The CRICKET thread...

[bAnDiT]

One thing:
LARA IS THE GREATEST
he just lent out the record and when he hearit get scratch he put it on cd wit another blazin' trac
400 first-class runs b!tch!!!                    

[PapaSmurf]

i will take the dare from 6 posts ago.

Splitz -> I say lara is a Batty man (lol), or a batting man if u want to call him that cause he certainly has a way with bats. But one good batsman does not a team make. The success and failure of the WI side should not dependent of Lara's performance as a batsman, but rather on his performance as a captain. His achievement is good and inspiring, but what about the rest of the team....are they going to reform and move up? of just be content to eat the scraps that fall off Lara's table
                   

[~*Ashiee*~]

lol smurf
u know i beat up family
how meh own bro could challenge meh level level so
we know eachother weaknesses iwmc.....
won't be a fiar match but entertaining.....

neways, match was drawn, lara- man of match
harmison- man of series                    

[~*Ashiee*~]

OK THE ONE DAYS ARE ON US

some badish news
lara will be out of the first 3... because of the injury he sustained to 2 of his fingers
i wish windies the best of luck in all of them                    

[nightmare_d_redeyedragon]

As I said before Lara is d bosss!! He real mad. He deserves to be mentioned in 2 threads!!! LARA ALL D WAY. FIA FOR BOVELL AS SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR!!!!                    

[richjob]

Who's the hot chick posing with Brian?










                   

[Aka_Neo]

i wish the best to the west indies and hope they win this time and hope  the best for lara.....and i hope they kick some A$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                    

[Mercusho_Arazi]

is sad that we lost this series all we had to do was bat properly and it could of been so different, but hopefully we'll  do better in the one dyas and then later on in england. As for all the Dillon haters, look who is still the highest ranked W.I. bowler.                    

[~*Ashiee*~]

'Dillon is my boy
i am proud of him
he had a chance to go to county and he turned it down to play for the west indies
that is commitment
and ravi rampaul

two good friends of mine....                    

[carlsberg]

WELL!!!
the one day is 2morrow......
lets hope we can produce some more magic
and show england wat we are really made of
remind them of the days of ambrose,walsh...etc.                    

[carlsberg]

OK THE ONE DAYS ARE ON US

some badish news
lara will be out of the first 3... because of the injury he sustained to 2 of his fingers
i wish windies the best of luck in all of them

dats very sad
but we still wud pull through
we have SARWAN as acting captin now                    

[~*Ashiee*~]

lol @ sarwan
sarwan needs to put his mind on the cricket and off the women
but on a public note i want to see him perform alot better
he can do it

but allyuh see this rain..... how we going to survive oiiii
hope the one days doh wash out                    

[carlsberg]

yuh noe dat rain was akillah 2 day
lets pray 4 sunshine 2morrow

sarwan has a lot of ability and skill
actin as captain shud bring out the best in him
it sud be interesting to see how he handles the responsibility and pressure
if it all goes well we'll see the best out of sarwan 2morrow                    

[carlsberg]

i can't believe rain spoil d 1st 1/2 of d day                    

[richjob]

http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET..._18APR2004.html

The quiet man makes his point

The Wisden Verdict by Andrew Miller

April 18, 2004

When Chris Read was cruelly jettisoned from last week's fourth Test, his predicament generated an extraordinary wave of sympathy. For Read's wicketkeeping had been exemplary throughout the Test series, but there was no denying that his lack of runs was a concern that could no longer be overlooked. But when he was subsequently retained for the one-day series, ahead of the superior batsman, Geraint Jones, that sympathy turned to bafflement.

Not for the first time this winter, it turns out that England's management had played a psychological masterstroke. Read is an unassuming character, who is not given to unseemly displays of emotion. But, as he admitted in his online column, he entered this match with a point to prove, and how gloriously he proved it. England were dead in the water with two overs remaining, but Read's open-shouldered thumping silenced a joyous crowd, some of whom had been waiting since the gates opened at 6am. Read's sixes, especially, were strikes that belied his slight frame, but we shouldn't be surprised at the power he can generate. He has done this sort of thing before - in Johannesburg four winters ago, when he took the long handle to an incredulous Shaun Pollock.

Read's intervention papered over the cracks in England's batting, but as Michael Vaughan admitted, there was plenty of room for improvement in their performance. Without the middle-order ballast of Graham Thorpe, Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain, they were a pale imitation of the team that swept (almost) all before them during the Test series, and they were spluttering from the moment that Vaughan himself edged a third-ball jaffer from another player with a point to prove - the Test discard, Merv Dillon.

