ENGLAND vs WINDIES 2nd test ratings

Here are my ratings for the 2nd test

ENGLAND

Andrew Strauss-8
Alistair Cook-6
Jonathon Trott-5
Kevin Piertesen-7
Ian Bell-6
Jonathon Bairstow-4
Matt Prior-5
Tim Bresnan-8
Graeme Swann-7
Stuart Broad-6
James Anderson-7

WINDIES

Adrian Barath-2
Kieron Powell-2
Kirk Edwards-2
Darren Bravo-4
Shiv Chanderpaul-5
Marlon Samuels-9
Denesh Ramdin-3
Darren Sammy-6 (good with the bat, poor with the ball, and his main job is to bowl)
Shane Shillingford-5
Ravi Rampaul-7
Kemar Roach-6

Trott outscores Bell but gets a point less? Maybe switch those two scores around.

Maybe a bit harsh on Sammy but I agree with you that his primary job is to bowl and he was poor in that regard.

I'd consider taking a mark or two off Shillingford as he was pasted in the first innings when he needed to provide control.

Everything else spot on though.

My ratings.
England.
Andrew Strauss 9.
Alastair Cook 5.
Jonathan Trott 5.
Kevin Pietersen 7.
Ian Bell 4.
Jonny Bairstow 2.
Mat Prior 5.
Tim Bresnan 8.
Stuart Broad 6.
Graeme Swann 6.
James Anderson 8.
West Indies.
Kieran Powell 1.
Adrian Barath 1.
Kirk Edwards 1.
Darren Bravo 2.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 5.
Marlon Samuels 9.
Denesh Ramdin 2.
Darren Sammy 7.
Shane Shillingford 3.
Ravi Rampaul 7.
Kemar Roach 6.

ENGLAND

Andrew Strauss- 9

Played the key innings of the match for England and captained well.

Alistair Cook- 6

Could not take advantage of his two lives in the first dig, settled any nerves in the run chase.

Jonathon Trott- 6

Scored quickly in the first innings, but would have liked to have gone on. 2nd dig not out, was a nice boost to the average

Kevin Pietersen- 7

Biggest disappointment of the Test Match in terms of entertainment was KP going early on Day 3. Key partnership with Strauss, left the Windies playing catchup.

Ian Bell-5

Must feel like he missed out on a big score, getting out after playing himself in.

Jonathon Bairstow- 2

Exposed to the new ball at the start of his innings made things tough, but coming in at Six this is something that he is going to have to get used to. Had no answer to the short ball.

Matt Prior-5

Got out to an awful shot at what looked like a dangerous time for England. Keeping was good as expected.

Tim Bresnan- 8.5

Eight wickets, including a spell in the 2nd innings that killed the West Indies off. Produced the kind of batting performance at Eight, that has no doubt in my mind has gotten him the nod over Finn. A key 39* meant that England ended up with 59 lead, far more than may have been the case had he gone sooner.

Graeme Swann- 6.5

Gave Strauss the kind of control that Sammy would have loved from his Spinner.

Stuart Broad- 7

Got the ball rolling on Friday morning and picked up the key wicket of Shiv on Sunday. Played well with the bat in a crucial 50 run stand for the 8th wicket.

James Anderson- 8

Picked up 2 wickets in the first innings, but should have at least two more had his excellence in the field been replicated by others. Four more wickets later in the match, underlined what a star performer he is.

WINDIES

Adrian Barath-2

Looks like a walking wicket at the moment, had no answer to Broad and Anderson in either innings.

Kieron Powell-3

Did the hard work on Friday, taking advantage of some good fortune before Broad got him. His failure in the second innings set the tone for his sides collapse.

Kirk Edwards-2

Another two failures. Should have stayed in bed on Sunday.

Darren Bravo-3

Failed in the first innings, a bit better in the second. With such a fragile batting lineup, he really needs to produce more.

Shiv Chanderpaul-5

Worlds Number one batsmen was dismissed twice without reaching 50. Such a key wicket and with everyone used to seeing him make runs and batting for hours, the ball seemed to hang in the air for hours before Trott took that catch.

Marlon Samuels-9

An excellent match for Samuels, an excellent ton in the first and the only real resistance in the Second, he was the main reason the match probably reached the 4th day. Also provided the kind of contribution with the ball as the "extra" bowler that England really could do with.

