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I was thinking the same. No one wants to win hitting a one armed man with a cricket ball and 85mph. Kind of honour his bravery by not taking advantage.
2-2 feels like the right result.
It's a nice thought but once you cross the white line you're in the game proper. It's not sunday social. He scampered a bye to the keeper and a two, in clear pain, he was up for it.
I'd have instructed the bowler to bowl flat out but aiming for yorkers and a bowled or lbw. Not aiming to hit a guy who can't evade or get hands up as easily, but that would be my only concession. If he'd then started connecting with bottom hand swishes, I might rethink that too!
theotherjonv has it.
If Woakes crosses the white line he's there to do a job for his team. In competitive sport it means he's there to thwart the other team. India didn't have many runs to play with, so from my POV it would have been bowl flat out at the stumps to him unless it gets down to less than 10 to win. Then, I'm afraid, the bowler can bomb Woakes if needs be.
It was a dramatic end to a great series. Brook didn't lose it by doing what he did. Ultimately he had got England to that point by doing the same. England lost it shelling SIX catches. All the commentators were talking about bowling workloads, flat pitches (mostly) this summer etc. But the main thing that adds to bowlers workloads is, effectively, needing to take 13, 14, 15, 16 wickets to bowl a team out.
theotherjonv has it.
In which case you need an explanation for Gill's actions.
Gill, and the rest of the Indian team have been brought up in the IPL and it's influence is instinctual in their actions even at test level. Controlling who is facing in the next over is bread and butter in the IPL at the death and control much of what you do with the field and balls bowled definitely on the 6th ball and possibly the 5th ball too. So why did Gill leave a field setting with nearly everyone on the boundary and a single so easily on, allowing Atkinson to get Woakes back to the non-facing end? It felt like his non-action, was an action.
England lost it shelling SIX catches. All the commentators were talking about bowling workloads, flat pitches (mostly) this summer etc. But the main thing that adds to bowlers workloads is, effectively, needing to take 13, 14, 15, 16 wickets to bowl a team out.
Yep. While India took 19 to win the game.
I get the chase everything, every run is vital attitude but your main bowler diving headlong to save 1 run has to also be questioned in a risk vs reward way.
In which case you need an explanation for Gill's actions.
Gill would have to do that, and I'd love it to be 'the spirit of cricket' given past comments about England's delaying tactics, some of the naughty mental stuff that India has employed recently, etc. But i don't see it.
In my mind it was a thought process like:
Atkinson has to get these and with field out he can't really take singles. He can't really even hit 4s with a slowish outfield and field out, it has to be 6's. We have two clutch yorker bowlers, if we bowl full and straight he'll struggle to hit 6's first and foremost, and he'll miss one sooner or later.
So on the last ball if we bring field in then we'll expose ourselves to a 4 or 6 and then we're one bad ball / lucky inside edge away from losing.
I'm not saying it's how my thought process would have gone but it's more likely in my mind than being gentlemanly.
And yes, IPL and managing the strike is vital but this wasn't a time limited shot-a-ball game. They can bowl as many overs to Atkinson as necessary on the basis of above knowing only big shots will win it and eventually he'll miss one, at the cost of maybe one run per over (even then they were hiding the ball and resorting to running a bye to the keeper, they weren't 'giving' him a single). If half a dozen overs had gone by with a single somehow got off each then they may have changed again, but Woakes was actually only on the field for 13 balls, in which Atkinson connected once and was very nearly caught then and had umpteen near misses.
I think Gill got caught up in the notion that the ball was doing all sorts and simply bowling as many balls as possible at England would do the job. As above, if the field is up for the last ball of that over, it gives Atkinson the freedom that may result in a six being hit. Then all it takes is Woakes to inside edge one past the stumps and England win. But that is merely my speculation. I would have brought the field in!
I was talking more about India's (untested) attitude to bowling flat-out at Woakes, TBH.
You've got admire Siraj for having the skill and the fitness to execute that skill with 25 overs already bowled in the innings. Akash Deep is a lucky lad because he bowled and fielded like a drain.
Oh, and Akash Deep also needs a hefty fine for physically touching Duckett when he'd dismissed him. If he'd tried that with most of the lads I played with he would have at least been threatened with having a bat shoved down his throat. A handful of them wouldn't have bothered with the threat bit.
Rabada was done for celebrating in the face of dismissed batsmen, but it seems the authorities have gone a bit soft on this again. IMO this is overspill from the various T20 leagues where team loyalty and identity is totally transient, so manufactured needle is tolerated and encouraged.
WTAF is this T20 game about nowadays?
South Africa have just scored 158 at 10 an over and barely got halfway to their target. Salt 141 off 60 balls, Buttler 83 off 30. England 304-2. Out of 120 legal balls in the England innings, 30 4's and 18 6's.
