Nasser and co were going on about that in the break. You can only assume they have no intention of playing him and want the others to get some first class game time, which is fine until Moeen goes over in the warm-up and they roll out an unexpected bunsen at HQ.
Maybe Ballance will be like Bairstow. He was dismissed for ages, but piled them on in the championship and now he's one of the best batsmen around. Maybe.
With Ballance it's the extra pace, you get it full and move it he'll just nick off. Not sure SA have that kind of bowler, maybe Rabada I guess. Someone like Amir or Starc would end him.Originally Posted by Max Power
Dawson you can kind of understand in white ball, in a Duncan Fletcher sort of way as he contributes in three areas, but in red ball it's just absolute nonsense I'm afraid.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-ind...h/1098209.html
Good old MS, bang at it again.
Wait, Dawson is going to start?
That side looks like it'd get bummed senseless in Australia in the winter, were they not picking an under 15s representative side.
I thought I at least paid attention to tests and yet apparently Dawson played against India for us and yet I've not fucking heard of him.
Cook, Jennings and Ballance looks set to give Root the chance for a number of opportunities to come out and work his magic at 29/3 though.
Cook
Jennings
Ballance
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Moeen
Dawson
Broad
Wood
Anderson
I mean, I dunno. I don't see why they don't just pick Rashid if they're going to pick Dawson.
I reckon Cook is due one of his megatron series. Clear head from Essex and six hundreds this season.
Twelve minutes for Warne to complain about the lack of aggression in the England top order.
Who does he want, Jason Roy?
My work has finally got round to allowing headphones, so I can TMS myself senseless this summer. Lovely.
Seeing as England seem to be serious about this Gallance thing, I'm making it my goal, by the end of this test series, to eventually be able to identify the Gary Ballance in a photograph of Gary Ballance.
Big Vurn all over us here.
One thing I noticed about Gallance's form this season is that he seemed to drag Yorkshire out of trouble a lot, scored a lot of runs in difficult situations. Need that here.
Joseph Edward Root is tonning here.
Took a look at career test bowling averages today. Players who played in the 2000's only, with a cutoff of 24:
Curtly Ambrose: 20.99
Glenn McGrath: 21.64
Shane Bond: 22.09
Vernon Philander: 22.14
Allan Donald: 22.25
Dale Steyn: 22.30
Kyle Abbott: 22.71
Muttiah Muralitharan: 22.72
Shabbir Ahmed: 23.03
Shaun Pollock: 23.11
Ravindra Jadeja: 23.12
Ryan Harris: 23.52
Waqar Younis: 23.56
Wasim Akram: 23.62
Stuart Clark: 23.86
Quite a lot of oddness in there.
A lot of pitch it up and nibble it around right arm over in there. So much for lightning pace.
I always thought Curtly was underrated. He and Donald the best two quicks I've seen.
Kyle Abbott who has now jacked it in to play at the AGEAS Bowl taking his Test wickets at 22s!
Ryan Harris was so good man. (Sort of) a shame he had so many injuries.
Sharing the new ball with Gareth Berg and probably has a nice semi-detached in Eastleigh or Hedge End, what a life he has chosen.
It's only just occurred to me that the return of the cricket means the Verdict is back.
Love the Stokes/Root partnership. So complimentary.
South Africa been pushing the front line all day. Probably a few more that haven't been called tbh.
Theunis de Bruyn is a proper saffa regen name.
I think we'll fold fairly meekly after this partnership so another 90 minutes of it would be a nice touch. Is Vernon fit? Only the three overs in that session.
Dodgy ankles according to Pollock - they don't want to overbowl him. Having never heard of 'Theunis de Bruyn' before today I could guarantee he looked exactly as he looks and bowled a bit of right arm medium pace.
Does he by any chance bustle up to the wicket and look for a hint of movement?
Come on Mo. The legend could go 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in this match.
Stiaan van Zyl looked more threatening with the ball tbh.
Root on the verge...
Well in Joseph.
Someone needs to make a ***MOEEN ALI DRIVES COMPLILATION 2017*** so I can watch it on a loop. Just pure filth.
Lol at that. No balls so costly.
Hold the fuck up, The Verdict has been cut to half an hour?
As if Root didn't usually sound like a child at the best of times that cold he's got has him sounding like he's on the verge of tears.
They seem to have cut it down, another casualty of paying for the football rights.
