Anderson and Chanderpaul chasing records in spring series...
Monday 13 April 2015 11:34, UK
England endured a bitterly disappointing World Cup – but a trip to the Caribbean could be just what the doctor ordered.
The three-Test series against West Indies will allow Alastair Cook’s side to get back into a format they are generally pretty good at, as shown by their comprehensive win over India last summer.
Add in the fact that West Indies do not have all of their stars available, with the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine currently playing in front of big crowds in the IPL, and suddenly things look pretty rosy for England.
You will be able to see how they get on when the entire series is shown live on Sky Sports 2, starting with the opening encounter, in Antigua, from 2.30pm on Monday, April 13.
Cook is back as England captain having been left out of his nation’s World Cup squad and the opener will be hopeful of racking up the runs and notching his first Test ton since 2013.
The skipper is likely to be partnered at the top of the order by Jonathan Trott, who has returned to England colours for the first time since he left the Ashes tour in 2013-14 with a stress-related illness.
On the bowling front, Durham seamer Mark Wood and Adil Rashid could make their maiden Test appearances but all eyes will be on James Anderson, who will be aiming to mark his 100th Test match by becoming England’s leading Test wicket-taker of all time.
The Lancashire quick is three wickets shy of the record 383 taken by Sir Ian Botham but will be licking his chops at facing a West Indies’ batting line-up that can be a tad frail.
Standing in Anderson’s way, though, will be the veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who is seeking a record of his own, namely becoming West Indies’ top Test run scorer in history.
The 40-year-old Guyanese needs another 138 runs to leapfrog the great Brian Lara but he is not the only Caribbean player England must be careful of over the coming weeks.
Kraigg Brathwaite is growing all the time as an opening bat, while Darren Bravo – Dwayne’s younger sibling – is an elegant strokemaker and Jerome Taylor had a field day when West Indies played England six years ago, taking 5-11 as the tourists were skittled for just 51 in Jamaica.
The latter can’t happen again, can it?
First Test, Antigua: April 13-17
Second Test, Grenada: April 21-25
Third Test, Barbados: May 1-5
You can also keep up to speed with all the games via live text commentary on skysports.com and via our Twitter account: @SkyCricket
