Jamaica v England

[I@n S]

Boyashaka!

Hear me now... Ali G ere to report me homies Jamaica Vs me ova homies England in da 1st warm ap game, before da Westinidas Vs England test series.. aaaaight.

Check it..!


Vaughan leads from the front
The Wisden Bulletin

March 1, 2004

Jamaica 25 for 2 trail England XII 320 (Vaughan 105, Hussain 65, Read 61) by 295 runs
Scorecard


England's confident morning was followed by afternoon and evening wobbles as they were bowled out for 320 shortly before the close on the first day at Sabina Park. At lunch they were 154 for 2, but thereafter they lost eight wickets for 166 and the day ended with a feeling that an opportunity had been squandered against an enthusiastic but young Jamaica side.

Michael Vaughan had predicted that chin music would accompany England's opening fixture of their tour of the Caribbean, but on the first day it was Vaughan himself who played the disc jockey. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, he zoomed to an effortless century. He faced only 89 balls, slamming 19 fours and a six, before he was out shortly after lunch for 105, bowled by Jermaine Lawson who was returning to action after remedial work on his bowling action.

Nasser Hussain also took advantage of his chance, stroking a positive 65 which did include a sumptuous straight six off offspinner Bevon Brown - although Brown later had him leg-before, one of three wickets for him. Chris Read did much to dampen criticism with a feisty 61 while the late order offered him scant support, and Graham Thorpe caressed a breezy 34.


But there were also lows. Marcus Trescothick - looking very out of sorts - was bowled off his pads by one from Evon McInnis that kept a little low for 7, and Mark Butcher slapped a loose cut off a Dwight Mais longhop straight to Brown at point. Andy Flintoff was as plumb leg-before as it is possible to be to McInnis for a single, and Rikki Clarke and Ashley Giles also failed to impress.


There was late success for England when Jamaica lost Brenton Parchment, their splendidly-named captain, caught by Read for 0 in Matthew Hoggard's second over and then Donovon Pagon, the nightwatchman, caught and bowled by Hoggard for 6 in the final over of the day. Hoggard, who ran in with real purpose and aggression, should have had three wickets - his first ball struck the boot of a creasebound Shawn Findlay, but the umpire dismissed the confident appeal.


It was all very different to England's last appearance at Sabina Park, all of six years ago. Back then, their match lasted for all of 61 deliveries – the pitch on that occasion was as undulated as a piece of corrugated iron, and with Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose steaming in on the first morning of the Test series, there was the very real danger of a serious injury. Today, by contrast, could hardly have been more sedate. Instead of rolling out their big guns, Jamaica chose to rest several of their leading players, and the ardour was further dampened when England requested to use a squad of 12, thereby depriving the game of first-class status.


What is more, the pitch could hardly have been further removed from the Sabina minefield of old. Jonathan Agnew, commentating on BBC Radio, remarked that the track – two down from the strip that has been earmarked for the first Test – looked as though "a blind goat had been let loose on it", and it was as slow and low as anything that England encountered on their recent tour of Sri Lanka.

[couragous cloke]

good to see LAwson back, and picked up the most important wicket.

that man is the best bowler in the caribbean by so far.

[Donny]

Butcher injury mars England's day

Wisden Cricinfo staff


England struggled with the ball on the second day of their tour-opener against Jamaica at Sabina Park, but the on-field action was overshadowed by a freak injury to Mark Butcher in the morning session.

Butcher, who is one of only three members of the party to have previous experience of a Caribbean tour, was fielding at mid-off when he moved to catch a ball being returned to the bowler. He appeared to go over on his ankle and collapsed to the ground, to the initial amusement of his team-mates. But he had to be carried off the field and was taken to hospital for an X-ray on a suspected twisted ankle.

That incident compounded a fairly nondescript day for England's bowlers - if the aim was to give the six-man attack as much practice as possible, the derisory over-rate didn't give too much of a clue. They all toiled hard in the heat but none stood out. James Anderson finished with the best figures (3 for 42) - but they flattered him - and Matthew Hoggard also took three (3 for 47).

Danza Hyatt and Shawn Findlay, who had resumed on 25 for 2, started confidently, taking 12 overs to rattle off another 48 runs before Andrew Flintoff picked up his first wicket of the tour, extracting Hyatt for 21, via a smart catch at first slip from Marcus Trescothick (71 for 3). Findlay went on to reach a deserved half-century, but on 51 he was snapped up by Nasser Hussain off Ashley Giles, as England finished the session on a positive note.

Mario Ventura made a slow 51 in the afternoon - it took a run-out to remove him - and England were again frustrated by late-order resistance as Evon McInnis bludgeoned a 27-ball 41 to take Jamaica within 39 runs of the England total.

Faced with a tricky 11 overs before the close, England opened with Marcus Trescothick and Graham Thorpe. Trescothick looked marginally more assured than he had yesterday, but Thorpe was disappointingly cut off for 18. England's concerns regarding Butcher's fitness were emphasised when Paul Collingwood, not in the original 12-man side, came out to bat at No. 3.

Perhaps the best news for England was the return to training of Simon Jones, who arrived in Kingston late on Monday evening. He had delayed his departure for the Caribbean after suffering from sore shins, but bowled for about 15 minutes in the Sabina Park nets without any ill-effects, and is likely to feature in Friday's warm-up match against a Vice Chancellor's XI.

[Donny]

Paul Collingwood certainly grabbed his chance to impress with both hands as he batted at first drop in place of the injured Mark Butcher in England's second innings.

He racked up an excellent 103. He shared a 104 run 3rd. wicket partnership with Andy Flintoff (57).

Then Ashley Giles lifted his confidence with 4/19 from 10 overs as the match finished in a draw.

[I@n S]

Good to see Collingwood doing well (at cricket to lol)
About time to that Ashley Giles bowled to take wickets

[London Dave]