Or he's let Buttler in do that.
I agree with Niko and I think both things can be true. He's chucked his wicket away out of what looked like impatience but that doesn't make it a bad innings, just a bit of a waste of potentially piling on more. He's still put us in a very good position but the potential of the players following him shouldn't let him off the hook.
Curran getting a little too excited there. Was a big score available for him
It's not easy to get runs on this deck. Left handers having a pump at Maharaj has been our only real way of doing it.
Buttler needs to sort his life out really.
I was really happy for Pope and then he took his helmet off.
Drop him immediately. As in before the end of the match.
He's always worn that headband to bat as far as I can remember. I think it kind of suits him.
He will get so many runs against teams like Sri Lanka and that on home decks. And against good teams, no doubt, but he will cream the shit everywhere for fun.
Pollock was saying on Sky he has some doubts about Dibley and Crawley and whether you'd be able to just pick them on any surface / against any opposition but he said the same, that Pope you'd be looking to pick every time he's available.
Until Bairstow decides to reclaim his spot, obvs.
Rabada's face there.
Richly deserved misery for him, has been taking the piss with no balls all series.
Crawley is questionable (looks a bit skittish to me) but I'll have Sibley anywhere.Originally Posted by Ian
I'm happy with Sibley and Burns opening in the near future. Denly will continue to bat no.3 for a year or so, lets hope Crawley improves a little in that time and we have a reasonable top three.
I put Dibley as a typo but maybe I should start calling him The Vicar.
Or have all the bantertwats already started doing that?
Broad batting 11.
That little partnership is such a perfect way to round off a big innings. 73 runs in 35 minutes, and seeing Rabada getting carted around is the cherry on top. He could have bowled 30 no balls a Test if they were being correctly called.
Handy bit of work from Bess there.
Sounded like Hamza didn't want any of Wood.
While the Cricket Debate was obviously going to suffer without Bob I also just don't like it as much as back when it was the Verdict with the Sunday Supplement-style set-up but also always having somebody from the nation we're playing in the current series on there too. It's still decent as they tend to picki well but the views aren't as varied.
It can get a bit cosy on cricket panels as the people involved generally all played with each other and don't want to rock the boat too much (that was why Bob was great). They kind of need a Souness figure, which Nasser sort of is but he's also quite positive and constructive.
Broad will make an amazing pundit one day, I hope he goes into it.
Yeah I mean Bob aside you never got fireworks on the Verdict but by having somebody from the opposing nation you're at least getting a few more "Yeah, buts-"
I know Shastri is a fanny for a lot of reasons but him and Bob were always good on the Verdict and Tom Moody was good when he did that whole Ashes series of them as well.
I reckon you'd right about Broad and Sky will probably do their utmost to get him when he packs it in.
I think there are domestic people they are missing as well due to not being MASSIVE names. Michael Carberry was on the BBC thing the other day and was really good. Derek Pringle should be on everything (his book is a must read too). They could also have, say, an ex player plus a journo as the latter has a bit more freedom to say what they want to say.
Shiv certainly doesnt need a paternity test on this one
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Thought his name was Tangerine for a second there.
I've often thought for football that there are so many players, managers, coaches etc. that there must be a few who'd be properly engaging, interesting pundits but the attitude is "Well he played for Tranmere, he can't know anyway."
I saw Japan v New Zealand on the cricinfo bar and had to do a double take. Under 19 World Cup. How marvellous.
Loving this Test cricket with Dom Bess hoying his 6/10 twirlers at Nortje (2* off 50). Hopefully he ends up with all ten here and Indians/Australians seethe.
I was thinking this is very much going to be his Jason Krejza moment.
Although maybe I have that wrong, I was thinking he returned crazy figures against India once but wiki disagrees.
He got an eight for didn't he? Michael Clarke was the real pisstake getting 6/10 or something.
This prompted me to watch this again, fucking hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsFatA-5_R8
3:55 the magic starts.
My mate knows a girl who shagged him, shit in bed apparently.
Lol at this start. Three poles tumbling in three overs, all to ludicrously bad shots.
Had a feeling we were gonna bat again for a minute there.
Great stuff but Jesus Christ those shots, Philander and de Kock especially having played so nicely yesterday.
