The Awfully Big Cricket Thread

[ziggy starbucks]

I loved the whole of the last day, its a kind of slow burning drama that only test cricket provides. Its great to see the windies showing some steel now, playing with a rare determination. I think the problem was putting Anderson in as night watchman, his long partnership with Cook went on for ages but the scoring was slow. We should have got to 200 a lot quicker in that 3rd innings.

For some reason I really hate Cook. I was thinking during the match that he is the Derek Smalls of the team, "kind of like lukewarm water". Now that Bell has been dropped (for a short while), I need a new person to dislike and Cook has the honour.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Sometimes with classy batsmen you stop worrying about them past a certain point in their innings. Strauss' semi return to form is good news, (and he has a great record at Lord's where Australia usually fuck us about royally, so I'm hopeful.)

With Bell and Cook they can look good but you know they're prone to get out any minute to some moment of fecklessness or inadequacy. However that comes with the small proviso that on the rare occasion Bell is in great form he's our best batsman in the side by a mile.

Cook got a couple of fifties so isn't exactly dead in the water, but it's been a long time since a century for him. I get the impression if he wasn't an opener he'd be nowhere near the test side currently.

Mostly I'm just hoping Flintoff's going to be alright, we need that guy.

[confettiinmyhair]

Flintoff apparently has a tear in his hip, which sounds bloody painful. Surely he won't risk the IPL and the Ashes opportunities by playing through the pain. Swann also has an elbow problem.

Bopara and Amjad Khan have been called up as cover

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Sri Lanka have just set about murdering Pakistan on the first day. Their batting and bowling line-ups are really fierce at the moment. They tend not to play swing and seam too well but boy, they should be giving any team in the world a good game. If they could find some decent openers....well...

Gul and Khan were being set-upon by a run a ball though, Samaraweera's been murdering them...130 from 155 balls is close to Sehwag style mentalism.

[rjd2]

Sri Lanka have just set about murdering Pakistan on the first day. Their batting and bowling line-ups are really fierce at the moment. They tend not to play swing and seam too well but boy, they should be giving any team in the world a good game. If they could find some decent openers....well...

Gul and Khan were being set-upon by a run a ball though, Samaraweera's been murdering them...130 from 155 balls is close to Sehwag style mentalism.

Not in ODI cricket to be honest, India killed them, and Bangladesh have beaten them this year, how Zimbabwe did not win one of their matches against them I will never know. The West Indies and even England have beaten them in this format as well recently. They do look stronger when it comes to test cricket, Mahala Jayawardenes brother is the best wicket keeper in the world, its such a pity he is not much cop with the bat though.

[rjd2]

Sri Lanka have just set about murdering Pakistan on the first day. Their batting and bowling line-ups are really fierce at the moment. They tend not to play swing and seam too well but boy, they should be giving any team in the world a good game. If they could find some decent openers....well...

Gul and Khan were being set-upon by a run a ball though, Samaraweera's been murdering them...130 from 155 balls is close to Sehwag style mentalism.

Not in ODI cricket to be honest, India killed them, and Bangladesh have beaten them this year, how Zimbabwe did not win one of their matches against them I will never know. The West Indies and even England have beaten them in this format as well recently. They do look stronger when it comes to test cricket, Mahala Jayawardenes brother is the best wicket keeper in the world, its such a pity he is not much cop with the bat though.

[rjd2]

Great knock from Sarwan, hopefully he will get a double century now. It's going to be tricky for England to force a win but you never know because, nobody can collapse like the West Indies!
South Africa needs rain ASAP in their match against Australia; Hughes looked good earlier and North had a sublime knock the other day. Siddle is improving as well, all of which is not good news with the Ashes on the way.

[confettiinmyhair]

I don't understand why Sidebottom has been selected yet again when he is not match fit. Khan flies literally across the world, takes a five for in the warmup game prior to this test yet doesn't get selected. England need a wicket taker, not a medium pacer with a half decent economy rate. Not only that but the selection of both Anderson and Sidebottom means that as soon as the new ball stops swinging they're both of little use.

[aaaaaaaaaargh!]

Shame for Sarwan was that, he was just nine runs away from a triple century.  He seems to have been given the kiss of death by someone who texted the following to the BBC pretty much immediately before he got out:

"How much money should I put on Sarwan holding the highest ever Test score record this time tomorrow?"

There could potentially be an unbelievable finish in the South Africa v Australia test, SA are chasing 454 which is a world record, and they're 178-2.  It's finely poised at the moment.

[rjd2]

Shame for Sarwan was that, he was just nine runs away from a triple century.  He seems to have been given the kiss of death by someone who texted the following to the BBC pretty much immediately before he got out:

There could potentially be an unbelievable finish in the South Africa v Australia test, SA are chasing 454 which is a world record, and they're 178-2.  It's finely poised at the moment.

I would feel more confident if Smith was playing. I think weather may play a role in that game yet.

[weirdbeard]

The next time we play a series in the West Indies, can we just fuck off the grounds and play on the car parks instead.  We might have more of a chance of getting a result.

[weirdbeard]

God.  In the words of Graeme Swann, "fucking hell".  Sidebottom totally misjudges a ball falling a foot inside the boundary.

[aaaaaaaaaargh!]

725 runs!  World record number of runs in an innings is 952 (for 6!) though, so I don't think they'll quite get that!

[rjd2]

Edwards going apeshit over not being allowed to bat amused me, can England hold on for a draw?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The journalists once again jerking their knees faster than a nervous whippet in a reflexology class. Yes, there are some dead pitches being prepared, and yes any wicket that allows Danesh Ramdin to score 166 runs is unfit to play test matches on.

Meanwhile a decent wicket was prepared for the first test of the SA vs. Aus series and a result was gained.

[confettiinmyhair]

It's been happening over in Pakistan, with Younis Khan getting a triple hundred in the first test and today Samaraweera got his 2nd consecutive double hundred. The ICC need to take a look at this because Cricket should be a contest between bat and ball, not a war of attritional batting.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The criticism is overblown though, they've been talking about how the art of test captaincy is at stake and if that goes it's difficult to see test matches as anything other than extended net sessions open to the public with a tenuous 'sporting' conceit. It's very nice to show you care when a problem comes up but keep it in perspective, cricket hacks.

The perfect test series should have:

1)A good batting wicket
2)A seamers wicket
3)A good pitch that deteriorates into uneven bounce and dries up on day 4 and 5 for the spinners.
4)A wicket which is decent for everyone- that allows everyone with application to either make runs or take wickets

The sizeable run-chases recently have coincided with pitches staying very true and getting easier for batsmen rather than harder.

As far as I'm aware though, the making of a cricket pitch is not the most difficult thing to achieve, nor is the quantity of batting friendly surfaces a 'phenomenon'.

I always liked the ball coming in above waist-height when I was batting. I can play the yorker about as well as P.M Dawn plays the double bass.

[Neil]

Please start a new thread, this one's too big now, cheers.