The Cricket Thread

I agree. Hopefully they will be back, but it may take a while.

,now watch them stuff us out of site in the one day series and T20...........

 

So many words I could use about our four day batting, but none of them are not swear words so I won't use any of them.

Either get out scoring runs, or dig in and get yourself to a score. This stuff we've been serving up this season and last, where most the guys hang around for 60 balls without playing a shot before getting out, is awful and not going to achieve anything. Fine, bowlers are allowed to bowl good balls and the conditions on days like today are great for bowling. But surely that just makes it even more important that you take advantage whilst you can? A ball has your name on it at some point, so don't just stand there waiting for it.

60-1 after 110 minutes is only good if it becomes 100-2, not 60-3. And now 84-4.

 

Swing. The. Bat.

 

This is better. Nice innings from Alsop so far.

 

Hants 270 all out v Notts 72/5. McLaren 3/13. Good position for Hants. Need to finish the job and bowl them out for 150.

 

Afridi and Sammy have both arrived at Hampshire.

 

Reece Topley out for 3 months with a back injury. I don't ****ing believe it.

 

I do. Nothing surprises me now when it comes to injuries for this season. Just thankful that Ervine's wasn't more serious yesterday.

Any way, intriguing day ahead of us. I don't see any reason to declare - try and eek out whatever further runs we can get (setting them 300 or more would be a nice psychological barrier), and if they haven't bowled us out within, say, 10 or 12 overs in the morning then just have a swing and burn our final wicket or two in doing so. Although the upside to getting bowled out right at the start would be the opportunity of having, say, 10 overs with a second new ball at the end of tomorrow, if the game is still going on at that point (and you'd think we'd be amongst the tail, if it was).

No sign of any rain, but looks pretty cloudy, which should play right into our hands.

Hopefully Read's hand injury restricts his batting again tomorrow. I know it's not exactly a sporting thing to say, but after the injury's we've had this season then an opponent going down injured mid-game is surely the least we deserve. And a fit Read could easily be the difference between us winning and drawing or losing.

Not quite sure where we go with Adams and Carberry, but that's not for tomorrow.

 

Hants really should have declared overnight. Poor decision to bat on.

 

Hants are petrified of losing. It's not a good attitude to have.

 

McLaren out. Now DECLARE!

 

Hampshire are batting on with the number 10 and 11 batters. Ludicrous. What a complete waste of time.

 

Conditions are ideal for bowling with the new ball and we're batting with tail enders. Utterly bemusing.

 

I hope we don't live to regret this needless pratting about. We already had enough runs.

 

So we have 86 overs to bowl them out. 10 overs completely wasted.

 

Tom, the second sign is hairs on the palms of your hands.

 

Didn't fall for that one.

 

Maybe we should not have declared - Notts very much in driving seat at the moment and perhaps even fewer overs available to them would have increased the pressure on them.

 

I knew making a comment would bring a wicket - if Hants do win you can thank me for my impeccable timing.

 

Now that Taylor is out it's even stevens. Read can just about hold a bat by the sounds of it so he'll come in at 11 and I would fancy Tino to get him out. So Patel and Christian are the only fully fit batsmen left. The rest are bowlers.