England Cricket 2016 - Sri Lanka & Pakistan

NinjaFletch said:
Yeah, that was OTT. I don't know how much it was meant as it came across though. There was a grain of truth to what he was saying (and Cook's markedly improved since then) but he did his normal thing of relentlessly droning on about the same thing.

I guess he's probably better doing the third man stints. Partly because I don't think they create those packages on their own, but also because it gives you a condensed view into what he's thinking - which is probably reasonably perceptive - without having to hear him say the same thing in 31 different ways for the next half an hour.
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Obviously as an Aussie he's going to want to stir it up a bit, but he overstepped his role as a commentator that series even if there was a kernel of truth to it and since then I haven't really heard him go back and say Cook's grown into the role or he's improved.

I definitely agree he's better doing the third man stints and his spin masterclass was riveting, I suppose now he's kind of set in his ways which is unfortunate really because there is great brain underneath all the bravado and 'banter'. What always sets the best commentators apart for me (Benaud especially) is they let the game do the talking and just offer brief insights along the way.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Edit: Oh I forgot, his most annoying trait is constructing a narrative based on what he wants to see rather than whats actually happening. See: Sohail yesterday and Yasir at Lords
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He did it again today with Finn, apparently he's bowling full today which is why he's bowling well but all his good balls looked at best on a good length to me, conveniently no pitch map was actually shown.
 
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A lead of 120 should be our aim from this point. Would put us in a very strong position.
 
Looking pretty bleak for England, it'll take one heck of a batting effort from them to survive.
 
Huge wicket. Need to run through the tail quickly and then not bat like twats with the lead (hopefully) under 100.
 
That's brilliant camera work & good from 3rd umpire.

Need to get to 100 now.
 
England 4 wickets down by close of play? :D
 
ha_rooney said:
A lead of 120 should be our aim from this point. Would put us in a very strong position.
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Agreed.. but once Sarfraz is out, we are done. I think 100 is more doable but way Pakistan have fought, nothing is impossible. Pitch looks lively though, you have to leave an awful lot of balls to survive on this pitch.
 
I don't really have any complaints about that, he's been warned twice, had informal warnings from the umpire he's getting close again, and still (albeit marginally) ran on the pitch again. You've got to draw the line somewhere.
 
Anything above 200 I always feel is defendable in the last innings. If the opposition chase it down, you just have to say fair play but the bowling team is favourite IMO.
 
Samid said:
Give their own bowlers a proper rest and tire down the opposition bowlers.
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134 overs is plenty enough, what's the point of taking up another 10 overs for say 20 runs? Give it some tap and get a few overs in before tea.
 
Got to 100 run lead! Anything now is a bonus.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
134 overs is plenty enough, what's the point of taking up another 10 overs for say 20 runs? Give it some tap and get a few overs in before tea.
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There's a lot of time in the game, it's only the second day. They won't be stuck for time in the chase
 
Skills said:
There's a lot of time in the game, it's only the second day. They won't be stuck for time in the chase
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It's the third day (but there's still plenty of time).
 
Skills said:
There's a lot of time in the game, it's only the second day. They won't be stuck for time in the chase
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I know but there's nothing substantial to gain from the way they're currently playing. Especially considering this is a complete departure from Sarfraz's normal game.
 
Thank christ for that.

Now to get through the evening session without losing Cook.
 
As much as you can blame Pakistan for how they approached it at the end England's tactics to that last wicket pairing were absolutely abysmal.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
134 overs is plenty enough, what's the point of taking up another 10 overs for say 20 runs?
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That was a joke referring to why England didn't follow on in the previous game.

I think every run was priceless at this stage. Fair to assume that England will get 300 and Pakistan have a dodgy history of chasing targets in the region of 200. 10 overs for 20 runs wouldn't have been far off their actual run rate anyway.
 
Pakistan would have taken a 100 run lead at the start of their innings, bit pathetic how the batting crumbled in the end though, 500 was on the cards.
 
Samid said:
That was a joke referring to why England didn't follow on in the previous game.

I think every run was priceless at this stage. Fair to assume that England will get 300 and Pakistan have a dodgy history of chasing targets in the region of 200. 10 overs for 20 runs wouldn't have been far off their actual run rate anyway.
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My bad.

That was my point, batting at 2 an over was pointless really and just sucked momentum out of the game for both sides. A quick 15 runs and a few overs prior to tea would have been better for Pakistan. I don't think England will get 300 but it depends on how the pitch responds to spin and if there is cloud cover to allow the Pakistan bowlers to swing it a bit, the pitch doesn't seem to be breaking up too much but England's decision making outside of Cook and Root is poor.
 
Hales playing for his future here. He NEEDS a score.

2mufc0 said:
Pakistan would have taken a 100 run lead at the start of their innings, bit pathetic how the batting crumbled in the end though, 500 was on the cards.
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Steady on. The Pakistan tail is useless, & they were always going to be one or two wickets away from falling over. Misbah was unlucky, but he still posted a decent score.
 
Who had their money on England's sought after AGGRESSIVE opener being Ali Cook, huh?
 
I was going to say, he's really added pace to his innings as of late. A sign of a player in his prime.

I'd love to see the evolution of his strike rate over the years.
 
Cook really has blossomed into a truly wonderful player for the ages hasn't he. In the form he is in now, how do people think he would have handled the 90's era of bowlers.
 
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Poor from the bowlers so far. England off to a very good start.
 
Beautiful work with ball & bat.

First 100 run opening partnership since Moeen Ali & Cook at Abu Dahbi.
Lead wiped out completely for no loss.
Hales playing proper cricket to get 50 runs when his team needed it most.
Cook unbeaten & potentially on the way to a 30th test century, and almost certainly on his way to 11,000 test runs in 2016.

Chuffed to pieces. Feared the worst at the beginning of the day, but that was class.
 
This game should turn into a bore draw but it's England vs Pakistan so who's turn is it to collectively drop a bollock and throw the game away?
 
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