Cricket

[lharris92]

good morning sesh, most cheers i've heard from my house, had more in the first 35 minutes than forest did all season

[kaosmark2]

Excellent morning sesh. Jimmy's been absolutely immaculate. Bowled or caught every wicket so far, and there were those 2 missed catches off him.

I'm a bit disappointed Finn's not been picked yet. I guess Bres is there to extend the batting strength in depth to take the pressure off Bairstow a bit until he gets comfortable.

[Ed209]

What a fightback from the Windies. They've got themselves in a fantastic position now. If they can get over 400 then they'll really put us under pressure.

[kaosmark2]

What a fightback from the Windies. They've got themselves in a fantastic position now. If they can get over 400 then they'll really put us under pressure.

It had looked at Lords like Chanderpaul was the only dangerous batsman, once we got him out I thought we'd be comfortable, but Sammy and Samuels have done brilliantly. The game's really in the balance.

[kaosmark2]

Great morning fron Bresnan. While that was a fantastic fightback from the Windies, supposedly 370 is still a below-par score for the conditions. Target of 500 considering the length of our tail? Got to try and get a strong lead considering we'll be batting last.

[pink_triangle]

I went to the test match today, probably the hottest one I have ever been to. I enjoyed the day but I felt the day was a little predictable, the conditions made it a very uneven competition between batsmen and bowlers which made the day a little less exciting for me. Then again last time I went I saw a Broad hat trick so maybe I have been spoiled!

[kaosmark2]

I went to the test match today, probably the hottest one I have ever been to. I enjoyed the day but I felt the day was a little predictable, the conditions made it a very uneven competition between batsmen and bowlers which made the day a little less exciting for me. Then again last time I went I saw a Broad hat trick so maybe I have been spoiled!

Nice!

I get what you mean though, I feel it's a lot more exciting when there's an ebb and flow to who's on top. Today was always only really going to go one way once Sammy and/or Samuels got out. Finish off the tail tidily and then England get a strong score in the top order.

Good to see Strauss bat another century out again though. Could quite conceivably have 3 current batsmen exceed the current record for centuries this year!

[lharris92]

was walking by the ground and got offered tickets for £10 each at tea. was tempted but decided on a bbq instead. great century by Strauss and possibly another one for KP. too close to call at the moment though even though we are in a strong position

[kaosmark2]

A lot closer now Pietersen and Bell have been dispatched. I'm really interested to see Bairstow today, comfortable batting conditions but a bit of pressure as the last full-time batsman and England still behind on the runs. I'd love to see him get to 50 or so. He's looked excellent in limited overs. I won't be too worried if he struggles with how good our bowlers are at batting (I fancy at least one of Bres/Broad/Swann to get 50), but very important for him.

[kaosmark2]

Quite a good Test match generally. Every day started with me and most commentators thinking it'd be an incredibly easy day for England, but today's been the only time that's been the case. Very happy for Bres and Strauss, both excellent players and deserved their performances. Disappointed for Bairstow, but I don't think he can be fairly judged yet. Give him the Edgbaston game and at least the first match against South Africa, if not most of the summer to prove himself. Really, we want him to get comfortable, get a half-century, and then see whether he can build on that and develop his game. One of the key things that's helped this current side stay so strong is consistency in selection and giving players time to prove themselves. I feel Morgan got slightly too long a run-out, but I don't have much faith in how much better Bopara would do over either Morgan or Bairstow. I'd rather look to bring in new blood like Bairstow, even if personally I'd have given James Taylor a chance first.

[Gre]

Tom Maynard dies, seemingly hit by a tube train shortly after running off from the police after they stopped him for driving erratically at 4am. Weird and very sad.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18492564

[The Nal]

Shit. I just thought he was drunk and fell.

[kaosmark2]

Very psyched for the Saffers coming over. Bopara recalled over Bairstow. Slightly concerned that we don't have a settled batting lineup against their attack, but Bopara's been in good form in limited overs and county cricket. I'm still concerned that he always gives easy chances for his wicket early in his innings, and SA are more likely to capitalise on them. Still, 2 best bowling attacks in the world.

[TheGayTent]

Very psyched for the Saffers coming over. Bopara recalled over Bairstow. Slightly concerned that we don't have a settled batting lineup against their attack, but Bopara's been in good form in limited overs and county cricket. I'm still concerned that he always gives easy chances for his wicket early in his innings, and SA are more likely to capitalise on them. Still, 2 best bowling attacks in the world.

I really don't rate Bopara (hopefully he'll score a century in this test now), and would have picked Taylor if we insist on the extra batsmen. Personally, with Prior, Broad, and Bresnan at 6, 7, and 8, I think we can do without the extra batsmen.

That way you don't have to drop one of Bresnan, Broad, Anderson, and Finn.

Going on Thursday, weather doesn't look great unsurprisingly...

[kaosmark2]

I really don't rate Bopara (hopefully he'll score a century in this test now), and would have picked Taylor if we insist on the extra batsmen. Personally, with Prior, Broad, and Bresnan at 6, 7, and 8, I think we can do without the extra batsmen.

That way you don't have to drop one of Bresnan, Broad, Anderson, and Finn.

Going on Thursday, weather doesn't look great unsurprisingly...

He's OK once he gets going, but he makes a lot of poor shots early in his innings leaving him very vulnerable. And I don't think he has a Test mentality.

