Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

"Australia will play two Tests in the Caribbean next summer in the lead-up to their defence of the Ashes in England. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced the fixtures on Monday, allotting the two Tests for the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy to Dominica and Jamaica. The tour will not have any limited-overs matches owing to Australia's crammed international calendar. A three-day tour match in Antigua will precede the first Test starting June 5."

http://www.gocricket.com/news/West-Indi ... 519666.cms

Always good to play the Windies, but 2 tests, eh?

I know the timing is tight, but it's a long way from the five test series of not too long ago.

I find that sad, but not many young Caribbean fans seem to feel that way....

The last match I attended at Kensington Oval was the last time Australia was in the Caribbean for a Test series. On the fourth day, there were only 300 fans there, and half of them were Aussies. On the fifth day, it had declined to 200, and WI fans were in a minority.

West Indies vs Australia Test Series schedule
May 30-June 1: Warm up match – Antigua (Australia vs Team To Be Confirmed)
June 5-9: First Test – Windsor Park, Dominica
June 13-17: Second Test – Sabina Park, Jamaica

http://www.windiesfans.com/index.php?op ... &Itemid=50

Funny that when England are there, the grounds are full, and (although obviously a lot are tourists) not just with England fans.

Should be a good little warm-up before the Ashes.

Ryan Harris will be sitting this one out as his missus is due to back out their first kid. This will also keep him nice and fresh for the Poms

from_the_stands wrote:Should be a good little warm-up before the Ashes.

http://www.windiesfans.com/index.php?op ... &Itemid=50

The squad is:

Michael Clarke (c) NSW
Steve Smith (vc) NSW
Fawad Ahmed VIC
Brad Haddin NSW
Josh Hazlewood NSW
Ryan Harris* QLD
Mitchell Johnson WA
Nathan Lyon NSW
Shaun Marsh WA
Mitchell Marsh WA
Peter Nevill NSW
Chris Rogers VIC
Peter Siddle VIC
Mitchell Starc NSW
Adam Voges WA
David Warner NSW
Shane Watson NSW

*Paceman Ryan Harris will remain in Australia throughout the tour of the West Indies for the birth of his first child.

The squad departs for the West Indies on 19 May.
Australia to West Indies 2015

Fri 29 – Sun 31 May

Tour Match

Antigua

Fri 5 – Tue 9 Jun

First Test

Dominca

Sun 13 – Wed 17 Jun

Second Test

Jamaica

So, the warmup has been sensibly changed to a three-day match....

"The West Indies Cricket Board has announced changes to the dates for the two-Test series between West Indies and Australia, with the matches being advanced by two days. The first Test will now start on June 3 in Dominica, while the second Test will be played from June 11 at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The three-day tour game, originally scheduled to begin on May 30 at North Sound, will now be played from May 27 to 29."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies ... 59047.html

Okay, how can the West Indies build on their 1-1 draw with England?

Replacing Gayle is clearly still a problem...Devon Smith hit most runs in the PCL, and couldn't match Kraigg Brathwaite as opening partner. So, how can we expect his Windwards opening partner, Tyrone Theophile, to do better? Surely, Theophile should be allowed to go through the A team, and build his confidence, before throwing him to the wolves, the way we foolishly did with Shai Hope. And surely it's time to abandon the foolish policy of converting middle-order batsmen into openers....

Except maybe Leon Johnson, who has opened for Guyana on occasion in the past....

Will Gayle even be available to play in the two Tests, or will he more likely don Somerset colours in their T20 competition?

That said, does the WICB have any plans for the A team this summer? Or has the BCCI lawsuit left them so cash-strapped that A team tours have been abandoned?

Will this be Shiv's last series? Should Holder bat at six or seven, to allow the Windies to play two spinners and two more pacers? And what about Roach's loss of pace since his return from injury?

How can they go past Tyrone Theophile? The Windies selectors need to start picking on great sounding names alone.

GarlicJam wrote:How can they go past Tyrone Theophile? The Windies selectors need to start picking on great sounding names alone.

The rumour mill is doing the rounds, saying that Shiv will be dropped for the first Test....

mikesiva wrote:

GarlicJam wrote:How can they go past Tyrone Theophile? The Windies selectors need to start picking on great sounding names alone.

The rumour mill is doing the rounds, saying that Shiv will be dropped for the first Test....

Would be a sad end , if true.

Though getting done over by Johnson and Starc might be even sadder I suppose

Kind of hope he has one good innings left in him so he can go out in a bit of style ; but that may be wishful thinking...

mikesiva wrote:

GarlicJam wrote:How can they go past Tyrone Theophile? The Windies selectors need to start picking on great sounding names alone.

The rumour mill is doing the rounds, saying that Shiv will be dropped for the first Test....

Any link? Haven't heard that at all.

For Chanders to score runs, everything needs to be perfect as he seems to have one, two or three little triggers. Just felt against England he looked rusty. I don't think he is past it.

No link at all, shanks...these are just rumours going the rounds among WI fans.

Here's the President's XI squad for the warmup May 27-29:

Leon Johnson (Captain)

Carlos Brathwaite (Vice Captain)

Sharmarh Brooks

Rajindra Chandrika

Roston Chase

Miguel Cummins

Jason Dawes

Shane Dowrich

Imran Khan

Marquino Mindley

Jason Mohammed

Tyrone Theophile

Jomel Warrican

http://www.windiescricket.com/news/wicb ... atch-squad

Looks like a stronger side than St Kitts-Nevis....