(This entry was originally posted on Friday, February 27th, 2009)
England is playing against West Indies in the fourth test in Barbados, looking to clinch a series-leveling victory as they are now 1-0 down in the test series after the humiliating defeat in the first test. England is less likely to wait for the fifth test to level the series. West Indies knows that a draw in the match is enough to keep their lead intact, while a victory in the fourth match would ensure them a series victory against the touring side. The home side escaped a seemingly defeated in the third test, despite England’s dominance throughout the match.
The fourth test started yesterday (26 February) with England batting first after winning the toss. England got off to an excellent start as they finished the first day at 301 for 3. Captain Andrew Strauss scored a tremendous century before getting out for 142. The opener hit 18 boundaries and an over boundary in his stroke-full innings. He got a life while he was on 58 as West Indies captain Chris Gayle dropped him in the slip. Strauss did not make any more mistake and successfully got the best out of this batting wicket on the first day of the match. His opening partner Alastair Cook fell just 6 runs short of his 8th test hundred being the first victim of Jerome Taylor. England openers built up a strong platform thanks to their 229-run opening stand.
Owais Shah got out quickly after scoring only 7 runs, but two former captains Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood did not give West Indies bowlers any more celebrating occasions. Pietersen and Collingwood were not out on 32 and 11 respectively at the stumps of the second day. West Indies cost a lot because of the dropped catch of Strauss and it could have a crucial effect on the match.
Well, England got a solid start in the match, considering their performance on the first day. However, England knows that they must win this test and that is why, they should have been a bit quicker in scoring on the first day. As I can assume that England openers wanted to ensure a solid start in the match, without thinking much about the run rate because they might have felt that scoring a big total in the first innings, even in one and half or two days, would put West Indies under pressure. Well, that is pretty much justifiable. However, England should remember that they went very close to win the third test and they would have leveled the series if they had one more session of play in the match. Well, Pietersen, well-known for his bit hit, is still batting and Collingwood, who was once an ODI specialist, can score quickly too. I think, the visiting batsmen will be a bit more aggressive in scoring on the second day.
West Indies bowlers were not impressive on the first day, but if the home side wants to hold on to their lead in the series, their bowlers must pick up wicket early on the second day and restrict England batsmen from building up any more partnerships like the opening pair did. Moreover, West Indies fielders must be more active on the field and can not squander any more chances; otherwise West Indies might face a disaster in this test. England team has got some of their momentum back in the fourth test, even though they failed to win it.
As West Indies is leading in the series, they have some advantage at this moment. West Indies, for example, does not need to be aggressive in the ongoing test because a draw is a satisfactory result for them. England is expected to be aggressive as they are trialing and desperately needs a victory to level the series, and in becoming aggressive, there will be risk too. So, West Indies might pick up one more victory in the test series too.
Live on Different Television Channel
So, you can see that a great deal of excitement is still left in the match and you can unravel all these excitements in the remaining four days of the match. I know many of you are eager to know which television channels are showing the match live for their audience. Here, I am giving the list of TV channels where you can watch the match live:
Ten Sports TV Channel
Ten Sports is one of the most popular sports channels in Asia, especially in South Asia and Middle East region. Ten Sports television channel is covering the West Indies vs England series live for the millions of cricket fans in Asia. Ten Sports has a team of cricket experts from whom you can expert excellent coverage.
Sky Sports Television Channel
Sky Sports are telecasting the test series live for the cricket fans in England, Scotland, Ireland and some other European countries. Sky Sports is one of the most popular sports channel in Europe and they have been covering many important cricket events for a long time. So, if you are currently in Europe then you can get to watch the fourth test live on Sky Sports.
Super Sports TV Channel
Cricket fans in Africa can watch the match live on Super Sports 6 television channel. Super Sports has a number of cricket channels in the region and it is one of the most popular sports channel in African continent.
CBN Television Channel 51
Local cricket fans of West Indies region can watch the fourth test match live on CBN Television Channel 51. This is one of the popular channels on the cable in this region. Caribbean Broadcast Network (BVI) Ltd runs the CBN Television Channel 51.
West Indies vs England 4th Test 2009: Online Live Score
Well, I wish all the cricket fans could watch the match live on television. However, I would like to request you not to put your head down, even if you can not be able to watch the match live on television. There are some cricket websites from where you can get the live score and updates of the match. Here, I am giving some of those websites:
Cricinfo
Sify sports
action8cricket
cricketnext
Headlinesindia.com
CRICBUZZ
123INDIA.COM
Cricket365
thatscricket
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