The Cricket Thread

Stop letting Brooks and Sidebottom score runs FFS.

 

They're welcome to continue to occupy the crease though. I would not want us to be coming out to bat in these gloomy, overcast conditions. The runs they're scoring is annoying though.

 

Unless the rain can save us (the forecast is currently showing rain for Saturday, and dark clouds for tomorrow), then that batting collapse earlier has cost us this game. Continuing to go into games a batsman light (McLaren has been brilliant with the bat this year, but he is never a number a 6), and playing three number 11s, was always going to cost us at some point. Of course conceding that 10th wicket partnership didn't help either!

And it the rain doesn't save it, staying up then becomes very, very difficult.

 

Yorkshire declare with a lead of 297 (not sure why they bothered to bat on for one more over, scoring just three more runs, after Bresnan's wicket). In theory we have 72 overs to either score the runs or save the game, but the current forecast is suggesting that we might be lucky to even get 25 of those overs in.

 

Dawson into bat just about early enough to contribute. He's not someone who can come in at the end of an innings and just tee-off. He does need time to settle in (not that he does that slowly, by any means - pretty much has a SR at 100 early on, but just through lots of 1s and 2s). 12 overs left gives him time to do that, before going after it.

And there's that single to start.

 

Stokes directed the ball into his wedding tackle...out of action for a good 5 mins. The Pakistanis looked suitably concerned....his friends and teammates thought it was hilarious.

 

Well that was crap Liam.

 

Went too early. Should have continued knocking the ball around for another couple of overs. Rarely uses up dot balls, but does need a good 25 balls minimum until he can hit anything other than rank balls for 4.

 

England finish at 302-9.

 

Absolutely no surprise to me whatsoever, but the Mail are reporting that Dawson has won the race to be the third spinner for the winter tours: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cr...tion-England-Test-tours-Bangladesh-India.html

England like their third spinner to be able to bat - afterall, if they can't, then the only chance that they will ever play is if there's an injury to one of the main two. Look at our last tour to Asia. Samit was taken as the third spinner, because there could play him in the top seven when they decided to field all three. The fact that there were better spinners out there didn't matter.

Plus, Dawson is a left arm spinner, giving a third type of spinner alongside Moeen and Rashid. Again, Samit fulfilled that role too.

 

What a ripper from Liam! No wicket but good response from being hit for two fours.

 

He also plays spin well.

 

England lose final ODI but win series 4-1. We lost too many wickets towards the end of our innings which left us 30-40 behind where we should have been.

 

Solid, if unspectacular, first day. We've always been one wicket behind; taking our wickets to get back into the game, rather than taking control of the game. But if we can take them out for under 300 (which is far from certain at this point - only the other month Batty score a 100 against), then I think you do take that. Especially given we've our improved batting line-up (if we collapse again this time, then criticism is deserved).

Great news in the Somerset-Warks game, if Somerset go onto win (and it's clearly not finishing a draw!). Not a single batting point for Warks would leave them walking away with just three points. With that outcome, actually a draw for us in this game with a decent bonus point haul (and we already have two) would not be a bad result. But of course the Somerset-Warks game becomes bad news if Warks go onto win (although still not awful news - they would still have dropped all batting points).

 

Pakistanis bowled well. England struggling for a team that pride themselves on batting deep. 135=7 Is that enough? Probably needed about 165.

 

Well this is going well.

 

I gave up early on and moved over to the tennis. Murray and Nishikori keep swapping breaks.

 

They just lost by 9 wickets with 5 overs to spare.
Hopefully Murray will do better.

 

For once excellent batting from Hants. 405/5 lets hope for a big lead.

 

Must be a long time since we had three century makers in one innings.