December Cricket Thread
punter called it quits then, had to keep reminding myself i disliked the chirpy little prick during that press conference. something in my eye there. i don't know where you'd put him on the all-time list but he's certainly top 2 or 3 of my lifetime, the absolute prototypical australian. would have liked to see them take a fourth ashes off him but it's probably for the best, wonder if sachin will take the hint.
finn and bell in, broad and bairstow out, sharma in for harbahjan. india win the toss and choose to bat, all as expected really. have seen the pitch described variously as a complete road and a rank turner.
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just noticed how much Atherton looks like Gail Tylsley
good shout that
was gonna do some impromptu photoshopping of her stupid wig but the first google auto-complete for gail platt is gail platt... sunbathing so i vomited and didn't bother.
:))
England persisting with their cheating 4 sub-fielders on at any one time
Not sure if it can be classed as cheating
if the rules allow it
Nice of Sachin to find his form against us...
I sort of feel about Ponting the same way i felt about Gary Neville.
As in, thoroughly, thoroughy disliked the guy during his prime, found him immensely funny once he'd past his best, but now he's hangin' 'em up, you can't belp but have a begrudging respect for him.
Great player, great leader, bit of a dick.
Overrated as a Skip, champ.
Amazing batsman but essentially never needed to be a brilliant captain as he had 2 of the top 10 best bowlers of all time and a supporting cast of people like Lee, Gillespie (pre 2005) and later Clarke. Also had Gilchrist, Hayden, Hussey, Langer, Katich, Clarke and Symonds for the brief spell he was unplayable. Difficult to actually lose a test match with those players.
there's probably a discussion to be had about how good a captain he was
i think you're being unfair myself, you'd be plumb mental to suggest he was anything less than an incredible leader.
Yeah possibly in the charismatic sense but my point was solely regarding his
captaincy.
Should of read Yeah in the charismatic sense. No possibility about it.
dunno
think you're being a bit silly bud. i'd take ponting's absolute ruthlessness, focus and drive over the occasional clever field placing. all that's talking like we never saw him and warne conspiring, if you've got glenn mcgrath in the side then it's good captaincy to stick three slips in.
I think some of those field placings could have been used to stop
Cook scoring a bajillion runs and costing him the 2nd Ashes series he failed to win. It's obviously deliberately glib to have a pop at one of the greats but like you said there's an argument to be had about his captaincy that's all. Certainly anyone claiming him to be a great Captain is probably wrong.
don't know if you've noticed but cook is a colossus, conquering limbs standing astride australia and the sub-continent
idk, that australia side probably just weren't good enough to beat england, what field do you set to mitchell johnson in spray mode?
i think the importance of captaincy in a purely field placing/bowler changing sense is overplayed a bit anyway. no one would suggest strauss was anything more than consistent and conservative and he's the most successful english captain in decades.
vaughan was obviously twice the captain strauss could be
would even rank Hussain higher given the players at his disposal
*and the quality of opposition
wouldn't disagree with you
i'm just saying it's rarely particularly important.
well yeah it can only really give that extra 5%
but that can tilt a Test match...
Do not agree at all.
Obviously you have to have the players capable of implementing them but plans and preparation for batsman and bowlers which should come from the Captain is absolutely vital in test cricket.
I think that field placing and bowler changes/selection are surely
the most important aspect of being a Captain. Completely agree with Loui below with regards Strauss. Obviously a good guy but he pretty much diminished my interest in England by turning them into nothing more than a boring effective unit.
You only have to look at someone like Graeme Smith who is a great leader, a great batsman and an great Captain.
Wow...soft dismissal...
:)
Got to walk out onto the ground of the world's fastest pitch* on Sunday
Not onto the pitch, mind, but close enough to see some cracks and the scuff marks at the crease. Will post a pic later on.
*the WACCA -- if not the world's fastest the certainly in the top 5.
GET IN
cor, good cricket this
england have done spectacularly well to make a game of losing the toss on this pitch, it's done absolutely nothing off the surface. you can keep your steyns and hilfenhouses; i wouldn't swap jimmy for any man.
india really aren't very good
series there for the taking if our batting doesn't collapse
South Africa are terrifying. Their batting is monstrous (imagine KP slotting in after Amla! Don't!) and they have the two best fast bowlers in the world (Anderson and Siddle can fight for third, Junaid Khan steamin' in at the rear, and Morkel ain't zackly a weak link)
things ticking along nicely for England right now
Cook now England's leading century maker.
He'll go on to make about 40 of 'em.
my dad just texted me to describe him as a whale shark
drifting through the depths with his mouth open, consuming runs.
They were talking about how great he is on the radio earlier
I think it's tricky to compare sportsmen across different eras, but even if he has had more opportunities to score runs, had a more professional setup around him, better quality of batsmen alongside him at the crease and a generally lower calibre of bowler to face, he's still pretty wicked eh?
Plus his ball shining ability is second to none.
Love Cook.
Yeah comparing sportsmen across generations is futile...
...but I do think Cook's reached his total playing fewer tests than the other folk at the top of the century tree. And he's a heck of a lot younger.
He's been England captain in waiting since his very first test. Obvious class - even when he wasn't getting runs a few years ago.
Thoroughly decent chap too. Bit of an all-round legend is Cook.