Denesh Ramdin-3

In the modern day when a Wicket keeper really needs to bat a Test level, he sadly for the visitors doesn't. Ok Keeper but not good enough to cover up a glaring hole in the West Indies lineup.


Darren Sammy-7

Even the most diehard of England fan on Saturday did not begrudge him making his first test ton. Bowling was okish, but for first change that is not good enough, too often any pressure built up is released when he came on.

Shane Shillingford-3

Much was made of his exclusion from Lords, did little to justify the fuss. Went at around 5 an over for most of his 20 odd overs in Englands first innings, his lack of control gave Sammy little room to manouvre.

Ravi Rampaul-7

Was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, kept things tight while asking lots of questions of the batsmen. I am sure would love to have swap top orders for a test or two!

Kemar Roach-5

Bowled an excellent spell on Sunday to dismiss, Bell and Bairstow. Totally out of sorts early in the innings and this cost West Indies dearly. His no ball problems meant that they lost an sense of momentum early on and by the time he got things together the damage had been done.

Dorothy

Generous to describe Ramdin as an OK keeper - he's been nearly as poor with the gloves as with the bat in these first two tests. This is a big problem not just for technical reasons, but because the keeper is very important for setting the tone in the field, and Ramdin's untidiness and unreliability behind the stumps saps energy from a team that needs all the help it can get. Compare with Prior, who is noisy, aggressive and now a very competent gloveman at the hub of a good bowling attack and usually pretty good fielding side.

Other than that, I think the only arguments could be over your ratings of the Windies top order, and whether they did enough to even justify the ratings of 2 and 3 you've given them

dummy_half wrote:Dorothy

Generous to describe Ramdin as an OK keeper - he's been nearly as poor with the gloves as with the bat in these first two tests. This is a big problem not just for technical reasons, but because the keeper is very important for setting the tone in the field, and Ramdin's untidiness and unreliability behind the stumps saps energy from a team that needs all the help it can get. Compare with Prior, who is noisy, aggressive and now a very competent gloveman at the hub of a good bowling attack and usually pretty good fielding side.

Other than that, I think the only arguments could be over your ratings of the Windies top order, and whether they did enough to even justify the ratings of 2 and 3 you've given them

Fair point about Ramdin, maybe "ok" is being generous. What I was trying to get at that, if we was averaging 45+ with the bat then the WI would probably accept his keeping. But while averaging low 20s he is a liability.

pretty much agree with what most people are saying so far. Here're mine

England:

Strauss - 8.5: another fine century, captained the side well, his record gets better and better.

Cook - 6: missed out somewhat after being reprieved twice in the first innings. Assured second innings knock.

Trott - 6: got a good start, but couldn't cash in. Nice little not out in the second innings and good in the field.

Pietersen - 7.5: would have liked to cash in, but his quickfire 80 put England in a strong position.

Bell - 5: got a start but couldn't go on.

Bairstow - 2: struggled with the short ball and as in the first test only had one innings. Good fielder.

Prior - 6: Once again very assured with the gloves, but didn't really contribute with the bat.

Bresnan - 9: rightfully MOM, this guy continues toprove his critics wrong. Was slightly flattered by his first innings figures but his useful knock with the bat and spell on the third evening made sure there was no way back for WI.

Broad - 5: not as good as at Lords, guilty of floating the ball up at times. Did however pick up three good top order wickets (including the vital one of Chanderpaul on the third evening) and chipped in with the bat.

Swann - 7: a very useful effort from him, picking up three pretty cheap wickets on a pitch not doing much for the spinners (including Chanders first time around).

Anderson - 8: bowled very well in the first innings with no luck at all, finally got some reward in the second with four wickets. A superb bowler, and a wonderful fielder.

West Indies:

Barath - 1: Had looked pretty good in the first test. Didn't here.

Powell - 3: decent start in the first innings before throwing it away with a rash shot. Awful stroke in the second innings.

Edwards - 1. Because I don't like giving 0s. Arrived in England with a reputation as one to watch. Doesn't look capable of scoring any runs at the moment.

Bravo - 2: made a start in the second innings before wasting a review on one of the plumbest LBWs you'll see. The less said about his first innings dismissal the better.

Chanderpaul - 4: trapped by a good ball in the first innings, but a surprisingly rash stroke in the second when the innings was already crumbling.

Samuels - 9: superb. Rode his luck at times but grafted hard to make a century and an unbeaten 76. Chipped in with a few wickets.

