International cricket thread

Strumms

Crucial period in the deciding of the game. If England can get into the tail with a couple of quick wickets they may have a chance of getting to bat with a lead of 20 or 30.... finely poised with England still slight favorites with being ahead and SA needing to bat last.

SharpshooterTom

To think Vaughan thought Broad and Anderson should be split up too.

SharpshooterTom

England a have 46 run lead. Think 250 should do it as I don't see SA chasing above 300 providing England bowl well.

What about this for a stat.
https://twitter.com/bbctms/status/1213747463544164353
Its not hyperbole to say Stokes is one of the greatest fielders of all time, probably top 10 ever already?

Strumms

104 run lead now, only 1 wicket down too. Denly and Sibley looking to speed up the run rate which is a good thing, it’s been a mostly cautious start to the day, the run rate is just 2.45 which let’s face it is crazy conservative these days.

Strumms

Barring a collapse of fairly dramatic proportions England are not loosing this match. The weather is set extremely good for the remainder of the test with predictions showing 0% chance of rain.. England will have time to put the foot down tomorrow aim for a lead of 380 plus knowing there will be plenty of time to bowl the South Africans out...

BOHtox

Joe Denly is a funny one. Had he made his Test debut 10 years ago you'd feel there's a brilliant cricketer in there. He'll get you a solid 30 most games now, but you feel he could have been very good. Handy with the ball too.

Strumms

Denly is 33, so you’d wonder how long more he’d be given if an opening batsman at county level begins to constantly impress. He looks to have a solid enough technique but the odd poor selection of shot seems to be his undoing more often then not.

Test Innings : 23

Total Runs : 720

Highest Score : 94

Average: 31.3

50’s : 6

100’s : 0

Scoring Rate : 39.82


Only somewhat strongly contributing in about 25% of his innings..Not setting the world alight and at 33 you’d have to feel he’s instantly upgradable.

Strumms

A strange bit of captaincy here, giving the new ball to Sam Curran... bowling 78mph, full outside off stump.

Strumms

Buttler : “just move, fûcking knob head” after Philanderer blocks the throw back to the keeper... some verbals after the over.. haha

SharpshooterTom

Isn't it great to have a test unaffected by any rain go late into a 5 day.

Bollox to 4 day tests.

Royale with Cheese

I expect a lot of moaning about over rates if South Africa see this one out.

SharpshooterTom

Stokes could have had a hatrick in that over.

Royale with Cheese

Ben Stokes does it again.

Strumms

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Ben Stokes does it again.

At 28 you would say he’s now probably just entering the peak of his career, he’s playing like it for sure.

Adamcp898

Strumms wrote: »

At 28 you would say he’s now probably just entering the peak of his career, he’s playing like it for sure.

His back will be broken by 29 though if he has to carry this England team to many more of what should have been “comfortable” wins. Bowling attack needed far too much time to pick up those 10 wickets and Stokes quick fire 70 odd from 40 odd are what forced the early declaration to give enough to them.

Royale with Cheese

Anderson not being able to bowl much on the final day didn't help. How many more injuries do you allow for before thinking about moving on? He'll get to 600 now surely but he'd want a completely injury free summer or I'd be making retirement noises if I were a selector.

Looks like he's out of the rest of the tour now and won't play in Sri Lanka. You'd have to think they'll give him this summer to get 600 and that will be that, he'll be 38 by the end of it.

Strumms

South Africa have bowled well, but probably be disappointed to only have taken the four wickets... that said they’ll only have allowed England around 230 runs by the end of play is a good days work.

Strumms

400 looked a dead cert but two giveaways in quick succession make that target look getable but taking a bit of work now to reach that target.

Inquitus

499-9 Declared, some quick runs added there by Pope and mainly Wood, with 5 sixes and 4 fours to hit 42 off just 37 deliveries! Get an hour to an hour and a half to have a go at S.A. tonight.

Mysterypunter

60-2 Saffas. Elgar still in, but the number 3 is a rabbit. Must be a quota system player. Rabada out of the final test, ICC demerit points exceeded, or as Darren Gough said, suspended for shouting at the pitch

Mysterypunter

113/5, and a rain delay. All 5 wickets for Dom Bess

Strumms

Root bowling far better then a part time merchant, the South African batsmen don’t seem to be able to score off him, Stokes super economical too... gone for a boundary, actually two now but 2.3 overs into his spell and only 9 runs conceded.

Strumms

England bowled well but were let down by some poor catching. Catches of medium difficulty and one very difficult one but you’d expect at last two of the four to be taken, zero out of four were taken, Stokes won’t be feeling too great tonight.

Slim Charles

Only tuned in now missed all 4 morning wickets, and south Africas 1 run !

Inquitus

England get lucky with the vagaries of DRS there, 44-3, 2nd time up for South Africa.

Strumms

How did he catch that ? Serious hanging time up there and the ball had almost past him over his head. Excellent stuff.

Inquitus

Strumms wrote: »

How did he catch that ? Serious hanging time up there and the ball had almost past him over his head. Excellent stuff.

Aye great catch, hard to see SA having any hope of saving this match at this juncture. The Pope catch for the 4th wicket was pretty special.

Inquitus

Massive edge there, waste of a review, not sure what they were thinking the SA's there.

Strumms

Stokes drops a pretty regulation catch, have to say it was a good height but hit hard and with the light he probably would have picked it up late.

Strumms

A good start by England... 42-0 after 12 over, a huge slice of luck with a wicket for the South Africans or so they thought but a centimeter forward of the line and a no ball given.