Antigua Test in trouble

The opening day of the second Test between England and the West Indies was abandoned after just 10 balls due to a dangerous outfield.

Having seen both Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards struggle to run up on a sandy surface, the decision was made to cancel play at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
England captain Andrew Strauss, who was at the crease with his side on 7-0, and West Indies counterpart Chris Gayle were involved in meetings with on-field umpires Tony Hill and Daryl Harper, as well as match referee Alan Hurst.
Although no decision has been made about the rest of the match, the situation is unlikely to improve in the near future.

Options
Australian Hurst admitted that officials will now look into other options, including moving the match to a different venue entirely.
"There's a very deep sand base here and even in the first over the bowler was going considerably deep with their footing," he told Sky Sports.
"They were having trouble getting any sort of traction at all. It was deemed to be dangerous by the bowlers and the umpires were in agreement with that.
"Their decision has been that they will abandon play for the day as the grounds seem to be fit. We'll look into now other options perhaps relocate the game, look at time changes - I'm not sure where we go from here.
"Rather than say the game is abandoned we're saying we've abandoned play today and then make some further announcements as soon as we can."
The situation regarding the state of the outfield had been raised during the build-up to the match, though Hurst revealed no one had actually tested out the conditions to see if they were fit for action.
"I don't think there was any doubt that there was a problem as far as the sand is concerned. Everyone felt, including the umpires, that it may have been okay," he admitted.
"We hadn't had anyone bowl on the wicket to test it out. We had to have someone do that before a decision can be made.
"It would have been jumping the gun before play to say it's unfit. The evidence has been shown in the first two overs."

Possibilities
The decision must now be made over what to do with the possibility of using the Antigua Recreation Ground as a new venue.
There is also the option of back-to-back contests on another island, something that happened 11 years ago when the first Test between the two teams was cancelled at Sabina Park in Jamaica due to an unfit pitch.
"I've got to talk to the board (The West Indies Cricket Board), the ICC, with the umpires. We'll talk through options but I'm not sure what they are," Hurst added.
"Maybe we could extend the time of the Test match, maybe changing the venue, maybe back-to-back games in Barbados. I'm not sure, there may be other options."

Strauss up for the fight

England captain Andrew Strauss has told his players to "walk the walk" by putting their first Test mauling in Jamaica behind them with a win in Antigua.



An innings defeat in the first Test saw Strauss' second stint as England captain get off to the worst possible start and he and his wounded troops now head to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium with a point to prove.
England slumped to 51 all out - the nation's third-lowest total ever, in the second innings of the Sabina Park defeat, drawing widespread criticism on a number of areas of the team.
However Strauss, who made just seven and nine in his two innings in Jamaica, is confident his players will respond when the second Test gets under way in Antigua live on Sky Sports.
"What happened last week was not ideal by any stretch of the imagination and we need to come back and level the series," said Strauss.

Bell Out?
"We had a couple of tough days after the Test match understandably but we have been very focused, the guys have turned around well and are very keen to walk the walk rather than talk the talk.
"Meetings can only take you so far, you can say whatever you want to say but the key is to get out in the middle and perform.
"If you've had a tough Test match, the only way to change people's opinions of you, and your opinion of yourself is to get out there and do something about it."
England are unlikely to make wholesale changes for the second Test although Ian Bell's slot at No.3 could be filled by Owais Shah.
Bell has made just one half-century in his last six Test matches and his lack of runs have become a big area of concern for the England selectors.

Rash

"There have been conversations over the last few days in terms of form," Strauss said.
"When you're bowled out for 51 and you're not playing as well as you should do, you have to think about that.
"But given that we are not 100 per cent sure of conditions we are not coming to any rash decisions."
James Anderson could also be included on a ground which is expected to produce plenty of reverse swing at the expense of Steve Harmison.
Strauss, meanwhile, hopes West Indies' unfamiliarity with leading a series works against them.
"I have always felt the game after we we've won a Test match is always a dangerous one because there is an incentive on your part to cruise a little bit and the other team are obviously extra motivated to come back strong," he said.
"We are in the loser's position at the moment, we are very motivated to put on a better performance than we did last week."