Toilers, not terrorisers
Simon Hughes, in the Daily Telegraph , writes of how the current West Indies pace attack is different from the one in the eighties
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
Simon Hughes, in the Daily Telegraph, writes of how the current West Indies pace attack is different from the one in the eighties. The tables, he says, have turned and it's England's bowlers who've made life difficult for batsmen.
But West Indies’ real problem is Darren Sammy. As captain he may have been a cohesive force but as a player he does not have serious Test credentials. His bowling is innocuous, hovering around the 75 mph mark, and offers too many scoring opportunities. His honest dobbers are only marginally better than Jonathan Trott’s
Meanwhile, in the Sunday Telegraph, Steve James assesses the form of Ian Bell and debut of Jonny Bairstow.
The truth is that Bell had a bit of a stinker last winter, making just one half-century in five Tests. But he was hardly alone in his struggles. And there was credit in the bank. Boy, was there credit in the bank. His final Test innings of last summer was 235 against India at the Oval. He made four other centuries during the calendar year of 2011, in which he averaged 118.75. Quite simply he was then the best batsman in the world.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo