International cricket thread

Royale with Cheese

It doesn't look like the right call in hindsight but it makes for a much more interesting test match now.

Strumms

My thinking too, almost a bravado move by Ben Stokes. Either way, it’s very winnable for England now…just 2.65 runs needed per over…9 wickets in hand, no need to take any risks… punish the bad deliveries, keep Robinson off strike. Get Southee riled up, he tends to bowl the odd loose delivery if his temperament goes off center and if they can’t get Robinson cheaply that will probably happen.

a couple of early wickets on the other hand….

Strumms

Robinson and Duckett dispatched early. Two terrible shots rather than brilliant bowling it has to be said. Robinson wasn’t going to hang around, averages just 13 with the bat and a lot of his runs are just him slashing at deliveries and hoping for bat on ball and not finding a fielder, works from time to time but maybe not the tactic for today?

what is noticeable is how little opportunities the New Zealanders want to give the English to settle. Ball goes dead they are firing it back to the bowler and next delivery straight away.

Not sure about Tom Blundell up to the stumps to some of the quicks… Southee isn’t as quick as he used to be but he’s no margin for error. Needs to be bullet straight.

gone from 2 down to 5 down as Root runs out Brook, never a single there. 7 feet short of his ground … England shîtting the bed.

Roots decision making suspect again.

Drama : New Zealand win by one run in the end.

very controversial

a wide is clearly bowled and like others in previous overs, the umpires refuse to call a wide when replays show it’s clearly a wide, both height and line, no way a regular cricket shot could have been played and the ball hit using a ‘normal cricket stroke’ as the law 22.1.2 defines.

disappointing. Clearly the umpires made up their mind that there was going to be a LOT of leeway, actual feet of leeway given to the bowlers.

not good for the game of cricket, that umpires can use a match situation to make a decision that they will interpret or apply rules inaccurately…

watching as a neutral so thanks for fûcking up a climax of an excellent test match umpires. Jeeeez

Royale with Cheese

😨

Enforcing the follow on while Stokes wasn't fit enough to bowl himself doesn't look very smart now. Even the decision to declare in the first innings instead of just swinging for the fences could have cost England there in the end.

Gillespy

Who really cares about any of that? It was a fantastic game full of what ifs and both teams deserve a lot of praise. Especially New Zealand, incredible come back.

Just on England team selection going forward, all the focus is on Crawley, and Foakes is in danger of losing out for the returning Bairstow but what about Pope. That was not the innings of a no.3 and it wasn’t a one off either.

Strumms

Bairstow is 34 at his next birthday, played an awful lot of cricket, coming back from a broken leg too… so automatically dislodging Foakes, hmmm don’t know. Is Bairstow good enough to hold down a batsman’s spot without the gloves ? Probably but only just about.

Pope showed what he can do with that 145 but 34 tests and only averages a shade over 33. 3 hundreds and 11 50’s. For an experienced specialist batsman that is a poor return. Pope made his maiden first class century at 19 and subsequently there has been an infatuation with him… but is he joining that long list of English higher order batsmen who can’t fulfil the responsibilities which they are tasked with.

the solution has been in years gone by… “ well he’s not a number 3 at this level, struggling against fresh bowlers and a newish ball, so stick him down at 6. Literally no incentive or motivation for batsmen with that attitude… “if i fûck up I’ll still be picked.”

if you are a number 3 batsman for your county, picked to play internationally as a batsman the onus is on you to perform. To make the step up. Fulfil the responsibilities of a number 3, AT number 3.

England need to sort out their top 3. Ok Duckett looks like the real deal but Crawley and Pope, 32 & 34 tests each respectively.

28.01 and 33.04 are their test averages respectively…

So much pressure on that English middle order, Root, Brooks, Stokes, Foalks…. They are not going to be able to pull Pope and Crawley out of the shît repeatedly over the course of an ashes summer.

So, Stokes and McCullum have decisions to make. Go back to the counties and bring in a new face ? Or stick with the tried and tested and hope they perform ?

england might have impressed hammering Pakistan but New Zealand show there are serious questions.

Gillespy

Surely you haven’t forgotten the outrageous form Bairstow was in last year. He walks back into any team. Just so happens the player that replaced him is now equally undroppable. Hence why there’s a discussion on ways to fit them in. Do they need another allrounder If Stokes can’t bowl? Foakes is seen as an easy out, as well as he played,he could have made it impossible for them to drop him by finishing the job yesterday.

The questions were there regardless of the result. Such a loss doesn’t change anything. Just normal selection chat.

Gillespy

Cricket everywhere this morning. The worm has turned in the India vs Australia game. India all out for 109, Australia 71-1 in reply.

