The cricket thread

scrumhalf

Far better at 6.45pm than at about midday.

Shame we lost that last wicket, we would have been in a much stronger position at the close.

I really enjoy watching Joe Root bat, I only hope his back trouble is short-term.

Heartfeltdawn

At some point he is going to need to rest that back properly. There's only so long you can keep chucking pills down your neck to numb the pain, as Atherton can vouch. But when?

http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/england/future-england-tours-and-tourists-to-england

You don't want Root ending up with the sort of trouble Michael Clarke has had.  

crunchman

Clarke didn't look all that mobile yesterday in the 10 minutes I saw.  I think he may be becoming a bit of a weak link for the Aussies.

I didn't even get to see the highlights as I was playing bass for a production at my daughter's school.  Did England play well, or the Aussies not well, or a bit of both?

jpttaylor

crunchman said:

Clarke didn't look all that mobile yesterday in the 10 minutes I saw.  I think he may be becoming a bit of a weak link for the Aussies.

I didn't even get to see the highlights as I was playing bass for a production at my daughter's school.  Did England play well, or the Aussies not well, or a bit of both?

Little bit of luck with a couple of the wickets yesterday, but mostly England played really well. The variation between the bowlers has worked really well, even on a dead pitch like this (especially pleased for Mark Wood).

Today they've been superb - it's so good to see them wipe up the tail end. They've struggled in the past few tests but I imagine Bayliss will have worked on their strategy and it's paid big dividends so far. Even Cook's setting of the field has been improved I think.

Next couple of hours are crucial though. If Australia can get a couple of wickets, they'll smell blood and have a good chance of getting back in the game. If Cook and Lyth can stay at the crease for a while, it'll be a cracking (if unlikely) win.

joneve

Fucking Cook. What a wanker. 

scrumhalf

Good first session today, would have been excellent had Cook not got himself out.

Mind you, if you were offered 143 ahead with 9 second innings wickets in hand and one Aussie bowler possibly crocked you'd have taken it, wouldn't you?

Heartfeltdawn

joneve said:

Fucking Cook. What a wanker. 

Yes, what was he thinking, scoring centuries in recent games and captaining quite well? He must be sat there now, looking at a 400+ lead and time to bowl the Aussies out and hating himself. 

All those folk on Twitter who said it was a poor wicket: fuck off. We've seen swing, seam, Mitchell Starc bowling some absolute jaffas, the spinners getting wickets, runs out there if you play well, and some good close fielding. Today has been a superb day's cricket. 

Man of the Day: Mitchell Starc. Put in a serious session today. Nathan Lyon showed why nobody should mock him. He's not fashionable, he's not got tons of variations, but he's got a good cricketing brain. 

Tomorrow will be a cracker. 

jpttaylor

Heartfeltdawn said:

joneve said:

Fucking Cook. What a wanker. 

Yes, what was he thinking, scoring centuries in recent games and captaining quite well? He must be sat there now, looking at a 400+ lead and time to bowl the Aussies out and hating himself. 

All those folk on Twitter who said it was a poor wicket: fuck off. We've seen swing, seam, Mitchell Starc bowling some absolute jaffas, the spinners getting wickets, runs out there if you play well, and some good close fielding. Today has been a superb day's cricket. 

Man of the Day: Mitchell Starc. Put in a serious session today. Nathan Lyon showed why nobody should mock him. He's not fashionable, he's not got tons of variations, but he's got a good cricketing brain. 

Tomorrow will be a cracker. 

Poor wicket? Give over. Simon Hughes had a couple of minutes on the 5 highlights showing just how much the ball was slowing down when pitched into certain areas - a good 4-10mph at times. That speed difference is enough for the ball to move onto different parts of the bat, which totally screws with some of the cuts and drives that they were trying to play.

Starc's put in a couple of great performances in this test and he's still only 25. Give it a couple of years, and he'll be a fantastic bowler.

400 is a good lead and puts them under pressure. A few cracks starting to appear will give the bowlers (Anderson especially) a bit of hope. Key wickets will be Warner and Haddin I think - if they can peg them back, it'll be England's win.

iseverynamegone

how dare Cook get out trying to be aggressive etc etc..... He actually captained well , certainly outdid pup.

Fantastic day's play , I'd rather have 450 but fair play to the Aussies if they make 400 to win. I'd say 95% 1-0 to Yorkshire....

Heartfeltdawn

@jpttaylor Even people as knowledgeable as Mike Haysman (Aussie commentator and ex first class cricketer) was talking about Cardiff as if it was a major surprise that it wasn't fast and bouncy. Compared to 2009, this pitch is a livewire. Cardiff is not a bouncy wicket of lovely pace. You think the Aussies would have turned to Michael Hogan and asked him about it.   

The ball slowing made it interesting because the balance between bat and ball was there. With modern bats on true pitches, all you've got to do is swing through the line. The weight placement of the body is not as important as it once was. On a pitch like this though you need to have that weight transfer going properly. It's no coincidence at all that the two players who have shown that best, Rogers and Root, have hit the highest scores of each side. 

Starc today was sensational. As much swing as Trent Boult earlier in the year and some serious pace. As he as he was now, when he's got five years of international experience under his belt, might have lost 5mph, but has greater command of line, length, and swing, he could well be rivalling Wasim Akram for the title of greatest left arm seamer to have played the game. Can't praise him highly enough for what he did today. 

I said earlier how Australia lost in 2009 by not having enough bowling firepower and should have gone with five bowlers. I haven't changed my mind here. A fifth bowler would have given Clarke a more useful tool on that wicket than picking a crap all-rounder at 6. 

iseverynamegone

Ian bell was most pleasing thing for me today. 22-2 and he comes in and quickly cover drives the shit outta them.

scrumhalf

Another cracking day's cricket (ending with Kent's T20 stuffing of Somerset).

The discipline of England's bowlers as been great. Stuart Broad may still think that everything he bowls that connects with the batsman's pads is LBW, but give him his due, he's not tried to bounce them out.

Nice to see a game where good bowlers get rewarded.

Heartfeltdawn

@scrumhalf They used the short ball well against Rogers. Wood and Broad bowled very nicely in tandem yesterday. The whole bowling performance was one where they adapted rather than the 'bowl to a set formula' as we saw in previous years. 

For all the talk of the might of the Australian pace stocks, they're now in a spot of bother. Starc may well miss out at Lords with his ankle. MJ still doesn't look right with his run up to me. Hazlewood has bowled admirably considering this pitch really isn't his thing. Behind them, there's Siddle whom most people consider to be past his best, Pat Cummins who hasn't played a first class game for two years, and James Pattinson is coming back from injury. With plenty of Aussie seamers in the county scene this season, it wouldn't be a surprise if one was called up. Magoffin would be my choice. 

iseverynamegone

Early days , could do with another before lunch to settle Me down

scrumhalf

iseverynamegone said:

Early days , could do with another before lunch to settle Me down

Delivered!

iseverynamegone

Yea I wish I could wis myself.....

iseverynamegone

Let's hope this is one of those broad five for 30 spells he comes up with every now and then

scrumhalf

Cracking session, better than I could have hoped for.

Come on England!!!!

scrumhalf

Yesss!!!!!

Great stuff from the bowlers.

1-0up, but then they were 1-0 up in 97 and that ended up badly. I don't think the same will happen again, but never underestimate an Australian team.

mudslide73

Who saw that coming? Outplayed in every department in every session.