The Cricket Thread 2015-16

Hampshire are going to win.

 

Looking good too stay up. Future bright with players like Crane,, Taylor and Stevenson coming through.

 

And Vince, Topley, Dawson etc.

 

Hampshire win! That's a fantastic result.

 

Great win now for Somerset

 

Much needed win for Hants at Durham, Vince took them home in the end. Well played lads.

 

I put £20 on England after Australia's innings at 2/1.

 

Good odds

 

Aussies back into the game now..

 

Morgan gone now, down to Moeen and Buttler to accelerate.

 

Buttler holes out, running out of batsmen!

 

England all out for 246.

 

It was a shame because it looked like being a good game.

 

An absolutely massive game. Win it, and we'll have one foot in D1 for next season. Lose it, and we'll have everything except our fingers nail down in D2.

In all likelihood though, we'll neither win nor lose it. Taunton is the flattest wicket in the country at the best of times. But when you throw in the fact that Somerset have the advantage over us in the league standings at the moment, and on paper have the easier finish to the season than we do, I'd suggest that it's even more likely than ever than we'll be presented with a completely flat one.

If that is the case, then our only chance of forcing a result might rest with Fidel's fitness. A hamstring injury for a fast bowler doesn't just repair over night, so hopefully it was just him feeling it was a little sore against Durham, and nothing else. Because if he is fit, then his pace coupled with Crane's leg spin (not to mention McLaren and Berg) might just give us the tools to at least trouble the Somerset batsmen, even if they get little out of the surface itself.

 

Controversial decision at the second ODI. Stokes prods the ball down the pitch and the bowler, Starc, follows through and hurls the ball at the stumps. Stokes put a hand out to protect himself, and the Aussies appeal. The 3rd umpire watches the replay in super slow-motion and decides that Stokes was out obstructing the fielder. In real time there was no case to answer, and only in slow motion did it look like there was any intent. Steve Smith cements his place as an unsporting Australian ****.

 

I agree . To be fair to all , the third umpire should at least have seen it in real time , but no .......

Englands post match interview was excellent IMHO .

 

Missed that - what did they say?

 

From the highlights, it looks like it is the Australian wicketkeeper who leads the appeals, rather than Starc the bowler.

Smith then maybe 'should' have recalled the batsman or retracted the appeal - but if it were the other way round would we not all be laughing about it? Bear in mind they've been in England for months, and lost the Ashes, probably a win-at-all-costs mentality has set in.

 

Ben Stokes became the first English batsman ever to be given out in that way in the history of international cricket. For me, two people were at fault: first the 3rd umpire, for not reviewing at natural speed and taking it upon himself to make such a monumental decision; and secondly Steve Smith for not withdrawing the appeal. It was obvious in real time that Stokes was simply defending himself, and not wilfully obstructing the field. To coin a phrase, it just wasn't cricket!

 

Morgan simply said that if it was us and the fielder appealed , he would have declined . Took the moral high ground , and when the interviewer tried to get him to slate Smith , simply said they had different opinions and it would not tarnish the relationship between the 2 teams .