England are playing Bangladesh in a one dayer. Which was news to me. Thought that started next week.

And South Africa are playing West Indies. Day 2 there, SA 342 and WI are currently 21-0.

Strumms

England didn’t have the first match all their own way, but they just absolutely destroyed Bangladesh in the second, a 132 run victory…

326/7 vs 194 all out….

Jason Roy hitting 19 boundaries in his innings of 132.

Bairstow was in decent nick, but against an average New Zealand team and he gets a lot of credit for the Indian scores, certainly.

Gillespy

Two interesting test matches going on with the visitors on top after day one. Usman Khawaja hundred has Australia in a good position after one day in a flat looking Ahmedabad.

In New Zealand, Sri Lanka made 355 in their first innings. Remains to be seen if that’s good enough or not. Watched enough cricket in NZ to know they’re capable of batting well beyond that.

Strumms

Being 5 down New Zealand really need a dominant first session. Going to be difficult as of the first 6 deliveries bowled there is seriously significant late swing, won’t be a surprise to the New Zealanders certainly but early doors it looks challenging.

30 degrees it might be, but drinks and a glove change after 4 overs of play is a piss take. Umpires… get a handle on yourselves ffs. So much for getting bitchy with the drinks guy leaving the field, don’t let him on, to start with, send him back ffs

electronic side screens and advertising boards fail, so after a bit of a delay, early lunch ? Yep, early lunch taken.

pretty poor given that you know, technology can fail and just did fail, that the ground staff don’t have white tarpaulins or sheets on hand and ready.

Strumms

Drinks in one over and the Sri Lanka batsmen change gloves, delaying play. FFS… shouts of get OFF from the exasperated commentary box as the trainer jogs on for leisurely chats to accompany the change of gloves…. Very indicative of modern cricket… umpires as useless as a condom with air vents when it comes to both decision making and them managing the game, fairly and effectively. Just looking on, in silence.

edit :

in addition, they have their trainer come on who spends 5 minutes cutting bits off the new gloves using a scissors…Umpires instead of telling them to get fûcked and get on with it, look on grinning.

then a break as Mathews leaves the field to use the bathroom, there was a wicket only a handful of deliveries ago, I think 4.. sooo go then !

Mysterypunter

Me aul mate Chris Jordan breaks open a close game by bowling tripe again, the chap is useless, Tom Curran and himself are stealing a living. Before he came on the commentators said "this is what Chris does, he travels the world bowling these sort of pressure overs, didn't have many to defend and finished with 0.5-0-15-0, and 3 off 10 balls with the bat, but he's a great fielder who has never dropped a catch. Bangladesh win the series, 2-0 with one to play on Tuesday.

Strumms

Jordan is useless. Takes far too few wickets at international level. 35 years of age at his next birthday. A bizarre selection…

not one for the present or future.

Doesn’t say a whole lot about the state of English fast bowling with him in the team and a World Cup only months away.

he was the 7th bowler, bowled 2 overs, conceded 16 runs, took no wickets.

Gillespy

Jordan is in the t20 team and they just won that World Cup. He didn’t play in the one day games, that’s the next world cup. He’s more miss than hit at the death now. He was good at one point though.

Too bad it looks like rain is ruining the last day in Christchurch. Even if it clears up it’s very likely going to be a draw now.

Mysterypunter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120351434#Comment_120351434

Got on and played 53 overs, fantastic finish, New Zealand win off the last ball by 2 wickets, Williamson 121* Mitchell 81, great game, Sri Lanka unlucky to lose.

Strumms

Former ladies SA captain and stalwart Dane Van Niekirk has retired today.

she was dropped recently for the World Cup due to failing to meet the minimum criteria for fitness. She did not meet the minimum time for the 2 kilometre run…. 18 seconds too slow.

a shame as she always played the game in a really good all action 100% determined foot to the floor manner, a great cricketer and competitor, seems like a very decent and likeable girl anytime she’s interviewed.

At 29 though you’d wonder why she just didn’t decide to knuckle down and work on her fitness ? with no captaincy to worry about it can’t be too difficult….I’m guessing from photos over the last 3/4 years in particular she finds it challenging to manage her weight…plus she damaged her ankle in a freak dog walking incident…

Strumms

So NZ vs Sri Lanka at the basin reserve.

Ffs… umpires short changing the cricketing public. An unofficial drinks break and glove change after 9 overs… it’s 20 degrees there now… not exactly the Sahara dessert or even an enclosed humid stadium, it’s like a parkland ground, open everywhere. Takes about 10 minutes from play…with the back room team member coming back with a scissors straight after drinks to adjust something with a glove… considering a significant number of overs will be lost because of the rain delayed start…. The umpires are taking the piss just watching this carry on…

edit : 15 minutes into play…. Another unofficial drinks break, batting team…. Umpires again, look on, silent…out there 15 minutes, pathetic ..

