First he has to be picked. Is he a left-field pick because Ed Smith goes for some odd choices? You watch - neither of the guys I have mentioned nor Archer will be picked. Stone will be the chosen one. However, if Archer is chosen, then of course I wish him luck. He will need it!
Weather looks a little iffy tonight, so I don't think I'll chance it. Stay at home and if we do get a game in, then there's still the live stream. But I wouldn't be disappointed with a washout to be honest.
England squad for second Ashes Test: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes. Archer in for Anderson, and Leach for Moeen.
And that is why I wanted tonight washed out. Somerset's batting in this group can only be matched by Middlesex. Yes their bowlers can go the distance, but I'd still rather the rain comes back in time.
And if the worst comes to the worst, there is always Norwich playing some team whose name escapes me.
It is likely to come down to Curran or Leach. Hopefully Leach gets the nod, and whatever happens to him in this test, I hope the selectors have the faith to pick him in all the remaining tests. PS: I would leave Archer out and go with Curran.
Sussex have the best rate I think, Odd that Middlesex are minus Morgan and De Villiers tonight. Mind you, I still think they would not have won against this impressive Sussex T20 machine.
I’m less interested in who’s in the squad, than the state and mindset of each picked to play. We need levels of resilience and concentration that at least are equal to the Australians, for 5 days if necessary!
Catching was sublime especially in those conditions. And well, Azam, worth the entry money just to see that knock. He didn’t put a foot wrong - if you know what I mean. The amount of times he dissected the rope fielders was uncanny. And the final 6, well deserved. I clapped. I usually don’t!
Azam was terrific last night but I would have to say that James Vince has always disappointed me. He strikes me as being a bit reckless. Vince will always go for the big strike but is too prone to misplaced shots where he gets caught out. A bit of a one side match last night. Hopefully next Friday will be better.
Somerset scored 206-8, Kent 53-1 after 6 Tom Barton was tonight’s centurion, with Tom Abell contributing 63.
The improvement in Abell in just a few weeks has been fantastic. He did look like the 'weak' link originally; the one guy who might chew up a few dot balls. Now he's just continuing the same level of damage which the top two inflict.