• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

ICC 09 - West Indies

pskov

International 12th Man
I like playing the West Indies and trying to return them to their former glory. Something about the mystique of calypso cricket I guess keeps me coming back for a new game just about every version of ICC. I think the longest I have gone was deep into the 2020s with ICC 06 playing with almost entirely generated players. I also find it quite interesting because you have a more limited pool of players than when playing as one of the big nations like India or Australia and especially England which makes it a bit more challenging.

This bearing in mind I have decided to start my first WI game on ICC 09 finally after a long game with Surrey that I have got a bit bored of (winning the CC every year without fail gets tiresome after a while). This will move quite fast hopefully as I like to get forward and move through the seasons quickly, especially early on when I know I'm not going to be very good. My plan is to just 5 or 6 posts for each tour and just brief summaries of matches, especially ODIs and T20s, with tour stats at the end.
 

pskov

International 12th Man
Tour of England

First up is an almost pointless tour of England before the T20 World Cup. Even though it is only for two tests I am asked to pick a squad of 18 players which is a bit silly. Still, you never know there could be a bubonic plague outbreak or something that means we need that many. 8-)

The first squad named in my reign as coach is:

Chris Gayle, LHB, OS(o) (captain)
Shiv Chanderpaul, LHB

Adrian Barath, RHB
Ramnaresh Sarwan, RHB
Dale Richards, RHB(o)
Brendan Nash, LHB
Carlton Baugh, RHB (wk)
Denesh Ramdin, RHB (wk)
Kieron Pollard, RHB, RM
Ryan Hinds, LHB, SLA
Narsingh Denonarine, LHB, OS
Dwayne Bravo, RHB, RFM
Jerome Taylor, RHB, RF
Fidel Edwards, RHB, RF

Nikita Miller, RHB, SLA
Amit Jaggernauth, LHB, OS
Andrew Richardson, LHB, RFM
Darren Sammy RHB, RFM

The bolded players are those who will definitely play both tests regardless, just about every other position is up for grabs and will depend on performance in the tour games against Leics and joke that is the MCC.
 

pskov

International 12th Man
Warm up matches

Leicestershire vs West Indies - 3 day match

Gayle*
Richards
Barath
Hinds
Nash
Pollard
Ramdin+
Sammy
Taylor
Jaggernauth
Edwards

WI 252 all out (Pollard 85*, Gayle 61)
Leics 321-8 dec (Sammy 3-56, Taylor 3-75)
WI 262-6 dec (Barath 91, Nash 81*)
Leics 45-3 (Edwards 2-18, Taylor 1-22)

Match Drawn

MCC vs West Indies - 3 day match

Gayle*
Richards
Barath
Hinds
Pollard
Deonarine
Bravo
Baugh+
Sammy
Miller
Edwards

MCC 174 all out (Bravo, Edwards, Miller all 3 wickets, Sammy with 1)
WI 545-8 dec (Pollard 156, Deonarine 75)
MCC 201 all out (3 for Bravo, Miller and Sammy, 1 for Edwards)

West Indies win by an innings and 170 runs

Chanders and Sarwan were not picked as they were certs and wanted to look at the other middle order options. Pollard has played himself into the side but the question will be whether to go with 4 or 5 bowlers. Bravo had an injury coming into the tour (hence missed the first match) but is ok now. We will wait for the pitch to decide.
 

pskov

International 12th Man
Test series

Taylor picks up a silly three day cold just before the first test. :ranting: At least it makes the decision on whether to go with 4 or 5 bowlers a lot easier.

England vs West Indies - 1st Test

Gayle*
Richards
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Nash
Pollard
Bravo
Ramdin+
Sammy
Miller

WI first innings 594-9 dec (Sarwan 236, Nash 100, Swann 3-149)

We win the toss and choose to bat on a good pitch with a little in it for the fast bowlers. Unfortunately they find that little bit and we fall to 60-3 and it's looking a bit dodgy. But then Sarwan plays a magnificent innings, finding willing partners in first Nash and then Pollard. We eventually declare midway through the third morning after an hour or so of bashing around with the tail to make up for the slow run rate on the first day day.

