West Indies v England
England named uncapped paceman Amjad Khan ahead of Steve Harmison in a five-man attack for the must-win fifth Test against West Indies in Trinidad.
The tourists won the toss and chose to bat first at the Queen's Park Oval.
Khan replaced Ryan Sidebotton, while Tim Ambrose made way for first-choice wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Monty Panesar came in for Ravi Bopara.
For West Indies, Lionel Baker was in for the injured Jerome Taylor and Lendl Simmons was preferred to Sulieman Benn.
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By Sam Lyon
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606: DEBATE
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1346: That is, apparently, a big toss to win by the way folks. I can't say for certain because I am approximately 4,431 miles away (ah, the genius of the internet) sat in the BBC Television Centre, as opposed to the lucky few out soaking up the sun - and no doubt a few rum and cokes - at the Queen's Park Oval. Windies skipper Chris Gayle looks like he's been slapped in the face by an insolent teenager in his local boozer whilst admitting he would have quite liked first use of the pitch. Strauss, however, looks like he's slept with a hanger in his mouth. This might be another doozy of a wicket for the batsmen...
"The thing about Bopara over Shah though is that the selectors have to be consistent. Shah is the replacement for a dropped Bell, and deserves a run. Bopara was merely a replacement for the injured Flintoff, which was expected to be a short term thing."
AlwaysOneShort on 606
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1339: The news from the Windies camp is rather converse to England's. While England go with five bowlers and a batsman fewer, the hosts replace impressive spinner Sulieman Benn with an extra batsman in Lendl Simmons, while seamer Jerome Taylor is out injured, with Lionel Baker coming in. More defensive than a man caught by his wife at a gentleman's club in the early hours of the morning, that.
1334: ENGLAND WIN THE TOSS AND WILL BAT FIRST
"Bopara gets a ton and offers an extra bowling option if needed, yet he gets dropped and Owais Shah scores just a handful of runs and offers nothing else retains his place. Hmmm..."
MagpieRH on 606
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1331: Poor ol' Ravi Bopara, then, hey? The man returns to the side with a splendid, resolute and brave century - earned after being smashed in the face by a bit of Fidel Edwards chin music - and he is rewarded with the big fat drop. And what of Steve Harmison? The man can't even get back into a side that took a grand total of nine wickets at a cost of 749 runs in Barbados. That's not so much a nail in the coffin of Harmison's international career as it is a series of nails, sealed by a layer of concrete and set under a weight of 10 feet of dirt, surely?
1325: I don't know. A potentially huge Test for English and/or West Indies cricket - with the former aiming for a first Test victory since August(!) and the hosts looking to seal a first home series win in five years - and where's your host Ben Dirs? Fannying about on a bus from Liverpool Street having been held up by "tube trouble". This country huh?
Anyway, the official news from the Queens Park Oval is that Amjad Khan will make his England debut today as part of a five-strong bowling attack. The unofficial news is that Ryan Sidebottom, Ravi Bopara and Tim Ambrose have been dropped, with Khan, Matt Prior and Monty Panesar in the starting XI. Thoughts?
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