The Googly

You've just dropped the World Cup old son

Hershelle Gibbs drops Steve Waugh, and the trophy at the World Cup in 1999.

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Does Peter Moores need a new bowler for England?

Inevitably after a poor England performance there are shouts for change and names start to be bandied around as possible replacements for the men who have just "let the side down". Already we've heard a rumour that Andy Caddick is now on the list - his County record this season shows an astonishing 62 wickets taken in 13 matches, but his selection really would be a surprise. Having made his Test debut in 1993 against Australia, he went on to take 234 Test wickets in his 62 appearances  before retiring from International cricket after the World Cup in 2003.

Despite Caddick's sterling work for Somerset over the past years, to pick him again now really would not be building for the future. In order of their respective ages, three more possible names have been popping up on the airwaves and in print - all doing well for their counties they are: Steve Kirby (29 years-old), Graeme Swann (28) and Kabir Ali (26).  All have flirted with the England squad at one time or another, and all might feel that if injury continues to ravage the England bowling attack that they could be in with a chance.

Kirby has been a key performer for Gloucestershire this season - his latest showing against Essex (ten wickets in a winning cause) could give Mr Moores pause for thought. Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire) is positively unavoidable on the airwaves. Not only does he have a regular slot on 5Live's Saturday Sports show, but last weekend saw him contributing to the coverage of Twenty20 Finals Day. An extremely likeable and humorous character of the game, he toured South Africa back in 2000 and played a single One-Day International. He didn't keep his place - as a spinner his role was always seen as standing-in for the then injured Ashley Giles and perhaps due to his irreverent attitude, he fell out of favour. A campaign by his fans to see him back in the England side is probably doomed to failure, but is certainly keeping his name in the public consciousness.

Perhaps the man most likely to prosper from others' misfortune is Kabir Ali (pictured). He has recently played for the England Lions against the West Indies and may be working his way back into favour after his disasterous One-Day experience against Sri Lanka in 2006 - he went for more than seven an over in two matches. His recent five for 46 in the Pro40 match against Nottinghamshire will have done his chances no harm at all.

[Image: Getty] [mimitg]

Ashley Giles calls time on cricket career

Some two months ago, after Ashley Giles had been a constant presence in the Test Match Special commentary box at Headingley, I suggested that perhaps he had bowled his last over and that has been confirmed today. I also mentioned that he has a very nice voice for radio, and listening to him today talking about both his playing past and what the future will bring, I am happy to confirm that too!

Praise and plaudits are already flooding in for this most under-rated and extremely modest man and we here at The Googly add our thanks for the cricket he played for us, and wish him all the best for the future. We understand that Ashley will be continuing his role as a nascent broadcaster as he accompanies the TMS team to Sri Lanka this coming winter. It is fitting perhaps, that a new career behind the microphone may well be consolidated in the country where during the 2003-04 tour, Ashley (after remodelling his action and suffering a torrid time in Bangladesh) emerged as a true star of the team with 18 wickets in the series and a matchsaving stand with the bat in the first Test at Galle.

Never a true allrounder, Giles worked hard with the bat and his Test-best 59 in a century partnership with Kevin Pietersen at the Oval in 2005 ensured that England won that glorious Ashes series. He is one of an exclusive club of only ten cricketers who have made 1000 Test runs and taken 100 Test wickets. Not bad for a "Wheelie-bin".

I'll leave other sites to go into all the details and statistics about Gilo's international career. What shines out for me about Ashley and why I'll miss him in the England side is not facts or figures but that he's always been the most honest, honourable and humble of cricketers who genuinely loves the game and feels fortunate that he's had his chance to play at the highest level.

In his own words: "I've lived in the cricket bubble, and now it's burst. I'll have to go and find some work now!"

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Durham ready to sign Chanderpaul

If you thought you'd seen the back of Shiv Chanderpaul for the time being, how very wrong you were. England one-day captain Paul Collingwood must be more sick of the sight of him than most, which makes it highly amusing that the pair are set to be county team-mates in the very near future.

Chanderpaul has never played county cricket before, and is pencilled in to take the place of Scott Styris, who will be returning to New Zealand shortly. He will join Michael di Venuto as one of Durham's overseas players once he has his working visa sorted out, which the county hope will be in time for him to play from the start of August. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Windies legends offer helping hand

Despite the West Indies wins in the ODIs giving a positive end to the England tour, no-one can say the side don't have problems and keep a straight face.  So it should come as great news to natives that legends Curtly Ambrose, Desmond Haynes, and former players Kenny Benjamin and Jimmy Adams have offered their services to assist the WICB in their rebuilding plans.

"I think it's at rock-bottom now," said 116-test veteran Haynes.  "I believe we have the people in the Caribbean to get it up from rock-bottom.

