England Vs West Indies T20I: Hales Guides England To Victory

Trent Bridge witnessed a fantastic game of T20 Cricket between England and West Indies on Sunday in which hosts England emerged victorious by 7 wickets. Alex Hales was adjudged the Man Of The Match for his powerful knock of 99 in 68 balls. He was unlucky to be bowled on 99 by Ravi Rampaul in the 19th over. Hales and Ravi Bopara (59) added a record 159 runs for the 2nd wicket which took them past the finishing line. Although the match went right down to the last 3 balls, England won it comfortably.

Earlier, West Indies were batting first and Chris Gayle opened the innings with Dwayne Smith. Steven Finn got rid of the dangerous Gayle for just 2. Simmons and Samuels too did not last long and West Indies were reduced to 30/3 in the 7th over. The two Dwayne's- Smith and Bravo, put on 77 runs for the 4th wicket and both of them scored half centuries. Late flourish by Bravo and Pollard helped West Indies reach 172/4 in 20 overs. The target was a big one, but Hales and Bopara played superb knocks to register a win for England in this One-Off T20I. West Indies have now ended the tour without a single win against their name.

WEST INDIES-172/4 (20)
D.R. Smith-70 (54)
D. J. Bravo- 54* (36)
Pollard-23* (13)

ENGLAND-173/3 (19.4)
Hales-99 (68)
Bopara-59 (44)
ENGLAND WIN BY 7 WICKETS

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England vs West Indies T20I: Gayle Storm Expected To Hit Trent Bridge

West Indies tour of England is towards its fag end and Nottingham will be hosting the last game of this tour on Sunday. Engalnd had won both the Test and the ODI Series 2-0 and West Indies are still searching for their first victory on this tour. This is the last oppurtunity for West Indies team to register a win against their name before heading home. The One-Off T20I between England and West Indies will be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Sunday and it promises to be a cracker of a contest with the kind of potential both the sides have got.

West Indies have a golden oppurtunity of winning this match because Chris Gayle has been in demolishing mood in the IPL and no one can doubt his ability with the bat in the shortest format of the game. Moreover, England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen will also not be a part of this game. West Indies have got some terrific all-rounders in the likes of Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Sammy, Pollard, Russell and Gayle, who could be very useful with both bat and ball and can turn the match at any instance. Most of the players in the West Indies side were part of the IPL and almost all of them proved their worth. Sunil Narine has shown that he is a tough customer to get after and scoring against him in the death overs is not going to be an easy task fot the England batsman.

England on the other hand are the current T20 Champions and have been in very good form in the recent matches. They have got the variety in their squad to tackle every situation that comes their way. Graeme Swann will be leading the England team in the absence of Stuart Broad, who is out due to an injury. England will be hoping to end this tour on a winning note with a win today. They know that West Indies are a very dangerous side when it comes to T20 Cricket. The England think tank will certainly have special plans for players like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard because they are the game changers as far as West Indies are concerned. So get ready to witness a T20 Bonanza at the Trent Bridge today.

The match is scheduled to start at 13.30 GMT.

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ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES 3rd ODI: Match Abandoned, England Win Series

MATCH ABANDONED WITHOUT A BALL BOWLED 

ENGLAND WIN SERIES 2-0

                          NEXT MATCH:

England vs West Indies : ONE-OFF T20I (SUNDAY)

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ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES 3rd ODI:Match Preview

West Indies will be playing for pride against England in the 3rd and final ODI on Friday. On the other hand, England are leading the series 2-0 and will be looking for a whitewash. There is not much left in the ODI series with England already having won it comfortably. The match will be a question of pride for the West Indies camp because they promised a lot when the series began, but failed to deliver. Even Chris Gayle's return was not enough to give them a win. Despite Chris Gayle providing a brilliant start to them in the 2nd ODI, the West Indies middle order failed once again and could not even get to 250. West Indies will certainly look to get their record straight and get a win under their belt today.

