Jimmy is just so, so, good. 
England Cricket 2016 - Sri Lanka & Pakistan
- Thread starter ChrisNelson
- Start date
It is truly unfair to face Anderson in these kind of conditionsJimmy is just so, so, good.
With him hooping it both ways
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/93276.html
Where'll he end?
Between McGrath and Walsh, I guess?
Where'll he end?
Between McGrath and Walsh, I guess?
Impossible to say really. Entirely depends on how much cricket his body has left in it.
He's taken at least 40 wickets for the last 5 years so assuming he manages that again this season, and gets another 2 years cricket, he'll be very, very close to McGrath. If he manages to play any longer than that he'll almost certainly go beyond him, but Kumble is a step too far even then.
He's taken at least 40 wickets for the last 5 years so assuming he manages that again this season, and gets another 2 years cricket, he'll be very, very close to McGrath. If he manages to play any longer than that he'll almost certainly go beyond him, but Kumble is a step too far even then.
Steyn's strike rate 
I can see Jimmy getting past Walsh. He's more about skill than pace, so hopefully he'll be able to afford an mph here or there & continue to take wickets for years to come.
I can see Jimmy getting past Walsh. He's more about skill than pace, so hopefully he'll be able to afford an mph here or there & continue to take wickets for years to come.
Anderson's too good in these conditions. A batsman's worst nightmare no matter how good you are.
10 for Jimmy, victory by an innings for England.
Great timing. Cheers Jimmy.
10-45 in this match
10-45 in this match
Such a tough situation for Sri Lanka, it's gonna be quite a learning curve for them over the next few years, Chandimal and Mathews really need to step up for the rest of this series otherwise it is going to get quite bad.
Fancy Woakes might play the next one...
Second Test at Durham starts 11am today. England have won the toss and decided to bat first:
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Nick Compton, 4 Joe Root, 5 James Vince, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James Anderson
Cook: "It's cloudy but we think it will be cloudy for the whole game.... It's very dangerous to put too much corrolation between what happened last week and here. We think this is a bat-first wicket and if the sun peaks through this afternoon, we can get a good score."
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Nick Compton, 4 Joe Root, 5 James Vince, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James Anderson
Cook: "It's cloudy but we think it will be cloudy for the whole game.... It's very dangerous to put too much corrolation between what happened last week and here. We think this is a bat-first wicket and if the sun peaks through this afternoon, we can get a good score."
Aggers is the best voice in sports broadcasting at the moment. Can easily watch the match downstairs on TV, but I'd rather listen to the radio.
Vic Marks is pretty good too. Love TMS.
I find it hit and miss. Vic Marks and Aggers are fine, alongside Swann and Tuffers, but Michael Vaughn and Boycott are awful.
Always enjoyed listening to TMS. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to ABC Grandstand over the summer and their commercial counterparts, Macquarie Radio summer of cricket too. Channel 9 bar Bill Lawry and Ian Chappell are abominable. Radio is arguable more enjoyable than TV now for me.
Going to this tomorrow. Hoping England just don't collapse so I can watch them bat for a bit
At the risk of sounding the collapse klaxon, this pitch doesn't look to have too much in it for the bowlers.
Bravo.
Pfft, good 20 minutes between that and Cook's dismissal (which was a poor shot rather than the pitch doing anything).
Edit: Tbf, on second viewing it did move a bit off the pitch. But still should have been left on length.
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Cook isn't exactly a man to make the occasion is he? Superb player, but I can't thin of him ever smashing something up in style. Pietersen probably would of brought his 10k up with a smashfest ton. Ok maybe not, but he's milking it.
This has to the end of Compton for England.
Not even sure why he was reselected.
So with Hales getting another half century today thats probably his place nailed down till October at least, even if he doesn't score another run all summer. Still not 100% convinced by him, but he's shown a side to his game that many argued he didn't have so fair fecks.
Absolutely.
Now, just gimme 2011 Trott back at #3 and we'd have an top order.
What's the deal with Ballance at the moment, by the way?
Now, just gimme 2011 Trott back at #3 and we'd have an top order.
What's the deal with Ballance at the moment, by the way?
What do we do with the number 3 then? Bin Compton, whack Vince up, put Bairstow at 5, have Woakes at 8 and have 5 seamers for no good reason. Bring in Ballance? Give Scott Borthwick a go? Drop Hales to 3 and bring in Robson, stick Robson in at 3? Oh it's a load of fun this.
He's not lighting it up for Yorkshire is what's going on, few starts, a 50 and a 100 in MCC game in Dubai a month or so ago.
Vince at 3, Ballance at 5 makes the most sense but until Vince gets some more runs any arguments about moving him up are a bit premature (and Ballance isn't knocking the door down). Quite like the idea of Robson at 3 and don't really rate Borthwick, but maybe he'll be given a run seeing as he bowls handy leg spin and we're touring India in the winter.
Basically, I'm happy with anything save for bringing Ian Bell back in.
Basically, I'm happy with anything save for bringing Ian Bell back in.
I can only assume something went wrong with Ballance's technique, because we seemed awfully quick to drop him and he's not had great success back in county cricket since (unless I'm forgetting something). Hopefully it clicks for him before long.
I think some would argue there was never anything right about Balance's technique.
I'd argue that, the key was his mentality I think, not seen much of him since he was dropped but sometimes you just need to focus on what you're good at and learn to minimise your weaknesses rather than eradicate them. Might be useful in India mind.
Oh, FFS....
Bah. He's done his bit, but the chance was there to do a lot more.
Once fast bowlers cottoned on that Ballance puts all his weight on the backfoot they knew keep it full and they'd get the edge or go through the gate. Ballance struggled to hit the ball of the square some of his recent test innings.
I quite like Ballance and think the criticism he got for his technique was a bit unfair. But its hard to argue against the fact that it made him vulnerable to the swinging ball when he spent most of the summer looking clueless against the Aussie and Kiwi pacers.
Even then, I don't really think it was a technical issue, I think it was one of, as you say, mentality, but also form. When he was out of nick he looked really bad, and when he was in form he still looked pretty bad, just scored runs.
Still had scored more runs than Bell the summer he was dropped, so could probably feel harshly done by.
Really not sure it was just that. He wasn't watching the ball, and he wasn't getting forward at all, at his best he doesn't get forward much, but he never camped on the back foot to that extent. Just think he was in really horrible form and came up against two of the better pace attacks in the game at the minute.
We are really cruel bastards having the two May tests at Headingley and Chester-le-Street.
Yes but as one reader said on the Cricinfo commentary this morning - "Taking subcontinental teams to northern test grounds in May....expect horrible retribution in the form of Herath on a dustbowl in Kandy in March. What goes around comes around."
This pitch is absolute wank.
Slow, low, and uneven bounce on the first day. Great.
(Also England have batted like absolute knobheads again, another day with 5 players getting themselves out rather than being got out)
Slow, low, and uneven bounce on the first day. Great.
(Also England have batted like absolute knobheads again, another day with 5 players getting themselves out rather than being got out)
Dunno, other than the uneven bounce theres really nothing in this pitch to trouble an international batsman so depends if that gets worse. England should be disappointed with anything less than 400+ given how easy Hales and Root made it look.
3 Top catches to get rid of Compton (needs a big score sooner rather then later) Hales & Vince