"I don't know why in God's world that they could not be looking at the present West Indies team and situation and start looking at past players and say: 'Come on, you guys are feeling the hurt as much as we are. Let's get our heads together and try to see if we can revitalise West Indies cricket."

Ambrose echoed this statement, "I'm just amazed that here in the Caribbean, knowing our cricket is in such serious trouble, they have failed to ask us for our services when we have said so plainly that we'd like to help."

Given that the WICB have just come into some money, they would be stupid not to take up these offers.  What say you?

Pietersen - "I'm crap because I'm knackered" (sort of)

Kevin Pietersen has reignited the perpetually warm embers of the player burnout argument by blaming fatigue for his shocking form in the recent One-day series against the West Indies.  "Right now I'm mentally fatigued, I'm just a very, very tired person," Pietersen told BBC Radio Five Live.

It's easy to see why when you look at it, KP has not had a break since the Summer of 2005, other than his injury lay-off in Australia earlier this year.  "I think I had about a month off when I broke my rib in Australia, which was magnificent. I felt refreshed and I had a pretty sensational World Cup." Pietersen said.

It comes to something when the treadmill is so relentless and oppressive, that players are pleased to get a minor injury so that they can get off for a few weeks to recuperate.  This snippet from Pietersen should be a wake-up call for everybody.  [Image: Getty]

Cricket Look-a-likes: Paul Collingwood

After a poor week for the England team, things only got worse yesterday for St Paul of Collingwood's long-lost brother, Jonas Bjorkman. There I was sitting quietly in the calm after yet another great Australian victory (Robbie McEwen blazing up the blind side to steal the first sprint of Le Tour in Canterbury - I just love those men in lycra!), and out of the corner of my eye, I swear I thought Paul was wielding a racket down in SW19. Shock! Then I realised it was another loser.

Not a good time for the strawberry-blonds. Jonas lost out to the least-famous Scotsman of tennis - that'd be Andy's brother Jamie then. And England swept to a magnificent defeat on Saturday to what is virtually a scratch team from the West Indies.

It's hard to see how England can pull themselves out of the mire to face India in the One-day game. Maybe Paul and Jonas should swop trades?

[mimitig]

Third one-day international: West Indies 289-5, England 196 all out

When you're afflicted with a summer cold, your nose is streaming and your head is aching, the last thing you really want to do is watch the England one-day side.

But it's my job, and today it was my duty to work out what aspects of the madness I was watching was fever- and delirium-induced, and what was actually unfolding on the pitch at Trent Bridge.

Most of it was genuine England incompetence. Wayward bowling, inept fielding and dismal batting. Sound familiar at all? Runako Morton and Chris Gayle did well with the bat for the Windies, but they were ably assisted by their very generous hosts, who gifted them extras and singles and overthrows wherever possible. Daren Powell was the pick of the Windies bowlers, with 4-40, taking out both openers in those figures.

The Windies wrapped up a well-deserved series win, and it's back to the drawing board for Peter Moores, Paul Collingwood and the rest of the hierarchy before the limited-overs games against India next month. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Is it boundaries that make the difference?

After England's supine ODI performance against the weakest Windies team in living memory, we can expect some changes before Colly's pyjamaed troops take to the field again - let's hope so anyway.

One of the phrases being bandied about by the punditocracy is "boundary count". That England need more boundary hitters is the panacea of the week. As ever, the pundits hadn't done any homework, so couldn't actually offer any evidence for their view, so the Trumpet (with the help of howstat.com) looked at ten recent close ODI finishes to ascertain whether boundaries made the difference.

21 April 2007: England (30 boundaries) beat West Indies (37 boundaries) by one wicket.

4 April 2007: Sri Lanka (16 boundaries) beat England (20 boundaries) by two runs.

28 March 2007: South Africa (15 boundaries) beat Sri Lanka (18 boundaries) by one wicket.

20 February 2007: New Zealand (43 boundaries) beat Australia (39 boundaries) by one wicket. (Hurrah!)

11 February 2007: Sri Lanka (29 boundaries) beat India (23 boundaries) by five runs.

9 February 2007: England (13 boundaries) beat Australia (17 boundaries) by four wickets. (Hurrah!)

16 January 2007: England (15 boundaries) beat New Zealand (17 boundaries) by three wickets.

31 December 2006: New Zealand (20 boundaries) beat Sri Lanka (22 boundaries) by one wicket.

7 December 2006: Pakistan (12 boundaries) beat West Indies (10 boundaries) by two wickets.

26 October 2006: West Indies (23 boundaries) beat India (22 boundaries) by three wickets.

So in close recent matches the boundary count winners have run out match winners just four times out of ten. So much for that theory - at least in tight games.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

Mediawatch with Bell and Colly

Another Friday came and went as I trawled the airwaves and web pages for some exciting insights from cricketers in the media. A pretty fruitless activity, and I wished I could turn back the clock just a little and hear again the almost hysterical laughter of Dazz and Tuffers as they ended their broadcast on Thursday. That would have been more entertaining than the everlasting yawn that is Paul Collingwood at the BBC. We all know that the thorn in England's flesh in this current One-day series is Shiv Chanderpaul and if England didn't have "theories as to how we might get him out" it would be more than a tad concerning. Sadly Paul continues "we'll get that bit of luck or a magic ball which gets him out early". Sounds like a good plan, Paul! If Shiv's ankle comes up well, and it's looking good, and he plays today, no doubt Paul will be hoping Harry Potter can hang around Trent Bridge with his wizarding wand.