Eng first innings 171 all out (Flintoff 36, Edwards 5-48, Miller 3-50)

Sensational. Edwards bowls what must be the spell of his life as he takes 4 wickets and forces Bell to retire with another ripper in his opening 8 over spell. England rebuild slightly in the middle order but they are now looking down a very big barrel.

England second innings 191 all out (Strauss 53, Bravo 4-43, 2-30 Sammy)

Now it's Bravo's turn as his opening spell brings 3 wickets, added with a run out and England are 42-4 inside 15 overs and clearly on the way to losing. Again they rebuild slightly but the loss is inevitable. We wrap up the victory just after tea on the 4th day. Oh to read the virtual tabloids in the morning!

West Indies win by an innings and 232 runs

England vs West Indies - 2nd Test

Sammy is unfortunate to miss out, but his three wickets were all tail-enders and Taylor is our number one bowler - he comes in as the only change.

WI 1st Innings 347 all out (Pollard 119, Richards 72, Swann 3-32)

We are put in to bat on a good pitch but England pushing for a win obviously want to make the best of the heavily overcast conditions on the first day. We get off to a solid start but after Richards gives way following a solid knock we suffer a mini-collapse to 180-6. However it looks like we've found a future star on this short tour as Pollard plays an excellent counter attacking innings whilst guiding the tail to take us to a decent score.

Eng 1st innings 321 all out (Bopara 76, Miller 5-89, Bravo 3-49)

No spectacular opening spell as Cook and Strauss get off to a solid start but after the first breakthrough we make regular openings. Bopara bats well but no-one can really stay with him long enough to build properly and Miller finds just enough turn in the pitch to be consistently threatening (maybe England knew what they were doing picking two spinners). Taylor was under par and expensive taking just one wicket, maybe I shouldn't have brought him back in when only half fit.

WI 2nd innings 250 all out (Gayle 85, Sidebottom 5-39, Panesar 3-57)

The pitch is worsening and the cloudy conditions come back in as Sidebottom finds his groove and is swinging it sideways. Gayle battles valiantly with uncharacteristic restraint and Bravo and Ramdin put on a nice little partnership to give us something to bowl at but it's going to be a close run thing to decide the series - and its not even lunch on day four yet so we will have a result. England will need 277 to win.

Eng 2nd innings 278-7 (Bopara 60, Prior 51, Taylor 4-99)

Well it wasn't to be. We had a chance after a flurry of wickets through the middle order but Swann and Sidebottom resisted and carried England to a drawn series with a 31 run partnership to win the match. Edwards may have bowled a match-winning spell in the first test but has had a shocker in this one, going for 2-162 at more than 3 and a half an over.

England win by 3 wickets


Well I guess I would've taken a drawn series before the tour, but considering the absolute hammering we handed out it in the first test its still a bit disappointing.

Batting

Sarwan - 269 runs @ 89.67, 1 hundred
Pollard - 188 runs @ 62.67, 1 hundred, 1 fifty
Ramdin - 147 runs @ 147, 1 fifty
Nash - 128 runs @ 42.67, 1 hundred
Richards - 100 runs @ 33.33, 1 fifty
Gayle - 91 runs @ 30.33, 1 fifty
Chanderpaul - 78 runs @ 26
Bravo - 52 runs @ 17.33
Sammy - 37 runs @ 37

Bowling

Bravo - 9 wickets @ 19.67
Edwards - 9 wickets @ 35.12, 1 5wi
Miller - 8 wickets @ 26.67, 1 5wi
Taylor - 5 wickets @ 38.40
Sammy - 3 wickets @ 19.67

On to the ODI series with some optimism.
 
Last edited:

Somerset

Cricketer Of The Year
Superb result in the first test, shame about the second and therefore drawn series. Some real positivies though to take from those two matches, good signs for your upcoming tours. Good luck!
 

pskov

International 12th Man
ODI Series

Team for the first ODI

Gayle*
Runako Morton
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Barath
Pollard
Bravo
Ramdin+
Miller
Taylor
Edwards

Nash
Liam Sebastien (all-round off-spinner)
R Hinds
Sammy

1st ODI

WI - 210 all out (49) Gayle 59, Flintoff 4-42
Eng - 212-5 (45.5) Flintoff 82*, Edwards 4-52

Eng win by 5 wickets

2nd ODI

We make no changes

Eng - 301-8 Cook 81, Strauss 79, Taylor 3-59
WI 157 all out (39) Gayle 57, Sidebottom 3-26

Ouch.

