they dominated the game for the most part of it? Did 20 ball innings from Sammy really prove Windies were the better team today? then how about the two 80 plus scores from SA batsmen? It must've proved that SA are twice the team that WI are. What a load of rubbish.

[Prince EWS]

Originally Posted by akilana

How didn't they deserve to win when they dominated the game for the most part of it? Did 20 ball innings from Sammy really prove Windies were the better team today? then how about the two 80 plus scores from SA batsmen? It must've proved that SA are twice the team that WI are. What a load of rubbish.

He was being sarcastic.

[Nnanden]

[shivfan]

Originally Posted by WindieWeathers

What about Walton Beamer? can't he be flown back from Bang like Darren Bravo and Shilly have? would also like to see Pascal involved to be honest, this time it was our bowling that let us down because letting South Africa get 300 is criminal really, as for Devon Thomas, is he really training with the lads? if he is then that's good to hear, i really can stand seeing Ramdin at the crease anymore.

Let Walton go to England, and play in the A team there....

He will gain valuable experience playing on seaming pitches on that tour. If he continues to improve, the way he has in Bangladesh, then yes, bring him in for Ramdin.

However, it's one thing scoring runs on batting tracks in Bangladesh against poor bowlers, but it's quite another to do so on seaming pitches where you have to move your feet against higher-quality county bowlers. The A team tour of England is going to be quite a wakeup call for a few WI players....

[shivfan]

Originally Posted by Beamer

Yep. Same old Windies really. Glimpses of unbelievable raw talent that excites the fans for a while but ultimately there are too many sub-par players in the current squad to consistently compete, let alone win matches.

We have some very good middle/lower order hitters and that can only be a good thing. Now we desperately need Richards to score runs consistantly at the top with Gayle and some middle order players who can rotate the strike. In this series we have hit more boundaries and sixes than the opposition but are still being beaten fairly comfortably. That tells the story IMHO.

Still, Darren Bravo is almost certainly going to be drafted in for the 3rd and 4th ODI's which can only be a good thing. As for our wicket keeping problem, I just don't know. I can only hope that Devon Thomas impressed them enough in the nets to get selected.

I don't think any of the possible substitutes for Ramdin are match-fit, since there's no domestic competition going on now, Walton excluded, of course....

So, we'll just have to persist with Ramdin for this series. There's only three ODIs to go, anyway. There's no doubt he's our best Test keeper, so his place is okay there for now.

It's good to have Darren Bravo back for the third ODI in Dominica....

How long will Sarwan be out for? And will Shiv be fit to play then?

[kingkallis]

Nomore domestic competition in West Indies???

Are you serious?

[Stapel]

What amazes me: We've seen some poor fielding and some dropped catches. But two of those Sammy sixes were caught by spectators with ease. First a young woman catching the ball while holding a flag in her hand, than a man refusing to drop his beverage and thus taking the ball singlehandedly...

[Langeveldt]

I've heard the Jamaican leg is in doubt because of the situation there regarding violence in Kingston.. Not good news.. I hope there is a relocation instead of an outright cancellation.. I'm dieing to see some test cricket

[GotSpin]

Originally Posted by Stapel

What amazes me: We've seen some poor fielding and some dropped catches. But two of those Sammy sixes were caught by spectators with ease. First a young woman catching the ball while holding a flag in her hand, than a man refusing to drop his beverage and thus taking the ball singlehandedly...

There were some crackers over the summer in Australia by the crowd

[WindieWeathers]

Originally Posted by shivfan

Let Walton go to England, and play in the A team there....

He will gain valuable experience playing on seaming pitches on that tour. If he continues to improve, the way he has in Bangladesh, then yes, bring him in for Ramdin.

However, it's one thing scoring runs on batting tracks in Bangladesh against poor bowlers, but it's quite another to do so on seaming pitches where you have to move your feet against higher-quality county bowlers. The A team tour of England is going to be quite a wakeup call for a few WI players....

So we should just stick with a poor player in poor form (Ramdin) without looking at other options? great idea Mike!! , we won't get anywhere if we just let poor performances slide time and time again, if not Walton then i'd give Thomas a chance, he's proven himself with the bat before and we haven't got much to lose to be honest.

[WindieWeathers]

Originally Posted by Langeveldt

I've heard the Jamaican leg is in doubt because of the situation there regarding violence in Kingston.. Not good news.. I hope there is a relocation instead of an outright cancellation.. I'm dieing to see some test cricket

Don't worry about it, the WICB are dealing with the issue right now and i'm sure it will be relocated if the situation in Kingston hasn't improved.

[shivfan]

Originally Posted by kingkallis

Nomore domestic competition in West Indies???

Are you serious?

Yes, the domestic competition was truncated this season, and ended in March - yet another silly, short-sighted decision by the WICB....

[shivfan]

Originally Posted by WindieWeathers

So we should just stick with a poor player in poor form (Ramdin) without looking at other options? great idea Mike!! , we won't get anywhere if we just let poor performances slide time and time again, if not Walton then i'd give Thomas a chance, he's proven himself with the bat before and we haven't got much to lose to be honest.

You have to ask yourself an important question - is the wicketkeeper in the side primarily as a batsman, or as a gloveman? My personal view is that the best gloveman should be your keeper, and in that regard, Ramdin is heads and shoulders above the rest. Michael Holding always says that as a fast bowler, he wanted to see the best gloveman behind the stumps, and I concur with him....

Now, obviously that's for Tests, where wicketkeeping is so much more important. Maybe the argument could be made for a stopper behind the stumps for the shortened version of the game. Thomas was in and out of the Windwards team, so since he wasn't able to cement a place in that side, why is he suddenly touted as a West Indies prospect? Also, he hasn't played any competitive cricket since March, thanks to the WICB's shortened domestic season....

Walton has more to learn from touring England with the A team, than being thrown in at the deep end against the Saffers in the Caribbean, IMHO. Let Walton learn how to keep and bat in English conditions before he's selected for the WI team. He's never going to get a chance like that again. Let's not be short-sighted in our armchair selections, and think of the bigger picture, the long-term solutions.

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by shivfan

Thomas was in and out of the Windwards team, so since he wasn't able to cement a place in that side, why is he suddenly touted as a West Indies prospect?

Not quite true. Thomas is the Leewards number 1 keeper but was injured and replaced by Hamilton. Thomas was an extremely impressive Under 19 keeper/batsman (like Ramdin), he has been touted from an early age (like Ramdin). Also, the reason why he is a Windies prospect is that he has played and done very well at A team level against the Bangladesh and England touring teams. After his injury he dissappeared off the radar inexplicably, only to be found training with the senior side over the last few days.

If we follow the Ramdin precedent than Thomas would be a more than fair selection as Ramdin was selected after scoring 1 FC hundred based on his Under 19 promise.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and IMHO you are far too patient with these losers Mike!!!!!!!