That was about as good as it got from England's captain this week. We learned that Monty is still a part of England's One-day plans - no explanation of why he'd been left out at Edgbaston. We also discovered that England is still "learning and experimenting and finding out which (sic) are the best players in these certain conditions and situations ... getting the balance right in the side." Predictable rubbish all, really, and disappointing from a man who we know can speak fluently and interestingly on his sport.

No wonder I went to bed on Friday eagerly awaiting a Bell column in today's Guardian only to have my hopes dashed. The Bell-Boy's gone missing, and I for one can't wait for his return.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Ashley Giles calls time on cricket career

Some two months ago, after Ashley Giles had been a constant presence in the Test Match Special commentary box at Headingley, I suggested that perhaps he had bowled his last over and that has been confirmed today. I also mentioned that he has a very nice voice for radio, and listening to him today talking about both his playing past and what the future will bring, I am happy to confirm that too!

Praise and plaudits are already flooding in for this most under-rated and extremely modest man and we here at The Googly add our thanks for the cricket he played for us, and wish him all the best for the future. We understand that Ashley will be continuing his role as a nascent broadcaster as he accompanies the TMS team to Sri Lanka this coming winter. It is fitting perhaps, that a new career behind the microphone may well be consolidated in the country where during the 2003-04 tour, Ashley (after remodelling his action and suffering a torrid time in Bangladesh) emerged as a true star of the team with 18 wickets in the series and a matchsaving stand with the bat in the first Test at Galle.

Never a true allrounder, Giles worked hard with the bat and his Test-best 59 in a century partnership with Kevin Pietersen at the Oval in 2005 ensured that England won that glorious Ashes series. He is one of an exclusive club of only ten cricketers who have made 1000 Test runs and taken 100 Test wickets. Not bad for a "Wheelie-bin".

I'll leave other sites to go into all the details and statistics about Gilo's international career. What shines out for me about Ashley and why I'll miss him in the England side is not facts or figures but that he's always been the most honest, honourable and humble of cricketers who genuinely loves the game and feels fortunate that he's had his chance to play at the highest level.

In his own words: "I've lived in the cricket bubble, and now it's burst. I'll have to go and find some work now!"

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Durham ready to sign Chanderpaul

If you thought you'd seen the back of Shiv Chanderpaul for the time being, how very wrong you were. England one-day captain Paul Collingwood must be more sick of the sight of him than most, which makes it highly amusing that the pair are set to be county team-mates in the very near future.

Chanderpaul has never played county cricket before, and is pencilled in to take the place of Scott Styris, who will be returning to New Zealand shortly. He will join Michael di Venuto as one of Durham's overseas players once he has his working visa sorted out, which the county hope will be in time for him to play from the start of August. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Windies legends offer helping hand

Despite the West Indies wins in the ODIs giving a positive end to the England tour, no-one can say the side don't have problems and keep a straight face.  So it should come as great news to natives that legends Curtly Ambrose, Desmond Haynes, and former players Kenny Benjamin and Jimmy Adams have offered their services to assist the WICB in their rebuilding plans.

"I think it's at rock-bottom now," said 116-test veteran Haynes.  "I believe we have the people in the Caribbean to get it up from rock-bottom.

"I don't know why in God's world that they could not be looking at the present West Indies team and situation and start looking at past players and say: 'Come on, you guys are feeling the hurt as much as we are. Let's get our heads together and try to see if we can revitalise West Indies cricket."

Ambrose echoed this statement, "I'm just amazed that here in the Caribbean, knowing our cricket is in such serious trouble, they have failed to ask us for our services when we have said so plainly that we'd like to help."

Given that the WICB have just come into some money, they would be stupid not to take up these offers.  What say you?

Pietersen - "I'm crap because I'm knackered" (sort of)

Kevin Pietersen has reignited the perpetually warm embers of the player burnout argument by blaming fatigue for his shocking form in the recent One-day series against the West Indies.  "Right now I'm mentally fatigued, I'm just a very, very tired person," Pietersen told BBC Radio Five Live.

It's easy to see why when you look at it, KP has not had a break since the Summer of 2005, other than his injury lay-off in Australia earlier this year.  "I think I had about a month off when I broke my rib in Australia, which was magnificent. I felt refreshed and I had a pretty sensational World Cup." Pietersen said.

