England under DaveK

[DaveK93]

England vs West Indies First T20 International

Team selection:
I chose the same 15 as the ODI series, for a bit of continuity, and looking at players that could make the 30 man shortlist for the T20 World Cup, to be announced after the first test against South Africa.

The eleven that actually play are:
A Hales
J Roy
J Taylor
J Bairstow
R Hamilton-Brown
C Kieswetter
S Patel
C Woakes
J Harris
J Dernbach
D Briggs

The WIndies XI is the same as the one that played the last ODI.

Toss: England lose the toss and bowl. Again…

Match Report:

I apologise in advance for the quality of this report, I played the match last night, and didn’t manage to stay awake long enough to type up the report!

A good match for the youngsters. The bowlers did struggle to start with, but a flurry of late wickets saw us get back into the match, but 181 was always going to be a tough task, for some young debutants.
In the end, it was easier than it looked. Kieswetter and Hales put a few runs on the board before Hales went. Rory H-Brown fell cheaply, before Taylor stepped up to get a good 24. When Jason Roy came in though, that’s when the major damage was done. A good, strong innings from him saw the Surrey youngster reach 61, ably supported by Jonny Bairstow, who hit a quick 44, as we reached the target with ease.



Not going to bother with the series stats for this, there was only one game after all. So onwards to the ODI series against the Aussies!

[DaveK93]

Third ODI:

Teams: Roy, Root, Briggs and Topley all come in for this dead rubber, Taylor, Kieswetter, Harris and Fletcher miss out. Windies remain unchanged.

Toss: England lose it and bowl first, for the third time this series.

Match Report:
It’s a dead rubber, so only a quick report. West Indies were skittled out for a low score, with some good bowling from the attack. Reece Topley dismissed Chanderpaul for the 3rd time in 3 innings, a great achievement for the 18 year old Essex bowling.

Our batting was again effective. Hales and Chopra played well, and a half century for Joe Root on debut, meant that we reached the target safely.



Batting Award: Joe Root, a good performance on debut.
Bowling Award: Danny Briggs, took the wickets of 4 batsmen, despite being a little expensive.

England Stats:



Topley's average should read as 8.50, apologies for it not showing up.

WIndies Stats:

[DaveK93]

Second ODI

Teams: No changes for England, Ramdin in for Samuels for the WIndies.
Toss: England lose and bowl first…

Match Report:

Another comfortable victory for us. Dernbach and Woakes did some major damage to the WIndies batting order again, limiting them to 217-9. It was never going to be a big enough total, as all the bowlers were economical. Fletcher was unlucky not to take a wicket, but bowled well against the openers. He would probably have been better bowling as first change, but he is unlikely to play the next match as I look to rotate players.

We batted sensibly again. This time it was Alex Hales out of the openers to get the half century, a player I know well from my Nottinghamshire story. Rory Hamilton-Brown also chipped in a brisk 48, suggesting he may be worth a look at for the upcoming T20 World Cup later this season.



Batting Award: Alex Hales, a good half century, and provided stability to the innings

Bowling Award: Jade Dernbach, an opening spell of 5-2-5-2, and then a couple of wickets late on, for a good performance.

[DaveK93]

You are playing some interesting XIs but it seems to be working for you so keep it up!

It was against a weaker side so I decided I could get away with it! It did work fairly well, so I'm quite happy with that, and I have a few new players tested. It makes my selection job a little easier

[KGKOOLKAT777]

1st ODI

England:
A Hales
V Chopra
J Taylor
J Bairstow
R Hamilton-Brown
C Kieswetter
S Patel
C Woakes
J Harris
J Dernbach
L Fletcher

WIndies:
A Barath
K Powell
S Chanderpaul
D Bravo
K Edwards
M Samuels
N Deonarine
D Sammy
R Rampaul
S Shillingford
K Roach

Toss: England loss the toss, and bowl first. I won’t complain, it was what I planned to do anyway.

Match Report:

A comfortable victory for the youngsters. We bowled well, as none of the batsmen were allowed to get settled. A great spell by Woakes saw three of the middle order fall, as only Kirk Edwards really managed to make the most of his start. Dernbach worked his way through the tail late on in the innings, but we bowled them out for a chaseable total.

Knowing that we didn’t have to chase particularly quickly, we leisurely made our way towards the target. All the batsmen contributed, the best of those being from Varun Chopra, the youngster playing a sensible innings of 68, falling just before we reached victory. The chase was perhaps a little slow in places, but we were under no major pressure, so I’m happy with the game as a whole.



Batting Award: Varun Chopra, a good one day innings for the opener

Bowling Award: Chris Woakes, a devastating spell in the middle of the order crippled the WIndies innings.

You are playing some interesting XIs but it seems to be working for you so keep it up!

