You can’t blame Boycott for the fact that for a few years now the English batsman have been making the same mistake game after game after game…

FINALLY!

You can’t score runs in the shed!

A few years back we had a really talented young kid in our club side. He was playing a bit of 2nd XI for the county and doing OK – he was never going to make it in first class cricket because he was unfit and a liability in the field, but I digress.

He was hit and miss, but mostly miss in the run up to one game where he then got himself out in the first over. It was a horrible, wide long hop and he went to cut it, got it on the toe end a bit and slapped it straight to point.

When he got back into the dressing room and the dust had settled I just asked him what was going through his mind when he played that shot (he was never shy about piping up about other things during a game so I wasn’t being nasty – just asking a slightly pointed question).

He just said breezily “It was in ‘my area'” – whatever the hell that meant – probably just the kind of thing he had heard from pros he looked up to.

I lost it a bit at that and just asked him if his ‘area’ was the pavilion balcony and how many runs he’d scored from there. He seemed a bit put out.

given how bad the first day was you couldn’t imagine england sinking any lower but somehow they managed it…. truly abysmal!

….. and further still today.

dannyh will be pleased to see Sarfraz stood up to the poles for the quickie!

Wow. This is truly pathetic.

There is something very rotten with this team.

I don’t think it’s too difficult to see what’s happened.

5 -10 years ago we could block for Britain – a good test team, but stodgy at ODI/T20.

We have completely revolutionised our white ball cricket – one of the most aggressive international teams. Unsurprisingly the same players aren’t so good at playing long innings – it isn’t their natural game.

When Stokes/Bairstow counter- attack in tests, we eulogise. If they get out we slam them. It’s just a game – we have no divine right to win everything.

West Country lads see off the deficit. If only the rest of the tail could wag and set a 200-225 4th innings target…

I’m not looking for a divine right to win, what I would like is some backbone! Yet again, England capitulate and there is little or no contest.

Questions now surely as to Root and his ability to lead the side. There is no disputing his talent but time and time again, the ECB make our most talented player and promote them to a position of incompetence! It started with Botham FFS, as soon as he was made skipper, his form dropped off the cliff.

What is it that our set up has or does, that no other test playing nation has or does with regard to being captain of the test side? Graeme Smith, Kholi, Waugh, Williamson, Steve Smith(sic), they all maintained their form, despite leading their country out onto the field of play. I would go further to say that there’s not much wrong with the group of players, the rotten core has more to do with the expectations and system of the ECB.

IF, Butler, Bess, Broad and Wood perform with the bat this morning and up to tea, then a lead of 200-250 will certainly make things interesting, but ONLY IF, our frikkin bowling attack start pitching it up a bit more than is their default setting.

Questions now surely as to Root and his ability to lead the side.

Even bigger questions for the coaches and selectors. They appear. To have fixed. No 3 by screwing up the rest of the lineup the batting has not been addressed. Unless this was the experimental test….

That’ll be that that then.

Probably for the best – if they’d wormed their way out of this one it would reduce the need to sort their lives out.

Painful.

Even bigger questions for the coaches and selectors. They appear. To have fixed. No 3 by screwing up the rest of the lineup the batting has not been addressed. Unless this was the experimental test….

I’m sure it’s phone formatting / the forum’s foibles that have led to this punctuation, but is it. Only me. That has to read this. In the style of. Mark E Smith!

You can’t blame Boycott for the fact that for a few years now the English batsman have been making the same mistake game after game

I don’t. I blame him for being an exceptionally boring commentator. I also find it staggering that TMS renewed his contract after his racist remarks

It can’t be any worse today, can it?

2nd test. Headingley.

Praying for rain already!

What records can england chase today?

Decent start…

Yep that Broard needed dropping there 😉

Oh, hello…!

Yep can’t see why he is still in the side 😉

Strange decision by the tourists to elect to bat

Strange decision by the tourists to elect to bat

I thought exactly the same thing.

Headingley is always a sporting wicket and I would have thought they’d relish the chance to put England straight back under the pump.

Maybe they’re worried about batting last at Headingley, but when you are only chasing 50-odd at worst, I wouldn’t have thought it would be a problem.

Happy with the day so far. 49-3

Oh, I say !

we might get a draw out of this after all

*sings*

ARE YOU ENGLAND IN DISGUISE?

*sings*

Uh-oh.  There’s a danger that we leave time for a substantial England collapse before stumps

Ah the cheerful Vaughn (and honest) never judge a pitch until you have seen 2 teams bat on it – especially England

Oh Jimmy Jimmy!

WTF is all this?

I think you mean “the tail” flash

Some (foreign) cricket teams have them

Wow milestone indeed, 51-0, 50 whole runs without needing 4 batsmen to do it!!

106-2 at stumps. Got to be happy with that.

Yep if they had got there without losing a wicket it would just have confused them

Good interview with James Taylor just now. How England would want a player of his calibre now.

Seems a thoroughly decent bloke and hope he goes on to have a long career in the game in some form or another.

Pakistan saved by the rain?

Good interview with James Taylor just now. How England would want a player of his calibre now.

Seems a thoroughly decent bloke and hope he goes on to have a long career in the game in some form or another.

sounded like an ECB company man too me

What lovely news to wake up to this morning

All over today, maybe

A rather pleasing result there.

Some consistency would be nice though.

Next test for us is October I believe? No doubt there’ll be much 100/120/300 ball nonsense in between though 😩