It wasn't just short, it was actually a bit rubbish.
By the time you've had Charles round up the day at the start and interviewed a player from each team there's barely any time left for Bob to start tearing into the shitness.
Wasn't even Charles was it? They just bussed Bob into Lord's for a couple of hot takes at the end of the day's play. No studio or anything.
Strange as it hardly looked like an expensive show to produce, Mark Butcher's fee must be about nine quid.
I can't even remember who was presenting it, that's how disgusted I was. Was it still just Gower?
Utter shit. As you say, it's not like it could have been hard to make and they don't have enough fucking hours to fill. Bob, Butch/Cork/Jones/whoever, somebody to represent the visiting team and a presenter sat around a table.
They've spent the cricket budget on getting 'Freddie' Flintoff in for domestic T20 stuff.
Thank god for Young Joe Root (and South African indiscipline).
Some top DRS work at the top of the innings too. Gallance clearly thinking he needed to keep one up his sleeve for himself and sending poor Keaton to his doom like an old hand. Fairly dreadful call from 'Umpire Ravi' to even be there in the first place, mind.
'Umpire Ravi' needs to be packed into an ambulance and shuttled out to wherever they keep Russell Tiffin, Asad Rauf and Darryl Harper.
Flintoff being on telly is awful, but of the five Banter Brothers (Vaughan, 'Swanny' and KP being the others) Warne needs shooting first. Oh, and never forget:
I never knew Mo was a 'lifelong Liverpool fan' (and club ambassador).
The Warne painting is so, SO good. It really is such a shame that one of the greats of the game, an actual sporting genius, is such a fucking tool.
Every genius has their flaw
Warne's only contribution of note yesterday in the hour or so of the cricket I saw was to look at the bowling stats and pick out Philander, with most of the wickets and the best economy, as "the pick of the bunch, I reckon."
Good insight Shane.
I actually quite like him when he's talking specifically about bowling, like when Sky have him in the "THE ZONE" zone..
But that's literally the only time.
Yeah he's great on spin bowling no doubt
I really don't like the look of our bowling lineup here. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be the year when Anderson and/or Broad are finally past it.
Ollie Rayner should be playing ahead of Dawson but I genuinely think they're considering people only who spin it away from the right hander, which is thinking of the classic 'James Taylor's too small' ilk.
If you play two spinners (why?) and you want someone turning it away then surely a leggie? Not like Rashid can't bat either.
It's got to be Anderson's last summer you'd think but who knows? He looks in great shape.
Who are the next 'cabs off the rank' seamer wise? I'm sure Ball would have played in place of Dawson if fit. Roland-Jones, Tom Curran, one of the Overtons?
Apparently a bunch a rancid bogans are prepared to step in and graciously play in the Ashes for free.
Apparently England are saying they aren't playing two spinners, which is nothing if not FAKE NEWS.
Roland-Jones would be the next one (was in the squad), then I guess Finn maybe? I doubt TC is in Test contention and as far as I can see they are obsessed with the wrong Overton.
Tom Helm and Sam Curran playing Lions but both probably six months away yet. Some have been talking about Ben Coad (Yorkshire) but I've not seen him yet.
Woakes for Dawson makes the bowling look less rancid. When is Bloakesy fit?
Can't say I'm a fan of Bairstow at 5. It's too high for a 'keeper to be coming in, even if he's a good batsman. Either take the gloves off him (and play Buttler) or move him down and get another batsman in there. I'd have considered playing Hales in the middle order for this one (instead of Dawson). He's in the form of his life and even though he's never going to be a test opener in all likelihood, it doesn't mean he couldn't happily flay away in the middle order somewhere.
Ben Foakes should be playing as his keeping is approx 100 times better than anyone who has worn the Test gloves for England since about 2000, and his batting is easily good enough to bat 7/8 in this side.
Buttler in Test cricket is just wishful thinking.
Moeen Ali on the drive again and I'm nervously looking over my shoulder at work because this kind of content is really NSFW
Which is the good Overton? The racist one?
Yeah. Jamie is quicker but doesn't get shit done.
Good work Daws.
Good job we didn't pick him for his spin
Sounds like Broad is still batting like a scared child but it's coming off today
I don't think I'd have trusted an batsman to reach 200 starting on 199. Even Sir Joe.
Dawson currently looking like a Pattinson-level selection for this particular Test.
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