Cricket fred

[Banquo]

Root is superb! English GOAT batsman… difficult

[Galfon]

Root is superb! English GOAT batsman… difficult

Certainly greatest since Cook..beyond that impossible to judge apart from the numbers, which for him are consistently exceptional.

[fivepointer]

There are a few with higher averages (Sutcliffe, Barrington, Hammond, Hobbs and Hutton) but only Cook has scored more runs and none played anything like the number of tests Root has.
If not GOAT he's got to be there or thereabouts.

[Banquo]

There are a few with higher averages (Sutcliffe, Barrington, Hammond, Hobbs and Hutton) but only Cook has scored more runs and none played anything like the number of tests Root has.
If not GOAT he's got to be there or thereabouts.

different times- much more test cricket, less f/c, covered wickets. Averages steadily climbing. He's way ahead of Cook for sure in most respects, save being an opener....but 'only'averages 40 v oz....

Hobbs is the hardest one to look beyond (and lost 4 prime years to ww1), but then again only played against Oz and SA, albeit on some nightmare wickets. Barrington has a very strong claim too by dint of who he played against. All great in their own ways.

Two hundreds in a test at lords and not MOTM is some 'feat'.

[Galfon]

Sco must have felt they had a sniff after the third ball, but that's some motoring by Head..
Best of 3 so still something to go at..

[Galfon]

Eng. determined to make a game of 2nd. Test -
collapsoville revisited..

[Banquo]

Eng. determined to make a game of 2nd. Test -
collapsoville revisited..

did the hard yards yesterday, daft today

[fivepointer]

SL bowled much better this morning but that was some rank bad batting. Brook, in particular, was all at sea.

Ponting good value on comms. Regularly makes good points.

[Banquo]

Not sure pope is getting his fields right.

[Banquo]

doh....hull of a drop

[Banquo]

laudable to keep playing but this is letting sl back in

[Banquo]

Pretty careless stuff tbh tho SL have bowled well post day 1

[Banquo]

Average bowling to say the least. No consistency or even plan to bowl at Nissanka, and Popes field setting is pants, though tbh with this buffet, no field would be that great.

[Banquo]

Pretty bad last 5 hours frankly.

[fivepointer]

We've been mostly poor the last 2 days. Very little application when its mattered.

[Banquo]

We've been mostly poor the last 2 days. Very little application when its mattered.

miss Stokes for sure

[Banquo]

Pretty mediocre bowling again in very friendly conditions.

Anderson required!

Woakes has been puzzling and not great; Hull very raw and inconsistent; Stone and Atkinson a bit meh. Bashir took a great catch, but not put any pressure on

[Galfon]

No worries for SL so far - a chance for Bash. to put a marker down maybe.

[Banquo]

No worries for SL so far - a chance for Bash. to put a marker down maybe.

Very poor from England since day 2 tbh

[Puja]

Looking on the bright side, it's good for Test cricket as a whole for Sri Lanka to win a Test. If they just got clumped three times in a row, that'd be another nail in the coffin.

Puja

[Banquo]

Looking on the bright side, it's good for Test cricket as a whole for Sri Lanka to win a Test. If they just got clumped three times in a row, that'd be another nail in the coffin.

Puja

nah

opener nissanka xcellent, but field poor

[Galfon]

Tremendous application yet again by JR - now Eng. leading scorer, hungry as ever.A first innings lead and match saved should come with his double-ton tomorrow.

[fivepointer]

Very good response from England and JR imperious but crikey cricket is so dull when the bat dominates to this extent.

[Galfon]

Very good response from England and JR imperious but crikey cricket is so dull when the bat dominates to this extent.

The new defeat-limiting Multan pitch is getting a pasting by some..

Michael Vaughan likened the pitch to a "road," suggesting it offered nothing for the bowlers and heavily favoured the batsmen. "Looks like a road in Multan... Great toss to have won,"

Certainly doing the imsge of Test Creekit little favour.

[Galfon]

Fill yer' boots lads !...( 337 would put JR second to Sir Len in the individual score list, above Hammond & Gooch )