A propos of nothing, I was just looking at this (had no idea it existed) and noted one glaring omission. Where are the pitchforks and the online hate campaigns?
A propos of nothing, I was just looking at this (had no idea it existed) and noted one glaring omission. Where are the pitchforks and the online hate campaigns?
We're off and running in Antigua, and Billings is hopefully consigning Hales to the dustbin of history (though I doubt it).
The Windies could be 35-9 chasing 400 against us and some plucky no mark with about 15 first class runs to his name would stand up and hit a triple ton, in the dark.
Isn't Jason Mohammed a BBC sports reporter?
Kohloli
Indian Team having another mare then
Just saw that. Real shame.
Tears of joy.
Nathan Lyon 8/50 I mean come on guys
Mostly happy for Lyon really. Can't unwrite him from history now. (Well, not easily.) He's bowled well though. It's not
Hope we bring it home, obviously.
EDIT: It's a good pitch for spin, but not quite as crazy a pitch as Pune. Lyon had to work a bit for his wickets, and you have to think that Ashwin and Jadeja will be dangerous tomorrow. We're a long way from home yet.
I reckon there might be a bit of India being absolutely knackered as well. They are pretty backward with looking after their players over there.
Shows what having a good spinner or two can do, though.
It'll be interesting to see what Kohli does from here. That's twice he's been dismissed while leaving the ball - once LBW and once bowled.
I'm also slightly worried about batting fourth. Anything over 150 might wind up being defendable, depending on how the pitch goes.
This is basically the perfect bowling pitch map:
https://twitter.com/ajarrodkimber/st...rc=twsrc%5Etfw
Run-rate for the innings is under two. This is attritional stuff.
Any chase over 150 is going to be a serious challenge come the fourth innings.
I cannot see any possible way that Mitch Marsh keeps his spot for another test. I think that's probably done him, unless he shepherds us home with the bat or something.
We have a really special talent for getting mugged off by the West Indies.
I spoke too soon, enter the Woakesinator to crush yet more foes.
Underrated stylist is Woakesy. Some of his cover drives are fucking delightful.
It's odd because some of them are all a bit MS Dhoni and then he brings out the Ian Bell edition, schooled on the mean streets of Moseley or wherever.
Spiteful!
Kevin has come back to Surrey. Our full strength T20 side is dirty.
Roy
Finch
Kevin
Sangakkara
Stoneman
Borthwick
Sam C
Ansari
Tom C
Rampaul
Dernbach
All born within 100,000 miles of the ground as well. Can't wait to see Rampaul's 2017 rig.
Another thrilling ODI in progress in Barbados. Got me thinking if an all time Barbadian XI would be better than most Test playing nations all time XIs?
Not sure of the makeup of the side and some guys would have to bat out of position but:
Weekes, Worrell, Walcott, Greenidge, Haynes, Sobers, Marshall, Garner, Hall, Griffith. Plenty other good players over the years as well.
Pretty much that team with Greenidge/Haynes opening, and sadly no place for Pedro Collins.
Think it would beat many sides, only lacking spin apart from Sir Garry's stylings. Especially when you think Zaheer Khan is probably getting in the Indian one.
Don't need spin with that pace attack
Tino Best in reserve as well
Could slip Conrad Hunte in for Griffith to avoid the chucking controversy and play Sobers as the 4th bowler. Sir Frank apparently sent some dirt down for 69 Test wickets. Sir Clyde having to take the gloves I think.
Christ I could balance imaginary cricket teams for a living.
Even in this hypothetical XI Wayne Daniel and Sylvester Clarke are left waiting in the wings.
Antigua coughing up Vivian Richards, Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts, Eldine Baptiste, Ridley Jacobs (wk) and others on a population of 90,000 is up there as well. Although I'm a believer in small populations being good for sporting talent.
Joe Root getting the wicket seconds after getting a ODI hundred is a bit
Saying that we're heading for a 270 all out at this rate...
Not to mention Alzarri Joseph.Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
17:43; Good batting from England you would think they would be about 20 runs short of what they wanted. Nonetheless West Indies will have to bat hard and bat deep to get close to getting back in to this game.
18:35: At three down the thing is to get to a good, respectable score. Being bowled out for 100 is embarrassing. Fight hard and fight deep.
Guess how Tino likes it.
