Start of an Era: The England Renaissance

[Regi7777]

The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) Selection Committee has selected a 12-man squad for the 1st Test against the West Indies.

A Strauss (capt)
J Anderson
S Broad
P Collingwood
A Cook
A Flintoff
S Harmison
G Onions
K Pietersen
M Prior (wk)
G Swann
J Trott

Jonathan Trott and Graham Onions are in line for debuts while Steve Harmison returns to the side.

[CyberCricketer]

Er, you've already made the 'New Era for English Cricket' thread, what gives?

[Regi7777]

1st Test, England v West Indies - Day 1 Recap

Squads:

England - Strauss (capt), Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Collingwood, Prior (wk), Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Harmison

West Indies - Richards, Smith, Chanderpaul, Sarwan (capt), Deonarine, Bravo, Pollard, Ramdin (wk), Sammy, Taylor, Rampaul

Toss: West Indies, who chose to bat

Harmison and Anderson started well, both bowling well to Richards and Smith. Richards got lucky on a couple of occasions, getting a thick edge for four off a Harmison bouncer. Harmison eventually got the breakthrough, bowling Smith for 6. Chanderpaul came in, looking to settle the innings. Anderson had a great chance to get Richards out on 26, but dropped a caught & bowled chance. Anderson and Broad continued to bowl some good balls, and Flintoff joined them, but Richards got his 50 off 82 balls with 26 minutes left in the early session. Richards continued his sublime innings, and with Chanderpaul in support, he played some beautiful strokes. At lunch, the West Indies were 98/1 with Richards on 65 and Chanderpaul on 22.

After lunch, Richards and Chanderpaul continued the partnership they built, and hammered the bowlers all around the pitch. Flintoff got the crucial wicket a few overs later, after catching Richards in front for 75. Replays showed that it would have hit the top of middle and off. The captain Sarwan came in, and they started going a bit defensive, only taking singles. Chanderpaul eventually got his 50 off 116 balls. Sarwan miscued a ball from Anderson but it fell safely for another boundary. He was also dropped at bat pad, again off Anderson a few balls later. England eventually got their wicket, Sarwan edging to Trott at slip off Anderson for 24. That was the last over as tea came along. The West Indies were 207/3, with Chanderpaul on 78 and Deonarine on 6.

After tea, Flintoff immediately took a wicket, as Deonarine nicked behind to Prior. He got his second wicket in the over after Bravo was caught in front lbw for a duck. Chanderpaul continued to fight his way towards a century and Pollard joined in on the fun. Chanderpaul eventually got his century off 201 balls. Anderson finally got a wicket for his hard work when Pollard was bowled for 14 with the new ball. Chanderpaul and Ramdin didn't seem fazed at the challenge of the new ball, as the boundaries continued flowing, with Chanderpaul even hitting Flintoff for six. The day ended with the West Indies on 316/6, with Chanderpaul on 129 and Ramdin on 37.

Scorecard and Match Overview:

[Regi7777]

Er, you've already made the 'New Era for English Cricket' thread, what gives?

I accidentally deleted my last save game, so I had to start over again.

[Regi7777]

1st Test, England v West Indies - Day 2 Recap

At the start of the day, Chanderpaul was on 129 and Ramdin was on 37. They picked up where they left off, with Chanderpaul hitting a four off the first ball. Ramdin didn't last long however, after edging behind to Prior after only adding two to his overnight score. Not long after Chanderpaul reached his 150 off 271 balls. Sammy refused to be bullied around by the bowlers and smacked them all over the field. But he didn't stick around for much longer as he edged to Strauss at slip off Anderson for 25 to end his cameo. Taylor quickly followed, caught plumb in front by Anderson for 6. The innings came to an end when Chanderpaul edged to Trott at slip off Flintoff for 166. There were 391 all out with the surviving batsman being Rampaul with 4.

Strauss and Cook walked out looking to chase down the target and setting a huge total. Things did not get off to a good start when Strauss edged behind to Ramdin off Bravo for a duck, bringing in Trott, the test debutant. They batted out the rest of the session steadily. At lunch, they were on 15/1, with Trott on 7 and Cook on 5.

After lunch, Trott and Cook played more defensively, only taking singles with the occasional boundary. The pair batted fluently with some good strokeplay. They batted out the session easily. At tea, they were 84/1, with Trott on 36 and Cook on 34.

After tea, Cook hammered Bravo for six with the second ball of the first over. Trott got his half-century off 160 balls and Cook also got his half-century off 164 balls. They continued playing defensively with some flair and style. Cook was dropped at slip on 69 off Taylor, and it would have been a spetacular catch. Trott was caught at bat pad for 74 by Bravo off Rampaul three overs from the end of the day. The nightwatchman Anderson came in and only lasted five balls before being caught in front by Sammy for a duck. Pietersen and Cook saw out the last two overs of the day before play came to a close. England ended on 175/3, with Pietersen on 5 and Cook on 80.

Scorecards and Match Overview: