The Cricket Thread

[niko_cee]

There have been none. It's a rewriting of all the rules. Normally Lees and Crawley go out yesterday thinking 'oh shit don't want to get out early'. With this management they go out thinking we're going to be 100/0 in 20 overs, and we are.

They look like they could chase about 550 if they wanted to.

It's obviously a small sample, but they do seem to have turned all of the received wisdom of test cricket completely on its head with a 'chase anything' mentality that has obviously grown out of the shorter formats.

I suppose, given the rate they score at the pitches aren't even that bad when it comes to the 4th innings. Having players in the form of their lives obviously helps.

Will be interesting to see how they approach batting first when that happens. Are teams going to start to have to think about putting them in as a tactical choice?

Completely remarkable.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Final word to Stokes, who is asked on Sky, have England found 'the line" yet? "Nope," he says. "I almost wanted them to get 450 to see what we could do..." Amazing scenes.

Haven't used that smiley in a while.

[Ben]

applies to everything about this Test match.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The thought of us twatting India around the park for 12 an over in the 'fifth Test' has me rock hard, so I'll just savour the thought and ignore whatever comes to pass in reality.

The current South Africa are unusually likeable by their admittedly fucking rock bottom standards, so I'll miss the 'thank you, goodnight and fuck off' joy of today.

[Gray Fox]

That’s now what, four consecutive 250+ run chases in a 4th innings? Usual England struggle to make about one of those. It looked like each one got progressively easier for them too.

I await Jimmys India Twitter findings with glee.

[Jimmy Floyd]

This approach will backfill once Englishmen leave England LoL even bairistow who is a flat track bully is scoring 100s then something wrong with English pitches. he will do oppa Gangnam style on India/Pakistan/Australia pitches

Fuck off.

Combination of poor batch of dukes balls and flat pitches. That's all there is to #bazball.

Fuck off.

England have lost everywhere in the world. Winning 4 matches at home doesn’t make any team great. Waiting for them to come to India.

Fuck off.

It's not baz ball it's a bastad ball

Fuck off.

Homeball

Fuck off.

Flat pitch in the 4th innings that's what your target Ecb,I have never seen this kind of pitch in England where the bowl is not moving or misbehave or uneven bounce nothing for the bowlers,shame.

Fuck off.

They've also been deducted WTC points for a slow over rate. lol and fuck off.

[Kikó]

It's a shame that India weren't able to bat on the same pitch. Seems unfair.

[niko_cee]

I bet they were moaning about it being a greentop minefield at 90-5 in the first innings.

This new approach does actually lend itself to preparing reasonably docile 5 day banker pitches due to the sheer rate the game moves on at when England bat.

Nothing lasts forever, and it's typical of England to find such a rich vein of form as far out from an ashes series as possible, but it'll be glorious whilst it lasts.

[Ben]

Same blokes were proclaiming how good this series was yesterday afternoon when Kohli danced in front of Lees at tea then after the run out.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The more interesting question than whether England's form will last (it won't) is whether other teams will try and copy the method, if indeed there is a method beyond the XI all getting their dicks out and helicoptering them around the dressing room in lieu of a team meeting.

[niko_cee]

Iit's typical of England to find such a rich vein of form as far out from an ashes series as possible.

I take this back, there is an ashes series next summer?

[Ian]

I suppose that makes sense, 18 months between Australia and England hosting then two and a half years the other way around, right?

We'll surely have been mugged off by somebody by then. What sort of nick are the Saffers in these days?

[Ian]

In all the lol yesterday I forgot the only reason this test happened during the Bazball revolution is because India fancied the weekend off ahead of the IPL.

Glorious.

[Ben]

Yep, tossers in every aspect.

And SA aren’t great at the moment. I think they drew with NZ earlier in the year but they’re certainly a step down in quality.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They beat India too, but who hasn't.

[Gray Fox]

[thommo]

That series was the scene of another India meltdown wasn't it? Kohli shouting into the stump mic, Ashwin saying the host broadcaster was rigging DRS. And SA winning through chasing fairly big totals twice in the 4th innings.

[Ian]

Kohli has form for bellowing into stump mics doesn't he? Or am I just thinking of that one?

Decided to give myself a chuckle the other day by rewatching that time he got bowled by Moeen and genuinely looked like he was considering reviewing it.