Eng win by 144 runs

3rd ODI

Nash in for Morton with Chanderpaul moving up to open.

Eng 256 all out (49.1) Bopara 58, Taylor 5-47
WI 248-8 Pollard 98, Sidebottom 3-59

Eng win by 8 runs

Absolutely no-one could stay with Pollard and eventually the rate was so high we just had to slog it with Pollard and the tail. Had a chance until Pollard fell two overs from the end.

Tour Stats

Gayle - 128 runs @ 42.67, 95.51 SR
Pollard - 122 @ 40.97, 73.93 SR
Bravo - 65 @ 21.67, 71.78 SR
Barath - 56 @ 18.67, 65.11 SR
Chanderpaul - 55 @ 18.33, 75.34 SR
Ramdin - 53 @ 17.67, 73.61 SR
Sarwan - 35 @ 11.67, 62.50
Nash - one innings of 28 from 40 balls
Morton - 8 runs in two innings = career over (what was I thinking recalling him anyway...)

Taylor - 8 wickets @ 19.62, 5.23 eco
Edwards - 6 @ 33.50, 6.70 eco
Miller - 3 @ 46.33, eco 4.63
Pollard - 3 @ 48.00, eco 5.54 (not sure if he's good enough as a 5th bowler in ODIs)
Bravo - 2 @ 64.00, eco 4.41

Surprise surprise, Edwards seems a very streaky bowler. In both the Test and ODI series he had one innings where he was excellent and the rest of the time he was expensive and non-threatening.

Overall the batting was what let us down though - other than Gayle and Pollard no-one made it past 50.

Next up is the rather pointless T20 World Cup. YAY!
 

pskov

International 12th Man
Twenty20 World Cup

Team for the first match with squad players underneath

Gayle*
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Barath
Pollard
Deonarine
Bravo
Ramdin
Sammy
Taylor
Edwards

Dwayne Bravo (batsman)
R Hinds
Kevin Stout (RMF all-rounder)
Miller

West Indies vs Australia

Australia 175-5 (Ponting 71, Deonarine 3-19)
WI 123-9 (Chanderpaul 34, Siddle 4-17)

Australia win by 52 runs

West Indies vs Sri Lanka

WI 170-6 (Chanderpaul 46)
SL 169 all out (Kulasekara 48*, Bravo 3-29)

Well that was fun. Our hammering at the hands of the Aussies meant we never really had a chance thanks to net run rate. Now lets go home and play some proper cricket. Next up is a slightly less pointless 4 match ODI series against India.
 

Noble One

International Vice-Captain
Spin combination of Miller and Jaggernauth always works wonders for me with WI, regardless of the wicket. Not quite calypso cricket, but a chance to strangle the opposing team.
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Not sure about the latest ICC but Sarwan always used to tear up when used as a part time bowler. He ended up becoming my 2nd choice spinner behind Dave, who turned into an absolute freak.

Bravo also ended up being the best seamer to use with the new ball as well. Go figure.
 

hallmitchell

School Boy/Girl Captain
Good tour diary

You are picking a good team there.
How's Kemar Roach going?
I was interested to see the results of Nikita Miller.
Give Dave Mohammed a go to.

The guys who went well in that Champions Trophy for T and T.

Were.
K.Pollard.
N.Stewart.
D.Ganga.

Keep those guys in mind to.

:laugh:
 

pskov

International 12th Man
ODI Series vs India

Team for the first match

Gayle
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Barath
Nash
Pollard
Bravo
Ramdin
Stoute
Taylor
Edwards

Darren Bravo
Deonarine
R Hinds
Miller

Sammy is injured so misses the series, which is very oddly 4 matches long rather than 3 or 5.

