Who would win a test series between England and West Indies if play started tomorrow?

[Richard]

He could champion first chance averages, promise to eat his computer and dismiss half the bowlers on the planet as "lucky". That always gets a reaction.

Haha.

You think that's the only reason I post said stuff?

 

[Richard]

the thing being... no-one said he wasn't good enough to bat 6

........

 

[Richard]

The Age:
"England's poor body language and shoddy fielding confirmed the comments of a relative newcomer to the team who said this week that he had never played in a more shambolic side"

If that's not ****stirring nothing is.

Bull**** did anyone really say that.

 

[Richard]

It was 3-0, rightly or wrongly.

Wrongly.

Honestly, that Fourth Test "victory" was worth about as much as the Centurion one in 1999\2000.

I seriously don't count either as a real victory. Especially given that both were dead games.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

If this so-called "starting tomorrow" series was in England it would be a draw as the prospects of play in a Test in England in January/February would be very slim.

 

[Richard]

England the clear number two.

As Beleg stated earlier, nothing of the sort is clear. I very much hope we are still so, but until our next 3rd series we can't demonstrate anything of the sort (if we don't beat West Indies and India at home we certainly can't claim we are, mind).

 

[Richard]

If this so-called "starting tomorrow" series was in England it would be a draw as the prospects of play in a Test in England in January/February would be very slim.

 

[Fiery]

If that's not ****stirring nothing is.

Bull**** did anyone really say that.

Ed Joyce

 

[Richard]

If he genuinely did say such a thing (and I hesitate to believe he did until I hear concrete proof - ie the man himself not coming-out with a "I was misquoted" remark) he should be on the next plane back to Middlesex with a "thanks very much, you should have pledged your allegiance to Ireland, don't expect to be donning the red-and-blue again".

 

[steds]

Haha.

You think that's the only reason I post said stuff?

I was joking.

 

[Richard]

I hoped and believed you were.

That was why I went for instead of .

 

[vic_orthdox]

Ed Joyce

Just wondering where that's been confirmed?

 

[Richard]

Was wondering the same thing...

(In case anyone hadn't noticed)

And it's not exactly like Joe The Cameraman's voice can mysteriously sound like Shane Warne... if someone said that in an Irish accent, there's hardly any doubting who it was.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Was wondering the same thing...

(In case anyone hadn't noticed)

And it's not exactly like Joe The Cameraman's voice can mysteriously sound like Shane Warne... if someone said that in an Irish accent, there's hardly any doubting who it was.

The Age spoke of how a "relative newcomer" to the side had talked about how it was the most "insert downtrodden adjective here" side he'd played in. Fiery quoted it yesterday. Just wondering when The Age decided to reveal it's source.

 

[Jono]

They are the second best team in the world by a pretty clear margin. Yea, they lost 5-0, but SA lost 6-0, and Pakistan lost 3-0 to them too.

South Africa didn't lose 6-0 over the two series. The WACA was a draw, and Sydney was a farce. 4-0 is a clearer perspective IMO (and I don't rate SA that high anyway, but I think you're doing them a disservice).

 

[Jono]

Those of you who think England are clear-cut number two are deluding themselves quite badly. As others have put it, right now there just isn't a clear-cut number two. The team that comes closest IMO is South Africa.

The same team that lost a test each to Pakistan and India at home, one of them on pitches that aided fast bowling?

I reckon send South Africa to India and Pakistan and see if they can win 1 out of 3 tests each. Doubt it.

Pakistan, SA and India are all much of nothing, with England slightly better but getting closer and closer to the pack of much of nothing as every series passes since the Ashes.

 

[Richard]

The Age spoke of how a "relative newcomer" to the side had talked about how it was the most "insert downtrodden adjective here" side he'd played in. Fiery quoted it yesterday. Just wondering when The Age decided to reveal it's source.

As I said then... I really hope they're merely bull****ing...

 

[Richard]

The same team that lost a test each to Pakistan and India at home, one of them on pitches that aided fast bowling?

I reckon send South Africa to India and Pakistan and see if they can win 1 out of 3 tests each. Doubt it.

Well the SA groundsmen essentially transported the teams there at least once...

 

[Jono]

Well the SA groundsmen essentially transported the teams there at least once...

If you think pitch conditions is the only aspect of an Indian tour then you're mistaken, and knowing your knowledge of cricket, I'm sure you realise that there is plenty more to it than that which has resulted in many teams struggling there for many years now.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

As Beleg stated earlier, nothing of the sort is clear. I very much hope we are still so, but until our next 3rd series we can't demonstrate anything of the sort (if we don't beat West Indies and India at home we certainly can't claim we are, mind).

You could say that about any team, but it's not how cricket works. Hell, you could say Australia aren't the best team in the world until they beat England, India, Pakistan and South Africa again. After all, it's been more than two years since they last played India in a test match, and they haven't faced Pakistan since Asif turned the corner, blah blah. It's just silly. Until England actually get beaten by somebody in convincing fashion they're the second best team in the world, because they've earned that place with consistent results in test cricket. In the last two seasons they've beaten South Africa away, Australia at home, Pakistan at home and drawn India away. The only real blemishes are an away loss in a fairly tight series to Pakistan and the home draw against Sri Lanka, along with the hammering they just copped in the Ashes.

Losing 5-0 to Australia doesn't indicate they aren't the second best side any more than losing 5-1 in 01/02 indicated South Africa wasn't the second best side. Of course, if England fail to beat the West Indies and India at home they'll lose the "clear number two" tag and it'll be up for grabs again, but for now it's pretty clear cut.