Ramdin - 1: I like this guy, but his keeping has been awful so far and his batting not much better.

Sammy - 7: Fine first innings century to rescue his side. Then bowled an awful spell on day 2 to hand England the initiative. Battled hard in the second innings too, but ultimately is the captain of a side which is losing too often.

Roach - 6: a spate of no-balls the second day, which let Cook off, twice. Came back well on day 3 as the whole WI attack did.

Shillingford - 2: couldn't offer any control with the ball, far too many loose ones which England gleefully dispatched.

Rampaul - 7: WI's best bowler, looked dangerous in most spells and a vast improvement on Edwards.

ENGLAND

Andrew Strauss 10 - I rarely give out 10s but almost 200 runs in the match and captaining the side to victory is deserving of it on this occasion.
Alastair Cook 7 - First innings failure; milked England to victory second time round.
Jonathan Trott 6 - No hugely significant contribution, but unbeaten at the end and on the winning team.
Kevin Pietersen 8 - Aggressive knock on Saturday evening was a momentum swinger. Will be disappointed not to have gone on.
Ian Bell 5 - Not a busy game.
Jonny Bairstow 2 - A very uncomfortable second Test innings. Needs to score at Edgbaston or face dropping out of the team.
Matt Prior 7 - The usual faultless 'keeping display.
Tim Bresnan 9 - Ineffective for much of the first innings, but came back well against the tailenders, before playing a leading role in the West Indian collapse second time round. Also added critical runs.
Stuart Broad 6 - Perhaps a little below his best with the ball, but his partnership with Bresnan was significant.
Graeme Swann 6 - Again left with little to do. Did take the important first innings wicket of Chanderpaul.
James Anderson 8 - Rarely disappoints these days.

WEST INDIES

Adrian Barath 2 - Still far from the finished article.
Kieran Powell 3 - Got off to a good start first time round, but made another misjudgment in the second innings.
Kirk Edwards 1 - His two Test centuries are becoming a distant memory. Never looked the slightest bit comfortable.
Darren Bravo 3 - Looks the most assured of the young batsmen, but no Lara at this stage.
Shiv Chanderpaul 6 - Staved off England for a long time in the first innings. Can't do all the work every day, as was shown in being bounced out in his second knock.
Marlon Samuels 10 - The real Marlon Samuels finally seems to have arrived. Led the resistance in both innings, and recorded his first Test hundred for over four years. Contributed a couple of wickets too.
Denesh Ramdin 5 - One dropped chance, but kept reasonably well. Needs to score more runs to justify selection ahead of Baugh.
Darren Sammy 9 - Lets give the man some credit. An aggressive maiden Test hundred briefly gave his team a sniff, and he bowled as well as can be expected of him.
Kemar Roach 7 - Bowled some aggressive spells, but no balls continue to be an issue.
Shane Shillingford 3 - Not a threat in English conditions.
Ravi Rampaul 7 - Demonstrated his improvement over recent years, and took three wickets. Pace similar to Broad and Anderson.

It's a team game, and you can't do any more than win. 10's all round.....

England

Andrew Strauss- 9 Batted superb first innings and well 2nd also.

Alastair Cook- 6 Batted well 2nd innings to send England to victory.

Jonathan Trott- 6 Got in but then out 1st innings, batted fluently 2nd innings.

Kevin Pietersen- 8 Played some magnificent shots in his stand with Strauss.

Ian Bell- 5 Another player who got a start but failed to convert.

Jonny Bairstow- 2 Disappointing match for the youngster, struggled against Roach's short balls but hopefully still plenty to come from him.

Matt Prior- 4 Went looking to play some shots in the 1st innings and got himself out.

Tim Bresnan- 8 Bowled consistently and added some much needed runs.

Stuart Broad- 6 Bit unlucky with the ball, had a good partnership with Bresnan.

Graeme Swann- 5 Little to do for Swann with the ball.

James Anderson- 7 Bowled superb with the new ball once again.

Will follow up with the West Indies ratings soon.

A 5 for Swanny is harsh, bowled well (when he bowled) on a track that didn't over a lot. The wicket of Chanderpaul was a superb ball, hope to see more of that this summer.

I gave Bell a 5 also when he didn't do much either in the test so I wouldn't say it was too harsh. Maybe should be upgraded to a 6 as the pitch didn't suit spinners and as you say got the wicket of Chanderpaul.

If that performance by Samuels isn't a 10 I don't know what it.