Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[eaLiTy]

The decision to not play Stuart Broad by the selectors and the captain Ben Stokes was critical in the first match and they lost and learned a good lesson and his importance in the long format is proved by his performance in the second and now in the third Test. As expected England is batting and they will try to score over 300 runs and with plenty of time left in the match, there is no way West Indies can make a comeback in this match unless there is weather interruption.

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Ben Stokes is not 100% fit to ball and definitely can't ball long spell according to English camp (reason: stiffness/niggle during 2nd test). Its safe to assume that  English camp don't want to take any risk.

Oh i was not aware of that.

[bryant.coleman]

The decision to not play Stuart Broad by the selectors and the captain Ben Stokes was critical in the first match and they lost and learned a good lesson and his importance in the long format is proved by his performance in the second and now in the third Test. As expected England is batting and they will try to score over 300 runs and with plenty of time left in the match, there is no way West Indies can make a comeback in this match unless there is weather interruption.

Probably they think that Stuart Broad is close to retirement and they wanted to give chance to some of the younger players (such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes). But IMO, Broad has got a raw deal from the selectors for the last few years. Despite being an all rounder, I have seen him batting at the no.11 slot. The younger bowlers on the other hand, are being given a flurry of opportunities, despite their bad form. Jofra Archer is not performing well for almost an year. But even now the English selectors treat him like he is some sort of divine invention.

[JSRAW]

Right now, England is leading by 182 runs. May be in the second session they can add another 200 or so and then they can declare the innings. But it may be a bit risky and the England captain may decide to bat till the end of the day and get the lead to 450-500. Then Broad/Anderson will get 180 overs to get West Indies out, provided that there are no more rain interruptions and bad light.

Total 8 session left in this test match, if there is no rain.

To get 450-500 total runs they need more than 2 session. let's say England batting 3 full session (Around 80-90 overs, enough rest for English bowlers) and score as much as run possible, if they keep up with the 3 RR then its easy 240-270 more runs +First inning lead. In case they go above 3 RR then its a plus. No batting collapse from England in this scenario. 

[Vishnu.Reang]

Total 8 session left in this test match, if there is no rain.

To get 450-500 total runs they need more than 2 session. let's say England batting 3 full session (Around 80-90 overs, enough rest for English bowlers) and score as much as run possible, if they keep up with the 3 RR then its easy 240-270 more runs +First inning lead. In case they go above 3 RR then its a plus. No batting collapse from England in this scenario. 

Rain interruption is predicted in Manchester for today and tomorrow, so I don't think that they will get that many overs. What they need to do is to score at least 4-5 runs per over. Right now both Rory Burns and Dom Sibley are batting very cautiously. I would have liked Ben Stokes up in the order, but it seems like he is not 100% fit. That can have a huge negative impact on the ability of England to score quick runs.

[7788bitcoin]

Rain interruption is predicted in Manchester for today and tomorrow, so I don't think that they will get that many overs. What they need to do is to score at least 4-5 runs per over. Right now both Rory Burns and Dom Sibley are batting very cautiously. I would have liked Ben Stokes up in the order, but it seems like he is not 100% fit. That can have a huge negative impact on the ability of England to score quick runs.

It is possible that we might see some precipitation later today or tomorrow morning according to the weather reports and West Indies is that lucky then the rain interruption will help them but they are in deep trouble considering they are behind 218 and England will look to score an impossible target and the last day is more than enough to pick all the wickets as England has the bowling unit to create all the problems.

[bryant.coleman]

England have started very strongly in second innings and are 86/0. Sibley and Burns have provided them the good platform and England are already leading by 260 runs. They can start batting aggressive from now and try to make a good big lead and ask West Indies to bat and get them all out quickly so that even if rain some overs, England still have chance to get WI all out in remaining time.

In my opinion, Sibley and Burns could have scored runs a bit more aggressively. During the second session today, they were scoring at around 2.5 runs per over. The run rate improved only when Joe Root came to the crease after Dom Sibley got out. Right now they are leading by 314, with nine wickets in hand. I don't know what prevents them from scoring 100-150 runs from the remaining overs today (25 overs remain). If I were the captain, then I would have asked them to score another 120-160 runs from 20 overs and then left 5 overs for West Indies to bat.

