***Official*** West Indies in Zimbabwe 2017

[Prince EWS]

Easier said than done. Windies are prone to collapses and Zimbabwe aren't too bad at home. I back this to be a competitive game.

Two of Zimbabwe's best three bowlers for this sort of surface are injured though, and one of those two has been replaced by a specialist batsman. The attack is so much weaker than it was in the first Test.

 

[Pratters]

Ah okay.

 

[StephenZA]

I was worried with the way the Zim innings started that they would put nothing on the board... happy to be proven wrong. I really want this to be competitive match. Seen to many one sided affairs recently.

 

[Prince EWS]

I was worried with the way the Zim innings started that they would put nothing on the board... happy to be proven wrong. I really want this to be competitive match. Seen to many one sided affairs recently.

I'm still pretty disappointed. When you pick eight frontline batsman (and even the bloke at #9 bats in the top six domestically) you don't expect 71% of your runs to come from two partnerships. All these batsmen are flawed but they can usually get teasey little starts, so the failure of them to do so in an innings where it could have collectively built something substantial in conjunction with those two big partnerships just feels like they're elongating the tease.

 

[weldone]

Malcolm Waller is seriously not test match material. Develop him into a better LO cricketer - where he has potential as a useful hitter.

 

[Prince EWS]

Malcolm Waller is seriously not test match material. Develop him into a better LO cricketer - where he has potential as a useful hitter.

He'll probably find himself out of the full strength Test side now that Moor has scored some runs again in Williams' absence. Only some serious second innings runs could save him now.

 

[mr_mister]

Well you can't say Kraig isn't cut out for test cricket. Such patience and determination. This bloke loves batting time

 

[weldone]

bad tactics from WI - they should have attacked when the pitch is good...Batting won't be easy on days 4 and 5

 

[Prince EWS]

bad tactics from WI - they should have attacked when the pitch is good...Batting won't be easy on days 4 and 5

It has been weird. I don't think it was really a tactic so much as it's just what happened -- Zimbabwe's bowlers have been disciplined but largely non-threatening, Brathwaite is a play-the-ball-on-its-merits robot and Powell is out of form -- but it's been seriously strange.

 

[vcs]

78 runs in 49 overs for the loss of one wicket LOL. This is plodding taken to a new level.

 

[TestMatch]

78 runs in 49 overs for the loss of one wicket LOL. This is plodding taken to a new level.

I think Powell's playing super-defensive because he's playing for his place in the team, and Brathwaite's probably still ticked-off about missing out on a century.

 

[weldone]

It has been weird. I don't think it was really a tactic so much as it's just what happened -- Zimbabwe's bowlers have been disciplined but largely non-threatening, Brathwaite is a play-the-ball-on-its-merits robot and Powell is out of form -- but it's been seriously strange.

78 runs in 49 overs for the loss of one wicket LOL. This is plodding taken to a new level.

They have achieved the record for lowest amount of runs in first 40 overs in any test innings in the 21st century.

 

[Tom Flint]

They are just setting the game up perfectly for a blackwood 3 ball duck

 

[Kippax]

 

[Pratters]

Just checked the scorecard and I hate to check twice to see there was no rain. 78 off 49 overs on day 2. Some kind of modern record surely.

 

[mr_mister]

Guess they want dat draw

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Just checked the scorecard and I hate to check twice to see there was no rain. 78 off 49 overs on day 2. Some kind of modern record surely.

Probably a typical scorecard in the early 1900s

 

[loterry]

does anyone think this game has a good chance to end in a draw? might bet on that result as it is paying a lot

 

[Kippax]

Not for me. Plenty of puffs of dust and pitch explosions for Cremer towards stumps.

 

[loterry]

Not for me. Plenty of puffs of dust and pitch explosions for Cremer towards stumps.

fair enough