England are looking very confident with two easy wins in the series and the more disappointing fact for West Indies would be that they could not even push England for a victory in any of the 2 games. England will once again be hoping that their top order fires with the bat and gets them to a big score because they have got a very strong  bowling line up, which could destroy even the strongest of batting line ups. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been bowling pretty well with the new ball and they are also hard to score of in the death overs with the kind of variety that they have got. Graeme Swann is certainly the answer for Chris Gayle and we might even see him opening the bowling today.

West Indies have got a number of questions to answer, right from their batting order to their bowling line-up. The players have not performed to their full potential. Once again their hopes will be on Chris Gayle to provide them a quick start. It will also be important for Gayle to carry on from there. Dwayne Bravo showed some form in the last match and he too can prove to be the trump car for West Indies. The biggest disappointment so far has been Sunil Narine. He was the talking point at the start of the series, but has not performed as he would have liked. He has got another opportunity in the 3rd ODI and he would hope to make it count.

THE MATCH IS SCHEDULED TO START AT 9.45 GMT.

                                                          PROBABLE XI

ENGLAND- Cook, Bell, Trott, Bopara, Morgan, Kieswetter, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Finn.

WEST INDIES-Gayle, Smith, Darren Bravo, Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Pollard, Russell, Ramdin, Narine, Rampaul, Best.

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ENG vs WI 2nd ODI: Cook Powers England To Series Win

Guess what, Chris Gayle was back in the West Indies side and hammering the ball to all quarters. He made his comeback in grand fashion, clobbering 3 fours and 5 mammoth sixes in his knock 0f 53 in 51 balls. But that was not enough as England ended up winning the game comfortably by 8 wickets with 5 overs to spare. With this win, England also conquer the series 2-0 with the 3rd and last ODI to be played on Friday.

West Indies were batting first and the dangerous Chris Gayle opened the innings with Lendl Simmons. West Indies got off to a slow start, managing to score just 8 runs in the first 5 overs. But then was the time when Gayle unleashed himself, hitting Finn for 3 consecutive boundaries. He took a special liking to Tim Bresnan as he smacked him for 3 sixes in the 10th over, including one which ended up on the roof. Gayle reached his 50  in just 41 balls, but was soon trapped by Swann for 53. It was a controversial decision to give Gayle out Leg Before Wicket. West Indies suddenly slumped from 63/0 to 79/4 as they lost Gayle, Simmons, Smith and Samuels in quick succession.

West Indies were looking down the barrel at this stage with plenty of overs still left. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard curbed their natural instincts and played out a few overs quietly. Slowly they started gathering runs.West Indies were 133/4 in 35 overs and the batting powerplay was taken. Both these batsmen now started scoring freely and Dwayne Bravo was simply looking ominous the way he was treating the England pacers. West Indies gathered 47 runs in the powerplay but lost Pollard in the process. Captain Darren Sammy played a handy knock of 21 in 20 balls and had a good partnership with Bravo. England bowlers came back well in the death overs as West Indies could score just 19 runs in the last 5 overs and lost 4 wickets. Bravo was out after scoring a very fine 77. West Indies finally ended up on 238/9 in their 50 overs.

West Indies were certainly about 20 runs short of where they should have been and needed to bowl brilliantly to win the match. But the England openers Alaistair Cook and Ian Bell did not allow the West Indies bowlers to settle down and dispatched the poor balls. Both of them were freely playing their shots. England brought up their 50 in just the 9th over and the 100 in the 18th over. In the mean while Ian Bell completed his half-century too. Finally, Sammy provided some relief to the West Indies as camp as he foxed Bell with a slower delivery. Bell was caught in the covers for 53. Cook and Bell had put on 103 for the 1st wicket.

Trott and Cook later carried on the momentum and did not allow the West Indies bowlers to get even a sniff of victory. Alaistair Cook reached his 100 in 110 balls and was finally dismissed by Sammy for 112. Cook and Trott had put on 99 for the 2nd wicket. Trott and Bopara ensured that there were no further hiccups as England reached the target with 5 overs to spare. England also win the series with this victory.