[Ian]

Another novelty is a renewed look at the role of nightwatchman, with the run chases at Lord’s, Headingley and Edgbaston seeing Stuart Broad padded up as next man in with instructions to slog quick runs, rather than bat through to the close. This role – dubbed “Nighthawk” – has not yet been deployed but is eagerly anticipated.

"Nighthawk."

[Jimmy Floyd]

The Nighthawk is such an amazingly shit idea that I can't believe it's not some kind of knowing self-parody, aimed at trolling other teams into submission.

[Danny]

Tom Curran batting at 3 and not bowling. Have I missed something there?

[Jimmy Floyd]

I don't know if the not bowling is because he's injured or because he's shite at bowling these days, but it might be either.

Pope going full #Bazball there, inventing and then getting out from the wrong-foot sweep.

[Ben]

This entire batting order selection and mentality from Surrey is most strange.

[Ben]

There we go. Proper batting shots and positivity and it’s fairly straightforward. This Surrey will only have themselves to blame if they don’t win the whole thing.

[Jimmy Floyd]

3 off 2 is the cursed equation.

[Ben]

Heads have gone again.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Gus isn't getting bat on this. Laurie Evans is a fucking waster.

[Danny]

There we go. Proper batting shots and positivity and it’s fairly straightforward. This Surrey will only have themselves to blame if they don’t win the whole thing.

Top work. What an over from Thompson.

[niko_cee]

Impressive bottle job from Jimmy's boys after recovering into an unassailable position.

The catch to dismiss Narine was superb.

[Clunge]

Horrorshow that.

[Ben]

Top work. What an over from Thompson.

As a Yorkshireman, I’m not sorry. I’ll be at finals day also.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I hate Yorkshire more than the other 16 counties combined. Actually that's not true, Hampshire can fuck off as well.

[Ben]

Even though I was born and raised in North Yorkshire, I’ve always felt more affinity towards Durham due to proximity and them generally snapping up more youngsters from my league than Yorkshire do, but you can absolutely guarantee I’ll be joining in the horrendous Yorkshire chants in the Hollies when I’m two pints deep.

[Danny]

Two? So the end of the first over then.

I really wasn’t into cricket enough before moving here to go to anything Yorkshire related. Shame really.

[Danny]

View Tweet

[Ben]

Roses semi final to start the day.

[Ian]

Good start, this.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Rather than watching that you should read Liew on Bazball, one of the great articles I've read on cricket (that's also not really about cricket).

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/bl...P=share_btn_tw

[Ian]

I'm in the office so thankfully I can't watch.

And yes, I really enjoyed that Liew piece earlier. I mean it might be nonsense but he's always an enjoyable read.

[Ben]

I’ve been contending for what feels like years now that Roy is a complete waste of space. That was an awful shot that just sums him up entirely and seemingly where his head is at right now.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He's always been a funny fish, going from the highest highs to runs of truly abysmal form with no rhyme or reason. I think we can probably do better now, especially in the 50 over game.

[Waffdon]

Four ducks so far can’t be off some kind of record between two decent teams.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Six ducks is the record, done 5 times, three of them by Pakistan (god bless).

[Ian]

We go all swashbuckling in tests and the white ball teams start to relentlessly and explosively shit themselves.

The only solution I can see is that we start playing slow, grindy innings in ODIs and see if we can reverse engineer the logic of Bazball.

[Ben]

They better all get released for T20 finals day on Saturday then. The Roses semi might as well be a 2nd team game.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It'll be my first time not going to finals day for a few years (instead I'm umpiring a division 4 game in 33 degree heat) and all I can say is I won't miss the state of the Jury's Inn at 2am.

[Ben]

We’ve moved hotel for the first time in five years after last year’s shenanigans of a couple of us sleeping in the corridor because we lost our key in Popworld and the Neeskens Kebano lookalike on reception not believing it was our room.

I think we are near St. Andrew’s this time.

[Jimmy Floyd]

That said, I will miss the state of Wetherspoon's circa 8.30am on the Saturday. £5.50 full English sat four feet away from a 20 stone man dressed as Miss Piggy.

[Danny]

Yorkshire and Surrey putting on a good game at Scarborough right now.

Shame the audio on the stream keeps deciding to switch speaker on me and it makes me want to hurt people.

[thommo]

Topley with a very good bowling performance there. New record figures for England in men's ODIs, beating a certain Paul Collingwood to the record.