The Golden Isles - A Third Time Lucky West Indies Story

[Alrounder80]

Ravi Rampaul captain? Interesting...

[GrahamB]

Good luck for the upcoming tests.

[Imager36]

I'd like to tell you I was trying to lose to my favourite side. But I was not.



I think it's easy to see that the experiment failed, so let's gloss over this match very quickly. Keiran Powell was struck a-midships by a Amjad Khan bouncer, and has somehow picked up a fracture that will keep him out for a bit, so that pretty much guarantees a 1st Test place to Mr. Simmons. Fidel Edwards was probably the most impressive West Indies player over the 3 days, with 6 wickets and 30 runs to his name. For the MCC match, Barath comes in for the injured Powell, and Sammy gets another chance to impress, in for Ravi Rampaul.

I WON! I BLOODY WON!



Okay, I know it's against the worst side in the game, but I was of course still impressed with the batting of the openers (and the speed with which they scored those runs) and the bowling of Deonarine and Permaul, on a pitch that was gripping like sandpaper. I won't get carried away with that result, but it does help to narrow down my team for the first test against England to this eleven, with a surprise in Dwayne Bravo being fit to play.

A. Barath
L. Simmons
S. Chanderpaul
Darren Bravo
B. Nash
Dwayne Bravo
D. Ramdin
R. Rampaul (C)
V. Permaul
D. Bishoo
F. Edwards/

The thinking behind that being that, seeing as I haven't got much of a chance against England anyway, if I can win the toss, bat first, and set England anywhere north of 250 in the final innings, the 2 spinners will always have a chance of wreaking the havoc required to win me a test match. If this happens, I can play for draws for the rest of the series, and maybe only lose one and tie the series. We lost the last test series here, and thus have nothing to lose again!

[Imager36]

If I told you I was in control of this match for the first 2 sessions, you wouldn't believe me.



But I was. Halfway through the afternoon session, Australia were 115/5, with 4 of those wickets having been taken by the on-fire Ravi Rampaul. At one stage he'd bowled 6 overs, taken 2 wickets, and only conceded 1 run! Michael Clarke's 322 was truly special, from 420 balls, with 47 fours and 2 sixes. Forrest, already recalled, supported him more than ably, and a partnership of 317 runs would kill off most test matches for the other team. Clarke put on another 58 with Harris, and 108 with Siddle, just to rub salt into the wounds of bowlers far too tired to do anything else.

On a track that was far from a road, we struggled to really get going, and whilst 217 was a below-par score, it was not as below par as 608/9d might have you believe. The Aussie seamers were, again, ruthless, and destroyed everything everytime hope appeared. Bravo and Nash were the only two to offer any good resistance, and even this did not last as long as was needed.

The second innings was far more promising for my side, however. Chanders eventually showed us why he's a great batsman with a classy 91, and when he left, Nash picked up, in partnership first with Deonarine (50) and then Ramdin (73). There was minor resistance from Rampaul, but overall, we were just pleased not to have lost by over an innings again!

The openers knocked off the 52 with ease, but then again, you'd expect that.

Series State - Australia won the 3 match series 3-0.
Batting Award - Brendan Nash - A very impressive start under my reign.
Bowling Award - Ravi Rampaul - Mainly for those first 15 or so overs in the Aussie first innings.

So! With that series over, let's do some housekeeping. First of all, a new section...

