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I'm just catching up on the highlights of the semi Eng vs Ind.
I know it's all if and buts and...... we went for 32 in the last 2 overs. If we'd have done a proper job there we could have then had a total and chased it down in 14 overs! That was a seriously impressive batting effort.
Will it rain?
England won the toss and bowl first
Adil Rashid just bowled a wicket maiden. In a T20 game. A T20 final, no less. Wow.
New rule I'm instigating with immediate effect:
Rashid and Curran allowed to bowl 8 overs each in T20s 😁
I had to take son to work, turned on radio, they said Curran had gone for 12, I assumed in his fourth over. Not in total......
Still think PK have something to say about this.
Not that I was naive enough to think Eng had this in the bag after restricting Pal’s innings… but we’re now 3 down and it’s looking twitchy
for what should be a walk in the park, I'm not really enjoying this
Torture
Couldnt ask for two better batsman in this position.
And it looks like I'll see the end before I have to leave for the rugby.
I still can't handle the stress. Stomach feels like it did before my GCSE exams 33 years ago 😬
I'll hold off on saying that we should be OK from here!
Stokes first T20 international 50, what a time to do it.
****stan players where class in the field.
Great win for England
Good controlled performance by England.
Good controlled performance by England
If you could tell my bumhole, it'd be appreciated. It's been twitching like a bunny's nose.
the ramp shot from Buttler for six on a big ground was just mind boggling!
The MCG is a funny shape - straight boundary’s aren’t that big, but it’s very wide square, hence the plan here is to bowl back of a length, making you hit square.
We’re gonna get a thumping here.
I really dislike Warner doing well
Morning all, a record breaking morning?
Yes, my tea tastes good this morning !! Well played Crawley & Duckett!! I felt Ben D was unlucky not to play in the T20 WC.
Just tuned in at lunch. 174-0. Ridiculous. What kind of swashbuckling voodoo is this?
lucky boy on 99 🙂
There's a reason that established seamers have been known to pull a sickie when their team is touring ****stan. England need 600 minimum.
Lateral movement now. Leg spin & reverse. Plus staying low.
Root and Pope - please take a few balls, have a look, get set and then extinguish the glimmer of hope that a couple of wickets brings.
332 scored by tea on the first day! That's some fairly brutal hitting. Let's hope they push on and give ****stan some proper scoreboard pressure.
Indeed, but you can't assess until both teams have had a bat. Combine this with the likely shortened days due to dusk being about 5 minutes between daylight and totally dark and you know you have to get on with it batting first.Really, this is the perfect situation for a bit of Bazball and a declaration.
With the regulations the way they are now, we won't see another win in near total darkness - not sure if that is a good or bad thing!
400 up in 64 overs!
this is mental, ball if flying around the ground!
They are going to smash SA's record - buying themselves alot of time to win the test, but ****stan are still likely to score a lot of runs based on recent Australia series.
4 4 4 4 4 4
LOL
they've added another 50 in 4.5 overs!
Fair play Harry Brook
4 centurions in a day, and nearly 500 runs.
Daft.
highest first day score in test history 502! (and 15 overs left in the day)
fastest to 500 ever (by nearly 20 overs)! and only 3 runs short of the highest day score!
Will they drop Root ? 😉
What is Boycott going to moan about now? That's a huge first day score.
This ****stan attack have been very poor. Little control of line or length and very poor fielding (Ali especially!).
England can only hit what is in front of them - and they certainly have! Proper shots too - no frenetic slogging.
What is Boycott going to moan about now?
Playing a test match in a Northern Hemisphere country in December I expect!
Loss of 15 overs due to bad light is a bloody disgrace to be honest...
I suspect when allowed, ****ston will get a half decent 1st innings total too, and we'll be staring down the barrel of a draw if not for Englands pace in this innings so far... For me, Brook/Stokes/Jacks/Livingstone need to treat tomorrow as a 50 over game... Look to get to get to 700 by lunch, maybe 800 or so by tea, then put ****stan in with the view to bowling them out twice in 3 and a bit shortened days... Which will only equate to about 240 overs or so.
Any thoughts of needing to bat twice should be completely removed from Stokes' head...
England need 600 minimum.
I'd say 600 is about a par score on that pitch... If England can get 750, maybe skittle ****stan for 500 in the first innings and then still enforce the follow on and with a wicket now starting to turn, really make use of their multi pronged spin attack, could still not be required to bat a second time...
skittle ****stan for 500
Hardly skittled if you've got 500!
It does make me wonder what Bradman would have averaged in this era.
On the negative side would be the general standard of bowling and fielding. But I am pretty sure that would be more than compensated for with balsa railway sleeper bats and covered wickets.
140?
150?
England team were allegedly looking at 1000 score on BBC! All out for 510 then!!