It comes to something when the treadmill is so relentless and oppressive, that players are pleased to get a minor injury so that they can get off for a few weeks to recuperate.  This snippet from Pietersen should be a wake-up call for everybody.  [Image: Getty]

Cricket Look-a-likes: Paul Collingwood

After a poor week for the England team, things only got worse yesterday for St Paul of Collingwood's long-lost brother, Jonas Bjorkman. There I was sitting quietly in the calm after yet another great Australian victory (Robbie McEwen blazing up the blind side to steal the first sprint of Le Tour in Canterbury - I just love those men in lycra!), and out of the corner of my eye, I swear I thought Paul was wielding a racket down in SW19. Shock! Then I realised it was another loser.

Not a good time for the strawberry-blonds. Jonas lost out to the least-famous Scotsman of tennis - that'd be Andy's brother Jamie then. And England swept to a magnificent defeat on Saturday to what is virtually a scratch team from the West Indies.

It's hard to see how England can pull themselves out of the mire to face India in the One-day game. Maybe Paul and Jonas should swop trades?

[mimitig]

Third one-day international: West Indies 289-5, England 196 all out

When you're afflicted with a summer cold, your nose is streaming and your head is aching, the last thing you really want to do is watch the England one-day side.

But it's my job, and today it was my duty to work out what aspects of the madness I was watching was fever- and delirium-induced, and what was actually unfolding on the pitch at Trent Bridge.

Most of it was genuine England incompetence. Wayward bowling, inept fielding and dismal batting. Sound familiar at all? Runako Morton and Chris Gayle did well with the bat for the Windies, but they were ably assisted by their very generous hosts, who gifted them extras and singles and overthrows wherever possible. Daren Powell was the pick of the Windies bowlers, with 4-40, taking out both openers in those figures.

The Windies wrapped up a well-deserved series win, and it's back to the drawing board for Peter Moores, Paul Collingwood and the rest of the hierarchy before the limited-overs games against India next month. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Is it boundaries that make the difference?

After England's supine ODI performance against the weakest Windies team in living memory, we can expect some changes before Colly's pyjamaed troops take to the field again - let's hope so anyway.

One of the phrases being bandied about by the punditocracy is "boundary count". That England need more boundary hitters is the panacea of the week. As ever, the pundits hadn't done any homework, so couldn't actually offer any evidence for their view, so the Trumpet (with the help of howstat.com) looked at ten recent close ODI finishes to ascertain whether boundaries made the difference.

21 April 2007: England (30 boundaries) beat West Indies (37 boundaries) by one wicket.

4 April 2007: Sri Lanka (16 boundaries) beat England (20 boundaries) by two runs.

28 March 2007: South Africa (15 boundaries) beat Sri Lanka (18 boundaries) by one wicket.

20 February 2007: New Zealand (43 boundaries) beat Australia (39 boundaries) by one wicket. (Hurrah!)

11 February 2007: Sri Lanka (29 boundaries) beat India (23 boundaries) by five runs.

9 February 2007: England (13 boundaries) beat Australia (17 boundaries) by four wickets. (Hurrah!)

16 January 2007: England (15 boundaries) beat New Zealand (17 boundaries) by three wickets.

31 December 2006: New Zealand (20 boundaries) beat Sri Lanka (22 boundaries) by one wicket.

7 December 2006: Pakistan (12 boundaries) beat West Indies (10 boundaries) by two wickets.

26 October 2006: West Indies (23 boundaries) beat India (22 boundaries) by three wickets.

So in close recent matches the boundary count winners have run out match winners just four times out of ten. So much for that theory - at least in tight games.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

Mediawatch with Bell and Colly

Another Friday came and went as I trawled the airwaves and web pages for some exciting insights from cricketers in the media. A pretty fruitless activity, and I wished I could turn back the clock just a little and hear again the almost hysterical laughter of Dazz and Tuffers as they ended their broadcast on Thursday. That would have been more entertaining than the everlasting yawn that is Paul Collingwood at the BBC. We all know that the thorn in England's flesh in this current One-day series is Shiv Chanderpaul and if England didn't have "theories as to how we might get him out" it would be more than a tad concerning. Sadly Paul continues "we'll get that bit of luck or a magic ball which gets him out early". Sounds like a good plan, Paul! If Shiv's ankle comes up well, and it's looking good, and he plays today, no doubt Paul will be hoping Harry Potter can hang around Trent Bridge with his wizarding wand.

That was about as good as it got from England's captain this week. We learned that Monty is still a part of England's One-day plans - no explanation of why he'd been left out at Edgbaston. We also discovered that England is still "learning and experimenting and finding out which (sic) are the best players in these certain conditions and situations ... getting the balance right in the side." Predictable rubbish all, really, and disappointing from a man who we know can speak fluently and interestingly on his sport.

