Live: England v West Indies

• Hit F5 to refresh or turn on the automatic widget below • Email your thoughts to rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk •  Follow it on the sly with our desktop scoreboard • Click here for full scorecard 16th over: England 97-2 (Trott 38, Bell 7) Here’s Devendra Bishoo, the 25-year-old debutant leggie. He has a stunning List A record (25 wickets at 12.64 from 10 games) and has a biggish shout for LBW second ball. Bell missed a premeditated lap, but the ball turned enough that it would have missed off stump. That’s a nice start from Bishoo, with just three singles from the over. “I’d like to think,” says Ant Pease, “that Tino Best would do well on the subject of the 2004 Great Slump of the West London glazing industry .” 15th over: England 94-2 (Trott 37, Bell 5) Trott pulls out the reverse sweep for Benn’s first delivery, and times it superbly for four. That takes him to 36 from 19 balls. Thirty-six from 19 balls! This is, as the chaps have just said on Sky, a much better pitch than the South Africa one, although I still think there will be plenty for Swann and also some reverse swing. Anything over 250 should be extremely competitive. “My wife did have fun at our wedding (11th over), as it goes,” says Mac Millings. “When the official asked if she took this man, etc., she started laughing, and couldn’t stop. Better than crying, I suppose. Perhaps that was just on the inside.” 14th over: England 87-2 (Trott 32, Bell 4) Three singles from Russell’s over. England are in a cracking position here but they must be careful not to lose too many wickets too soon and end up, say, being all out for 114 in the 19th over. Meanwhile, to my left, James Richardson is talking about Michael Bevan’s peerless dot-ball ratio favourite or most memorable adverts. For some reason, this always comes to mind . 13th over: England 85-2 (Trott 30, Bell 3) Benn is back. One thing that Bell and Trott have done well in the tournament is to ensure a relatively low dot-ball ratio, and that will be important as the spinners get in amongst the innings. They are into the groove straight away with six singles from Benn’s over. Excellent batting. “I love the OBO,” says Kathryn Burgess. “It’s all things to all people. Where else could you find ‘panegyrical monogamy’ and ‘bricking it’ in the same paragraph?” A transcript of Question Time: the Watford edition? 12th over: England 79-2 (Trott 27, Bell 0) Earlier in the over, Trott pinged his sixth boundary from his first nine deliveries. Astonishing. By the end of the over he had slowed down a touch; his strike rate is now a leisurely 225.00. “Specialist subjects,” says Paul Chapman. “Name: Kamran Akmal. Occupation: Wicketkeeper. Specialist Subject: The Catcher in the Rye.” WICKET! England 79-2 (Strauss c Gayle b Russell 31) Having lived by the pull, Andrew Strauss dies by it. That was on him a touch too quickly from Andre Russell, and maybe a touch too high as well, so the ball went up in the air towards midwicket. Chris Gayle stirred from his afternoon nap to lumber after it, and he took a good two-handed catch as he tumbled forward. I thought he was going to drop it, in truth, or fall asleep before he reached it, but he held on well and then rolled over on his back in delight like a little madcap cat. Strauss played well to reach 31 from 39 balls, although England could have done with him staying in for this Powerplay. 11th over: England 73-1 (Strauss 30, Trott 22) When The Wisden Cricketer devoted a big section to cricket’s 50 greatest mavericks a couple of years ago, there was a nice counter-intuitive inclusion of Glenn McGrath. You could put Trott in there for similar reasons. I can’t stop laughing at him, for all the right reasons. He’s a unique phenomenon, and he has moved to – and you’ll like this – 22 from 8 balls! There were consecutive boundaries in that Sammy over, a cut and then a beautiful extra-cover drive. “An OBO of the wedding sounds like fun,” says Robin Hazlehurst, before describing a scenario that, while many things, probably doesn’t qualify as ‘fun’. “Just think of all the slightly sad (and very old) fnarr fnarrish cricket jokes you get in about bowling maidens over and the bride hoping for a tickle between the legs later and so on. Millings would be in his element.” He’d have more fun than his wife did at his wedding. Possibly. 