Read's cameo aside, there was only one innings of note on a day dominated by men whose egos have been dented. Shivnarine Chanderpaul's gloriously Jekyll-and-Hyde performance was an eloquent response from another taciturn man, who was also axed from the fourth Test team in puzzling circumstances last week. For a while today, while he was grinding his way to 10 not out from 52 balls, he seemed to have forgotten to change into his pyjamas in the meantime. But nothing could have been further from the truth - on a treacherous wicket that had already disposed of three of his team-mates, Chanderpaul knew full well that his first priority was to be there at the end of the innings. After, it was over to his bottom hand, and his penchant for the outrageous sweep-shot. It was the sort of performance that ought to get several counties sniffing around Guyana come Twenty20 time.

Michael Vaughan had been perfectly justified in choosing to bowl first on winning the toss, because in reduced-over slogs, it can be hard to gauge just how fast you should come bursting out of the blocks. Gayle and Ricardo Powell, as they are wont to do, tripped over their shoelaces as they rushed to get the 30 overs out of the way, but Chanderpaul showed the restraint and tactical know-how of a marathon runner . For someone with such a crabby technique, he can be devastating when the mood takes him - as demonstrated on this very ground last year, when he clattered the Australians for a 69-ball century. But it was his lack of panic that rubbed off on Sylvester Joseph, whose boundaryless 23 not out from 32 balls was invaluable in the circumstances.

It was a harsh defeat for West Indies, who - with the Barmy Army nowhere to be seen and the stands swaying with home supporters - produced their best team performance of the winter. It was a mixed day for the home boys, however. On his captaincy debut, Ramnaresh Sarwan had a forgettable day with the bat, but in the field, with a young and enthusiastic team to back him up, he mixed up his options well and trusted in the deceptive pace-changes of Chris Gayle's offspin, who rewarded him with the vital wickets of Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood, not to mention Read late in the piece. Collingwood's dismissal, to a wondrous tumbling catch from Dwayne Smith, typified the renewed spirit of the West Indians.

The result of this match augurs well for the rest of a exhaustingly lengthy series. But, even though they ended up on the losing side this time, West Indies might just be the most satisfied of the two sides this evening. England's effortless superiority in the Tests isn't going to sustain them for the remainder of this tour.                    

[richjob]

http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET..._18APR2004.html

Oh yah.  Game.  We lost.  But were not disgraced.

"After a middle-order collapse, England still required 21 from the final two overs, with only three wickets left. Read and Darren Gough were at the crease and you could have bet your house on a Windies win – the packed crowd at Georgetown certainly thought so anyway. However, they were stunned into silence as the batsmen stole victory in the fading light. Corey Collymore was the man entrusted with that penultimate over, and unlike his younger, less experienced team-mates, he couldn't keep things tight when it mattered.

Read smashed the third ball over mid-off for six, sliced the next delivery for four over point, and then completed the set with a towering blow over midwicket. England then needed three from the final over. In keeping with the drama, Read was bowled by Chris Gayle, but Gough held his nerve to hit the winning runs in his comeback game. It was a cruel ending for West Indies, especially after the local hero, Chanderpaul, had got the joint jumping early on. "                    

[carlsberg]

i can't believe we lost!!!
it was so close!!

2 more dot balls and we wud have won

anyawz...theres always nex time                    

[SPK]

I got sooo disappointed for that game, sooo close, yet so far... :?

Anyway, to Port Of Spain they going to next, i most likely will be making a visit to one of the games....time to reclaim some injured pride...

RALLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!                    

[~*Ashiee*~]

HELLO
I WAS GLAD! I WAS NOT GLAD WE lost
but look how we played!

look at the fielding

it's like a whole new team......
look at smith's catch on the bondary!!!!!!

hoss, look at the dedication to dry the field with a helicopter!!!!!

WEST INDIES BIGS UPS......we did not lose this match, we were not outplayed, england just won it......

nig up to both teams and to a match and a day of good cricket                    

[PapaSmurf]

splitz.....i was going to post about how much lixx the west indies team could take before we all get so frustrated that we go over to football........but have inspired me.

your dedication and belief in the seeming impossibility of the West Indies to do something right for a change gives me hope. Maybe there is something worth watching....It might be the hope of a fool...but it's still hope