Cricket fred

[Galfon]

Good work Nkrumah, real Test batsmanship there, great application.Game chugging along to a draw.

[Galfon]

Eng. lead creepy-ing up (> 70) , cent. Joe-zak partnership for 2nd wicket , JR bags another test 50.
Chance to get some practice in.

[Galfon]

and more of the same.
Stokes still got it.

[Stom]

Better, in that our batting looks a little more solid. But the bowling is decidedly meh.

I get it, there’s no archer, wood, Curran, Robinson, Stone… but still.

[Stom]

And, honestly, as great as it looked with 6 men around the bat against the twin spin, how many of those balls were going on to hit the stumps?

Jeez, I mean, the batsmen knew all they had to do was get everything behind it and not nick off. As that ball was not hitting the stumps.

Awful.

And as for the seamers. It seems the England default now is to not get hit. They just bowl nice dibbly dobblers on that fifth stump, about half a foot above the bails.

Why? The batsman doesn’t have to bloody hit it. Movement is almost non existent, there’s no pace… just awful.

[Galfon]

'No point having momentum without wins' ..best start with forward momentum. 53-6, albeit on a lively wicket gives plenty of work to do.

[fivepointer]

Well we were hoping for a bit of life in the wicket......we seem to have got that.

[Banquo]

FFS then well done Leach'n'Mahmood

[Banquo]

good comeback, but even Foakes is dropping catches!

[Banquo]

we arent very good . Root gone=we are toast

[fivepointer]

4 down still in arrears. Felt conceding a 1st innings lead would be decisive.

Dismal effort.

[Puja]

I blame Smith Broad.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

I blame Smith Broad.

Puja

I think you may have got to the Root of the problem.

[Galfon]

Eng batting frailties Crawley exposed again.

[Stom]

Lol

That is all.

[fivepointer]

The reset is deferred.....

Pity to bow out on such a low as there were been some signs of encouragement in the first 2 tests. 100's for Crawley, Bairstow, Root and Stokes, good contributions from Lawrence and I think Mahmood is worth persevering with.

[Stom]

As ever, project reset is completely half assed.

In what universe is Overton part of the future of England cricket?

Bairstow did fine and I’ve long been an advocate of him as a specialist fielder, but is this jobs for the lads?

Is the makeup of this team representative of cricket in the UK? Why is that? If there’sA 50/50 decision, does the role go to a Yorkshireman?

[Galfon]

Some run chase that for the lasses (357).
Looks like another pot for Oz, and at 213-8 all seemed lost.
but fair dinkum.

[Galfon]

Root has passed the mantle on.
A series or more overdue some may say, but his consistent high scoring has masked inadequacies elsewhere in the decision making/leadership aspects.He will still be a major asset if still motivated.Stokes is the obvious though unproven probable , with a long list of below-stellar possibles also in with a sniff.

[fivepointer]

I think Root had to go. He's done a long stint and the recent failures have demanded a clear out.

If not Stokes, then who? Not exactly many candidates to choose from.

[Galfon]

Odds from SkyB:
Odds on..
Ben Stokes 4/6

Rest ../1:
Stuart Broad 7

Sam Billings 8
Zak Crawley 8

Jonny Bairstow 9

James Vince 10

Chris Woakes 12
Jos Buttler 12

Ben Foakes 16
Tom Abell 16

Alex Lees 20

James Anderson 25
Moeen Ali 25
Ollie Pope 25
Rory Burns 25

No stand-outs there-Broad would be a short-term choice,
Billings is a bit left-field and just 1 cap but cool head, yjb would be interesting.Surprised Moeen same odds as JimmyA.

[Galfon]

Odds from SkyB:
Odds on..
Ben Stokes 4/6

welcome aboard, good luck
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/61163496

[Puja]

Odds from SkyB:
Odds on..
Ben Stokes 4/6

welcome aboard, good luck
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/61163496

I am shocked, shocked I tell you. In an England team where there's literally only two players who have two hands on a starting shirt and every other position is unknown, I am astonished that, when one of them steps down from captain the other one is then chosen. The expensive consultants really earned their money making that decision.

Puja

[Galfon]

Glam score a respectable 365 in the 1st innings vs. Dur.,
only to find it is the lowest score in the 8 matches playing -
(Wor 368, Sus 386,Notts 415, Lan 566, Som 591, North. 597, Surr 671.. )
What's the Bobby with this - v. short boundaries or sponge wickets ?

[Mellsblue]

It could be the incredible depth of high end batting talent in the English game at the the moment…. or it could be all the flat tracks. Who knows?