[MFahad]

England have started very strongly in second innings and are 86/0. Sibley and Burns have provided them the good platform and England are already leading by 260 runs. They can start batting aggressive from now and try to make a good big lead and ask West Indies to bat and get them all out quickly so that even if rain some overs, England still have chance to get WI all out in remaining time.

England are now 355 runs ahead. The big question is when they should declare. I think 450 will be a good target. They can stretch the lead to 500 but they also have to take into account the weather conditions and the rain could also effect the match.

[Vishnu.Reang]

England have started very strongly in second innings and are 86/0. Sibley and Burns have provided them the good platform and England are already leading by 260 runs. They can start batting aggressive from now and try to make a good big lead and ask West Indies to bat and get them all out quickly so that even if rain some overs, England still have chance to get WI all out in remaining time.

England are now 355 runs ahead. The big question is when they should declare. I think 450 will be a good target. They can stretch the lead to 500 but they also have to take into account the weather conditions and the rain could also effect the match.

15 overs remain for the day and I guess they can score another 90-100 runs to take the lead to 450. Holder is not looking 100% fit and the two most inefficient bowlers (Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase) are bowling right now. IMO, a lead of 450-460 should be enough to beat West Indies. Remember that England went to this test with 5 full time bowlers (in addition to Stokes) and they can easily bowl them out.

[7788bitcoin]

15 overs remain for the day and I guess they can score another 90-100 runs to take the lead to 450. Holder is not looking 100% fit and the two most inefficient bowlers (Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase) are bowling right now. IMO, a lead of 450-460 should be enough to beat West Indies. Remember that England went to this test with 5 full time bowlers (in addition to Stokes) and they can easily bowl them out.

What is the point in having a lead of 450 runs, i was getting frustrated that they are not declaring and waiting for Burns to get his century, the weather situation is not that great tomorrow and luckily Burns got out in the 90s and immediately they declared the innings and West Indies have a battle of how long they are going to last so that the amount i wagged will be returning back to my account . 

[Swordsoffreedom]

England have started very strongly in second innings and are 86/0. Sibley and Burns have provided them the good platform and England are already leading by 260 runs. They can start batting aggressive from now and try to make a good big lead and ask West Indies to bat and get them all out quickly so that even if rain some overs, England still have chance to get WI all out in remaining time.

In my opinion, Sibley and Burns could have scored runs a bit more aggressively. During the second session today, they were scoring at around 2.5 runs per over. The run rate improved only when Joe Root came to the crease after Dom Sibley got out. Right now they are leading by 314, with nine wickets in hand. I don't know what prevents them from scoring 100-150 runs from the remaining overs today (25 overs remain). If I were the captain, then I would have asked them to score another 120-160 runs from 20 overs and then left 5 overs for West Indies to bat.

At this moment, England lead by 341 runs. it is huge enough to defeat West-Indies team. I hope England will be able to play until day 4, in session 1 and I think they will give target more than 400 runs. It is an easy test for England team now, cause England's fast bowlers will be able to put pressure easily on the West indies team on last day.

[MFahad]

England have started very strongly in second innings and are 86/0. Sibley and Burns have provided them the good platform and England are already leading by 260 runs. They can start batting aggressive from now and try to make a good big lead and ask West Indies to bat and get them all out quickly so that even if rain some overs, England still have chance to get WI all out in remaining time.

In my opinion, Sibley and Burns could have scored runs a bit more aggressively. During the second session today, they were scoring at around 2.5 runs per over. The run rate improved only when Joe Root came to the crease after Dom Sibley got out. Right now they are leading by 314, with nine wickets in hand. I don't know what prevents them from scoring 100-150 runs from the remaining overs today (25 overs remain). If I were the captain, then I would have asked them to score another 120-160 runs from 20 overs and then left 5 overs for West Indies to bat.

At this moment, England lead by 341 runs. it is huge enough to defeat West-Indies team. I hope England will be able to play until day 4, in session 1 and I think they will give target more than 400 runs. It is an easy test for England team now, cause England's fast bowlers will be able to put pressure easily on the West indies team on last day.

Well, England has taken a brave decision and declared the innings a bit too quickly. 393 is the target for them and i must say that it is achievable if
W- indies team bat sensibly.

Edit: look like they cant bat sensibly. they are already two down. 

