Didn’t see a thread

WTF 😯 England are battering the No 1 test nation in their own backyard ! 😀

1 wicket to get

Was just about to start a thread on this!

An excellent performance so far, isn’t it? Oh, and the cricket is going well, too!

The standard of TMS Waffle has been marvellous.

had to turn off last night, when boycott started his Gary Player practise eulogy.

Dale Steyn out of next test so a series victory on the cards too.

fat lady is clearing her throat

laaaaaaaaaaaaaa

good start from the lads 50 up for no wickets

they’re getting bored now talking about beach cricket @ Whitby in December 🙂

head protection

24 off the first 2 overs 😯

Stokes making hay in the sun.

100 up for Stokes….. flaying it to all parts 45 in 4 overs

Glad I got up early to listen this morning! Saw Stokes’ knock against the kiwis at lords and this is almost at that level, he’s pure box office!

maiden over 🙁 the wheels have come off !

As an aside. Great knock by bairstow. It’d be so easy for him to have lost his game. Hope he can stay there and get a ton.

No way Amla can survive the series with this rotten captaincy, surely?

been good cricket by the pair of them, running them ragged in the field with sharp singles then belting the bad ball.

150 for stokes, 50 up in 5 posts 😀

Indeed! He’s got his third 50 in a single mug of coffee!

Quality.

Just woken up to turn on TMS. Incredible!

It’s times like this when access to Sky Sports would be welcome. Is there any free to view available?

Wow certainly beats the series here Oz vs WI has highlights of rain

stuck everyone on the boundary so he (Stokes) has to hit sixes 🙂

On another note, how good has Graeme Smith been on TMS? A great cricketer and seems to have a real love of the game.

100 before lunch for stokes 🙂

Oh good, Stokes has managed to go up through the gears.

¡Ay caramba!
A day for record breaking- cricinfo in meltdown

I think Swann is growing into his role in TMS, I have not been his biggest fan on the radio but this series he seems decent.

It’s been a good Christmas for me as we have spent a lot of time with the in laws from Durban. Seeing them again today which should be nice.

Edit…. Misread that. My eyes read Smith but my head said Swann.

A few overs of bish bash bosh after lunch then get ’em in?

out of the ground LOL

3 out of the 4 main bowlers have gone for over 100.
Record stand for a pair of gingers?

LOL forward defensive

well played !

Loving the Stokes Reminds me of tweets

Hasn’t Kevin Pietersen been quiet recently!

no he’s chirping all over the Big Bash, that bloke certainly has some opinions

Fantastic day for English cricket. Tempered by the sad news of Matt Hobden. Thoughts are with his family and colleagues.

And in the Telegraph a few days ago.

I feel a bit for Amla. I believe he was a political appointment as Captain, but I don’t think it’s a role he is naturally suited to. Let him bat, and give it to someone else.

I’m liking Smith too on commentary, and I despised him as a player!

I’m liking Smith too on commentary, and I despised him as a player!

I couldn’t stand him as a player either. I did get onto telly with him once though…

tenuous enough?

I like your sunglasses.

I held Smith in high regard, surprised when he was appointed captain at IIRC when he was just 22. One of the few cricketers who never seemed to lose his form when assuming the responsibility and always formidable opening bat.

stat attack

It’s fair to say there was steam rising from the computer of TMS stats man Andrew Samson during that session…

Most runs in a pre-lunch Test session by a single batsman (130 by Stokes)
England’s highest Test partnership for the sixth-wicket
The partnership has the highest run rate of any in Tests over 250 runs
First England century at Newlands since 1965
The highest score for an England batsman at Newlands, beating Jack Hobbs’ 187 in 1910
The highest score by an England number six. The previous best was Graeme Hick’s 178 against India in Mumbai in 1986.
The last England player to score 100 runs in a session before lunch was Ian Bell, against Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street in 2005