Although, an interesting observation is that had Trescothick not had his problems, Cook wouldn't have gotten a look in with England. Probably correct to be quite honest.
muppetry from Cook and the umpires there
that's just not out, says in the rules, but pretty duff move! lols all round, hope we don't fall in a heap now
hmm, maybe it was out
but definitely not in the spirit of being out, yknow
mebbe they can get the remaining 7 wickets in equally dubious ways
oh hello kevin
pietersen :D
god mode: engage
bell otoh
has looked like nothing so much as the thirteen year-old you give a go at 5 coz he's not getting a bowl
possibly the most frustrating british sportsman this side of gazza
like, he's looked almost purely useless
incapable of scoring or staying in. if he plays the last test ahead of bairstow it'll be a bit ridiculous. sure, he can be the man in possession come the home tests if bairstow fails (or more likely if patel fails), but in these conditions he seems completely clueless
you know what the best thing about cook's form has been, btw
we haven't had to see compton and trott bat together
kp and smasher samit, however...
OH KEVIN
fuck off to the ipl with that attitude eh
useless twat
IT'S JUST THE WEE I PLEE
Ah well. Seems a bit silly chastising him for getting half a ton but with our tail pretty long these days with Finn, Jimmy and Monty the runs missed out on owing to his daft instincts could, I think, be quite crucial.
nah it's fine
what are you liiiiike, samit's gonna teach 'em
he's not Geordie like
silly dismissal
no reason why we shouldn't push up to 550 though. Patel's actually looking a bit like a Test player today too, which is nice.
*480
arg big shame
looked wonderful there
blergh
nothing wrong with playing that shot, but not the best execution
still, a lead of 180 is surely a winning one
oof
now the umpire's really have dropped a bollock. drs saves gambhir.
I'm enjoying Botham getting himself in some sort of moral dilemma
15 mins after the decision occurred. Great start to the second session.
not one of the game's great philosophers is botham
Something odd about listening to the commentators on TMS talking about the baking heat and glorious sunshine
Whilst you are sat in your car, in the dark, at 6am and waiting for the ice to clear from the screen.
I think they're trying to rub the Sky team's noses in it.
PLAY THAT YOU VADGE
ashwin - serious player
got the nerve and the skill, should be their number 7 for the next 10 years
What the actual fuck is going on?
you'd think that with India 9 down with a lead of 32
England fans were a bit optimistic, but the whole bbc live text is people going 'why are england so bad at getting the tail' 'oh god India might still win' etc etc
Yeah it's a bit insane
I guess that last hour and a half was a frustrating few overs but you also have to acknowledge what a great knock that was. Rescued his country from huge embarrassment and an innings defeat on home soil.
it's silly really
it's been an incredibly dominant performance. Pretty much relentless apart from the last hour or so. India look weak, certainly, but England look close to being back to their best, with the bowling attack looking like a proper unit again.
Great knock from Ashwin. He looks a pretty average spinner but he could definitely do a job as an all-rounder at number 7 for a long while to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqGInotnmWY
never in doubt whooop
now to stay up for the Pacquiao fight.....cant.stay.awake....
bringing a leggy in for zaheer is looking like the silliest decision since...
well since not starting monty in ahmedabad, still pretty bloody silly though. pitch is horrific, not sure i'm gonna be able to get up for this match. cheeky £15 on england, draw no bet at 23/10 when they went two down. give us something worth watching kev.
what are ian bell's scoring options on this pitch?
blue sky thinking please
skip down, over mid on
nevermind
oh yes bunt it straight to cover like the fucking waste of space he is
patheticcccccc, and I'm not normally one to slate england players. just looks completely out of his depth in these conditions, complete oversight to drop patel and keep him
TAKE ROOT AND FLOWER
first Test innings and already he looks infinitely more suited to run accumulation in Indian conditions
than a man of several thousand Test runs and an awful load of hype
Just as an FYI, the Lords ticket ballots opened the other day,
For the tests this summer.
what does KP have for tea?!
MORON JUICE
it's fine we have strength at number 8, or something
chawla's action looks alright in slow mo, absolutely minging at full speed
well this is painstaking to say the least
still, 300 could be a very good score on this pitch. Root looks very compact and calm, really glad he's been given a chance.
Is this pitch made out of foam or something?
Just watching the highlights and its absolutely dead. The kind of length that should be cracking heads is at bollock height.
Heard there were 80 overs worth of dot balls from 96 overs play. Proper test match stuff!
there were 16 overs of high-octane batting carnage though
330 all out
Swann swinging away towards the end was fun to watch. Well played Joe Root hitting 73 in his debut innings.
OOOOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOOFFOOFOFFF
huge wicket
what a lad jimmy is.
ahahaha 4 sessions of 'don't judge a pitch until Viru has batted'
ahahahahaha
blimey
bresnan getting up to 140kph
330 on that pitch is pretty good, right?
probably about par or just under, still in good position having won the toss
nah.
think you're mistaken there, boss.
KP said it's the worst pitch he's ever played on.
think he said hardest to score on
and the indians are more used to this sort of track. a lot of ours got in and got out, it only takes one of theirs getting in and staying there. hopefully it'll start cracking up tomorrow though.
India's two best technicians (at present) hit a couple of boundaries each
and forza loses it up there, christ imagine him in the trenches
The selectors have made some good decisions this series eh?
A few questioned Root, Compton and Bresnan but they've all played their part.
um two of them ha
*zips it*
They also left Monty out of the first match, and played Broad in the second
any better sights in the game than a quick one crashing into middle stump?
how in fucks name has he pulled anderson off the new ball already?
more danger in those three overs than 40 of bresnan and swann.
wtf
going back to sleep
run out on 99
oh dear mr ms
ouch
:D
<sigh>
Really hoped England might take a 100+ run lead into the second innings.
this is like a duller version of the oval test 2005
KP all set to block us to a draw
Good read:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/597018.html
hell of a mystery ball that lad has
who would ever think of a standard offbreak that just doesn't turn at all. real innovation.