[Vishnu.Reang]

Well, England has taken a brave decision and declared the innings a bit too quickly. 393 is the target for them and i must say that it is achievable if
W- indies team bat sensibly.

Edit: look like they cant bat sensibly. they are already two down. 

It was very surprising to see England declaring even before getting a lead of 400. They were probably worried about the weather prediction, which had gloomy forecast for the next two days. BTW, it is also surprising that you expected the West Indies to bat sensibly. 

When was the last time you saw them batting sensibly? I would rate the current West Indies side as the most undisciplined and selfish squad among all the test teams. They have some good players, but then what is the use in having such players when they can't play together as a team? 

[eaLiTy]

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Probably they think that Stuart Broad is close to retirement and they wanted to give chance to some of the younger players (such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes).

Stuart Broad is actually the highest wicket taker in the past tournaments and i was actually shocked to see him not selected in the first match and now he played the next two matches and yet he is again the highest wicket taker by a long margin in this series in both the teams and he just need 1 more wicket to reach 500 Test wickets which is incredible and 14 wickets in this series and with the way he started the day he will pick further wickets.

But IMO, Broad has got a raw deal from the selectors for the last few years. Despite being an all rounder, I have seen him batting at the no.11 slot. The younger bowlers on the other hand, are being given a flurry of opportunities, despite their bad form. Jofra Archer is not performing well for almost an year. But even now the English selectors treat him like he is some sort of divine invention.

The dip in batting form happened after Stuart broad was hit in the head by a Varun Aaron bouncer and broke his nose in 2014 and after that he himself said he lost his confidence in batting and in this series he wanted to perform again with the bat and he was training especially to change his batting and to start attacking rather than defense and it worked.

[MFahad]

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Probably they think that Stuart Broad is close to retirement and they wanted to give chance to some of the younger players (such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes).

Stuart Broad is actually the highest wicket taker in the past tournaments and i was actually shocked to see him not selected in the first match and now he played the next two matches and yet he is again the highest wicket taker by a long margin in this series in both the teams and he just need 1 more wicket to reach 500 Test wickets which is incredible and 14 wickets in this series and with the way he started the day he will pick further wickets.

But IMO, Broad has got a raw deal from the selectors for the last few years. Despite being an all rounder, I have seen him batting at the no.11 slot. The younger bowlers on the other hand, are being given a flurry of opportunities, despite their bad form. Jofra Archer is not performing well for almost an year. But even now the English selectors treat him like he is some sort of divine invention.

The dip in batting form happened after Stuart broad was hit in the head by a Varun Aaron bouncer and broke his nose in 2014 and after that he himself said he lost his confidence in batting and in this series he wanted to perform again with the bat and he was training especially to change his batting and to start attacking rather than defense and it worked.

Stuart Broad bowled superbly today in the six overs today and got 2 wickets for WI. He bowled a superb spell of 3-1-8-2 and i am sure he will come up in the morning with more confidence and it will hard for the remaining Windies batsman to face him.

[Indymoney]

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Probably they think that Stuart Broad is close to retirement and they wanted to give chance to some of the younger players (such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes).

Stuart Broad is actually the highest wicket taker in the past tournaments and i was actually shocked to see him not selected in the first match and now he played the next two matches and yet he is again the highest wicket taker by a long margin in this series in both the teams and he just need 1 more wicket to reach 500 Test wickets which is incredible and 14 wickets in this series and with the way he started the day he will pick further wickets.

But IMO, Broad has got a raw deal from the selectors for the last few years. Despite being an all rounder, I have seen him batting at the no.11 slot. The younger bowlers on the other hand, are being given a flurry of opportunities, despite their bad form. Jofra Archer is not performing well for almost an year. But even now the English selectors treat him like he is some sort of divine invention.

The dip in batting form happened after Stuart broad was hit in the head by a Varun Aaron bouncer and broke his nose in 2014 and after that he himself said he lost his confidence in batting and in this series he wanted to perform again with the bat and he was training especially to change his batting and to start attacking rather than defense and it worked.

Stuart Broad bowled superbly today in the six overs today and got 2 wickets for WI. He bowled a superb spell of 3-1-8-2 and i am sure he will come up in the morning with more confidence and it will hard for the remaining Windies batsman to face him.