1st ODI

India 269-9 (Tendulkar 116, Taylor 3-61)
WI 210 all out (Chanderpaul 68, Harbajhan 5-22)

We were looking okay as Chanders and Barath (55) had a good partnership and we 133-2 but then we got ripped apart pretty quickly. Stoute was so poor on debut (1-50 from 6 overs) that Nash had to bowl 4 overs to make up our allocation.

2nd ODI

A spinning wicket so Miller comes in for Stoute. Will probably bowl Gayle a few overs here too.

WI 292 all out (Miller 92* :eek:, Bravo 70, Munaf Patel 4-45)
India 170 all out (Gambhir 62, Miller 4-53)

We were 141-7 when Miller joined Bravo at the crease. 25 sensational overs later we were in the driving seat in the match and never let go. Miller's sensational innings came from just 63 balls! Throw in his bowling performance and I think that is one of the best selection decisions I've ever made in ICC!

West Indies win by 122 runs

3rd ODI

WI 316 all out (Gayle 96, Chanderpaul 84)
India 175 all out (Miller 4-52, Edwards 4-60)

A hammering, we really should have gotten more runs to be honest as Gayle and Chanderpaul's opening wicket stand rocketed along at over 7 an over but once they left we limped to the finish slightly. Still it was too much pressure for the Indian batsman, I only needed to use the main 4 bowlers.

West Indies win by 141 runs

4th ODI

Deonarine comes in for Nash, Pollard moves up to 5.

India 191 all out (Parthiv Patel 72, Bravo 5-27)
WI 192-6 (Gayle 77)

Another excellent bowling performance wraps up a pretty satisfying series win.

West Indies win by 4 wickets and win the series 3-1

Gayle 196 runs @ 49.00
Chanderpaul 185 @ 46.25
Barath 151 @ 37.75
Bravo 147 @ 49.00
Sarwan 61 @ 15.25
Nash 37 @ 12.33
Deonarine 36 in one innings
Ramdin 26 @ 8.67
Pollard 20 @ 5.00

Pollard's severe drop off is a bit disconcerting but he is still young so inconsistency is to be expected. Gayle and Chanderpaul worked well as an opening partnership so I think we'll stick with that in ODIs for now.

Taylor 10 wickets @ 17.10
Miller 9 @ 14.78
Bravo 8 @ 18.50
Edwards 8 @ 23.75
Gayle 2 @ 10.50
Stoute 1 @ 50.00
Pollard 1 @ 53.00
Deonarine 0-15 from 3 overs
Nash 0-23 from 4 overs

Our frontline bowling was excellent and what won us the series. We didn't need to bowl Pollard/Gayle as the fifth bowler much at all as we were bowling India out so quickly. If it wasn't for the shocking selection of Stoute for the first match we might have made it a clean sweep of all 4 games.

Next up is a tour of Australia for 3 tests followed by 5 ODIs and 2 T20s.
 

pskov

International 12th Man
West Indies in Australia

We go to play an Aussie side that clung onto the Ashes with a 2-2 drawn series. They battled to save the match and hang onto the urn on the final day of the 5th test finishing 135-5 at the close chasing 260.

Our squad for the 3 test series

Gayle*
Sarwan
Nash
Chanderpaul
Barath
Richards
Devon Smith
Ramdin
Baugh
Dwayne Bravo
Pollard
Deonarine
Sammy
Edwards
Taylor
Miller
Gavin Wallace (young leg-spinner having a very impressive domestic season)
Kevin McClean (young RF)

No warm up matches, we are straight into the first test.

Australia vs West Indies - 1st Test

I always find the computer recommended lineup interesting - here it thinks that Baugh should come in for Ramdin as keeper and that Wallace and McClean, both only brought only for experience, should also play. I think I'll stick with experience for now though.

Gayle*
Smith
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Nash
Pollard
Bravo
Ramdin+
Miller
Taylor
Edwards

Glorious sunshine and a hard pitch but it is giving some turn already on the first day - expect Gayle to chip in with some overs here. Fortunately Australia haven't selected a spinner, going with a 4 man pace attack including Shane Watson. That does mean though they bat very, very deep with Haddin at 8, Johnson at 9 and Lee 10.

We win the toss and bat first.