Series Ratings

• C. Gayle - 1 match, 34 runs - 5/10 - Impossible to judge from 1 and a half innings, but will be a vital player when back from that arm injury.
• A. Barath - 3 matches, 207 runs - 6.5/10 - Impressive resilience in the first 2 tests, but failed to back that up in the third.
• L. Simmons - 2 matches, 87 runs - 4/10 - Disappointing batting, but his part time keeping will probably keep him in the squad for England.
• S. Chanderpaul - 3 matches, 174 runs - 6/10 - Miserable until that 91 in the third test, which showed his underlying class.
• Darren Bravo - 3 matches, 175 runs - 5.5/10 - Steady throughout, but getting out for 20 or 30 in every innings won't keep him his place in the long run.
• R. Sarwan - 2 matches, 96 runs - 4.5/10 - Had a poor series, didn't really make his mark at any stage.
• B. Nash - 1 match, 157 runs - 8/10 - Really made a mark with that century and 40 in the last match, and is probably a certain pick for the first test against England, with our poor batting to date.
• Dwayne Bravo - 2 matches, 31 runs, 8 wickets - 7/10 - Was bowling so well until that back injury, and as a result featured incredibly lightly in the second of the tests.
• N. Deonarine - 1 match, 51 runs, 1 wicket - 5.5/10 - Poor bowling-wise, but a 50 in that second innings helps him to stay a possibility.
• D. Ramdin - 3 matches, 158 runs - 6/10 - Did his job with minimal fuss, and a 73 in the last game highlights his batting ability at 7.
• D. Sammy - 3 matches, 56 runs, 1 wicket - 2/10 - Set no fires alight, and, to be honest, was utterly dreadful.
• R. Rampaul - 3 matches, 73 runs, 8 wickets - 3.5/10 - When you see that 6 of those wickets were in the last match, and then at 30-odd runs apiece, it shows you how bad his series was.
• D. Bishoo - 3 matches, 5 wickets - 3/10 - With a number of spin options available, he may have limited time to prove this series was an exception and not the rule.
• K. Roach - 3 matches, 5 wickets - 3/10 - Another bowler who was poor, he went for over 4.3 runs an over in the tests. That's ludicrous, and he'll need to really up his game.

And then the squad of 18 taking the plane to England for the 2 FC friendlies and 3 Tests. Dwayne Bravo should be available for at least the 3rd Test, Gayle is out altogether.

A. Barath (O)
K. Powell (O)
L. Simmons (O/K)
S. Chanderpaul (BAT)
Darren Bravo (BAT)
B. Nash (BAT)
R. Sarwan (BAT)
K. Edwards (BAT)
D. Bravo (ALL)
N. Deonarine (ASP)
D. Ramdin (K)
K. Stoute (ALL)
D. Sammy (SEAM)
R. Rampaul (SEAM)
V. Permaul (SPIN)
D. Bishoo (SPIN)
F. Edwards (SEAM)
K. Roach (SEAM)

And the rather experimental side put out to face Sussex.

L. Simmons
K. Powell
K. Edwards
R. Sarwan
B. Nash
N. Deonarine
D. Ramdin
K. Stoute
R. Rampaul (C)
V. Permaul
F. Edwards

[Imager36]

My first total thrashing of many!



The Australians won the toss, and it turned out to be the making of the match. As we didn't let them dominate us early on, and the pacemen had some success, the Aussies were 133/3 and 177/4, but a partnership of 151 between Hussey and the keeper Nevill left us in the mire. Cowan got 36 batting at 7 (because Forrest obviously didn't do well enough!) and a 9th wicket partnership of 65 between Harris and Hilfenhaus, during which time Dwayne Bravo injured his back, was really the end of a competitive test match.

We started positively, and Barath impressed once more, with 10 boundary 4s in his 66. At 129/1, I was beginning to believe that maybe we could remain competitive, but a middle order crumble, lacking of course, number 6 Dwayne Bravo, meant we were 181/5(6) at one stage, and only some late-order resistance from Sammy dragged us up to our still meagre total, just 4 runs short of blocking the follow-on.

In the end, this may well have been an effort in time-saving. Barath again showed resistance, but the rest of the batting line-up was, to be blunt, pathetic, showing our weaknesses against a team who, at this time, have been plainly better than us.

Series State - Australia have won the series, 2-0, 1 to play.
Batting Award - Adrian Barath - The one shining light in a world of sludge.
Bowling Award - Devendra Bishoo - Necessary improvement from the first test, did his job just fine.

Team News - Narsingh Deonarine replaces the injured Bravo in the squad and team, and Nash comes in for Sarwan, to try and test out the two of them... the next post won't be very long, I don't do a lot of detail for the dead rubbers.

[Imager36]

So let us look forward to the first series! 3 Tests against the 2nd rated Test side in the game, the Australians. Fairly predictably, we lost the last home test series against the Aussies, 2-0 in 2008, which means we have no points to lose in this upcoming 3 match series! First, let's look at the 16-strong squad the Aussies have brought on holiday.

S. Watson (OAR)
E. Cowan (O)
D. Warner (O)
M. Clarke (BAT) (C)
P. Forrest (BAT)
M. Hussey (BAT)
R. Ponting (BAT)
P. Nevill (K)
M. Wade (K)
M. Beer (SPIN)
N. Lyon (SPIN)
R. Harris (SEAM)
B. Hilfenhaus (SEAM)
J. Pattinson (SEAM)
P. Siddle (SEAM)
M. Starc (SEAM)

In case you haven't been watching, OAR is a new abbreviation I've invented. It means the player is wooden at the crease and should be held out of the water when stroking forwards. Were this series One day, I might fancy my chances of an upset, against a side with a tail as long as my cat's. Anyway, to finish off this bumper opening post that no-one will read fully, here is the 12-man West Indies squad for Test number one, and all the relevant team news.