Stuart Broad is currently in best form and doing great job for his team now match is wide open and only rain can save West Indies from defeat England need just 50 to 60 overs for doing this all now we have very few days after this Pakistan is going to start their tour hopefully this could be also interesting series as Pakistan and West Indies both teams same in nature mean unpredictable.

[ene1980]

Stuart Broad is currently in best form and doing great job for his team now match is wide open and only rain can save West Indies from defeat England need just 50 to 60 overs for doing this all now we have very few days after this Pakistan is going to start their tour hopefully this could be also interesting series as Pakistan and West Indies both teams same in nature mean unpredictable.

Two more days to go and there is no way we would see two days of rain and with 8 wickets left for England to pick and the bowling power they have it is a huge task for West Indies to draw the match and the series. So after this series we will be having an ODI with Ireland and even though he odds were not that great i am betting on England and after that the series against Pakistan and i doubt whether they can make any waves in England.

[AjithBtc]

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Probably they think that Stuart Broad is close to retirement and they wanted to give chance to some of the younger players (such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes).

Stuart Broad is actually the highest wicket taker in the past tournaments and i was actually shocked to see him not selected in the first match and now he played the next two matches and yet he is again the highest wicket taker by a long margin in this series in both the teams and he just need 1 more wicket to reach 500 Test wickets which is incredible and 14 wickets in this series and with the way he started the day he will pick further wickets.

But IMO, Broad has got a raw deal from the selectors for the last few years. Despite being an all rounder, I have seen him batting at the no.11 slot. The younger bowlers on the other hand, are being given a flurry of opportunities, despite their bad form. Jofra Archer is not performing well for almost an year. But even now the English selectors treat him like he is some sort of divine invention.

The dip in batting form happened after Stuart broad was hit in the head by a Varun Aaron bouncer and broke his nose in 2014 and after that he himself said he lost his confidence in batting and in this series he wanted to perform again with the bat and he was training especially to change his batting and to start attacking rather than defense and it worked.

Stuart Broad bowled superbly today in the six overs today and got 2 wickets for WI. He bowled a superb spell of 3-1-8-2 and i am sure he will come up in the morning with more confidence and it will hard for the remaining Windies batsman to face him.

Stuart Broad has a good bowling style. From the matches played by him, he'll change the match or else from the beginning his bowling gets smashed. In this match he is the game changer. The chances for the match to end up in a draw is very low. During the pandemic somehow the cricket enthusiasts have got more matches scheduled.

[bryant.coleman]

The dip in batting form happened after Stuart broad was hit in the head by a Varun Aaron bouncer and broke his nose in 2014 and after that he himself said he lost his confidence in batting and in this series he wanted to perform again with the bat and he was training especially to change his batting and to start attacking rather than defense and it worked.

Thanks for posting this. I wasn't following cricket very closely in 2014 (I was out of job then), and I might have missed this incident. He is just one wicket away from becoming the 7th bowler to take 500 or more test wickets (the only other English bowler to have this achievement is also playing in this test - James Anderson). I remember Broad stating as a genuine allrounder. Then all of a sudden, I saw him batting at no.10 and no.11 slots. Even in this test match, he was given the no.10 slot.

[teosanru]

Isn't this match going too fast? I mean it's almost certain that West Indies have lost the match plus series but I literally don't know how and why did it happen? They landed in first test with such a great Enthusiasm and discipline and till the third match they are being skittled like they are an U-19 team. The top order was playing so nicely in the first match and see now they can't even stand on the pitch. I understand that new addition in the team is Broad who wasn't in the first test match but still such a performance by west Indies is disappointing. Maybe I expected a lot from them.

[Haunebu]

Isn't this match going too fast? I mean it's almost certain that West Indies have lost the match plus series but I literally don't know how and why did it happen? They landed in first test with such a great Enthusiasm and discipline and till the third match they are being skittled like they are an U-19 team. The top order was playing so nicely in the first match and see now they can't even stand on the pitch. I understand that new addition in the team is Broad who wasn't in the first test match but still such a performance by west Indies is disappointing. Maybe I expected a lot from them.

This result was predictable from the start to be honest. What many didn't predict was England losing to West Indies in the 1st test and almost handing a win in the 2nd test which is why people expected more from West Indies.

If players like Hope etc performed better, they could have made it tougher for England. However, the English side decimated them and it looks like they might win by a big margin now.