The cricket thread

guitars4you

Frustrating - Just about all batsman get in but nothing more - All below par

Credit to the Aussie bowlers for sticking in there - No rest from this attack

scrumhalf

Marsh appears to be their secret weapon.

170-3 to 205-7.

AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!

camf

So often this summer, the English batsmen have batted like a bunch of knobs. Very frustrating for their supporters but these batsmen just don’t seem to learn. Good luck to the new coach. 

earwighoney

Heartfeltdawn said:

earwighoney said:

I have to say HFD, I did chuckle when I saw MM is coming in for the next test.  Great prediction. 

The joke is clearly on us now with the Stokes dismissal

And as Amy Lofthouse on the Beeb tweets... "Mitchell Marsh has got Ben Stokes out three times in four Tests. The only batsman he's dismissed more? Brendon McCullum. How?!"

4 wickets now!  Looking like an inspired selection now. 

This England team bats like idiots.  There needs to be a 'proper' batsman in the middle order now, I'm not sure a middle order of all rounders and wicket keepers is taking enough responsibility. 

scrumhalf

The problem is that we don't appear to have any "proper" batsmen any more.

RandallFlagg

Never mind "Same old Aussies, always cheating" it's more "Same old England, always losing"

Coming up well short here, 350-400 was the order of the day to capitalise on that poor call at the toss by Paine

RandallFlagg

camf said:

So often this summer, the English batsmen have batted like a bunch of knobs. Very frustrating for their supporters but these batsmen just don’t seem to learn. Good luck to the new coach. 

Boris Johnson may be looking for a new job soon....

camf

If only he’d prorogued the series after Headingley. 

Heartfeltdawn

earwighoney said:

4 wickets now!  Looking like an inspired selection now. 

This England team bats like idiots.  There needs to be a 'proper' batsman in the middle order now, I'm not sure a middle order of all rounders and wicket keepers is taking enough responsibility. 

Effectively we have two out and out batsmen here in Burns and Root (Denly I don't count as a batsman as it was his all-round possibilities that got him re-selected, not his run scoring). 

It's not just that we have all-rounders everywhere. It's that we bring in all-rounders at lousy times. I moaned about Overton coming in having played a load of T20 cricket and one FC game in six weeks and being expected to be the third seamer and to bat decently. How can you do that with so little long format match under your belt recently? 

You can put Curran in the same boat now. Since the Test against Ireland where he didn't bowl in the second innings, he's had one first class game where he batted for one innings and bowled in one innings before being replaced after being selected for the England squad. He's then expected to go and be the all-round Stokes replacement (if he wasn't then Woakes would have been ahead of him in the batting order). 

It's more of the same old madness. 

Heartfeltdawn

Now surely it's time to put Jofra below Leach as well in the order... 

crunchman

For all the shambolic batting, they have made enough to keep them in the match.

If they had been bowled out for 67 again, it would have been a bit much to expect a repeat of Headingley.

Heartfeltdawn

crunchman said:

For all the shambolic batting, they have made enough to keep them in the match.

If they had been bowled out for 67 again, it would have been a bit much to expect a repeat of Headingley.

Negative thinking: the defeat by an innings is still on...

Positive thinking: well at least we avoided the follow-on!

RandallFlagg

Heartfeltdawn said:

Now surely it's time to put Jofra below Leach as well in the order... 

I agree, Leachy has the right batting temperament and on his day will be very valuable with runs.

Heartfeltdawn

ButtLeach now have the second highest partnership of the innings. 

@earwighoney Gill's in the squad for SA

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27598493/shubman-gill-gets-maiden-call-india-test-squad-rohit-sharma-picked-opener

RandallFlagg

at last, a bit of twilight form from Buttler but he slashes like a madman

earwighoney

Heartfeltdawn said:

ButtLeach now have the second highest partnership of the innings. 

@earwighoney Gill's in the squad for SA

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27598493/shubman-gill-gets-maiden-call-india-test-squad-rohit-sharma-picked-opener

Thanks for the info!  I hope he manages to get into the team and score some runs, he's one of the most aesthetically pleasing young batsmen I've come across for a while, he has a very nice tidy and effective defensive technique, it's not difficult to tell Rahul Dravid's been working with him very closely over the last few years, RD was a delight to watch play defensive cricketing shots. 

Back to the test match, great to see ButtLea build a solid partnership.  It's a pretty decent recovery now.  

earwighoney

82 overs in 6.5 hours of play.  

That's fucking terrible.  Paine should be fined for a slow over rate but there's no chance of that happening. 

scrumhalf

I suppose 271-8 isn't too bad after you've been put in, but you'd have expected more given the score at tea. 

crunchman

Back to the County Championship, Somerset have won, and Essex still have a bit of work to do to get out with a draw.  They are 278 for 6, needing 368 to avoid the follow on.

scrumhalf

crunchman said:

Back to the County Championship...

Darren Stevens - two five-fers and an 88 at the age of 43. And Kent won't offer him a contract for next year.