10th over: England 60-1 (Strauss 27, Trott 12) They really should have a drinks break every time Jonathan Trott walks to the wicket, so long do his routines take. When he is finally ready, Russell spears the first ball onto the pads and… well, you know what happens next. Don’t bowl there to Trott; he’s almost as ruthless off his pads as Mark Waugh was back in the day. Trott gets another boundary two balls later, worked economically off the hip behind square, and then another from his fifth delivery, driven through extra cover. Twelve from five balls. What a start! “Luke Wright is trending on Twitter,” says my colleague Matthew Hancock. “Never thought I’d see the day.” That’s priceless. Imagine what will happen when he hits 47 from 18 balls, takes three for 34 and two catches and pulls off a run out in the final. WICKET! England 48-1 (Prior b Russell 21) There that goes. Russell nips a good one through Prior’s gate to knock middle stump out of the ground. It was that mezzanine length, so Prior didn’t know whether to go back or forward. He did neither in the end, and there was just enough seam movement to take the ball between bat and pad and onto the to of off stump. It’s another nothing score for Prior in one-day cricket, but at least he didn’t hang around: 21 from 21 balls represents a decent start for England. 9th over: England 48-0 (Strauss 27, Prior 21) The captain Darren Sammy is going to bowl. “Come on Big Boy,” says Devon Thomas, who clearly doesn’t believe in panegyrical monogamy. His second ball is a touch short, no more, and Strauss picks it up handsomely over midwicket for six. He’s pulling with abandon now that Roach is out of the attack. He took his time to get his eye in – not unlike Mike Atherton in that epic ODI hundred v the West Indies in 1995 – and now he is playing beautifully. Eight from the over. “Mastermind?” sniffs Guy Hornsby. “Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction in terms for OBOers? I bet Graeme Swann would be a great contestant. The mind boggles at what he’d settle on: Oasis’ Discography, The History Newcastle United’s Silverware (arf), Winding Up Pseudo-Yorkshiremen on Social Networks, or how about Being The Best Spinner in the World? I like the sound of the last one. In truth I’m much too nervous to be fully humorous at the moment. In fact, I’m bricking it.” Honk! 8th over: England 40-0 (Strauss 20, Prior 20) Sulieman Benn is replaced by Andre Russell, another hulking fast bowler. Strauss pulls him for two and then drags another pull round the corner for four. After a couple of sighters, England are clearly keen to cash in before this pitch starts to die. Everything dies, even good pitches. “I’d just like to say I’ve really enjoyed this World Cup, shame it’s over so quickly,” says Piers Barclay. “Can we make the group stages longer next time?” Have you been watching Annie Hall ? 7th over: England 33-0 (Strauss 13, Prior 20) That’s a splendid stroke from Strauss, who walks across his stumps and slams Roach through midwicket for four. He has such authority these days. Saying which, Strauss then charges down the track and misses an almighty golf shot. Still, this has been – don’t whisper it, don’t even think it – a good start from England. “KP’s specialist subject,” says Sara Torvalds, “would be getting out to left-arm spin, surely.” 6th over: England 27-0 (Strauss 8, Prior 19) “Bowling Benny Boy, come on Benny,” says Devon Thomas. Even before Benn has bowled a ball. What was that line in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang about mouths and socks? The Sky commentators all concur that the pitch is, for now at least, a belter. But there is already turn for Benn and this looks like a seriously good toss to win. Prior is looking in decent touch and times some filth from Benn through midwicket for four. He has 19 from 18 balls. “An OBO on the Royal Wedding?” sniffs Hannah Finch. “Oh please – that would great. I actually might tune in to that – hoping to spend the day in the middle of nowhere with no access to any forms of communication. But for OBO of the wedding, I will make an exception!” You and ones of others. 5th over: England 18-0 (Strauss 7, Prior 11) Full and wide from Roach – don’t bowl there, son – and Strauss spanks him gloriously through extra cover for four. There has been no sideways movement yet, so the drive looks a fairly safe shot. “Are you surprised they chose to bet?” Freudians Chris Wright. “England are so much better at chasing than setting a total.” They are, but this is definitely a bat-first pitch. They will want the sun to bake it this afternoon for the spinners. I don’t think dew will be much of an issue today; although, I must confess, Chennai dew is not my Mastermind specialist subject. I wonder what Ian Bell’s Mastermind subject would be, or Paul Nixon’s, or Ian Austin’s, or any other England cricketer’s. Any ideas? 