I'd have gone with Taylor as well, although I think it's slightly harsh on Bairstow dropping him after one series, this is huge and it's not worth the risk.

As you say though, we've got a long tail and I'm not sure we need the extra batsman, Swann could be at 8 in most teams yet he's our 10. That said, there's no problems in our bowling attack while there's vulnerabilities batting atm, so putting an extra bowler in seems a strange way to react to that. I'm assuming Finn will be the one to miss out, which is a shame considering how good he is.

Nice! Hope the weather does hold out, it'll be a real shame if it gets washed out.

[kaosmark2]

Same old Bopara.....

Prior's looked edgy so far, but he's got 32 so hopefully he'll settle now. Hopefully between him, Broad and Swann we can last to either side of Tea with 380-400 on board, then get virtually a whole session of bowling in this evening with a couple of wickets.

[AcademicPistol]

I used to be a Cricket Umpire... I won't bore you with the details...

[TheGayTent]

Anderson in these conditions will be very difficult to face.

[kaosmark2]

So much for that. Our attack is completely toothless. We've had some batting problems for a while, but I've not seen our bowlers look so unthreatening for years.

[TheGayTent]

That's what happens when the conditions change as they did. Also it appears a very unlike Oval pitch, with much less pace and bounce making it easier on the batsmen.

Throw in Smith, Amla, and Kallis, three world class players and you have a difficult day in the field as a bowler.

[TheGayTent]

Perhaps we should have picked an extra bowler...

[kaosmark2]

They're giving us a lesson in how to bat. The conditions only favoured bowlers for that morning session, we just threw away a lot of wickets.

But yeah, I think we need an extra bowler next test. I've not been calling for one lately given that our attack's not struggled up until now, but when you get in difficulties and are bowling for long stretches you need that 5th full-time bowler to help rotate a bit more and to offer another alternative. Finn or Panesar though? This pitch looks better for spin.

[kaosmark2]

Some strange goings on in the 2nd test. Swann dropped for a 4-man pace-only attack, decision to field first on a sunny day and the whole dead-ball thing with Finn.

If the choices work out, I guess it's a stroke of genius, but while it's been a far better day than bowling at them in the 1st Test, you'd still want another wicket or two taken off if you've chosen to bowl. I guess it's a fear of not having time to get 20 wickets, but seems strange.

Glad to see Taylor get a shout, I know Bopara's out for personal reasons rather than dropped, but I reckon Taylor's the one most likely to make the no6 spot his own of the various batsmen tried there.

It'll be interesting to see how the attack looks for the 3rd Test. Presumably Swann will be brought back in and either Finn or Bresnan dropped, and I guess it depends on how they do this Test, but they've been trying to emphasise consistency of selection.

All quite strange really.

[TheGayTent]

Emotionally I think your thoughts echo mine closely. Though, being generous, and remembering back to the not too distant past, even if we lose 3-0 against the 2nd (possibly soon to be 1st) best test side in the world, is it that much of an issue (let alone the disgrace many are implying)?

Age catches up with everyone, and all teams, even the best, need upcoming talent to replace the old guard. In Cook we have an able replacement for Strauss in terms of captaincy. However, we have no obvious replacement opener - and Strauss' form with the bat isn't the best. We don't have a game changer to replace KP who isn't getting any younger. The No.6 position remains up for grabs, and even our strength - the bowling department - struggles in the sub-continent.

Sometimes when you come up against a very good side, there may be no wrongs in your decisions, rather doffing your cap is the only review required. GS, HA, JK, are world class batsmen who will go down in history as top quality batsmen. Morkel, Steyn, and Philander are a formidable bowling unit.

Losing a home test series is not always a disgrace.

Last, but not least, this series shows how stupid the ICC calendar is. SA should have been a five test series

Edited August 2, 2012 by TheGayTent

[kaosmark2]

No, it's really not. We've had relatively easy matches mostly, and don't necessarily deserve to be ranked 1st in the world. India were very poor last summer, our batting was disgraceful on the subcontinent, particularly in Pakistan.

Age is catching up, although we're in much less trouble than India and the Aussies in that respect. One of the reasons I've been okay with experimenting with our No. 6 position is so we can find long-term replacements for Strauss and KP. Batting wise Strauss' position was getting under threat. He bought himself time with his displays against the Windies, but I think it's something to worry about. For a fair stretch Trott was coming in so soon he was effectively our other opener.

I don't think our bowling attack does struggle that much on the sub-continent, we bowled out Pakistan for under 400 every time, it's just our batting was so atrocious we got whitewashed because of that. The only time in the last 2 years I reckon our attack's seriously struggled was 2 weeks ago, and that was on a batting pitch.

I'm not completely convinced by Cook as captain yet. The ODI side has shown significant improvement lately, but Test and ODIs are very different tactically, and I haven't quite seen enough imagination to try and force the pressure to take wickets rather than just capitalise on rash shots - which are far more common in limited overs.

But yeah, I agree that the big thing is that the Saffers are just better. Their batting is disciplined, sensible and confident, their bowling has tempted our batsmen into rash shots which they've taken well, and they've just generally looked a better team. Whatever the result, the SA team will have been excellent, and we'll need to address a couple of problems batting against top class bowling units.

And absolutely. 5 ODIs against the Aussies in a non-Ashes year, but only 3-Test series' against Windies and SA? Ridiculous.