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He was at the IPL so not available for NZ tests I think, injured for India
He was at the IPL so not available for NZ tests I think
😒
Well, India have halved the deficit for no loss and may well.be turning this into a one innings game with England batting last. At least the pitch won't become a recent Oval sandpit judging by how much it was watered pre-match.
Morning everybody! Have England any hope? I don’t think so - the Indian lower order could have a bit of thrash and we know what England are like chasing even a moderate total/trying to bat for a day.
India strong favourites in my book.
But I'm 15 mins behind on Sky and really enjoying the discussion between Athers, Mark Butcher and Dean Wilson of the Daily Mirror talking about the decline of Afro Caribbean cricket in the UK. Also the documentary - part 3 today - being shown at lunchtimes, You Guys Are History
(that was a good day - I was on the way to an away game giving a lift to our SA overseas pro as Devon was ripping the Saffers a new one. Even on crackly LW radio version of TMS that was electric listening)
If England could keep the lead down to 250 or so we'd at least have a game but that's not looking at all likely at the moment.
(that was a good day – I was on the way to an away game giving a lift to our SA overseas pro as Devon was ripping the Saffers a new one. Even on crackly LW radio version of TMS that was electric listening)
I was watching as an obsessed 16 year old. The first ball went past Gary Kirsten before he'd seen it and my Dad and I both sat up and said something to the effect of "Jesus CHRIST!"
I remember Craig Matthews walking in looking like a panicky draftee and leaving the field a couple of minutes later looking like a shell-shocked veteran. Cronje played what looked like a perfect forward defensive. Bat next to pad, bang on line and covering the stumps. The problem was that the ball had already gone through and shattered the wicket. To add insult to injury, Gooch and Hick then tonked Donald et al all over South London for an hour at the end of the day.
Devon Malcolm - the cricketing equivalent of a fragmentation bomb. The damage inflicted was usually significant but always random.
If England could keep the lead down to 250 or so we’d at least have a game but that’s not looking at all likely at the moment.
Whatever happens, England will HAVE to get through the new ball at a max of one wicket down. Do that and it could be 'on', but England have ended up in a one innings game and having to bat on a fifth day pitch. Being 60 odd for five in the second innings of match is the cause, again.
Rahane is out, and possibly out of Test cricket.
Now, Rishabh.
My bet is roll the first few back then tee off. Roll the dice, he could take this game away from England by lunch. I hope Kohli is telling him that.
excellent work there Grum
It's setting up really badly. Final day, gettable but challenging run chase, weather set fair, £10 on the door tickets....and a 25 minute train ride and a walk up the Harleyford Road.
And I've got four must not miss meetings tomorrow.
Wife reckons call in sick and go dressed as Big Bird*, or Bungle off Rainbow, something with an all over head.
*sesame street, not Joel Garner. Going blackface in whites with a West Indian cap would almost certainly get me on TV and not in a good way.
Last time this happened I knocked off at 12 and hotfooted up there to see Sir Alastair's last knock. Missed the overthrows to see the hundred but heard the roar from outside. But was there to see him walk off, which was memorable.
Devon Malcolm - fast, straight, control of length.
Pick any two.... except for one memorable day in South London
Pace, accuracy and movement. Good bowlers have two, great bowlers have all three.
Devon Malcolm had one, but when it clicked it was incredible.
If you look at Devon's 9-57 I can think of three or four that were not 'good' balls, but the force was with him. The balls to dismiss Rhodes, Richardson and Matthews should not have got Test match players out. But to hell with that - it was a 'moment' and Big Dev was in that moment.
Carnage.
this is quite a nice read
Kohli gone. That forces Rishabh's hand.
<optimistic>
If Burns and Hameed walk back out to the middle tomorrow morning then this really could be on.
<\optimistic>
Either way, this might last the full 5 days and give both sections of the crowd a crazy last session.
If Burns and Hameed walk back out to the middle tomorrow morning then this really could be on.
🤬
Deep breath everyone. Good batting so far.
Great start there from England. I still say they could go for the win if they don't lose early wickets!
It's brewing up for a (hopefully) brilliant fifth day...
Really hope they give it a go tomorrow, nothing fancy to begin with just keep the scoreboard ticking over, build pressure on the bowlers and fielders then go for it… I can dream
I've enjoyed all the discussions about win predictors on TMS with the odds now about even between a draw and an India win, with an England win a little less likely.
However from years of following England, my money is all out by lunch.