Tino released an autobiography last year which, whilst I haven't read it, sounded like basically that over 400 pages.
Mitchell Marsh could be out of the Ashes with a shoulder injury, they say. Fuck that, I'll pay for his treatment myself.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket...2afa6b769e2ec6
Sorry but the tone of this
Read it in Eddie Jones's voice for the full effect.
Sounds like a fairly standard Indian pitch.
Mitchell Marsh may have finally shot his bow, I think.
I don't think there's a single person in the country (aside from possibly the selectors) who want him in the side.
Smith
Glenn Maxwell showed that he's more than just a slogger too. Great runs under real pressure.
I will say this. I've never rated Ravi Jadeja as a bowler, but he's a bastard on home turf. Averages 20.09 in India.
EDIT: His stats make some bizarre reading. He's never played in Australia. He's never played against Sri Lanka or Pakistan at all. Averages 13 against South Africa. Lost the plot totally in New Zealand. Averages 41 away from home.
Number 1 bowler in the world isn't he? Someone should burn a ball and declare that the new death of cricket.
He's got so much controlled variation that, on a pitch that works for him, he's almost unplayable.
But he relies on it so much that if the pitch is giving him nothing, he's pointless. Variation is his only weapon, but it's a good weapon sometimes.
'Natural variation' is just a kind way of saying he doesn't really know which variety of dart he's going to chuck down and hope the pitch keeps low for him.
He came into the test side as a batsman on the back of 3 Ranji Trophy triple tons didn't he? For fuck's sake.
Nah, he's got great control in India. Bowls smart. Sets batsmen up with plans that work. Really canny spin bowler when he's getting turn he can play with.
Incapable when he isn't, and doesn't really have a stock ball, so he's either running through a team or looking terrible.
EDIT: Getting selected as a batsman is a weird one. He's done an inverse Steve Smith. The number one ranked batsman in the world was originally selected as a bowler, and the number one ranked bowler was originally selected as a batsman. How odd.
Kohloli is going to be on the end of the most brutal abuse next time he plays in Okerstan.
This final day has been edge-of-the-seat stuff. Absolutely absorbing cricket.
Someone at the Guardian has lost the plot slightly.
A Marsh glide to third man, a Handscomb flick to turn a dangerous full ball on the pads into a single to fine leg. With 13 overs left, should Handscomb hit out and go for a ton? Australia only 30 ahead. Risk-reward.SHOULD AUSTRALIA DECLARE RIGHT THIS MINUTE IN THE OFF CHANCE OF RESTRICTING INDIA AND GETTING TEN WICKETS IN FIFTEEN OVERS?I’ll revise my 11 overs, this is actually the first of the last 15 overs required in the last hour. Should Australia declare and set India 60 from four overs? It would be pointless but fun. Like most limited-overs cricket.
India would probably get those.
60 off four? I'd back them every time in that situation. It's the T20 era.
Kohli (probably rightly) blaming the dreadful SG ball. If everyone just used Dukes then cricket would be much the better for it.
Nothing at all wrong with the Kookaburra. It's served us up plenty of fantastic tests. Cricket doesn't need swing if it has bounce.
Honestly, there was very little wrong with that test. Don't let the big scores fool you - nobody was comfortable at any point. Even when Pujara and Saha seemed set and trying to push the scoring rate unsuccessfully, the Australian bowlers' deliberate run-strangling project was probably enough to save the match for us.
It wasn't a pretty match, but it was gripping.
The Dukes provides seam movement (being that it actually has a seam) rather than swing. Swing is in the air.
You can't do anything with a Kookaburra other than watch it disappear to the boundary. No seam, no grip for spinners, nothing.
Fully expected to wake up to see Australia having been Jadeja'd so I guess that pitch wasn't the honking skidder their press thought it was going to be - more it was just a run of the mill, off the shelf dreadful Indian pitch which usually serves them so well.
+1 for the Duke ball.
I never realised Kookaburra made the Red King. I always recall that being a decent ball, although maybe I'm thinking of something else, or they've bought the brand in the intervening decade and a half since I chucked one down in any sort of anger.
It actually wasn't so bad, to be honest. Rewarded good bowling for the first few days, before becoming extremely conducive to spin on day four and five. Exactly what an Indian pitch is supposed to be.
Jadeja is damn near unplayable on a pitch like that though.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