West Indies 213 all out (Pollard 48, Lee 3-41, Watson 3-58)

Dissapointing after seeing off the new ball against Johnson and Siddle but then Lee and Watson came in first and second change and took two top order wickets each to leave us at 66-4 just before lunch. Nash doesn't help his chances with a run out and we eventually scrape to 200 before being finished off before tea on the first day.

Australia 116 all out (Taylor 6-49, Miller 4-16)

Taylor gets two crucial wickets of Hughes and Katich in his opening couple to give us a great start. Ponting and Hussey then rebuild before Miller comes in and takes 3 wickets in his first three overs to leave the Aussies 90-5 at the close of play on a sensational first day. Taylor then picks up again in the morning and runs through the tail with Miller chipping in at the other end to put us firmly in the driving seat. Think Ponting is regretting not picking a spinner yet?

West Indies 555-5 dec (Sarwan 208*, Bravo 104*, Siddle 3-155)

A burst from Siddle and Johnson nearing the end of their opening spells leaves us teetering at 59-3, but Sarwan and Nash are told to put all the shots away and just concentrate on occupying the crease, which they do magnificently. Gradually opening up Nash eventually falls 5 runs short of a memorable century against his country of birth but his dismissal doesn't turn the tide as Pollard (67) and Bravo provide Sarwan terrific support as we grind Australia's 4 man attack into the dust. In the end Clarke and Katich provide 29 overs of part time spin between them without reward. We declare at the stumps on day 3 setting Australia 653 to win in six sessions.

Australia 397 all out (Hughes 100, Jaques 71, Miller 5-97)

Well at 184-1 with Hughes just having brought up his century I am sure Bill Lawry in the comm box was talking of a sensational chase but it wasn't to be. In the end it was just too many runs and too much time as even a little bit of rain on the 5th day (which had me very worried when it unexpectedly came!) couldn't stop the inevitable. Miller wheeled away from one end for virtually the whole innings and bowled very well indeed. Overall a great victory for the West Indies and their first in Australia since Perth in February 1997.

West Indies win by 255 runs
 

pskov

International 12th Man
2nd and 3rd Tests

Australia vs West Indies - 2nd Test

We are unchanged - again it is a spinning wicket. Heavy cloud and possibly rain forecast for day 4 with lighter cloud on days 3 and 5. Definitely a bat first wicket again - so it's a shame we lose the toss and will have to field first. Australia are unchanged too, which means again no spinner on a turning wicket.

Australia 300 all out (Hughes 69, Hussey 64, Taylor 3-70)

Hughes looks imposing as he and Pointing are sitting pretty at 117-1 at lunch and looking imposing. But then Taylor crucially removes the opener soon after the break and we have an opening. With the ball turning Gayle is brought in and chips in with 2 more than handy wickets including the dangerous Hussey before Edwards and Taylor come back in to finish up the tail early on day 2. Overall a pretty good bowling performance on a good deck, but we will need to bat well to back it up.

West Indies 395 all out (Gayle 97, Pollard 70, Lee 3-67)

Gayle batted well but the rest of the top order couldn't really stick with him and it looked like parity would be the best we could hope for. But then Pollard, Bravo and Ramdin all hit fifties in the lower order and we powered past the Aussies into a strong position.

Australia 364 all out (Katich 112, Clarke 92, Miller 4-60)

A fourth wicket stand between Katich and Clarke pushed them out of a slight spot of bother at 112-3 into a good position. With the wicket worsening and the overcast conditions rolling in their lead of 269 may be enough.

West Indies 270-2 (Chanderpaul 111*, Sarwan 93*)

Smith fell for single figures again at 12-1 and we battled on for a few overs in testing conditions before grabbing at the opportunity to come off for bad light and end the day 45 minutes early. The next day was a completely different prospect as we cruise along for the loss of just Gayle for 53 never looking in trouble at all to wrap up an excellent victory that seals the series against the number one ranked side in the world. We now take the Frank Worrell trophy for the fist time in 18 years!

West Indies win by 8 wickets

Australia vs West Indies - 3rd Test

Don't change a winning team - though Edwards is so frustrating I considered dropping him for Sammy. We lose the toss and will bowl first on an absolute road.

