It's SA's turn to use their new short-form domestic competition to try out a few new rules which might yet make their way into world cricket. Firstly (and this is a personal delight of mine), if the fielder throws down the stumps it will no longer be possible for the batters to run for overthrows if the ball duly deflects away. I've always hated the fact that fielders are at risk of essentially punished for doing their job properly (ie knocking down the stumps). Absolutely fair enough to run for overthrows if the stumps are missed. But the moment the stumps are knocked down, it should be a dead ball. I certainly hope this adopted throughout cricket generally. Secondly, 13 players are named by each team before the toss. Only after the toss are they reduced down to 11 players.
I was wondering why Vince had disappeared from the Sydney Sixers line up and it turns out he's captaining the Gulf Giants in this new UAE T20 league. Bit odd to have 3 high profile T20 competitions competing against one another (BBL, SAT20 league and this one). And this new UAE league is not lacking for good players either. Vince has a 65 and a 83 not out from his two innings so far and it begs the question - how long before an IPL team picks him up? He went unsold in last year's auction but I don't remember seeing his name come up in the auction last month for this year. It's fair to say that Vince's stock is at an all time high at T20 (or Hundred) level. It would be bad news for Hants obviously as he'd be missing the first handful of CC games but I guess it depends on whether he could get another chance at test cricket. I think his style would appeal to Stokes and McCullum if injuries opened up a spot.
Had to go looking for this thread on page 2. Roy and Malan going well against South Africa, England currently 145-0 off 19 overs, needing 299 to win. Roy 85, Malan 58. Oops Malan out.
I went out just after Malan was out, came back in to see Willey out . WTF happened? This seals it, the second leg match day thread is all yours.
I thought dropping Ollie Stone was a bold move, as he was the only bowler to shine in the last game, but Archer and Rashid were on great form today.
I played my part in this win, after jinxing them in the previous one by praising England’s performance. Today when we were 3 wickets down and struggling, I decided to watch 2 episodes of Silent Witness, returning to the cricket as Buttler and Malan were just shy of a century apiece. When SA got off to a quick start I turned it off and lo and behold, we win with ease.
As great as it is to watch, I am a bit worried about my Ashes tickets this summer. All I could get was day 4 but with the way we are going I can't imagine many tests will make it past 3!
I think the fact that this is a day/night match influenced their decision to score quickly and declare.
No doubt, and it looks to be a good call too. But the general play in tests under McCullum & Stokes has been so gung-ho that a day 3 finish is by no means out of the question
Why is there not even BBC radio coverage FFS . TV I understand , but radio should be free to all . Talk sport can go **** itself .
