Off Topic Best Test Ever?

Can't take my eyes off this one.

If England can power past Pakistan later today, bat half a session tomorrow until we secure a lead of 175, we can blast them out in a two and a half sessions on a deteriorating pitch!

This could be one of the must see sporting events of all time.

By about half twelve tomorrow afternoon you would be a ****ing idiot to be watching anything other than the finale of this hyper-tense, sports-fest.


Nobodies planning anything else, surely?

 

Just be glad Pakistan's leggy wasn't playing - we could be scratching around to avoid an innings defeat instead of playing a role in the greatest bore draw ever.

 

We won't build a big enough lead to blast them out

 

All about whether or not Cook can make the first English triple ton for 25 years from here...

 

And in answer to the question posed in the thread title, Edgbaston 2005.

 

It's good, but it's not right. The answer is Headingley '81.

 

This test is gashwank and not looking like improving! Needs to be a more even balance between bat and ball, for me, any test which results in a win in the last 2 sessions on the 5th day or a battling draw is the perfect test, any test where at the end of day 4 2 innings haven't been completed which we'll likely see here, bobbins, utter bobbins.

Teams, at county or international level will get criticism for tests which end quickly, and at county level teams are fined and deducted points if umpires deem a pitch to be sub standard and too in favour of bowlers, yet bugger all is said about **** pitches like this one which results in dull dull dull cricket

 

finished 2 weeks before I was born....but from an England fan's POV i'd agree! In my lifetime though, Edgbaston 05 is the best i've seen

 

Also throwing this test out there as one of the best in my lifetime, Looking like a draw as SA were set a target of 300+ in 2 and a bit sessions until Hoggy rocked up with 7 wickets to bowl them out.......glorious

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/64119.html

 

Fair point but I was only 2 at the time, 2005 in my living memory but you're no doubt right about '81.

 

We can all knock Cook for getting 250 (hope he gets more) on a dead pitch but at least he hung around to do it. Ali, Root etc haven't done it.

Imagine the whinging if nobody had got a decent score on that pitch.

 

No one is knocking Cook at all.

The knocking is for the ridiculous pitch.

 

Surely no one is knocking Cook for this innings? Road or not, a score that big is brill

 

There'll be some detractors, you watch.

Great stat.

#bbccricket Alastair Cook has batted longer than the combined total match time of England at the rugby and football world cups!

 

I was cricket mad for years after watching this and Botham/Willis

 

Fantastic knock from the captain.

831 minutes at the crease. Well done.

 

Sadly Cook could not. However it has been good batting practice for many of them.

England need to keep the Pakistan players out in the sun for as long as possible. The 2nd test follows on soon.

Until he was out, Cook had played/been out on the pitch for every minute of this test match.

 

A couple in the Ashes series in 2005 ran that one close.

 

The teams can do next to nothing about the pitch served up to them except play it to the best of their abilities and we are seeing that - great cricket, great game just disappointing conditions - but cricket often has a sting in the tail - as Tickles says, TWT ...