4th over: England 14-0 (Strauss 3, Prior 11) Devon Thomas is the chattiest wicketkeeper I can recall – he makes Ian Healy seem like Mr Bean – and to my chagrin persists in calling Sulieman Benn “Big Boy”. It must be off putting for the boSHUT UP MANwler, never mind the batsDIGNITY, DIGNITYmen. Strauss sweeps for a single and then Prior rocks back to cut expertly for four. He split the field beautifully there. A similar shot brings two more off the final delivery, and Prior looks in decent t[that'll do - ed]. 3rd over: England 7-0 (Strauss 2, Prior 5) Strauss mis-pulls Roach just over Devon Smith, running back from midwicket. That’s a dangerous shot against Roach, given the bounce. It’s one of three singles from the over, so the cautious start continues. Roach is bowling well here. “Now that Jonathan Agnew is set to commentate from Whitehall on the Royal Wedding,” begins Keith Flett, “I await news of plans for OBO to cover the event, with a carriage by carriage summary of events.” They did let one of us cover the Budget once. We weren’t asked back. 2nd over: England 4-0 (Strauss 0, Prior 4) The new ball will be shared by the left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn. Prior gets England’s first runs from the 10th delivery of the match, driving nicely through extra cover for four. Those are the only runs from the over. England have started watchfully and I think that is sensible, not least because they lost two wickets in the first over against South Africa on this ground. “I recall the name Tredwell but have no frame of reference,” says Luciano Howard. “I agree a slightly mad selection helps up the crazy-who-knows-what-the-heck’s-gonna-happen barometer alongside Maverick and the positively Ice Man seeming Windies (cf England these days) but why, specifically (and obviously Tremlett in is clearly good).” Well they need two spinners for this pitch, and Tredwell is a better bowler than Yardy. England have made a Horlicks of the batting Powerplay, but Wright can be deadly if he comes off. You want him coming in after around 43 overs; no earlier than that. He’s not so good at building an innings – he looks like he doesn’t know whether to stick, twist or ask for his mummy – but he can hit 40 off 20 balls at the death, which is just what England have lacked. And Tremlett comes in for Anderson because of a) the bounce and b) the fact that Anderson is exhausted mentally. 1st over: England 0-0 (Strauss 0, Prior 0) Kemar Roach’s first two deliveries bounce appreciably on their way through to Devon Thomas, which will interest Chris Tremlett, nor to mention Kemar Roach. It’s hard to know what a par score is, but it certainly isn’t 300, so England can afford a few overs to get a sense of what the pitch is like. Strauss does just that, leaving four of the first six deliveries from Roach. It’s a maiden. It’s a boiling hot day in Chennai , so an already bare pitch should wear some more by the time Graeme Swann gets to work. He is going to win this for England. My waters have told me. Impartiality department Come on England! The teams England Strauss (c), Prior (wk), Trott, Bell, Morgan, Bopara, Wright, Bresnan, Swann, Tredwell, Tremlett. West Indies Gayle, Smith, Darren Bravo, Sarwan, Pollard, Thomas (wk), Sammy, Russell, Benn, Bishoo, Roach. England have won the toss and will bat first. The England team? You’ll like this one: Luke Wright and James Tredwell are both playing! In other news, Shergar and Lord Lucan also start. So Tredwell is in for the injured Ajmal Shahzad – who, and stop me if you think you’ve etc, is injured and will miss the rest of the rest tournament – Wright replaces Paul Collingwood (who just may have played his last game for England), and Chris Tremlett replaces James Anderson. That’s a fascinating and unusually eccentric selection from Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss, a ‘sod it, what’s the worst that can happen’ gesture from two men who usually deal in the cold and the rational. The boys in the Sky studio are being very critical, but I quite like this XI. West Indies have surprisingly omitted Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with Chris Gayle returning. Their batting line up is fairly short by their standards, with the wicketkeeper Devon Thomas at No6. They have also picked a second frontline spinner, with