The Cricket Thread

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It was my first time at The Oval on Friday and I really enjoyed the exprience. I was told that I should expect it to be totally different to Lord's and I think that was the case although not quite to the extent I had imagined. It was staggering how much more lively the crowd as. I have seen England at the Ageas whenever I have managed to get a ticket and I think that that experience can be quite lively. However, seeing England recover from a dreadful start on Friday, the game really ivened up. I was sat near to the Indian band and the good natured banter amongst the fans was a reminder just how wrong football sometimes is. The cricket was good during the afternoon.

I think I prefer the gravitas of Lord's and appreciate the heritage more , especially as I had distant relatives who played there for The Players between 1816-21 which makes it a bit more personal for me. After last year's attendance limited to near by St Cross, it was good to get out to a few more grounds in 2021.
 
Hmm, a "covid issue" has delayed the toss.

We can't really afford this game to be abandoned.
 
Phew. 11.30 start time.

Now to find out if anyone has been ruled out.

So it's either Crane or McManus (or both - but the Hants statement implies just the one case). Solely for cricketing reasons, Organ could have come in for either of them. Fuller is therefore the benefactor I presume, but it's not clear for whom.
 
Joe Weatherley averaging just 19 in the CC as an opener, I think that's worse than previous seasons. It must be time to try someone else there and possibly drop him down the order where he bats in limited overs.
 
I'll be annoyed if Mason has been dropped for cricketing reasons but I suspect that it is Lewis that has covid given that he has been #1 WK all season.

Yeah, on balance it's more likely to be Lewis than Mason who tested positive. But only Weatherley is averaging less with the bat than McManus this season (if you exclude the bowlers). So it's not beyond the realms of possibility that his 7 and 8 against Yorks last week was the last straw.