We are now under a week away from the first test between England and West Indies. It is an important series for the tourists with victory being crucial if they are to gain some momentum ahead of the Ashes.

The series win would also represent a good start under Andrew Strauss and would finally put the whole Pietersen / Moores saga to bed. Nothing cancels out controversy better than a few test victories after all!

So, in a bid to preview the first test sufficiently, let’s take a look at what the England team should / will be in Jamaica next week.

Opening Batsmen – These two positions go without saying. Captain Strauss and Alistair Cook will undoubtedly opening the batting for England.

Number Three – This is the position that is up for most debate. Ian Bell has held the position in recent months and despite poor form is set to bat here in England’s final warm-up game. This suggests that he will get the nod over Owais Shah, who performed brilliantly against in the recent tour match.

Number Four – Pietersen will be back to his best on this tour. I really feel that he will score plenty of runs against the West Indies. He has a knack of proving his critics wrong in style. Much like his hundred the other day suggests.

Number Five – Paul Collingwood is likely to slot in here. He is a very experienced campaigner and is another player under pressure from Shah. However, the Durham man will almost certainly get the chance to secure his test place.

Number Six – This one depends on fitness. If Andrew Flintoff is injury free, he will play. If not, it’s that man Shah who will come in. England seem confident that Freddie will make it though, so Shah could continue in his role as the nearly man of English cricket. I feel for him, I really do.

Number Seven –
Matt Prior is currently in possession and the gloves and that won’t change between now and the first test. He has found runs hard to come by as late though, so perhaps Tim Ambrose will get another chance at some point.

Number Eight –
If Flintoff is fit, England are likely to go into the first test with two spinners. This means that Adil Rashid and Graeme Swann will be battling it out for this position. Given his performances in India though, Swann will probably be Strauss’ man. Rashid’s time will come.

Number Nine – Should Ryan Sidebottom prove his fitness in the latest tour match, he will play. He was England’s leading wicket taker last year and will thrive in the West Indies.

Number Ten –
This is another interesting battle. Steve Harmison and James Anderson are reportedly gunning for one spot. Much may depend on how each of them performs against West Indies A, but at the moment the cricket odds are probably favouring Harmison.

Number Eleven – Oh Monty, Monty……Panesar will be looking to prove his worth as England’s premier spinner on this tour. He looked in decent form in the warm up match and hopefully he can carry this on into the test matches.

So, there you have it. The team I expect to fact West Indies in the first test next week is:

Alistair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar.

The team I would want is slightly different though. I’d have Shah in for Bell. But who am I to question the England selection team?

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about cricket betting

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G’day Barack !

Barack'ed !With all the goings on in this week, there is no surprise that it had an affect on the whole wide world (of sports) and yesterday at the Washington DC the Australian Open in Melbourne was no exception as the image shows.

The local crowd celebrated Barack Obama’s inauguration by showing their support with Obama masks and an homage to Michael J Fox’s Back to the Future – which film I’m not sure as Doc was nowhere to be seen!

Gives a new term to Baracking for your favourite player or team doesn’t it! Now Bush never received this sort of publicity – then again Bush certainly isn’t Obama!!!

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Flower unsure over England head coach job

England have now arrived in the Caribbean ahead of four test matches, five One Day Internationals and a Twenty20 match against the West Indies. Leading the team on the tour, as we all know, is Andrew Strauss who is being assisted by temporary head coach Andy Flower.

There is a difference between these two though. Strauss has admitted that he wants his new role as skipper to be a ‘long term’ position, while Flower has played down suggestions that he could succeed Peter Moores beyond the West Indies tour.

The former Zimbabwe batsman has admitted that he will be ‘taking over Peter’s responsibilities’ in the next month or so, but that he is ‘unsure’ that he wants the job on a permanent basis.

Flower then went on to say that he is prepared to ‘play it by ear’ and ‘see how the next month goes’. Overall, it seems pretty clear that England’s ‘interim coach’ isn’t prepared to look too far into the future. However, for now he says that he is more than happy to ‘support’ Strauss to ensure a successful few weeks in the Caribbean.

One issue that inevitabley came up when asking Flower about the current coaching set up was his relationship with Kevin Pietersen. Prior to resigning from the captaincy, Pietersen had requested that both Moores and Flower were removed from their respective roles.

Despite this, Flower claims that the two are on decent terms and that they have ‘always had a good relationship’. He did admit that the whole Pietersen / Moores saga was ‘sad for everyone’ though by revealing that he and KP have had their fair share of ‘differences’ in the past.

Flower insists that this has been nothing more than ‘healthy debate’ though, something he enjoys with a number of the players. it seems that he is keen to put the issue to bed and continue forward in order to ensure England are successful in the build up to the Ashes series.

As for the series as a whole, well the cricket odds are expecting Strauss’ men to emerge victorious after the four match test-series. West Indies are comfortably below England in the rankings and if any momentum is to be gained ahead of the summer – victory is a must for the tourists.

It is also a series that could determine the way in which the coaching set-up is arranged on a more permanent basis. Should England do well, Flower may want to put his name in the hat for the new coach or he may wish to remain as ‘assistant coach’ under the new regime.

Whatever happens, we should know a lot more by the end what is a very significant tour for English cricket.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about cricket betting

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Yorkshire captain Anthony McGrath has urged England not to expect too much too soon from spinner Adil Rashid. The Yorkshire youngster was included in England’s squad for the West Indies tour, but McGrath is hoping that the national team are patient with him.