the legspinner Devendra Bishoo replacing Nikita Miller. It’s Bishoo’s debut. A debutant legspinner, eh? Where’s Kevin Pietersen when you need him. That said, this is the pitch on which England beat South Africa and, although it looks a little better 10 days on, that did turn square. So it’s reasonable to expect plenty of help for the spinners. Have-you-gone-mad department Four games, 16 days. Win them all and England will almost certainly be world champions. Cornered Lions 2011 : you heard it here last. Okay, okay , so only Nos 1 and 2 apply. And although the film Go warns us of the perils of asking for favours, we can surely expect either South Africa to beat Bangladesh or India to beat the West Indies. If both were to lose it would be as improbable an occurrence as, oooh, a previously unstoppable South African side losing to Zimbabwe in 1999. (Which, for newbies, is precisely what happened – a result that put England out in the group stages but also, in a surreal twist of fate, put South Africa out of the tournament three weeks later.) Trust us, if England win today they will go through. Or your serotonin back. The permutations To qualify for the quarter-finals, England need the following to happen. 1. They beat the West Indies today 2. South Africa beat Bangladesh on Saturday or India beat West Indies on Sunday. 3. They get four or more lottery numbers. 4. The moon is aligned at an officially jaunty angle in relation to the earth. 5. Thom Yorke and Bob Willis smile simultaneously. 6. Mac Millings looks someone in the eye. 7. I inexplicably pepper the OBO with ludicrous phrases like ‘to die for’ and ‘ j’adore ‘ 8. Everyone else on the Guardian sports desk turns out today in a string vest and a sarong. It’s No1 that I’m really worried about. Preamble Once more upon the altar of pain, dear friends, once more. After three weeks in which their performances have fluctuated so wildly as to make Messrs Sublime and Ridiculous seem like siblings, England’s World Cup campaign may have reached the end of the line. If they lose to the West Indies in Chennai today, they will finally go home after the longest and most memorable winter of them all. The Ashes is the main part of 2010-11, of course – and you can celebrate it by buying 766 and All That , the Guardian Ashes book, for the reasonable price of £7.99, less than a pint of Foster’s shandy in some West End bars, from all good online book stores – but we’ll also remember their part in this World Cup for as long as we can say ‘ I know a century off 50 balls is pretty slow by today’s standards, kid, but in those days… ‘. It’s been a madcap romp that has redefined the phrase ‘Kwik Cricket’ (take a picture of your nails now, and then in eight hours’ time). If England lose today this will be, statistically speaking, their worst-ever World Cup performance (they have never before failed to reach the last eight), yet we will remember it with so much more fondness than 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007. It’s been full of warped joy, old-school misery and big dumb fun. Actually, fun might be pushing it, as anyone currently getting flashbacks to Shafiul Islam’s innings the other day will confirm. Yet it has been a very moreish kind of pain. By rights we should be begging for mercy; instead we’re begging for more. Just like this little cutie . After four consecutive coronary-inducers – five if you’re a completist and want to take in the Netherlands game – we’ll feel short-changed if today’s match isn’t decided by a Spandex-tight run-out referral off the last delivery. A tight finish is probably the only thing we should try to predict. The result is best left alone. Hindsight tells us that it has been safe to expect the unexpected from England at this tournament, but a) nobody knows what the unexpected is with the West Indies, who are mavericks themselves; any student of maverick behaviour knows that, when two mavericks meet, all bets are off; and, more importantly, b) if the unexpected becomes the norm then isn’t that now the expected so doesn’t that mean we should expect what used to be the expected and I’m confused now and my head hurts and is it the expected or the unexpected and is everything the wrong way round or not and WHY DO I KEEP SCRAWLING REDRUM EVERYWHERE I GO! Just assume the position behind the sofa and see what happens. It’s best that way. Cricket World Cup 2011 England cricket team West Indies Cricket Team Cricket Over by over reports Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.