A Beer match with a difference
England should be given a fairly tough time in their three-day warm-up match against a Carib Beer XI which starts at the 3Ws Oval in Bridgetown later today
Carib Beer XI won the toss and chose to bat
|
|
|
For the West Indies players, there may well be places up for grabs after the dismal performances in the first two Tests, and even though there are no first-string Barbados or Jamiaca players - the Carib Beer final is taking place elsewhere on the island - it should not be an easy ride for England.
England have aimed to give those not in the Test side a chance to stretch their legs, which means that James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke and Geraint Jones, the reserve wicketkeeper, are all playing - with Chris Read taking part as a specialist batsman, given his lack of runs in the Tests.
And Marcus Trescothick has declined the chance to put his feet up, preferring to try and find his touch - in seven innings so far on the tour he has scored 46 runs. "It is a bizarre experience for me," he admitted. "I'm struggling to find a reason because my preparation has been good, I've been hitting it. I feel like I have not had the opportunity to see if I'm in form or not. In the past there may have been times when I've been a bit tired but this has been really strange for me. It's a different sort of feeling altogether."
Daren Ganga, who has so far been overlooked, will lead a Carib Beer XI which includes some quick bowlers with a point to prove. Ravi Rampaul, who played in the recent Under-19 World Cup final, as well as Jermaine Lawson and Dwight Washington all play, and allrounder Omari Banks returns from injury.
Carib Beer XI 1 Daren Ganga (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Dwayne Bravo, 4 Sylvester Joseph, 5 Tonito Willett, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Omari Banks, 8 Ravi Rampaul, 9 Dwight Washington, 10 Jermaine Lawson, 11 Fernix Thomas.
England 1 Marcus Trescothick (capt), 2 Paul Collingwood, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Rikki Clarke, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Chris Read, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Gareth Batty, 10 James Anderson, 11 Matthew Hoggard.
Read in App
Elevate your reading experience on ESPNcricinfo App.