Really hope they give it a go tomorrow, nothing fancy to begin with just keep the scoreboard ticking over, build pressure on the bowlers and fielders then go for it… I can dream
It would be brilliant and it would put a lot of pressure on Kohli - which would be nice.
Jadeja is a massive threat to the left handers, though. The way the ball was zipping out of the footmarks doesn't make me confident. Burns played it brilliantly yesterday but it only takes one with your name on it.
I hope Kohli is forced to eat humble pie and we knock off these runs whilst the no1 spinner in the world kicks his heels, but it is a hope rather than an expectation.
It will be tough for the left handers but he can only bowl one end, and even then not all day.
Hopefully the sun shines and burns off this early mist (20 miles away from the Oval here in Surrey), the pitch still looks pretty good, the run rate is not excessive at 3/over - if we can get some partnerships going, and someone digs in for the others to bat around, etc.
So yeah, 5 down by lunch.
I reckon England should be able to chase this down. I also reckon that they won't.
I would love to see England have a go. Without Butler & Stokes I can't see it sadly.
I still think a draw is the least likely result. The middle order is Pope, Bairstow, Moween. Not really known for their ability to dig in and bat time.
We'd need to go at 3 an over, and currently we've been going at 2.5 including the inevitable slow start against the new ball and then playing for the close - I don't think you need the speed of scoring of the likes of Buttler and Stokes to think that if someone gets in and bats long then 290 in a day is not excessive.
Root, Pope, Bairstow, Moeen all have natural TM strike rates in the 50-60 mark. That's 3/over. Hameed is in the 30's, Burns in the 40's. So you want the openers to build on yesterday's start, but also not to become too becalmed if we want to leave options open later.
OFC India can also shut up shop, with no restrictions on field, wides, etc., and also can slow the over rate to prevent 90 being bowled. If it gets to that.
Hard to completely shut up shop if they still only need 3 an over or so especially if Roots still in if the fields on the boundary singles should be easy to come by.
It's definitely a fascinating day. I can't see a draw, I think if England are still batting at the end of the day then they'll have got the runs.
It's easy to be down on the batting, but the positive spin is that Hameed and Burns are still in, Malan is class and can score quickly, and we all know about Joe Root. Pope looked great in the first innings, Bairstow will get you 30 and Moeen 25. You've than got a very long tail with England's greatest allrounder in English conditions batting at 8.
Obviously, I still think we'll slip to 100-7, but you've got to have hope.
I'm very tempted to have a Judas bet on India at 2/1. Needs to be enough to hurt a bit if I lose it, but as I never win bets that'll secure England's win by 8 wickets with 20 overs left
It wasn't Stokes/Butlers strike rate I =think we miss, just their ability/class.
In England, Woakes>Stokes, it's on.
Headingley ashes?? I do agree that Woakes is a very good bat though.
pitch is dead for pace, make it tricky to score fluently
Buttler's never really impressed at Test level. 92 innings with 2 tons vs for example Bairstow (8 in 137) or Stokes (10 in 130) - cameos are great in the short game where he excels but accumulation and big scores are what's needed on a flat deck in good conditions today.
Stokes, absolutely I'd give you that!
Headingley ashes?
Stokes is class and I'm saying in jest, but Woakes is a serious bat at 8 and doesn't give me any concerns.
Buttler is so on and off in the test format that I don't think it matters if he or Bairstow are batting, the outcome will be similar.
Michael Holding doing his best to jinx things by saying he doesn't see how England can lose 10 wickets today.
Bairstow scores big 3x more frequently than Buttler.
I think Buttler is a better keeper nowadays, and I think can be more destructive when he comes off. If pushed to choose between I'd take Buttler, just, but that's partly as an ex-keeper I always think you pick the best keeper, and if the top 6 could be relied upon then having Buttler at 7 to set up declarations, etc. is quite scary for the opposition. But today when I think batting properly for a decent length of time and picking up runs by natural positivity is needed, I'd rather we had Bairstow
And yes, I know neither is really the best keeper, but we're choosing between two.
hint of reverse.....that would change the game a bit
hint of reverse…..that would change the game a bit
If it starts going properly it certainly does.
111-1 squeaky bum time!
oooffff! in the nuts!
His team-mates are not particularly sympathetic to his plight. For some reason.
So, with over an hour's play, we still need 250. Can't see us going for it now TBH. Lose another wicket before lunch and I reckon it'll be a case of aiming just to bat the day out. However, if Malan and Hameed can accelerate the run rate over the next 90+mins before one of them goes, then Root may give the green light to have a dig. Methinks he'll still play it safe though.
ffs a run out a ****ing run out! and a stupid run too boot.