According to New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, the performance of their batsmen against the West Indies is an indication of how far they have come as a batting unit. Given the problems they have had in the past and the criticisms spewed in their direction, it is understandable that upon gaining his first test win as captain McCullum would be only too happy to latch on to any sign of team progress. But if he is really serious about measuring the advance of his team he probably should have waited until they confront India in February 2014.
For some years now the West Indies' has excelled in the art of making the opposition appearing to be better than they really are. Batting collapse has followed batting collapse as bowlers preened themselves with flattering figures against impatient and ill-equipped batsmen. Meanwhile, wayward bowling by bowlers who seem incapable of mastering even basic skills has allowed batsmen to run up huge numbers, almost as if they were stockpiling runs in a time of plenty because they knew a time of scarcity would come along soon enough.
HAMILTON, New Zealand – West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson said Shane Shillingford and Marlon Samuels will receive the full support of the West Indies Team Management Unit Cricket and the West Indies Cricket Board following the publication of the findings on tests conducted on their bowling actions.
The ICC also said that Samuels’ bowling action for his standard off-break delivery was bowled with a legal action, but that his quicker deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees’ level of tolerance and thus, were considered to be illegal. While Samuels is allowed to continue to bowl his standard off-break delivery in international cricket, he is not permitted to bowl his quicker deliveries.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that an independent biomechanical analysis has found the bowling action of West Indies’ off-spinner Shane Shillingford to be illegal and, as such, the player has been suspended from bowling in international cricket.
The analysis revealed that for both his standard off-break delivery and his doosra, the amount of elbow extension in his bowling action exceeded the 15 degrees’ level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions. He is suspended from bowling in international cricket until such time that he has submitted to a fresh analysis, which concludes that he has remedied his bowling action.
When the once-mighty West Indies went down limply to a frisky and impetuous New Zealand, I began looking for the underlying reason why. Beaten easily, with the conditions all in their favour, after a gallant batting fightback by Darren Bravo only days earlier in Dunedin, West Indies defied logic this time.
After returning from Adelaide and concluding that Australia had superior hunger and conviction, I realised that the two Test matches revolved around one simple thing - the force of energy; of vigorous activity and exertion of such power. Australia and New Zealand, the hosts, each ranked below their opponent, had significant tension that needed to be expressed.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – West Indies crumbled to an innings and 73-run defeat, after Trent Boult undermined their batting twice in a single day with destructive left-arm swing bowling, handing New Zealand their first Test victory for the year in the second Test on Friday here.
Resuming from their overnight total of 158 for four, replying to the New Zealanders’ first innings total of 441, the Windies were bowled out for 193 about an hour after the rescheduled start on the third day at the Basin Reserve – and were forced to follow on for the second straight Test.
After a solid start from openers Kirk Edwards and Kieran Powell, the visitors were again dismissed in dramatic fashion for 175 in their second innings about an hour before the scheduled close.
