I'd watch if either: 1. each team nominates a player at a time to take a cricket bat to the crease for a head to head duel. the winner is the last man standing. After all 11 players have had their go the overall score is added up and winning team announced. No protective pads allowed. 2. Each player has to take a turn to stand in front of the wicket with no pads or bat. The other team bowls AT him. The team that can stay standing in front of the wicket for the most overs wins.
Been there today, Sri Lanka are miles behind England right now, maybe they should have bigger wickets when England bat.
Or give them smaller bats. Or blindfold them. Or use giants rocks like in Raiders of the Lost Ark instead of a cricket ball. Or..
Not going to the England matches, but off to Surrey vs Somerset at the Oval in just over a week - one day cricket is always an awesome day out, take in your own cans of beer and spend all day getting ****ered in the sun watching the cricket.
There are so many things i prefer about cricket than football but top of the list is that Durham with it's amazing home-gown players, the local lads who actually represent the area feels more like "my club" than any large football club probably ever could. I love Newcastle but it's hard to ignore how detached i feel from most of the players and the owner - give me Collingwood, Stokes, Borthwick, Stoneman, Mustard, Onions, Rushworth, etc to cheer on please. And as for sporting stories, after joining the league in 1991 it took a few seasons before we even won a game and now we've won 6 trophies in the last 8 seasons. If not the best team in the country then top 2-3.
Indeed. Borthwick is making a big push for being in the reckoning with England if Compton's struggles continue. I think Bayliss would like his free scoring. Durham have a clear record of development. They churn out the players time and again. I think England would do well to look a little closer at the batting ranks and past the averages. Its tricky at Chester le Street, so I think your technique gets tested more regularly. I've been impressed with young Jennings and Burnham this year too. If they can start to contribute consistently, they could be others pushing for international honours in the not too distant future. I don't if Jennings has committed either way yet?
Batting pitch has been better but Borthwick and Stoneman have been consistent for a while, think if Compton gets dropped Borthwick would be a strong contender. Burnham 19 but definitely has a high chance on playing for England one day, was playing for the Under 19's last season.
Jennings intimated previously he preferred SA, not just because of birthplace but his dad was/is (?) a cricket coach there. He's benefitted from an extended run in the team even when he was consistently being carried - he now looks the part. It is his turn to carry players like Burnham. We are so much better at development than many teams (bar Yorkshire who are freakish) and the Surrey solution of "buy in talent" just doesn't gel in the county championship. Two of my favourite players have been Benkenstein (scouted from Kendal Cricket Team after being ditched by mainstream teams) and Blackwell (ditched by Somerset), we (Durham) take them in and graft them into the team in exactly the way NUFC doesn't do!
Blackwell was rubbish and lazy for Durham IMO. Benkenstein was a brilliant Durham and for me the best player ever to play for Durham. Collingwood deserves credit for the way he has performed since retiring from the England team, especially his performances in T20 games.
