letting India off the hook here.

Yup, the ball has gone soft and the bowlers are knackered in the heat I think. Surprised they’ve not tried Stokes or Anderson for a while though.

Gin ‘n’ Tonic 😀

Pant is winning the game for India here I feel

flayed to all parts now

reverse sweeping Anderson with a new ball…Pant now gone for 101.

Much as I’m glad to see Pant go from an England point of view, I have to say that was a brilliant, and very entertaining, bit of batting. That reverse sweep with the new ball particularly. Very well played.

Coulda woulda shoulda but frustrating that he was basically out much earlier but not enough of the ball hitting to overturn umpires call. Hey ho, India have just been better again really.

🙁

some grim reading on the batting front going to look even worse in an hours time.

Series over, lots of negatives but let’s look at positives if we can. If only as an antidote to Michael Vaughan’s whinging.
Anderson is still world class in any conditions.
Leach has developed well into a solid spinner. He’s not Ashwin but he’ll do a fine job in most of the world.
Lawrence has real potential, he has a proper technique and I thought he had real potential.
Stokes is still the game changer in the team.

The Ashes might be interesting…

ON freesports this morning is a rather interesting last day in the Afghan / zimbabawe test.

Zim following on have made a tremendous fightback and now all results are in play. One for the connoisseurs

There is definitely potential in this England team. The bubble/rotation/quarantine issues certainly aren’t helping.

I was hoping for more from Bess after his time a few years back in the Indian Spin Academy, but the pandemic & lack of cricket has hit him hard.

Root has bowled really well though.

Bess has a fundamentally inconsistent bowling action. His upper body and head lunges and lurches. Any class batsman knows he is getting at least one rank bad ball per over. Batsmen don’t have to ‘make’ shots against him to score.

I like Leach. He needs to be careful that he doesn’t become another Tufnell, obsessing about flight and forgetting to spin the ball, and in the era of the balsa wood railway sleeper he needs protecting when someone starts lining him up on a batting track.

Root’s bowling has been great on these raging bunsens, but on pitches with any live grass his bowling is standard round arm filth usually typical of a top order batsman (Chris Gayle, Graeme Smith etc). He’s difficult to get away, though.

Anyone watching the T20 series decider? India are scoring heavily, Kohli still in.

Another great catch by Jordan

https://www.bcci.tv/videos/152938/ind-vs-eng-2021-5th-t20i-suryakumar-yadav-wicket

But credited to Roy!

Great start by England apart from Roy’s early wicket

This is mad…..

They’ve screwed it, mainly due to great bowling by Bhuvneshwar

Looking like it could be a good close contest in the ODI decider.

Yep – looking forward to the chase.

My favourite part of this tour has been the commentary/analysis of Dinesh Kartik. Real insight into the Indian mindset and tactics.

Ugghh

England still in with a slight chance here, though once Moeen went it was always going to be very unlikely.

Rashid gone after a superb catch from Kohli, surely game over now.

Still in with a chance!

Good effort to get that close. We looked dead & buried when Mo went.

It’s been a good tour between 2 very good teams, shame England couldn’t get a win in one of the series but hey.

Indeed Grum – full of drama, to and fro, close games. some great cricket and played in a good spirit

sachin hospitalized with covid

Morning campers.
It may not be a test match but the Couny Championship is back today and many counties have a live stream. Essex v’s Worcs also has live comms on 5 Live Sports Extra.
Pleasant background noise for a day on the home office I’d suggest.

Lords looking fabulous – the new stands look great.

Robinson in as well as Bracey, top opposition, small crowd in – life is getting better.

Morning everybody. NZ win toss and bat

Hope Anderson and Broad get a few early ones

Slightly anal conditions 😳

Always conflicted when England play NZ at cricket. I have no connection to NZ but I just love the way they play the game – both their style and the sporting way they play the game.

Ah yes, welcome to summer.

And I’ve just found out that I have tickets for Friday Edgbaston.

Lovely.

Yes plenty of tickets for Edgbaston (some just for £16!). I’ve been considering getting one for Thursday, however I’ve decided against it and instead will hopefully be sat on a beach somewhere listening to TMS

Dare I say that NZ appear to have done an ‘England’?

view from the boundary

Dare I say that NZ appear to have done an ‘England’?

Call that ‘an England’? Hold my beer…..

We’re bowling well, though, this is a great passage of proper TM cricket.

Ooooh, hang on!