WEST INDIES-238/9 (50)

Bravo-77 (82)

Gayle-53 (51)

Pollard-41 (52)

Anderson-2/38

Broad-2/43

ENGLAND-239/2 (45)

Cook-112 (120)

Bell-53 (64)

Trott-43* (68)

Bopara-19* (19)

Sammy-2/46

ENGLAND WIN BY 8 WICKETS

MAN OF THE MATCH-ALAISTAIR COOK

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ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES 2nd ODI: Match Preview

England go head to head against West Indies in the 2nd ODI at The Oval today. England are currently leading the 3 ODI Series 1-0 after their 114 run victory in the 1st ODI at the Rose Bowl. England will look to win today and seal the series. On the other hand, it is a do or die situation for West Indies because they will lose the series if they fail to deliver in this game.There is bad news for West Indies as Darren Bravo and Andre Russell are injured. It is still uncertain whether they will be playing the 2nd ODI or not. If they don't, it is going to be a huge loss to the visitors. Both Darren Bravo and Russell are an integral part of the team and their loss will hurt the Windies side very much.But there is a good news too. Chris Gayle is declared fit to play the 2nd ODI and all eyes will be on him to deliver for the West Indies. He will be making a comeback today in the West Indies team after almost 15 months. Earlier, he had missed the 1st ODI due to injury.

The 2nd ODI promises to be a run-fest with more than 550 runs expected to be scored. England batsmen are in good form and they would surely like to make it count. Ian Bell and Alastair Cook are going to be the key with the bat as far as England are concerned. West Indies bowlers need to take early break-throughs and tighten the screws in the death overs. Once again there will be high expectations frrom Sunil Narine to deliver with the ball. West Indies batting will rest heavily on the opening duo of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith to get them off to a flier in the powerplays. England have got 4 quality pacers in their ranks and the likes of Broad and Anderson can trouble any batting side on their day. Overall it is going to be battle to watch out, specially due to the return of the Jamaican Superstar Chris Gayle.

The match is scheduled to start at 9.45 GMT.

                                          <<POWERPLAYERS>>

ENGLAND- Cook, Bell, Swann, Anderson, Broad.

WEST INDIES- Gayle, D.R.Smith, D.J. Bravo, Sammy, Narine.

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ENG vs WI 1st ODI:Bell Powers England To An Easy Win

The Rose Bowl in Southampton was all ready to host the 1st ODI between England and West Indies and everyone was eagerly waiting to see Chris Gayle back on the field in the West Indies colours. But fate made a joke of all these drama as Chris Gayle was injured just minutes before the toss. Even the English fans were disappointed that the big Jamaican was not part of the 1st ODI. But the game had to go on anyway.

England were batting first and the opening duo of skipper Alaistair Cook and Ian Bell marched on the field. England got off to a bad start as Ravi Rampaul once again proved to be Cook's nemesis and he dismissed the England Skipper for a duck of the third ball of the innings. Trott joined Bell in the middle and the pair played some delightful shots in the powerplays. Bell was looking in sublime touch and he completed his 50 in quick time. Trott and Bell added 108 for the 2nd wicket before Trott was shown the door for 42. Bopara and Morgan too did not last long and were dismissed for 8 and 21 respectively. Bell and Kieswetter then played aggresively in the batting powerplay and scored quick runs. Bell reached his century in the 34th over and was later out for 126 of 117 deliveries. Bell really made a superb comeback in the England ODI side and answered his critics well. Late flourishes by Kieswetter, Bresnan and Broad helped England reach 288/6 in their alloted 50 overs. Kieswetter finished on 38* in 39 balls. Samuels was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies with figures of 2/43.

West Indies had a huge score to chase down against a strong England bowling line up. Dwayne Smith and Lendl Simmons opened the batting for West Indies and were looking aggresive right from the word go. Simmons fell early for 15 but Smith carried on in his merry way. Smith smacked 2 sixes and added 70 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ramdin. West Indies were well poised at 95/1 in the 16th over before Smith was caught behind the wicket of Bresnan for 56. This resulted in a collapse and wickets started falling at regular intervals. Ramdin fell for 22 and Bravo and Pollard too did not trouble the scorers much. West Indies were 127/5 in 23 overs when rain came down and play had to be halted. Play resumed after an hour. According to D/L method, West Indies had a new target of 287 to chase down in 48 overs. But apart from Marlon Samuels, no other batsman could spend time on the wicket and West Indies were finally bowled out for 172 in 33.4 overs. Tim Bresnan starred with the ball and ended up with figures of 4/34. England won the match by 114 runs(D/L method) and lead the 3 ODI Series 1-0 with the 2nd ODI to be played on Tuesday.