[DaveK93]

1st ODI

England:
A Hales
V Chopra
J Taylor
J Bairstow
R Hamilton-Brown
C Kieswetter
S Patel
C Woakes
J Harris
J Dernbach
L Fletcher

WIndies:
A Barath
K Powell
S Chanderpaul
D Bravo
K Edwards
M Samuels
N Deonarine
D Sammy
R Rampaul
S Shillingford
K Roach

Toss: England loss the toss, and bowl first. I won’t complain, it was what I planned to do anyway.

Match Report:

A comfortable victory for the youngsters. We bowled well, as none of the batsmen were allowed to get settled. A great spell by Woakes saw three of the middle order fall, as only Kirk Edwards really managed to make the most of his start. Dernbach worked his way through the tail late on in the innings, but we bowled them out for a chaseable total.

Knowing that we didn’t have to chase particularly quickly, we leisurely made our way towards the target. All the batsmen contributed, the best of those being from Varun Chopra, the youngster playing a sensible innings of 68, falling just before we reached victory. The chase was perhaps a little slow in places, but we were under no major pressure, so I’m happy with the game as a whole.



Batting Award: Varun Chopra, a good one day innings for the opener

Bowling Award: Chris Woakes, a devastating spell in the middle of the order crippled the WIndies innings.

[DaveK93]

That's maybe why I'm struggling so much in the long format compared to the short ones - I just play the games straight through, without the pauses, and write up after. Maybe I get stuck in the game a little bit. Or maybe the players are all Shahid Afridi.

I usually find the shorter games harder, because I have less room for manouevre - at least with the Tests, if I do something wrong, I have 4 days left to cover it, as opposed to 50 overs I don't always break in the middle - I haven't had to yet - but it is a useful option to have. And perhaps, Shahid isn't exactly getting rave reviews on here

[Imager36]

I found days to be slightly easier, because I could stop at the end of the day. I intitially thought that I would be struggling, by finishing at the end of the day, I could leave it for a bit, and have a think.

That's maybe why I'm struggling so much in the long format compared to the short ones - I just play the games straight through, without the pauses, and write up after. Maybe I get stuck in the game a little bit. Or maybe the players are all Shahid Afridi.

[DaveK93]

England vs West Indies One Day Series

A weakened squad has been selected here, to rest players for the upcoming matches against the Aussies. It also gives us a chance to look at some newcomers in preparation for the next World Cup, as I mentioned previously. There’s no point in selecting someone who may not be available for it, so I may as well start looking now.

England:
A Hales
V Chopra
J Roy
J Taylor
J Bairstow
S Patel
C Woakes
R Topley
D Briggs
J Harris
J Dernbach
L Fletcher
J Root
C Kieswetter
R Hamilton-Brown

It’s a good squad, with a couple of experienced players at this level, but the players selected are more than capable otherwise I wouldn’t have picked them. There is also a wide range of different batting styles in the squad, with Patel, Kieswetter and H-Brown all very quick, powerful hitters, and will be useful during the powerplays.

For reference, the WIndies have picked the same squad as the tests, but are still without a keeper, at least for the first match, as Ramdin is still out for a day. Bravo is likely to take his place,but this is unconfirmed.

[DaveK93]

Everyone's far too nice to me on here. You're doing it well. I only do it with innings paragraphs instead of days because with days there is a chance I'll have to write 5. I hope you have great success with England - Based on your Notts performances, we're looking at beating South Africa, right?

I found days to be slightly easier, because I could stop at the end of the day. I intitially thought that I would be struggling, by finishing at the end of the day, I could leave it for a bit, and have a think.

And thanks, I fully intend to beat SAfrica, a lot of the players I'm considering I know from Nottinghamshire, so that may be helpful!

[Imager36]

Imager36's story seems to be very good for formatting on an international level, so something half as good as that would suit me.

Everyone's far too nice to me on here. You're doing it well. I only do it with innings paragraphs instead of days because with days there is a chance I'll have to write 5. I hope you have great success with England - Based on your Notts performances, we're looking at beating South Africa, right?

[DaveK93]

England Test Stats

I'm not going into excessive detail, but here are the stats:

England:



West Indies:



I got to look at a lot of England players in this series, and some did well. It's certainly given me a lot to think about. Usually, these stats will go in the post for the last game of the series, but I completely forgot! My apologies

I have finished the WIndies tour of England now, so expect to see the ODI and T20I games appear on here soon.

[DaveK93]

No Problem but You can put ranking chart after every session or series

Although description is good

I'm considering doing it every season, or perhaps twice; end of the domestic season, and the start. It's something to look at.

And thanks, I have been trying to be a little bit more detailed on this one, and I quite like the format I'm using this time. Imager36's story seems to be very good for formatting on an international level, so something half as good as that would suit me.

[cricfan1]

It's normal mode, and the rankings are 3rd in tests, 1st in ODI, and 2nd in T20Is. Sorry, probably should have put that at the start

No Problem but You can put ranking chart after every session or series

Although description is good

[DaveK93]

What is current Ranking of England

Is this easy or normal mode

It's normal mode, and the rankings are 3rd in tests, 1st in ODI, and 2nd in T20Is. Sorry, probably should have put that at the start