No wonder I went to bed on Friday eagerly awaiting a Bell column in today's Guardian only to have my hopes dashed. The Bell-Boy's gone missing, and I for one can't wait for his return.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

West Indies wait on Chanderpaul injury

Great news for the England bowling attack! Chanderpaul the Invincible is still struggling to shake off his ankle injury sustained in the Second ODI at Edgbaston.

Crystal Gayle, however, will not let a trifling thing like a damaged ligament prevent his star turn from taking the field at Trent Bridge.  "I will push him out there on Saturday if necessary! It doesn't matter if he has to go out there on one leg. Hopefully he can make it," said the Windies captain.

Not that they are reliant on him or anything, but Shiv's runs have accounted for 40% of the West Indies' total in the previous two ODIs.
[Image: Getty]

James "Scrapper" Anderson fined half his match fee

A bad day for Jimmy Anderson has just got worse.  Not only did the Lancashire seamer get carved all over the park, conceding  78 runs from his ten overs, he has now had 50% of his match fee taken from his sweaty palm after clashing with Windies batsman Runako Morton.  Jimmy barged Morton during the game leading to a verbal exchange between the two.

Anderson was found to be in contravention of rule 2.4 regarding "inappropriate, deliberate physical contact" with another player by the match referee.  Morton has had no sanctions placed on him as the referee felt that he was the victim in the situation.

In other disciplinary news from the match, Stuart Broad, bless him, has had a word in his shell-like from the powers that be for wearing a white lycra bodysuit, which was visible under his coloured uniform.  The cad.  [Image: Getty]

Snap of the Day: Colly's face sums it all up

Paul Collingwood grimaces at being trapped LBW for 1 yesterday at Edgbaston,  but his face pretty much reflects the feelings of all England fans about the whole match.

[Image: Getty]

Bring back Mal Loye

The splendidly named Malachy Bernard Loye may have had his days in the sun in Australia, but the way the England top order are currently performing in the One-day series, makes me think the clouds might part again for Lancashire's Loye and we may see him in the England pyjamas soon.

Although not now in the frame to be a Test cricketer, Loye seemed to be heading all the way to international selection as a junior. He played for England at the Under-19 level and was picked for England A in 1993-94. Named PCA Cricketer of the Year in 1998, he was expecting, confidently and with good reason, to be in the Test team for the final match of the summer against Sri Lanka. Steve James played instead and it wasn't until the Commonwealth Bank series this year that Loye appeared for his country. A debut at Brisbane brought a run-a-ball total of 36 and then came 45 (off 61) at Sydney. Although these runs contributed to a win at Sydney (and the series overall), Loye lost his place to the returning Michael Vaughan for the doomed trip to the Caribbean.

Another chance could be on the cards now as England fails to find a solution to their One-day woes, and Loye sits atop the Lancashire Twenty20 table with an average of 74.33.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Second ODI, England vs West Indies, Edgbaston - West Indies win by 61 runs

England did not look exactly convincing in victory during the first ODI of this series, and the somewhat mediocre form manifested itself in a flaccid and fairly predictable defeat at Edgbaston in the rain affected second match.

Things started brightly for Paul Collingwood's men as they won the toss, and after deciding to field Jimmy Anderson had the dangerous Devon Smith caught behind early for 17.  That was about as bright as things were to get for England as this simply brought the combined irresistible force and immovable object that is Shiv Chanderpaul to the crease.  He duly went on to score and breathtakingly accomplished 116 off 122 balls as once again the England attack scratched their heads in search of a way to dislodge him; they failed and his partnership with Marlon Samuels (77) formed the foundation of their total of 278-5. With Flintoff injured and MS Panesar dropped (!) the home side once again looked to be lacking anyone who could make things happen in the middle overs, and the Windies bats feasted on what was on offer.

In response England toiled to a poor 217 all out.  Only Matt Prior (52) and Owais Shah (45) looked anything like being in control and likely to get a big score, both ultimately falling short.  A string of other batsmen made small starts before losing their wickets with only Ian Bell having any cause for complaint after a dodgy LBW decision.  Pick of the West Indies bowlers was the ever impressive Ravi Rampaul (above) with 4-41 from his ten overs, but the entire attack bowled aggressively and with no small amount of intelligence.  Is this really the same side that lost the Test series 3-0?

Calling James Benning

A pretty poor performance from England yesterday has led to a shout for James Benning to be called into the side. Well ever-willing, your correspondent has gone searching and can bring you these facts to help you make up your minds. Is he good enough?