The leggie was getting plenty of turn already - just rarely landed it in decent spots! The bounce was variable too, plus it reversed after 30 overs. I’m
17 years without an England touring test team and barely anyone turns up to watch!
They fill up as the day goes on, after work. Most test grounds are empty around the world.
Leach should be well up for this. 650 odd on the board and an opportunity to work through some 5,6,7 ball set-ups if he's accurate enough. Drag the line over to off stump ball by ball and loop the last one up a bit etc.
Well this is turning out to be a bit rubbish. Is the wicket ever going to get some life in it?
I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for 'life'. It might get a bit spicy if it starts to break up, but from the sound of it, the sun isn't hammering down on it, and it isn't going to break up any time soon. So you're relying on footmarks and general wear and tear.
In the bigger picture, I'm not all that bothered - it is great to be listening to England play cricket in ****stan again. Rawalpindi, Multan - the names are just evocative. Faisalabd - the bowler's graveyard where something always kicks off, probably because no one can move a ball off of straight. Gadaffi stadium, Yasir Arafat enclosre - a reminder that cricket is not just The Ashes or whatever the BCCI are trying to tell everyone it is.
You forget how long it is since we last played in ****stan.
Todays innings was James Anderson’s first EVER ball in test cricket in ****stan.
Just over a session to go and all results are still possible. Fair play to stokes for daring to lose, attempting the win.
warming up nicely, two quick wickets after tea!
This is very tight indeed.
Wow...just wow😁
Sir! Ben! Stokes!
Test Matches are just so boring......
Well thank the **** for that!
Out walking the dog early this morning and Pak were ticking over nicely. Fast forward to Eng taking 2 quick wickets after tea, then Pope's acrobatics and we end up with the most remarkable finish. Seeing how we didn't even know if we'd have a team fit enough to play until a couple of hours before the start, and 3 seamers having to toil away on the flattest of tracks... astonishing.
Only Test cricket can do this.
To force a victory in those circumstances is astonishing.
Got to be up there as one of the best test matches ever.
Both sides deserve immense credit, for giving us a match where >1600 runs were scored. 37 wickets were taken and all four results were possible at tea on day five.
Crazy. You have to hand it to Stokes to have the guts for that declaration.
And, what this whole revolution is all about - Full crowds on day 5 of a test, completely enthralled.
It’s almost impossible to criticise England selection after last week, but leaving out Foakes tomorrow feels odd? Pope managed, but Foakes is an outstanding keeper and no slouch with the bat himself.
Glad to see Wood fit and back in, but a shame for Livingstone to get injured.
Pope managed where half the overs were bowled by seamers on an absolute road
Assuming the pitches are a bit more typical, lower, slower, dusty turners on days 4 and 5 he may get found out there, and Foakes would be the better call. Plus as a member of the KU, ALWAYS play the specialist keeper.
Have ****stan unearthed a mystery spinner from nowhere? I love cricket for this sort of thing.
He could take all ten!
Well, we're halfway through Day 1 and Eng have been bamboozled by this new kid on the block who could find himself picking up all 10 wickets on debut. Yes, we smashed the ball around at a rate similar to the first session in the first Test, but we're now down to 'just' 5 an over on a wicket that looks to be benefiting the bowlers we've opted not to select.
Going to be an interesting challenge this.
I had a sneaky watch of an over from Abrar - he's a front of the hand leggie, but he's accurate which makes up for the lack of huge rip. He also seems to get good dip late in the flight which is unusual for this kind of bowler.
He'll have to set his sights lower now - the best he can do is only an eight-fer on debut!
Wood bowling wheels here.
Needs to get a wicket, though. It is brilliant to have a proper strike bowler, but that confers a requirement to get a result from busting a gut in short spells.
Well, that score was a pleasant one to wake up to 😎
So many memories of waking up to Ashes matches in hope, and being grumpy for the rest of the day!!
This series is turning into a classic!!!
Those 2 quick wickets for Wood look to have turned things Englands way, but is there still a twist???
Jimmy's just had a look of bemusement on his face, as a #9 on debut charges down the wicket at him.... do you KNOW who I am?
4 boundaries in one Wood over, and out.
Test match cricket is so dull.
We're quite good at this cricket lark aren't we? Both men's and women's teams.
I feel a bit for ****stan - losing 2 tight games. All their fast bowlers are unavailable which doesn’t help.
I’m loving the ****stani crowds though - real cricket fans appreciating great matches, as opposed to the one-eyed support of their neighbours.
That was a great result after looking a bit tenuous yesterday at the close.
very proud Dad on the radio at the moment 🙂
great take!
got a bit lucky with only one bail being dislodged as he went to take the ball, but after that was excellent work.
Always pick your best keeper!
ripper of a googly!
Well played mr brook, quite the start to a test career (averaging 115! at the moment)