Men playing Tennis in shorts, it's all been downhill since then.

Blink ... and it's all over!
What a one-sided affair the "much heralded" day-night test turned out to be!
WIndies walloped in three day/nights by England ... like watching a bulldozer crushing a peanut!

It was painful to watch the England bowlers torment what in essence is a third division club side ...
Think I'll pass on watching the next two tests ... they won't be "tests" as such, more a severe
infliction of continued pain, courtesy of the England team.

What depth has test cricket plumbed ?
Two Divisions are now an absolute necessity.

Tier 1 : Australia, South Africa, England, India, New Zealand.
Tier 2 : Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, WIndies, Zimbabwe.

I think at least three of the Windies senior players are missung because of a disagreement with Cricket West Indies about selection. It is very sad because the West Indies had some of the best bowlers and batsmen ever seen.

There was a discussion yesterday on the radio about this situation after the end of the "match."

Apparently the best players are earning top money playing T20, and the youngsters are being steered towards American professional sports, such as Basketball and NFL, where they will earn huge amounts of money compared with their potential earnings playing cricket. I'm not sure we will see the likes of Ambrose, Holding, Marshall, Lloyd, Richards and Richardson again.

I remember going to see the West Indies play a test match at Old Trafford and the only seats we got were at right angles to the pitch. When Joel Garner bowled you couldn't see the ball it was moving that fast !!

Know what you mean Bob!
The very same applied to Holding, Marshall (who was considered the fastest of all), Roberts, Walsh and Daniels (who never got a look-in).
Two lovely stories emerge from those days -

Firstly, Phil Tuffnell (#11 bat) who was a renowned coward when it came to facing fast bowling ... whilst walking out to bat whispers to the WIndies quick (I forget who) ..." Just bowl it straight mate and I'll do the rest" ... the straight ball came down, Tuffers shouldered arms and was clean bowled. Job done!

The other one involved Marshall, who was alleged to have said to a batsman whose protruding bat was repeatedly passed by the quick's 90mph thunderbolts .. "Hey maaan, are you going to nick one to the slips or do I have to kill you first?"

Happy Days!

Re the missing WIndies players ... yes, T20 has claimed a few of them, specifically Gayle, but in essence, the WIndies Board are all a bunch of numb-nuts who feather their own nests before looking to take care of their best players. As Dwayne Bravo suggested "The Chairman is an idiot".

Enough said.

Can't say I blame him given the speed of those bowlers. Be like having a cannon fired at you :eek: ... or in Joel Garners case, a Stuka dive bomber given the height it was coming from.

:sweat:

Well played the WIndies ... an absolute gem of a Test Match!

And I unequivocally withdraw all my derogatory opinions of the WIndies from five posts above.
These guys have earned their keep in the top drawer of test cricket... and I will eat humble pie!

Brathwaite and Hope, two young WIndies batsmen who showed immense concentration, focus and determination - not to mention sheer bloody guts - to take the WIndies home to a memorable win.
England did their best ... but their best was not good enough.

However, no shame on Root, whose sporting declaration went a long way to making this test match truly memorable.

Well done the WIndies, and roll on Lord's ....

Well, the last test match of the season starts tomorrow at Lord's and I shall be there for most of the five days..

Wonder which WIndies team will turn up ... and, for that matter, which England team!

Let's hope for good weather, a true wicket and some high class performances to end what has been a feast of Test Matches this summer ...