A right-hand bat with a current First-class average with Surrey of just 34.88, he might not immediately spring to mind as worthy of the call. But this boy, he's still just 24 years-old, promised much as a school-boy and was chosen for the England Under-15s. In 2003 he was acclaimed as Surrey's most-promising newcomer and won a Denis Compton Award. He has made steady progress and his position in the tables does not reflect the skill and guts that got him his top score of 152 against Gloucestershire in April this year. In partnership with Ali Brown, they smashed their way to a world record One-day total at the Oval.

Enough, surely, for not only Guardian Unlimited's Andy Bull, but England to have an eye on him.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

How's Marcus?

Over a month ago I queried whether Marcus Trescothick's rehabilitation at Somerset was working. Today as I inexplicably found my radio tuned to Prime Minister's Question Time rather than the One-day international at Edgbaston, my thoughts wandered from Gordon Brown, to the brave West Countryman who used to open the England batting with flair and aplomb. His start to the season wasn't sparkling, but hard work and his innate talent seem to be paying dividends now. He sits fourth in the Somerset batting table behind only Hildreth, White and Langer with a very healthy average of 61.91 in First-class matches. After 4 matches, although Somerset are languishing at the bottom of the Midlands/West/Wales Division in the Twenty20 Cup, Marcus tops the batting with an average of 34.50.

In a recent interview with the Mail on Sunday he was honest about his feelings for the England team and how much he wants to be part of it again. He said he'd been watching every Test match thinking: "God, I miss this, I miss this a lot." Heartfelt words.

He has no illusions - knows he has to earn the whites, or the pyjamas again, but with doubts about the abilities of England's current openers, I hope the selectors are keeping a close eye on a man who was brave enough to be open about his stress-related problems. If England win today, perhaps Marcus could test his recovery with an appearance on the 7th July at Nottingham.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Holding - West Indies Cricket Board "don't have a clue"

Michael Holding is a man whose laid back manner hides a fierce love of cricket, a shrewd mind and forthright opinions; and today he has let the WICB have it with both barrels.

MIchael was holding (sorry!) court to BBC Sport when he fired the broadside at the the West Indies governing body's lack of action in developing a proper infrastructure for young talent to come through.  The former quick held nothing back, "It's time someone woke up and realised what is needed. I think many years ago they just sat down and the cricketers kept coming through and they thought they were doing their job - they weren't doing anything. It was just a natural thing that was happening in West Indies cricket at that time.

"And now that they actually have to try to do something they haven't got a clue what to do."

To muddy the already filthy waters even further Dr Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada, has stated that it is no longer possible for Caribbean governments not to be involved in the running of the game.  "Certainly, governments do not want to be involved in the selection of players, of teams and so on but to say that we should not be involved is ridiculous because we've already been involved significantly by the level of investment on behalf of the taxpayers," Mitchell said today.

I'm sure if anything will sort out cricket in the Caribbean it will be government interference; we all know what a raging success governments are when they get involved in anything that is outside of their basic remit of talking shite and ignoring the electorate. [Image: Getty]

Snap of the Day: Fidel Edwards is a happy man

Crystal Gayle runs towards fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who has gone slightly bananas after the wicket of Stuart Broad, bless him, gives him his five-fer in the defeat at Lord's. [Image: Getty]

First one-day international: England 225 all out, West Indies 146 all out - England win by 79 runs

A very strange one-day international at Lord's, as England took the lead in the three-game series.

Chris Gayle won the toss and decided his West Indies team would field first. Excellent work from Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul in tandem restricted Alastair Cook and Matt Prior in the opening PowerPlay overs, and as the wickets were worn away, the run-rate didn't increase vastly. It was Edwards who made the biggest breakthrough, ripping through the notorious lower order and bagging a five-fer.

Though the top five on the card all scored over 25, none of them went on to make a truly big knock, with Ian Bell top-scoring with 56 before he ran himself out like a foolish ball-watching schoolboy. The bottom six on the card, true to form, did next to nothing, and it was a very optimistic observer who thought England had done enough with the bat when Owais Shah, the tenth wicket, finally fell.

They had reckoned without a resurgent England pace attack. Liam Plunkett removed Gayle, then Jimmy Anderson grabbed a double wicket maiden, sending Runako Morton and Marlon Samuels packing, before Devon Smith was run out with the West Indies reeling on 13-4. Dwayne Bravo and Shiv Chanderpaul built a partnership to push their side on to 74, and then Stuart Broad, bless him, worked to carve through the middle order, taking out Bravo and Denesh Ramdin in the same over, followed by Dwayne Smith shortly afterwards.

Monty Panesar took the wicket of Daren Powell, but new batsman Ravi Rampaul dug his heels in and offered staunch support to the woefully mistreated Chanderpaul. When he fell on 135, the end was in sight, and England wrapped up the win with the farcical run-out of Edwards.