17 degrees, 59% humidity, a joke.

Mysterypunter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120368206#Comment_120368206

Hard to know, fitness is relative in cricket, best player I ever played with was Steve Alleyne, he was 5 foot 8 and 19 stone. Small by Rakeem Cornwall standards, Stevie was a decent bat, but usually gave a chance early, had a bullet arm, and handy seam bowler. I have seen some fitness fanatics break down, for example the horrible knee injury of the big paceman Syd Lawrence, which he suffered in New Zealand in the closing stages of a rain affected test, which was a certain draw, desperately bad luck for a really likeable man, but I was never sure if his weight training put extra strain on his body, he's a big dude, so I'd leave it to someone else to ask him. Think Syd is Gloucestershire president these days, good on him.

Strumms

It is hard to know but good luck to her. Shame it had to end on a slight negative I suppose regardless of the root cause…29, to be honest it wouldn’t surprise me to see her have a year out, recharge and at least reevaluate… she has time.

Watching NZ vs Sri Lanka men’s game….. in response to New Zealands 580/4d, Sri Lanka are 164 all out..Hopeless. Ireland have a reasonable chance against them…. for as good as NZ have been with ball in hand and in the field, SL are pathetic. Poor execution of skills and game management too, where is the leadership ? When consolidating was required their batsmen are choosing suicide. Nutsville aerial shots and getting run out.

Gillespy

Wonder what our resident Northants fan makes of the fitness/weight in cricket discussion?

Strumms

Graham Gooch, Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, to name 3 of the greatest players, had great careers but spent a lot of the mid to latter parts of each career , not looking in the best of nick in terms of their weight / overall fitness. Darren Gough, Gus Fraser were the same.

I think though the manner of which the game if played, now compared to 20-25 years ago. So different. You need to be a good athlete especially in ODI formats but that expectation of pristine fitness is overshooting into the longer test format. More expectations, more enthusiasm for spectacular full on fielding performances, saving runs, batting long.

Mysterypunter

New Zealand win by an innings and 50 ish, good second effort from Sri Lanka, but over 400 behind on first innings is too many to overcome. Ireland have won the toss and fielded for the second time in a row in Bangladesh, I wonder did any of them watch matches played there in the last 30 years? Bat first, this is setting up the match for the Bangladeshi spinners later today, ridiculous call I think.

Strumms

Afghanistan hammering Pakistan in their first of 3 T20 matches.

Pakistan could only manage 92/9, batting first.

the Afghan reply was 98/4 from 17.5…. 13 whole deliveries to spare. Saw the last 5 overs just now. The Afghans were all over the Pakistani bowlers. Neutral venue in the UAE.

mix of experience and inexperience in the Pakistani side but it’s safe to say they were heavy favourites.

Mysterypunter

New Zealand 274 all out, discussion between innings was have they enough, Sri Lanka 62/8, so that's a yes

Strumms

South Africa are 180/2 after 12 overs, chasing 259 vs West Indies… as good as their batsmen have been, the WI bowlers, look like never mind an international team, look like a schoolboy team, a complete mess…..Reifer bowls one now that doesn’t even stay on the cut strip it’s that wide. Shocking bowling all round, being adequately punished and some.

current run rate is 15 run an over 😬 and De Kock nailed a century in 44 balls

Saw a bit of NZ vs Sri Lanka…. NZ look in great shape but Sri Lanka are nowhere near the side of days gone by.

Strumms

259 chased down in 18.5 overs . Dogshît performance by the West Indies… disingenuous too, bowling what appeared to be deliberate wides late on to prevent the SA batsmen the spectacular boundary finish…

WI being hammered but yet… every time the camera cut to their sub fielders and coaching staff, wild craic was being had in the pavilion, roaring with laughter and thoroughly enjoying their day… not a good look. Lost by 6 wickets in 18.5 overs….

De Kock with a stunning 100 off 44 deliveries the standout.

Mysterypunter

West Indies won the decider by 7 runs, 220 v 213

Strumms

Sri Lanka 44/1 after 3 overs vs NZ. Some fine batting but the New Zealand bowlers are bowling pure crap… like watch a half pissed up Sunday league side…

Strumms

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/12855699/the-ashes-ben-stokes-wants-fast-flat-pitches-as-he-promises-england-will-attack-against-australia

Sounds like he's confident about scoring runs but less so about taking wickets ?