Australia 616-6 declared (Ponting 278*, Katich 139)

Sometimes against a great player you just can't do anything I guess. Backed up by Katich and Clarke (91) with excellent knocks too. And because they were going at over 4 an over a very early declaration too, before tea on day 2. At least the pitch is still good and true.

West Indies 505 all out (Sarwan 160, Gayle 81, Lee 4-73)

Gayle played well guiding us to the end of day 2 for the loss of just two wickets but then fell himself in the first over of the morning. At that point it looked worrying but Sarwan was excellent and found just enough support to get us over the follow on total. Once past that we let loose a bit and a buccaneering 45 from Taylor helped us put on 78 for the last two wickets to mean we have some breathing room.

Australia 268-5 declared (Hughes 97)

Australia got off to a very comfortable start at 144-0 but then started chasing the runs more aggressively to push for the declaration and so lost wickets. The declaration came at the close of day 4, leaving us 380 to win, but more realistically a day to bat out.

West Indies 204 all out (Sarwan 76, Katich 3-33, Watson 3-40)

It wasn't a particularly difficult pitch but we just didn't apply ourselves well enough. Maybe end of tour tiredness and the fact that we already knew we had the series in the bag made us a bit lax. Katich's impressive haul shows why the Aussies thought they never needed a specialist spinner, but then he didn't bowl anywhere near that well in the previous two tests when they really needed him to.

Australia win by 175 runs

West Indies win the series 2-1 and regain the Frank Worrell Trophy

Sarwan - 599 runs @ 149.75, 2 hundreds, 2 fifties
Gayle - 294 @ 49.00, 3 fifties
Pollard - 250 @ 50.00, 2 fifties
Chanderpaul - 201 @ 40.20, 1 hundred
Bravo - 172 @ 43.00, 1 hundred, 1 fifty
Nash - 158 @ 31.60, 1 fifty
Ramdin - 139 @ 34.75
Smith - 54 @ 9.00

Pollard continues to show he is going to be mainstay for years to come, though it's a bit disappointing he didn't push on to get a hundred as he got a start in every innings he played. Smith was in good form domestically coming into the tour but was very poor indeed so I am still looking for a parter for Gayle at the top. Sarwan was simply magnificent.

Miller - 16 wickets @ 31.31, 1 5wi
Taylor - 15 @ 36.07, 1 5wi
Edwards - 5 @ 86.80
Bravo - 4 @ 93.50
Gayle - 3 @ 33.67
Pollard - 1 @ 67.00

Miller and Taylor both bowled well even though that dead flat track in the final test somewhat ruined their figures. I knew that Edwards was poor but didn't realise whilst I was playing it that Bravo was also so ineffective. We don't play any tests until next season now but all things being equal I think Sammy will start ahead of Edwards.

Next up is the 5 match ODI series which considering the series win here and our impressive showing against India at home the last time we played 50 over cricket I am looking forward to.
 

pskov

International 12th Man
ODI Series in Australia

Team for the first match and backup players:

Gayle
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Barath
Pollard
Deonarine
Dwayne Bravo
Ramdin
Miller
Taylor
Edwards

Darren Bravo
Bront DeFreitas (batsman having a good season domestically)
Sammy
Wallace

1st ODI

Australia 273-9 (Katich 81, Clarke 80, Taylor 1-37, Edwards 3-73)
West Indies 196 all out (Pollard 65, Siddle 3-37, Johnson 3-44)

Only Taylor and Miller bowled with any control to allow the Aussies to get a good score on a mediocre pitch which we didn't have much chance of chasing down.

Australia win by 77 runs

2nd ODI

Sammy comes in for Edwards, hopefully to provide more control on what looks a cracker of a pitch.

West Indies 341 all out (49.5) (Barath 100, Sarwan 71, McDonald 3-58)
Australia 345-4 (43.2) (Ponting 125*, Hodge 86*, Bravo 3-63)

Well I thought we were home and dry after a very impressive batting performance but then I didn't count on Pointing, Hodge and Hughes (80) all scoring big at more than a run a ball. Ponting's innings was from just 82 balls. Sammy on call up went for 86 from his 10 overs. Oops.

