The Cricket Thread 2016

[PaulWinch again]

Stokes could be an important player for us if he gets his form back.

[hipkiss92]

Nice to see a Villa fan going well

[PaulWinch again]

Good knock from Bell.

[paul_e]

Fantastic partnership from Bell and Root, took us from a really difficult position to one which should see us having safely 'won' the first day.

Brilliant century from Bell, just a shame Root didn't get the one he deserved as well.

Good to see Stokes come in and play with a bit of freedom, this is his natural game, looking to score quickly and make the opposition captain think about containment rather than just looking for the wicket.  It's made it easier for Bell to just keep plugging away as well.

This does show just how braindead the top 3 were though, even if there was more in the pitch it was clearly a batting surface, they needed to just see the shine and 'newness' off the ball and then cash in, they all seem to have gone to poor shots rather than particularly good bowling or difficult conditions.

[PaulWinch again]

The real Ben Stokes, who can score quick and bowl well, is a big asset to us.

[Exeter 77]

An impressive comeback - last time I checked England were fortysomething for 3 and Bell was in single figures.

[tomd2103]

Good knock from Bell.

He's had a lot of stick for his performance at the World Cup, but he is a top test match player.  In tests he can play at his own pace, whereas I always get the feeling that in the shortened formats of the game he tries to force things when he gets a bit stuck sand ends up getting out.

[spangley1812]

The real Ben Stokes, who can score quick and bowl well, is a big asset to us.

Do you reckon its a "shoot-out" between him and Jordan for the spare place as you would presume Ali would come back into the team ASAP...........I would prefer to see Rashid in for the ever dependable Tredwell

[Exeter 77]

Bell out for 143 - him and Stokes have dragged England back into this along with some generous West Indies bowling.

[aj2k77]

Bell plays another top innings for England. Root is some player though, such a good temperament. Good to see Stokes in and playing his shots.

[bertlambshank]

The real Ben Stokes, who can score quick and bowl well, is a big asset to us.

Kevin who?

[paul_e]

Go out in the morning and let Stokes and Tredwell take a few overs out of the ball then just go big and push for 500 by lunch, that should be doable and would be enough to win this.  It glosses over the problems at the top a little but right now we need to win some test matches whilst we can because the rest of the summer is a lot more difficult than this.

[Villan For Life]

A wonderful innings from Bell. Nick Knight commented on Sky that it was the type of pitch where Bell could not play his favourite cover drive. He displayed great mental strength in his shot selection, helped by some poor bowling. It was a great ball that got him though.

[taylorsworkrate]

Can anyone explain what the hell the point in sending out a night watchman for the last over was?

Tredwell didn't face a ball and Stokes just blocked it. If that was the plan then why not put Buttler in to wait at the non strikers end for 6 balls? It would look really bad if Tredwell is there scratching around for 40 minutes or so tomorrow.

That being said, lovely innings from Bell, with good contributions from Root and Stokes. It looks a poor West Indies and a flat pitch though.

[tomd2103]

Can anyone explain what the hell the point in sending out a night watchman for the last over was?

Tredwell didn't face a ball and Stokes just blocked it. If that was the plan then why not put Buttler in to wait at the non strikers end for 6 balls? It would look really bad if Tredwell is there scratching around for 40 minutes or so tomorrow.

That being said, lovely innings from Bell, with good contributions from Root and Stokes. It looks a poor West Indies and a flat pitch though.

As we've seen today, the Windies are hardly blessed with a lot of bowling options.  If Tredwell can stick around long enough tomorrow to see off the opening overs, it could be carnage when Buttler comes in.