Question for our UK apostles … do you enjoy this sort of cricket?
Bazball is a batting strategy. It’s T20 vs underpowered bowling on a deck without encouragement. It has bugger all in it for the bowlers. It’s setting defensive field to a side chasing 500. When there is no lateral movement in the air or off pitch it’s bowling short of a length 7th stump line to an offside stacked field.
I note it’s been a dry summer but any reason the ground staff can’t water the outfield to get something a bit lush, rather than playing on glass.
If Bazball got us that marvellous batting display for ENG to win at Headingley, bravo. But 2,000 runs in a Test for a draw is going back to the crap that almost killed cricket in the 60s/70s.
There needs to be something in it for the leather flingers apart from pitching short at 140k.
There needs to be balance and a contest.
At the moment I see parallels to baseball when it transitioned from “small ball” to the sabermetrics slugging contest with nobody on base it is now and poorer for it.
Up until now, we’ve had the bowlers to support it. Unfortunately, the current lot are all backup bowlers with no attack leader.
Do I enjoy it? It’s a lot better than it used to be before Stokes came in. And draws have largely been taken out of the equation.
I don’t know why you think this test is going for a draw, unless it rains a lot.
I don’t. Your “All out for 250 an hour after lunch” would be about my thinking too.
I guess in my befuddled way I’m trying to figure out why I am finding the crap cricket from both sides being played in Grenada more interesting than the several displays of batting excellence at Edgbaston, and Headingley for that matter.
Huge scores have always been a bit dull, there’s no jeopardy. I enjoyed the test at Headingly a lot more, because England always seemed to be in the game, even when India were piling on the runs. But in this one, although there are commentators trying to big up the ‘England were expecting to chase a big score!’ line, England haven’t looked in it since day 2. Even with the single big partnership we’ve managed so far, it never brought us close to parity.
And there it is, tame in the end with no real suggestion England were ever going to last. Without a score to chase, they didn’t seem to really know how to pace themselves, and got out largely to attacking shots - especially Jamie Smith, attempting a third six of the over getting caught in the deep.
That’s not why we lost though - our bowling wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t really good enough in the first game either, although good batting and some careless Indian batting gave us the win. It’ll need to improve if we’re going to get anything from this series. 1-1 now.
The stand-in South Africa captain declared while he was on 367 not out seeming coasting toward a new record, historically one of the most prestigious records in cricket.
Can’t figure out what his motivation was.
ETA: it appears he just made a statement a few minutes ago, saying that he and the coach thought Lara deserved to keep the record because it was scored against England.
I’m not sure how I feel about that reasoning. Zimbabwe isn’t really a test quality side right now, but they are officially a Full Member.
Did anyone not go for a record against New Zealand or South Africa a 100 years ago when they weren’t really competitive with England and Australia?
3rd Test ENG v IND
The first hour Crawley and Duckett look composed, relatively untroubled and nary a chance. Then in that wonderful way this sport can upset the proceedings on comes the IND 2nd change (Reddy), he’s at the Nursery end because the cream prefer from the Pavillion then a legside strangle to get Duckett and an absolute jaffa to get Crawley and ENG is 2-44 and the game is transformed … for a while anyway.
ENG 7 down for 350 off 100 overs gets a tick of approval from me.
You begin to see how India can be more successful when Bumrah is not playing (50% with him. 70% without him). Now there are geographic qualifiers to that ie more wins for IND at home on spinners decks. But with his presence the other bowlers seem to back off the pressure, bowl looser lines and length, maybe even bend their backs less.
Smith seems to be a handy bat, with technique and composure.
What is his background? Have he been on the radar for a while or just burst onto scene?
He’s young, but has been talked about as a future England keeper-batter for a couple of years before his debut.
I’m one of the few people who has the BBC commentary on county matches on as background sound. The commentators have been hot on him since he was a schoolboy, it seems.
Both selected WI openers are away from the venue having scans for medical injuries, so debutant Kevlon Anderson gets the gig despite having never opened at the first class level. That’s a bit rough.
Brook and Root in with not many on the board. #1 and #2 in the world coming together after Englands #2 nicks off looking for the drive for what seems like the hundredth time.
The Lords pitch seems to have awakened and offering disconcerting bounce. If ENG can cobble together 150 then Woakes and Archer could be a dammed handful.
nicks off looking for the drive for what seems like the hundredth time.