Australia win by 6 wickets

3rd ODI

Gavin Wallace and Darren Bravo will make their West Indies debuts as they replace Sammy and Deonarine.

West Indies 268-8 (Gayle 90, Johnson 4-70)
Australia 269-5 (45.5) (Katich 127*)

We should've got more runs on the board as we lost wickets too quickly whilst going at 6.5 an over in the middle of the innings. We had to slow down to ensure we batted the full 50 and ended probably 20 short, as the Aussies showed us.

Australia win by 5 wickets

4th ODI

West Indies 217 all out (McDonald 3-46, Dorey 3-46)
Australia 218-5 (40) (Ponting 73)

Everybody in the top seven reached double figures but no-one went on and played the innings you need to win ODI matches.

Australia win by 5 wickets

5th ODI

Australia 209 all out (Hussey 68, Wallace 4-39)
West Indies 187 all out (Sarwan 64, Johnson 4-39)

We get a good bowling performance only to throw away the opportunity to avoid a whitewash. We were sitting pretty at 127-3 but when Sarwan and Pollard were separated we meekly surrendered.

Australia win by 12 runs

Australia win the series 5-0

Sarwan - 245 @ 49.00, 3 fifties
Gayle - 194 @ 38.80, 1 fifty
Pollard - 148 @ 29.60, 1 fifty
Barath - 138 @ 27.60, 1 hundred
Chanderpaul - 83 @ 16.60
Dwayne Bravo - 83 @ 16.60
Ramdin - 56 @ 11.20
Deonarine - 35 @ 17.50
Darren Bravo - 80 @ 26.67

Gayle always got at least a start but didn't once really power on to dominate a match. Sarwan again was very good. Chanderpaul didn't follow up his good series openenig against India here. Pollard continues to be quite average in limited overs despite his impressive test form. Barath's hundred has bought him some time too, but both players are certainly for the future even if not for the present.

Bravo - 8 wickets @ 37.75
Wallace - 6 @ 21.17
Pollard - 5 @ 35.00
Taylor - 4 @ 59.50
Edwards - 3 @ 24.33
Deonarine - 2 @ 20.00
Miller - 2 @ 120.00
Sammy - 0-86 from 10 overs

A tour to forget for our bowlers largely. Wallace did well in his three matches.

The two T20s that I don't particularly care about:

Australia 211 for 2 (Ponting 89*)
West Indies 197 for 8 (Chanderpaul 68)

West Indies 121-9 (Dorey 4-27)
Australia 124-1 (Hughes 46*, Ponting 43*)

Well the limited overs portion of the tour was a bit depressing, but wining the test series was a tremendous victory. On to next season!
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Are you playing this on an easy setting or something? Because Taylor, for one, is absolutely dire for me on ICC 2009. In fact, West Indies on the whole is unrealistically dire. And that takes some doing.
 

Somerset

Cricketer Of The Year
Excellent performance in the test matches after the drawn series against England and now a win over Australia, just a bit inconsistent in your limited overs matches!
 

pskov

International 12th Man
Are you playing this on an easy setting or something? Because Taylor, for one, is absolutely dire for me on ICC 2009. In fact, West Indies on the whole is unrealistically dire. And that takes some doing.
No not playing on easy, I always play on normal setting. No challenge otherwise.

The schedule for the 2010/11 season is thus:

Pakistan in the West Indies - 3 tests, 5 ODIs
The West Indies in England - 5 tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20s
The West Indies in Bangladesh - 2 tests, 3 ODIs
The West Indies in Zimbabwe - 3 ODIs
The World Cup in Asia

A pretty busy year. 16 ODIs before the World Cup will hopefully give us enough time to put together a decent side and a decent test tour of England is always a highlight.
 

pskov

International 12th Man
The generated young prospects that came through this season are a bit underwhelming. The better prospects are - Robert Phillip is a 19yo Leeward Islands opener who averages 36.56 after 11 FC matches, Paul Hooper is a 20yo spinning all-rounder who looks decent with the bat (33.67 and a hundred) but will need to improve with the ball (average over 40), Fred Russell (Jamaica) and Tim Murray (Barbados) are two 18yo seamers who average low 30s and may have promise for the future.