ENGLAND-288/6 (50)

Bell-126

Trott-42

Kieswetter-38*

WEST INDIES-172 (33.4)

D.R. Smith-56

Samuels-30

Bresnan-4/34

ENGLAND WON BY 114 RUNS (D/L METHOD)

Man Of The Match-IAN BELL

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ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES 1st ODI : Match Preview

Its action time at the Rose Bowl as England lock horns with West Indies in the first of the 3 ODI Series. England were the winners of the Test Series by pounding West Indies 2-0 and they would like to carry on the momentum in the ODI Series as well. England will be facing a resurgent West Indies side who will be coming at them more fiercely than they did in the Test matches. Skipper Alastair Cook will be the trump card as far as England are concerned because he has found his touch in the limited overs format after he was included in the ODI team and given the captaincy. He is like a rock at the top of the order and England will want him to bat as long as possible. The middle order will be filled by the likes of Bell and Bopara and both are making a comeback in the England side. So, both will have a point to prove to the selectors as well. Kevin Pietersen will definitely be missed by England because he played Sunil Narine pretty well in the Tests. The trio of Anderson, Broad and Swann will be the ones doing the damage with the ball and try to restrict the big fellows Gayle, Bravo, Pollard and Russell.

West Indies now have a match winner at the top of the order, whom they dearly missed in the last 15 months. Chris Gayle is the talking point before today's game and he will certainly be playing in the minds of the England think tank. He is in devastating form with the bat and West Indies will count upon him to provide them a quick start. West Indies have also got four quality all rounders in their ranks in the form of Dwayne Bravo, Pollard, Sammy and Russell. All of them are potential match winners and can turn the tide in their team's favour at any stage of the match. Sunil Narine is going to be the trump card with the ball because batsmen found it difficult to get after him in the IPL. So, West Indies will be starting the ODI Series on equal terms with England, which was not the case when the Test Series started.

Be ready to witness a thrilling encounter today at 9.45 GMT at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.

POWERPLAYERS

• ENGLAND-Cook, Bell, Swann, Anderson, Broad.
• WEST INDIES-Gayle, Pollard, Narine, Sammy, Russell.

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ENG vs WI ODI SERIES:"Gayle Storm" Returns

                                               

Christopher Gayle is back and ready to blast the England bowling attack on Saturday as he returns to the West Indies ODI set up after a big gap of 15 months. England had won the 3 Test Series 2-0 despite a fighting show by the Windies side. But the return of the big superstars in the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell will certainly boost the morale of the West Indies team and give them a better chance of winning. Most of the West Indies batsman struggled against the England Seamers and found it difficult to spend time at the crease. Chris Gayle will make a tremendous contribution to the team both with his batting and bowling skills. He is also the man in form as he won  the Orange Cap in the recently concluded DLF IPL. Another man who can change the course of the game at any stage is Kieron Pollard and any side would be weary of his match winning potentials. The West Indies team would also draw confidence from the fact that there is no Kevin Pietersen in the English ranks and his presence would have made a huge impact. West Indies will hope to put up a better show in the ODI's and look to win a ODI series in England.

England are playing at home and are a tough side to play against in their own backyard. The overcast conditions would suit their seamers and Anderson and Broad can swing the ball significantly in these conditions. Graeme Swann is also a wily costumer to deal with in the shorter format of the game and is difficult to get away. England are surely a better bowling side than the West Indies but their batting isn't upto the mark as far as playing spin is concerned. Kevin Pietersen would be missed a great deal because of his ability to play spin well. Captain Alastair Cook holds the key at the top of the order and he needs to play the long innings and hold the team together. Ian Bell is back in England team after a year's gap and will provide the much needed experience in the middle order. He will also look to fill in the vacuum caused by the retirement of Kevin Pietersen from the ODI's. This series is going to be a battle between the England bowlers and the West Indies batsmen and whoever wins this battle is sure to be crowned the champion.