Who'd be a bowler?
Tik tok cricket innit
Boundaries being in means batters don’t need a clean hit to clear the rope, this encourages more attempts. Coupled with fielding restrictions, modern bats, 2 balls per innings, analysis, the physical attributes of a modern player all contributes to this game.
I would argue though the best games have a balance between bat and ball, maybe not short format, but although it can be entertaining I don’t think you get as many close games, one side tends to dominate.
Ashes!!!
Can’t see a separate thread (perhaps deserves one)?
Anyway, England’s score was utterly predictable but they’re fighting back!
Tense stuff at the moment...
Who knew 172 would be a competitive 1st innings total.
2 day test anyone?
Certainly been a fast moving day, ridiculous cricket.
To be completely honest, i've done nowt but wiggle my mouse at work so far this morning, what a day of cricket!
We're going to have to bat again on day 1 at this rate.
What a captain Ben Stokes is.
Well, well, well.
Epic. Had a bit on the radio at 0300 this morning then again from 0700. Pal of mine out there says it’s been an absolute cracker (he was at Headingley for Stokes-Leach)
Love the idea that Starc gets 7 and a few hours later he’s batting 🤪
Dearie me. Cruising at lunch, effectively 100-1, looking to bat them out the game and then the inevitable collapse. What did they eat?!
At this rate they'll lose in two days.
Fairly grim viewing... Haven't seen a decent ball bowled for ages
BBC online commentary initially announces it as 'Australia win by 98 wickets'. Sounds about right.
What a bizarre test match. Everything in extreme. Not what a I watch(listen) to test match cricket for. As a fan I'm not entertained.
On the flip side, I'm going to get more sleep over the next 3 nights than I'd anticipated. And Perth's tourist attractions are going to see more revenue from poms stranded in Perth waiting for there pre-booked flights out.
A reasonable recovery after a horrid start. All out 180 no doubt.
Interesting period of play. Crawley got in and then got out. Harry Brook is absolutely brainless. Pope is "just a player". But Root looked pretty good, so...
In the balance it would seem at ‘dinner’. Looks much better than 5 for 2 though!
Well they've not shat the bed just yet, so there's that...
Ah. Hmm
Well done Root. Hopefully they can get beyond 300.
Honestly, if it wasn't for Root (and Stokes with the ball) this would feel like the worst days of the Atherton era - turning up without a snowball's chance, absolutely zero penetration with the bowling and just trying not to be all out for <150.
Someone needs to have a word with Brook. That wasn't even a badly conceived or executed big drive. That was an absolute hack that a club cricketer would get a bollocking off their teammates for. Absolutely brainless for a player of his talent.
Starc apart, this Aussie attack isn’t up to much, missing Cummins and Hazlewood. Some brainless shots, again.
Someone needs to have a word with Brook. That wasn't even a badly conceived or executed big drive. That was an absolute hack that a club cricketer would get a bollocking off their teammates for. Absolutely brainless for a player of his talent.
Ah yeah mate, but that's just who we are, yeah?
Funny how Bazball seems like the cricket version of Angeball...
Brook is, rightly, getting a lot of stick. But he still averages 55 in tests, so must be doing something right.
I know the "it's just the way he is" thing is annoying, but maybe it is who he is and if you make him play straight and slow you lose 20 runs off that average.
Great knock by Root, properly shut the Aussies up now. He's done everything, they can't knock him any more.
Good camio from Archer as well. Important runs.
Brook frickin just needs to watch Root. Well pleased that non-declaration got some decent runs on the board.
And,… Rooooooooooooooooooooot
At 5 for 2 this is a good score. At 210-4 less so. Hope they can get a few more tomorrow and see what the Aussies get.
And,… Rooooooooooooooooooooot
Means something else in Oz, that.
"Fancy a Root?" "what, a cultured century that really demonstrates the primacy of Test cricket?" "nah, the other sort"
Well this is pretty dire, if not unexpected. Innings defeat?
Just as you posted that... I mean sure, it's only 2 wickets and probably won't change the outcome, but with this series shaping up the way it is, you gotta take what you can!
This next 25 minutes are probably the game right here. Bowlers seem to be flagging, scores level but Aus probably feeling precarious, 6 down under lights... If Aus get to the end still 6 down, they win. If England can winkle them out, Aus batting last, England (very) marginal favourites.
😬
I was watching yesterday on TNT sports and quickly realised the commentator was Rob Hatch. Love his cycling commentary but not surprisingly he's awful at cricket commentary.
Healy, Gilchrist, Haddin, Payne, Carey.
Don't you just hate Aussie keepers that can bat with the tail?
But England should be off the field by now. They've shelled 4-5 catches. 🤦♂️