Pathetic England Defeated By West Indies
Gayle Hits 8 Sixes As England Batsmen Perform Awfully
Mar 27, 2009
Before the first one day international West Indian bowler Darren Sammy told reporters that the West Indies intended “to grind them (England) into the ground”. Well Sammy has been vindicated after England were dismantled in an eight wicket defeat at the hands of the West Indies in the 3rd one day international at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. It took the Windies just 14.5 overs to reach the measly target of 117, led by an astonishing 43 ball 80 (including 8 sixes) by captain Chris Gayle.
England's Batting Performance Was Inept
Not for the first time on this tour England’s batting line-up produced a totally inept display on what must have been considered a excellent batting pitch, albeit a touch of pace and bounce. Only Dimitri Mascarenhas showed any fight with a turgid 76 ball 36. The total of 177 all out in 41.3 overs was England’s 15th lowest score ever in one day internationals. The ease at which the English top seven gave their wickets away, with ill-judged cuts and hooks, will be of high concern to the acting coach Andy Flower with two one day internationals still to play.
Is England's Batting Line-up Balance Correct?
It is clear that England are still trying to find a consistent, winning formula when it comes to one-day cricket and this pitiful display once again highlights key problems in the balance of the batting line-up. It is becoming an ever increasing sad fact that England rely on three key players (Pietersen, Collingwood and Shah) to post challenging totals. The failure to replace Marcus Trescothick, at the top of the order, has led to England struggling to make use of the powerplay overs. It is evident that Andrew Strauss isn’t the player to do this job and Ravi Bopara is also unconvincing in this role.
Perhaps it is time to consider giving Andrew Flintoff an opportunity to open the innings with a license to hit the ball. However with his recent injury problems, it is clear that Flintoff’s batting lacks rhythm and form. Therefore Matt Prior should be the man to be given the opportunity. He is in a decent run of form and his 49 ball 61 on the final morning of the final test in Trinidad, earlier in the tour, showed he has the ability to pinch-hit. As for the middle order this display can hopefully be considered a blip but for England to start winning, a successful opening partnership must be found and developed quickly.
Praise the West Indies Performance
However, England’s ineptness must not detract away from the brilliance of Chris Gayle and his team, who were truly electric from the opening delivery of the game. The bowling attack, led by the fiery Fidel Edwards and canny Dwayne Bravo, performed superbly in slightly helpful conditions and simply remained patient until the batsmen made an inevitable mistake. As for Gayle, who had been quiet in the series with the bat until this game, gave the partisan crowd a day to remember by showing the English batsmen how good the pitch was by effortlessly smacking the English bowling attack around the Kensington Oval.
England will return to the same ground on Sunday for the fourth one day international, followed by a trip to St. Lucia on Friday, with Strauss and Flower facing another monumental task to lift the players’ spirits for the second time on the tour. They received a response last time, with Strauss leading from the front, but with the long tour reaching its climax; no-one will be surprised if England slip to defeat thus losing their 4th ODI series out of the last 5.