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ENG vs WI 3rd TEST:Match Drawn, England Win Series 2-0

 The 3rd Test Match between England and West Indies ended in a dull draw as no play was possible on the 5th and final day due to heavy downpour. West Indies had been bowled out for 426 in their first innings and England were 221/5 at Stumps on Day 4. This Test Match would be remembered for the fantastic batting performance by Tino Best and the record last wicket stand that he shared with Denesh Ramdin. Tino Best notched up the highest Test Score by a No. 11 batsman when he scored 95 in 112 balls. This was also a special Test for Denesh Ramdin because he silenced his critics by scoring 107*. After he got to his 100, he took out a note from his pocket and held it towards the commentary box. "YEA VIV TALK NAH"-These were the words written in the note and surely Denesh Ramdin had a point to prove in the test match.

England have ended up winning the 3 Test Series 2-0 and also retain their No.1 status in Test Cricket. England were upto the mark through out the test series and deserved the victory. All their batsman apart from Jonny Bairstow played substantial knocks when the team required them to. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad had bowled exceedingly well in Test Series and were the main cause for their team's victory. Tim Bresnan performed both with the bat and the ball and showed why he deserves a place in the England Team.

Although West Indies have lost the Test Series, they were the side that provided the entertainment to the crowd. There were a few sporadic pieces of brilliance by the Windies players but they failed collectively as a unit. Shiv Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin and Darren Sammy were superb with the bat on various occasions and who could forget the knock by Tino Best in the final test. Kemar Roach was the only bowler who bowled consistently well and troubled the England batsman. Darren Bravo was once again disappointing because he promises a lot with the bat but fails to deliver. Inspite of all these things, the West Indies camp will be happy with the performance of the team because they have shown signs of improvement. They would like to improve in the ODI Series which starts on Saturday.

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ENG vs WI 3rd TEST DAY 4:Tino Best Creates History

                                 

England vs West Indies 3rd Test at Edgbaston might be heading towards a tame draw, but what took place on Sunday was something really special. West Indies began Day 4 at 280/8 and when Rampaul was dismissed on the third ball of the day, it seemed that the Windies innings might fold up before the 300 mark. But Tino Best had other ideas and his return to Test Cricket after 3 years proved to be histortical. He registered the highest score by a No. 11 batsman in Test Cricket History when he scored 95 in 112 balls, surpassing Zaheer Khan's 75 against Bangladesh. He was just 5 runs short of his Historic Ton when Graham Onions ended his knock. Tino Best was disgusted at falling so close to a 100. On the other end, Denesh Ramdin hit his Second Century in Test Cricket and finished on 107* with West Indies being bowled out for 426. The duo of Ramdin and Best put on 143 runs for the last wicket, which is the highest for the last wicket by a West Indian pair.

Tino Best was certainly not satisfied by his batting because he came back and took 2 wickets to reduce the England score to 221/5 at Stumps on Day 4. England are still trailing by 205 and require another 56 runs to avoid the follow on. Kevin Peitersen and Ian Bell were the stars with the bat for England as they scored 78 and 76* respectively. Kevin Peitersen was looking a class apart as he scored his 78 in just 81 balls and hammered the "Mystery Spinner" Sunil Narine to all patrs of the ground. The game is now surely heading towards a draw and something dramatic needs to happen for a result to take place. Here are the scores in brief:

WEST INDIES-426

Ramdin-107*

Best-95

Onions-4/88

ENGLAND-221/5Peitersen-78

Bell-76*

Best-2/37

ENGLAND TRAIL BY 205 RUNS AT STUMPS DAY 4

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England vs West Indies : 3rd TEST DAY 3

ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES 3rd TEST

STUMPS DAY 3

WI-280/8(98)
Samuels-76
Ramdin-60*
Barath-41

Onions-3/56
Bresnan-3/74

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