Although McGrath admits that there is every chance Rashid is capable of performing consistently for England at such a young age, he is concerned that the 20-year-old will be ‘left to his own devices’ should he suffer a dip in form.

A number of years ago, England threw fellow leg-spinner Chris Schofield in at the deep end, only to discard him after just two tests. Schofield then failed to live up to his early potential throughout his career. The same musn’t happen to Rashid, because if anything, the crickets odds say that he is more exciting that Schofield was.

Should Rashid suffer a dip in form during the West Indies tour for example, McGrath hopes that the England coaching staff ‘support him’ in order to ‘sustain his form’ over the next ten years or so.

In terms of Rashid’s international future, McGrath believes that he deserves the chance he has been given in the West Indies, but that England won’t see the best of him for ‘a number of years’. In fact, he is of the opinion that Rashid won’t completely for fill his potential until he is ’26, 27 or 28.’

This would mean that England need to be patient with him for at least six or seven years. Is this too much to ask for I wonder? Presumably Rashid will need to perform well at some stage during this time? Otherwise England would have no choice than to look elsewhere.

What McGrath is most concerned about, is Rashid being rushed into things. No way should the England’s spinning hopes be pinned on a 20-year-old leg-spinner. However, should he show signs of his talent in the West Indies tour, it could help shape his international future.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about cricket betting

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The events of yesterday have made English cricket a relative laughing stock once again. Just as it looked as though Australia were the team preparing for the Ashes with all the problems, England promptly lose their captain and coach on the same morning to create great uncertainty about the future of the set up.

Sport teams all over the world change their captains from time to time and a coach will be sacked somewhere almost every day. However, to lose both at the same time really is something. I imagine Australian cricket fans are laughing there heads off right now.

The most frustrating thing for me though, is the uncertainty. The disagreements between Moores and Pietersen became public a few days ago and yet nothing was confirmed until yesterday. In the few days of speculation, lots of scenarios were talked up and many people had made their mind up about the whole thing.

Then, yesterday morning it was revealed that Pietersen has resigned and Moores was set to be sacked. Everyone was shocked. Surely England can’t be losing both of them? Later on yesterday, it was all confirmed.

There was still great uncertainty about how it had all happened though and where the blame should be placed. Hugh Morris, the managing director of the ECB, then stood in front the gathered press to confirm everything we already knew. He had much respect for Pietersen and Moores, but in light of the recent events, both of their positions had become untenable.

This seemed fair as it was a statement that confirmed things. Morris also revealed that Andrew Strauss would take over as captain for the West Indies tour and that the search for a new coach would begin immediately. Great, all sorted.

The next thing Morris said though was depressing. ‘I shall not be taking any questions today’. What? Respected cricket journalists from around the world are waiting to ask you about one of the most significant and controversial days for English cricket in many years and you won’t be taking any questions?

So, like my headline suggests, the uncertainty over how all this has happened will continue and hundreds of questions remain unanswered. Surely the England cricket fans deserve an explanation.

Did Pietersen even want to captain England in the first place?
Why was he on holiday when all of this was unfolding?
Did you not prepare for such a scenario given Pietersen’s reputation?
How did this all become public knowledge?
Was there a divide in the England dressing room?
Would Pietersen even play for England again if he wasn’t the best player?
What has Moores done to deserve his sacking?
How much will it cost the ECB to pay off Moores’ contract?

I could go on and on, but I shall leave it there. It was so frustrating yesterday when Morris said he wouldn’t be taking questions. It would have been an excellent chance to clarify a few things and put a number of issues to bed.

Instead, the future of the England cricket team is more uncertain than ever and plenty of questions remain over Pietersen’s ability to perform under a new captain, the search for a new coach and whether Strauss will return to the one-day team for the West Indies tour.

All in all, it makes Australia’s two series defeats in a row rather insignificant doesn’t it?

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about sports betting and sports betting advice

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South Africa have named an unchanged side for the third and final test against Australia in Sydney as they look to complete a 3-0 whitewash over Ricky Ponting’s men.

Graeme Smith and his team have been the most in form team during 2008 and should they win the final test of the series, they will eclipse Australia as the highest ranked test team in the world. It would also be Australia’s first home whitewash in 122 years.

South Africa’s task has been made easier by the news that Brett Lee, Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds are all out injured for Australia, meaning that their bowling attack is more inexperienced than ever. Andrew McDonald and Doug Bollinger will both be making their debuts.

Speaking about the possibility of being overtaken as the No.1 time in the world for the first time in 13 years, Ponting said ‘there’s no time to panic’ and that whatever happens his team have had an ‘amazing run’.

The Australia captain then went on to say that he was still ‘very positive’ about the future of his team and that in a few years time they can be ‘dominating world cricket once again’.

In the shorter term though, Australia have a test match to win to salvage some pride. They will not want to lose 3-0 and will do everything they can to avoid this happening. Sports betting perhaps has South Africa down as slight favourites, but in reality there work is done. They came here to win the series and they have done that.

As much as they say a 3-0 whitewash is important, they won’t have the same determination or mindset as they would have done had it been 1-1 at this stage. Ponting and his men could maybe use this to their advantage.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about sport betting odds

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