england 93/1 off 7 overs. smith out for 64 off 28 (scoring rate 13.7 per over). took 20 off the previous 4 deliveries.
never in doubt. england 246/3 off 29.4 overs. smith 64 off 28,duckett 54 off 46, root 44 off 49. brook 26no off 36, buttler 41no off 20. a t20 effort.
Apropos of nothing really except it's cricket and the Aus/SAF World Test final started today. I was reminded of this photo of the 2 captains which I found quite comical at the time.
SAF making life hard for themselves, AUS last wicket pair have put on nearly 50, so far. AUS 260-odd ahead.
Aus all out, 281 ahead. Big ask for SAF although the pitch looks to be getting more batting-friendly and there's plenty of time left.
SAF going ok, 123/2 chasing 282. If they can get to close still 2 down it'll be a good day tomorrow. Cheery news though, Steve Smith dropped Bavuma on 2, and broke his finger in the process, oh what a shame.
Cricket is such a bizarre, weird and yet utterly beautiful game....for 2 days it looks like they're playing on a minefield, then about face and batting looks as easy as anything....even this a.m. the aus 10th wicket partnership looked like a pair of seasoned middle order batters. It's a shame that there's so much cricket that the test final is just a one off game and not a proper spectacle played over 3 tests but even squeezing this in is a challenge with all the T20 leagues and forever ludicrous 100 taking up most of the year
i was chatting to an ex-pro (1970s) i know. he was telling me about the first day of this final. at one point i referred to the one-day and t20 games as "the mickey mouse formats", but he didn't bite!