The Windies' run-rate wasn't bad - in fact, it was pretty much exactly the same as England's - but the flurried wickets and the utter lack of assistance for Chanderpaul from his top-order colleagues meant this was a victory at a canter for the hosts. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Snap of the Day: Andy Flower goes back to basics

"Now look Ali, this is the ball, it is round and it is white.  What I want you to do is clobber it as hard as you can over the top of the inner circle in the first 20 overs.  OK?"

Marlon Samuels' quicker ball

It has been heartening to see the belief and joy flood back into Chris Gayle's West Indies these past couple of days at The Oval. Leading the charge is a man not even selected for the Tour, Marlon Samuels (right), whose clean hitting has wowed commentators and fans alike.

He has also proved a useful bowler with the kind of "pace-off-the-ball" variations that batsmen find so easy to milk for six singles but so hard to do any more than that. Yesterday, he showed his brains too, snaring Colly stumped with a ball fired down at 78mph. Clever bowling... except that it wasn't bowling at all - it was throwing. Live it looked poor, the side-on replay was ugly, but my Sky+ freeze-frame was damning. This cannot have escaped the attentions of so meticulous a man as Peter Moores, who must surely have had a discreet word with the match referee. But what now? As I understand it, umpires must refer a suspect action to a panel which seems a bit long-winded. It would be better if Marlon just bowled it as he does his other deliveries, with which there is no problem at all. But if he does essay a 78mph throw again as blatantly as he did at The Oval, he should be called.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

The weekend's bright - Bell's back

I wrote a few days ago that I was missing Ian Bell this week - not just the fact that his injury (all well now we believe) kept him out of the Twenty20 side, but also no column in the Guardian. Fortunately, he hasn't been dropped from there, just moved. I wonder if a Saturday column is a promotion? If so, I'd say well-deserved as again he has written something really worth reading. It may seem obvious that one of the factors hindering big performances and wins for the England Twenty20 and One-day side has been a fear of failure, but it's refreshing to read it from a member of the team. Reading between the lines, it would seem that there has been an element of blame-culture in the dressing-room in recent years, and that one of the changes Peter Moores has made is to remove that aspect of the post-match de-brief.

When Ian tells us that Andy Flower (assistant coach) positively encourages players to talk to him or Moores about what their role is if any of them have any uncertaincy, it begs the question: did they not feel free to do this before? Bell's whole column rings of an openness within the set-up, that seems to be paying at least a few dividends already. Not least that we can continue to enjoy the sort of cricketers' media forays that we always hope for when one of them puts pen to paper.

Another nice peice of home-work from the Bell-Boy and I for one, find it encouraging that he should chose Ricky Ponting as a role-model. A winning mind-set, adorned with Allan Border medals, Test average of 59.29, One-day 43.31, and the world's leading batsman to boot - why not aspire to match the best?

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Second Twenty20 international: England 173-5 (19.3 overs) - England win by five wickets

A somewhat tense end to a good game of cricket saw Owais Shah and Dimitri Mascarenhas steer England home to draw the Twenty20 series against the West Indies.

As the Tooting Trumpet pointed out, Paul Collingwood was unlucky to be out for 27 to Marlon Samuels, whose action looked extremely suspect, but Shah's unbeaten 55 and Mascarenhas's contribution of 18 created an admirable sixth-wicket stand.

Matt Prior had whipped a quick 22 runs from 14 deliveries to set England off and running, but Jonathan Trott's rather disappointing display yesterday was not bolstered by a pitiful 2, and his was the third wicket to fall, as Ali Cook had long gone with 9 from nine.

Now it's time for the one-day series, and we all know how good both sides are in the 50-over format. Don't we? [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Second Twenty20 international: West Indies 169-7 (20 overs)

This was a much better bowling performance from the unchanged England attack against a determined and effervescent West Indies batting line-up. Chris Gayle led the charge, pummelling Ryan Sidebottom and Jimmy Anderson in the opening overs, and scoring 33 runs before Lendl Simmons had his first on the board.

Gayle eventually fell for 61 from 37 balls, with Marlon Samuels making the other major contribution of 42 off 20 deliveries, belting three magnificent sixes. The rest managed a scattering of tens and singles, except for Runako Morton who cracked 18.

Sidebottom and captain Paul Collingwood took two wickets apiece, with Anderson and Stuart Broad, bless him, picking up one each, and Dwayne Smith being run out by a fine piece of Kevin Pietersen fielding.

Jimmy Anderson, interviewed on the television, says that the team reviewed their tactics from yesterday and decided they probably bowled a bit short. Alternatively, they might have heard the commentary team plaintively shouting, "Bowl YORKERS!" [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Second Twenty20 international: England v West Indies

England are unchanged. Seriously. Obviously when you get tonked all round the place and there's lots of cloud cover and you've got a chance to respond immediately, you keep the same team and don't include the world's best finger-spinner.