West Indies vs Pakistan - 1st Test Match

Gayle*
Richards
Chanderpaul
Sarwan
Pollard
Bravo
Ramdin
Sammy
Miller
Taylor
Wallace

12th man - Gavin Tonge

Gavin Wallace makes his test debut after impressing in a couple of ODIs last year, beating out Gavin Tonge as it looks like a turner. A bit of a departure going to a 5 bowler strategy from playing 4 bowlers most of last year but I believe that is generally the strategy to go for, especially if you don't have any particular standout bowler to carry the attack. We go back to Richards to open with Gayle, but I strongly considered having Chanderpaul as a makeshift opener and picking Nash or possibly Deonarine in the middle order.

West Indies 1st Innings - 353 all out (Gayle 123, Bravo 72, Gul 3-79)

Gayle held together the top order with an excellent knock until he found Bravo to stay with him. Miller's 43* at 10 helped push us over the 350 barrier on a pitch that is now helping both seam and spin. I think that is a pretty decent score, but we will see.

Pakistan 1st Innings - 332 all out (Safraz Ahmed 75*, Jamshed 60, Bravo 4-105)

This is a very inexperienced Pakistan side, but their two youthful openers Khurram Manzoor and Nasir Jamshed get them off to a great start blunting our new ball attack. Bravo though manages the break through and one the openers are separated after 109 runs we take steady wickets. At 243-9 we were looking to wrap up the innings with a big lead but keeper Ahmed took the strike and shielded Asif as they put on a very irritating 89 for the last wicket. Could that partnership be crucial?

West Indies 2nd Innings - 347 all out (Pollard 78, Gul 4-91)

Pollard, Sarwan and Chanderpaul all pass fifty but fail to make the big hundred that would really put the match out of Pakistan's reach. At 199-6 it was looking a bit too close, but one of the reasons I was comfortable going with 5 bowlers was that Sammy, Miller, Taylor is a pretty handy 8-9-10 and they repay the faith scoring 24, 26 and 40 runs respectively to put us in firm control at 368 ahead.

Pakistan 2nd Innings - 301 all out (Yousuf 99, Umar 86, Taylor 4-72)

At 80-4 it was looking like smooth sailing but Yousuf and Taufeeq Umar batting down the order put together a fear inducing partnership. At 288-5 it was looking grim but the second new ball came and Taylor and Sammy did the business in spectacular fashion to close out the victory.

West Indies win by 67 runs
 

pskov

International 12th Man
West Indies vs Pakistan - 2nd Test Match

We stick with the same team. We win the toss and bat on a every good pitch with some light cloud cover for the first day - day 3 might be a washout so getting big runs in the first innings is going to be crucial here.

West Indies 1st Innings - 480 all out (Ramdin 113, Pollard 84)

Two century partnerships built an imposing total for us, firstly Pollard and Sarwan (57) set the scene before Ramdin and Sammy (66) punished the flagging Pakistan attack on day 2.

Pakistan 1st Innings - 209 all out (Younis 61, Taylor 6-66)

Pakistan were 2-93 at the close of day 2, but then the lengthy rain break in the morning and cloud cover coming in the afternoon to aid swing left them in big trouble. Taylor ripped through the tail in the evening session with 4 wickets in 2 overs to leave Pakistan well short of the follow-on total. We will enforce it considering the lost time in the match and our 5 bowler attack is still fresh.

Pakistan 2nd Innings - 361 all out (Fawad Alam 101, Manzoor 81, Wallace 4-72)

Some stiff resistance from Alam and Umar (62) in the middle order against the old ball gave the tourists hope but once the new ball was taken and a couple of quick wickets removed them we cleaned up pretty quickly with Wallace's leg spin bamboozling the tail.

West Indies 2nd Innings - 91-2 (Sarwan 42*, Chanderpaul 35*)

Gayle and Richards are taken out quickly but then Sarwan and Chanders polish of teh runs quickly with an hour to spare to seal the series victory.

West Indies win by 8 wickets

Wes Indies lead the series 2-0
 

Top