I am 100% certain Cook would have batted again. 'You can't predict the weather'
We never used to enforce the follow on fucking regardless so The Data must be really struggling with the weather if it's demanded that.
Scene: The ECB control room. Banks of computers and screens generating The Data, to determine The Plans. A technician looks at his glowing monitor in disbelief and throws his hand into the air
Geek: Mr Smith? Sir? You're going to need to see this...
Ed Smith struts haughtily over to the technician and peers at the screen. The perma-smug look fades from his face. He begins to sweat.
Ed: That can't be right, man.
Geek: It is, Sir.
Ed: Pioppycock. Run the numbers again.
Geek: I have, Sir. Twice. That's definitely what the Data is saying.
Ed gulps as he pulls out his phone and dials a number.
Ed: Rooty? It's Big Ed........ Put them back in.
A garbled but clearly shocked response can be heard.
Ed: Just do it, Rooty!
Ed Smith hangs up the phone and slumps into a nearby office chair, head in one hand.
Ed: And may God have mercy on us all.....
I have read Ed Smith's book comparing baseball to cricket (so you don't have to) and he really does overthink things. I seem to remember him thinking that the pitcher is comparable to cricket's batsman, while baseball's hitters are like the bowlers. I have never quite got my head around that. I think the logic was that the odds are stacked against hitters/bowlers on each delivery. What he seemed to be missing was that one of them is trying to score runs by hitting a ball into/out of a field. That seemed the most obvious comparison to me.
He LOVES moneyball and things like that, but the whole point of moneyball was to maximise utility with relatively scant resources. The Northamptonshire Steelbacks have done it quite well in cricket, but England, as its name suggests, is literally a country and has every cricketer in said country available to choose from (except, alas, for Sir Alastair Cook). As such they don't need to maximise scant resources, they just need to pick the best players in the right combination for the conditions.
The weird thing about his reign so far is that despite all his stats guff, all his decisions seem to have been contrary to all available stats. Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Joe Denly...
You've said before that he clearly thinks he's some sort of maverick who can just roll by on INSTINCT.
Saffers showing Root exactly what they think of him pushing to get his five-for.
He's probably trying to save Broad's legs. I would get Curran on though.
This all sounds a bit tragic at this stage.
Anyone listened to the BBC bit on Cronje? Thought it was pretty good.
Our old friend Joel Wilson with a glorious mistake inside the first 8 overs.
Is the stadium nearly empty??
I'm backing Zak here, every single run for him takes us further away from a Jennings recall.
Anything but Jennings.
I feel very uneasy about our recent opening partnerships being this successful.
Burns
Sibley
Crawley
Root
Stokes
Pope
Foakes
Curran
Bess
Leach
Wood/Archer
The team to win in India next year. Unless Mo comes back. Then I'll have to murder one of my darlings.
I am with you on that team. Saw the title of the Tuffers and Vaughan show the other day was “Pope will end up at 3”. I would rather him not to be honest. Let him do his thing in the middle order for 10 years.
Vaughan just talks shite and I think he knows it. Proper piece of work.
South Africa's short ball/leg theory plan at these two is proper chocolate teapot.
If not by moving him to three how ARE we going to ruin Pope? If he just keeps on getting good scores they'll start getting itchy.
You would have to be mental to push him to number three. Genuinely deranged. Five maybe, in time, but Stokes is there now so no need to change anything. Root-Stokes-Pope is that sorted which it hasn't really been since Collingwood retired.
Assuming they don't call up KFJ our batting line up looks as strong as it has in a long time. I'd still like Foakes though.
Ed Smith's furious determination not to pick Foakes will really be tested for this tour of Sri Lanka coming up. If he picks Bairstow and Buttler again I might just start watching croquet instead.
I've probably asked this before but why is it he won't pick Foakes?
Nobody knows but I suspect it's because he has run it through a computer and found that batting > keeping, statistically. That is less true in spinning conditions I think (and our next MASSIVE series is India away), and it's also less true when Bairstow and Buttler are scoring no runs. In Buttler's case there is also zero evidence he is ever going to score any red ball runs. I think he is a marvellous cricketer but at some point you have to deliver.
Foakes had a ropey batting season last year for Surrey but then you would, wouldn't you.
Outrageously poor cricket from South Africa in the past half hour. Mark Wood carving sixes over point though
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