The Windies line-up is as follows: Simmons, Gayle, Samuels, Richards, Morton, Bravo, Ramdin, Dwayne Smith, Sammy, Rampaul, Powell. They've won the toss and will be batting first at a rather gloomy Oval. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Tuffers at the match

After his debut commentating on the first Twenty20 of the season on 22nd June, it was great to see the BBC show faith in the "Cat" and bringing Phil Tufnell back for a share of the International match against the West Indies at the Brit Oval. As things got underway - Sidebottom bowling to Chris Gayle, our Phil seemed a bit tentative but soon got over any nerves. The throaty chuckle coming to the fore - though perhaps inappropriately as he laughed away the Southgate incident with "What is cricket coming to?"

I found it interesting that Jonathan Agnew, joining Phil in the box, seemed more enthused than for a long time. Perhaps Phil's informal style - including questionning if Aggers ever wore earrings, gave the veteran a little bit of whizz. "Do you think England look a little nervous in the field?" queried Phil - which after some missed shies at the stumps and failed attempts at catches seemed a sensible question. I've never heard Aggers concur with a colleague so heartily. It seems that Phil Tufnell's style is gloriously suited to the madness that is Twenty20 cricket and coverage, and his personality shines through the airwaves. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't have more of him in the first innings. It was great to have him back with Tony Cozier for the England innings. I liked how he questioned where the shots went: "Is that cow corner?" he giggled at one point. Phil - it's not that long ago you were an England bowler! But there really is a joy about the Tuffers commentary that conveys the sheer manic excitement of Twenty20 and he has brought a new wonderful commentary partnership to Test Match Special with Jonathan Agnew. They had fun. We had fun.

Shame England lost, but nice to see that The Googly's One to Watch Dimitri Mascarenhas had a good night in the field with a couple of wickets and two well-held catches. Not so good for another of our picks Stuart Broad. I hope he hasn't been rushed into this team.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

First Twenty20 international: West Indies 208-8 (20 overs), England 193-7 (20 overs) - West Indies win by 15 runs

"Yorkers!" bleated David Lloyd in a vain attempt to influence Paul Collingwood's choice of bowlers and fielding placements. However, the Oval saw a case of new boss, same as the old boss, as the Windies took a piffling attack to task, belting a rather inexperienced line-up all over the shop and racking up a lot of runs very quickly.

None of the England bowlers ended with an economy rate of under 8.5, and although that may be expected in Twenty20, you don't really expect to concede 16 or 17 runs an over, which is what happened when the West Indies batsmen finally got their eye in (in fact, Collingwood conceded 17 runs from his one and only over, once again proving the point that listening to Nasser Hussain can never lead to anything good, as the ex-England captain whined, "Collingwood should bring himself on, I firmly believe that").  Shiv Chanderpaul, allowed to break free from blocking duties, scored 41 runs from 26 balls; Marlon Samuels made 51 off the same number of deliveries; and Devon Smith top-scored with 61 runs from 34 balls.

Collingwood led by example in the England response, knocking 79 from 41 balls, but then he had to, as the top order fell away and his partners disappeared around him.  Matt Prior, batting at number two, made 25 from 14 balls, but the next highest scorer was Michael Yardy, eighth on the card, with 23.

England have 24 hours to regroup and adjust the game plan. Chris Gayle's men have something to smile about at last on their dismal trip. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

VOTE! England debutants

It's a brave new world out there in the England limited over ranks, who has shown what is required?

Chris Gayle vs West Indies Cricket Board: Round 4

In the neverending soap-opera that is West Indies cricket administration, the WICB have taken the very grown-up step of publicly reprimanding Chris Gayle for his refusal to apologise following his recent comments about the way his appointment as one-day captain was handled.

"There is no love lost between myself and the board," Gayle rather unnecessarily admitted.  "Will I stand up to the board? Yes, that's me. I always stand up for what I believe in and when I'm wrong, I'm wrong and when I'm right, I'm right."

He obviously thinks he's right this time, and judging by the result against England, he's focusing on what is important to him and the fans.  [Image: Getty]

Snap of the Day: the new boy, part two

Dimitri Mascarenhas, who had a solid if uninspiring debut for England, is obviously delighted nonetheless. [Image: Getty]

First Twenty20 international: England v West Indies

Ah, the beauty of the Oval in the height of the British summertime. What would you choose - strawberries, cream, Pimm's, slogging and glorious failure or hot dogs, burgers, warm lager, slogging and a chance of victory?

Paul Collingwood takes charge of his men for the first time, and they line up as follows:

Ali Cook, Matt Prior, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Michael Yardy, Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad (bless him), Jimmy Anderson.

So no Monty Panesar, no Ian Bell (not a good couple of weeks for him in terms of selection, is it?), and no Liam Plunkett.

The Windies comprise:

Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Marlon Samuels, Shiv Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Darren Sammy, Ravi Rampaul, Daren Powell.

Check back here later for the score and a match report. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]