Suicide declaration ?
100 overs to get 342 ….Pak should do this
100 overs to get 342 ….Pak should do this
English cricket thread
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Eactly. It’s about making a match of it and entertaining the public. It’s exactly what test cricket is crying out for, especially on docile pitches like this one. Yes they may lose this test, but at least everybody has been entertained.
No, it’s just Bazball baby
He takes more time in t20 to get going ffs
England declare and in doing so the bookies make Pakistan favs. Bonkers Cricket.
Too short in my opinion, Pakistan have enough quality to chase it down and the pitch is still flat.
I haven’t watched any play today. How many wickets fell due to the pitch or bowling and how many fell due to shot selection? Seems pretty much nailed on that England lose from here, but I guess we’ll see what the pressure of chasing does.
Rather lose doing this than bat out the rest of the day to a bore draw to be honest. Going to be a hell of a lot of fun.
Pretty much all to trying to hit the ball into Qatar.
I’d have no issue losing like this, rather we go for it!
Yes but there's a happy medium. We should have pushed it to 380 IMO.
But this is the way they want to do it and gets them going so fair play let's see.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-1st-test-1320953/full-scorecard
Same lineup chased down the same score a few months back on a trickier wicket.
I predicted 350 declaration but admittedly didn’t see the pre lunch acceleration coming, assumed it would be half an hour or so after lunch.
I’m all for it, if Joe Root can bat left handed in a test then why not dangle that carrot.
On this pitch, 343 in 4 sessions doesn't appear much of a challenge.
In a 'normal' Test Match it would be a decent declaration.
In a 'normal' Test Match it would be a decent declaration.
It’s 3 sessions at best with how the light comes in.
Nitpicking, it's not enough of a challenge, on this pitch.
I feel this is a bit too easy a target. If Pakistan bat at the same speed as the first innings they win easily. This type of declaration should encourage slightly faster scoring than the batting team is completely comfortable with. Perhaps 45 more minutes and another 50 runs would have been about right.
It’s not nitpicking when it’s an entire session. It’s literally a quarter of the remaining game time you’re claiming they have that they just don’t.
Let’s see.
Same for me. This feels a bit to much on the reckless side.
Can imagine even Shane Warne saying this declaration is a bit risky after spending years insisting captains should declare earlier. I like it though, as McCullum has articulated many times, at this level players have a duty to entertain. England batting how they have and declaring when they did, has made a very boring pitch, very entertaining.
Big opportunity for England. Get Babar early and it's game over.
Absolute suicide to bowl now
Massive wicket
Great declaration IMO
Pakistan are effectively 3 down.
England will win this. Pakistan will play defensive & ultimately crumble under the pressure.
I'd rather they'd batted for another 30-40 minutes but they've said enough times that they aren't interested in draws so fair play for being brave enough to go with it. They'll win more games but also look stupid on occasions, just need to accept it when that happens and enjoy the entertainment.
Unbelievable declaration by England.
Ridiculous brand of cricket. Love it.
They'll probably lose I think.
Ridiculous brand of cricket. Love it.
They'll probably lose I think.
Last edited:
Meanwhile Zak Crawley
What an unbelievable brand of test match cricket . Love it
Nailed it!
It’s a toughie. I think this team is capable of playing defensive enough to see out the final day. But part of me thinks they should go for it. Our bowling unit hasn’t been good enough so maybe time for the batting lineup to stand up.
I predict all the people saying they don't mind England losing after that bold declaration, as long as there's a result, will be back tracking if England lose.
260 odd in 75 overs or so. Another 40 would have taken 6 overs out of the game but would definitely have given England some extra leeway, as it stands Pakistan just need to bat the day and they’ll get the total.
Love the approach anyway, England lose tests all the time, might as well lose them on your own terms.
Love the approach anyway, England lose tests all the time, might as well lose them on your own terms.
and I predict all the people saying they should have batted on will say they were right to declare when they did if England win in the final session.
Maybe. I think it was 40 runs short on this pitch but the leadership team are probably thinking more about the mentality long term and are willing to risk a short term result - they can turn around to the players and say “we told you we’d do this - believe in us”.
It also means opposing teams will think twice about declaring in similar positions, as they know England will go all out for the win.
Nothing says not fearing losing than losing a game that you controlled for 4 days because of decision you made.
Personally I would have wanted another 40 runs too but I’m full of admiration of how McCullum and Stokes approach the game, they talk about wanting to make test cricket watchable and they are walking the walk. The selfish Englishman in me wants them to be a bit greedier (Stokes really owes to himself to bat a bit more seriously) but the cricket fan in me just absolutely loves the way they just go for everything.
No, I’ve accepted England will probably lose this match. Fair play to Stokes for making an exciting day.
I wonder if the critics would backtrack though in the unlikely event England win.
Stupid declaration. Why not bat out the day or leave a few overs at the end and set them over 400. Great to play positive cricket but no need to go kamikaze at the end. It’s a flat pitch, we have 1 full time spinner and Pakistan have decent players to chase it down. England have played well for 4 days so it’s kind of stupid to throw it away on the last day.
Sure, why try to win when you can simply play not to lose.