C. Gayle (OASP)
A. Barath (O)
S. Chanderpaul (BAT)
Darren Bravo (BAT)
R. Sarwan (BAT)
B. Nash (BAT)
Dwayne Bravo (ALL)
D. Ramdin (K)
D. Sammy (SEAM) (C)
R. Rampaul (SEAM)
D. Bishoo (SPIN)
K. Roach (SEAM)

Yes, you heard me right, Chris Gayle is an OASP. I'm not afraid to tell him that to his face, either. Anyhow, your team and pitch news is that the pitch could well be dreadful for batsman, and, still not confident in my bowling unit, it is Brendan Nash who misses out from the West Indies team. The rest proceed in the batting order already stated. In Australia news, they're playing 5 seamers (including the OAR). Golly. Well. They're also playing Peter Forrest. And batting him at 7. Lovely.


I wasn't expecting much... And I certainly didn't get it.



I won the toss! I batted! It had all started so well! Then Chris Gayle got out for 6, and I remembered how hard this task was. Chanderpaul was gone all too soon after, and whilst Barath and Bravo put on 50, the latter was shot out for 29, and when Sarwan followed for 14, a late order collapse was born. From the underpar-but-respectable 117/3, we made 168, as the lower and middle orders failed and Barath couldn't stand the heat.

Australia were, to be honest, batting on a different pitch, and whilst a middle order collapse (we had them 113/5!) threatened to derail the Auscart, Forrest (His partners kept shouting "RUN, FORREST, RUN!") made 83 batting at 7, and a 10th wicket partnership of 39 showed how much worse our bowling is than theirs.

We batted again. This time, Barath had no resistance and was out for 3, whilst Chris Gayle made a promising 28 before he got hit nastily and was retired hurt. Bloody OASP. The rest of the innings was made, almost exclusively, of people getting in and then getting out again. The only other single figures scores came from 10 and Jack, as promise was shown, but progress not made.

Watson and Warner knocked off the 46 needed in 11.3 overs, and the predictable result had been achieved.

Series State - 1-0 Australia, 2 to play.
Batting Award - Adrian Barath (Okay, there was a dearth of batting in this test.)
Bowling Award - Dwayne Bravo (Very nice performance, and surprising with it.)

Where's Marlon Samuels :O

Is not here good enough? No, I mean, with Sarwan, Gayle and Nash not having beefs with my cricket board, he is a little down the pecking order as of now.

Team News - I know you're all upset about the injury to the OASP, and it's a nasty one. A broken arm (if it wasn't his right I'd drag him out anyway!) leaves us 11 weeks without Gayle, and Lendl Simmons replaces him in the squad and team for the 2nd test.

[Alrounder80]

Where's Marlon Samuels :O

[Imager36]

For those of you who have been watching the forum religiously for the past years, you may well know that, in both ICC09 and ICC11, I started stories with the West Indies. I know there are an overload of stories here right now, as there always are at this time of year, but trust me, this one will last a good while!

The good thing about playing as the West Indies, from my point of view, is that I cannot be expected to win anything, and therefore can only succeed! Also, I have no gripes with any players, and the same for them with me, so I have a slightly stronger player base than in real life. Anyway, first up, in case you are unsure, this is the Golden Isles' schedule for the first season.

• April 2012 - Australia, Home, 3 Tests.
• May/June 2012 - England, Away, 2 FC friendlies, 3 Tests, 1 OD friendly, 3 ODIs, 1 T20I.
• June/August 2012 - New Zealand, Home, 2 T20Is, 5 ODIs, 2 Tests.
• Sep/Oct 2012 - T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, Australia and Ireland in initial group.
• Nov/Dec 2012 - Bangladesh, Away, 1 FC friendly, 2 Tests, 1 OD friendly, 5 ODIs, 2 T20Is.
• Jan/Feb 2013 - Sri Lanka, Australia, Home, Double Round Robin ODI Tournament, 3 leg final.
• March 2013 - Zimbabwe, Home, 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 2 T20Is.

Archive

2012/13 - Preview Review Summary
2013/14 - Preview Review Summary
2014/15 - Preview Review Summary