I can only think the declaration decision there was based on Joe asking them in turn if they fancied a swing and Saqib was the first one to say nah fancy a bowl.
English cricket thread
- Thread starter Samid
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Fisher with a wicket with his 2nd ball in test cricket
Spin for Leach now. One went through the top from Woakes as well. I could be wrong, hopefully not, but I think there's a result in this pitch and it was a big toss to win.
Maybe Root just forgot he exists.
These pitches are dreadful. Not the best advert for test cricket.
Another bed and breakfast wicket.
Day one of the test series is probably the only one to be a decent contest between bat and ball.
It would be more interesting to keep count of how many cans of Red Stripe the Barmies have polished off.
Day one of the test series is probably the only one to be a decent contest between bat and ball.
It would be more interesting to keep count of how many cans of Red Stripe the Barmies have polished off.
Lawrence looks like a good option to bring Into the bowling attack when things go stale and the same batsmen have been in for a long time, his weird technique can be distracting for a tired mind. Also did well to help accelerate the scoring with the bat too.
Leach has bowled 60 overs!
Apart from a bit of batting practice, what has been the the point of this Test Match?
2 teams incapable of bowling the other team out.
2 teams incapable of bowling the other team out.
The pitches are dead, it’s embarrassing! At least England showed some momentum in their innings. I have no idea what West Indies are doing. Just plodding along at 2 an over.
I don't see any prospect of 10 wickets falling in two sessions tomorrow.
Just bat on. This series is just a borefest.
Just bat on. This series is just a borefest.
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Completely boring and unwatchable
All the fault of the groundsman. What is the point of two pitches like this?
If it’s the same going forward it’ll make things even more tedious although boycott is probably knocking one out as we speak
All the fault of the groundsman. What is the point of two pitches like this?
If it’s the same going forward it’ll make things even more tedious although boycott is probably knocking one out as we speak
They dont have the series on TV here and I was very disappointed.. does not look like I am missing much
Well, when one team scores 500+ in their first innings, it’s generally difficult for the opposition to get any significant lead in the first innings. What would be their benefit in getting out trying to score quickly? They might as well bat long enough to almost rule out a defeat, which the West Indies did, in my opinion.
If anyone needs to be blamed for this boring display, it’s the ground staff.
Is it not the cricket boards that have told them to make sure their matches go the five days as they need the money?
I know the pitches will get the blame, but I can't help but wonder what impact Anderson or Broad would have made if selected. Or, if not for injury, Archer or Robinson. They're simply on a different level.
England women just won by 1 wicket to keep their world cup hopes alive after they had an absolutely shocking start to the tournament. They should make the semi-finals now.
Broad and Anderson are probably glad they are sat at home rather than slogging it out on this pitch.
I agree it’s the ground staff at fault but you saw this in the first match as well. Yet to see West Indies showing any positive intent. Let’s hope for a better pitch in the last match.
True. Broad and Robinson probably wouldn't have offered a huge amount more than the bowlers we have there. However, Anderson may be the one exception as he has shown in the last 2-3 years that he can get wickets anywhere. His averages for most of his career were never great in tough away tours, but that changed in the last few years as he just got better and better, averaging ~20 with the ball away at India and Australia recently. He'd an absolute freak and I genuinely think he could play anywhere and end up with an average in the low 20s over a whole series.
He'd probably do that getting like 2-40 off 30 overs though which wouldn't change the result.
Bit of a surprise to see Ralf there!
What on earth?
Depends, wickets have cumulative effects, in the sense that wickets lead to more wickets and put pressure on the batsmen to follow. Say Anderson bowls the same overs as Woakes/Fisher/Mahmood, concedes 20 less runs and takes one more wicket, its simply not a case of Windies going from 411 to 391. Say Jimmy got Braithwaite out with the first new ball. And more broadly, just the extra confidence it gives to the bowling attack having Jimmy at the other end, and the extra nervousness for the batsmen facing Jimmy rather than a debutant. It may well have been the same result but you have to wonder, and I think it would have been closer. And the closer it gets, the more nerves set in and unlikely result can emerge.
Surely Fisher or Mahmood would have benefited from debuting alongside Anderson. I get the idea of giving the other bowlers more responsibility and an opportunity to step up, but I think it was mistimed. Outside of Jimmy and Broad, our best bowler is Archer (injured), Robinson (injured and needs to get trimmer anyway), Wood (a decent option but injury prone and consistent 30+ test average), and Woakes (consistent 50+ average away from home) and Overton (ordinary). Curran too, whose also injured I believe. They're all ok options as a 3rd/4th seamer but did anyone think they would suddenly become match winning bowlers? It would have made more sense to continue what they were doing over the past year or two, rotating a mix of the old guard with new selections and other tried and tested bowlers.
I'm just surprised it's not a bit more of a talking point given the fuss over them being dropped. I get that the pitches have played a massive part in it, but even with that being the case I would have expected it to be a media narrative anyway.
Ralf’s gone up in my estimation
West Indies have made Dom Sibley look dynamic.
Having a part-time spin option like Lawrence is always good. He's one of those bowlers who can't really land it but just bowls the occasional gem.
Fair play to England for at least trying to make this test match enjoyable.
Fair play to England for at least trying to make this test match enjoyable.
Hopefully Mahmood has done enough to keep his place for the next test.
Recreational drugs I assume.
Sounds more like gambling maybe?
How can we only get 46 runs in the first session and lose 3 wickets to boot?
It honestly feels like the West Indies have totally given up on Test cricket.
It seems from this series they have no idea how to prepare a 5 day pitch.
Those few fans left that hadn't converted 100% to limited overs cricket will be giving up after this series.
That combined with the fact that England are just woeful and making an average WI side look like world beaters means I've pretty much lost interest.
1 test win in 16 paints its own picture.
It seems from this series they have no idea how to prepare a 5 day pitch.
Those few fans left that hadn't converted 100% to limited overs cricket will be giving up after this series.
That combined with the fact that England are just woeful and making an average WI side look like world beaters means I've pretty much lost interest.
1 test win in 16 paints its own picture.
We are a terrible batting side.
As soon as the going gets tough, we go down like Salah in the box!
As soon as the going gets tough, we go down like Salah in the box!
1 win in 17 test matches.
fecking terrible.
They're fecking more useless than modern day Utd.
fecking terrible.
They're fecking more useless than modern day Utd.
Root hanging on to the captain role as there is nobody else that wants it (Stokes) or good enough! A great player but he doesn't make for a good captain.
Much work is needed.
Much work is needed.
Should get a result in this one.
Mayers, 5 overs, 5 maidens, 0 for 2 
Just tuned in. What’s happened? Is it a bowlers pitch or poor batting?