Thanks!
Not for the first time my classmates have covered themselves in shit trying to pull down the Indians.
I’ve seen the footage myself now, and there is no way to misinterpret that honestly.
Growing up on American sports, it took me a while to understand the concept of sledging. But now I can appreciate the patience and concentration needed to bat in test cricket, and how you might be able to get an out by just getting slightly into the batter’s head. In baseball, players (particularly catchers) will often try to do the same to a batter, but it doesn’t work on professional hitters. But they really only need to focus for like a minute, and not for hours.
Woakes best chance of getting off strike or more runs would have been via an edge through slips.
Noting that he was a right hander batting (one handed) left handed it would be inevitable that if ball/bat contact was made that the bat would have spun. So just getting bat on ball would have opened up possibilities.
I assume Siraj would not have dropped short into the body. If he bowled his prevailing 4th/5th stump line Woakes couldn’t have put bat on ball. So the line would have been off/middle. The length full to yorker. A yorker would have been very difficult for him to keep out.
He could have further elevated his status for the cause with extreme bottle if he’d stepped out of his crease. Would take LBW out of the equation, maybe even bowled. No need to swing hard, just make some contact in front of the body. An outside edge or slice off the face only had to beat Jurel for a boundary to 3rd man and they’d have put him up in Trafalgar Square beside Nelson.
Wouldn’t India have brought in a spinner for him?
If that would have meant taking the ball off Siraj, I doubt Gill had the courage.
A spinner would have minimised the risk to IND, but if Woakes had inveigled a way to get a single, then the risk equation swings sharply with Aitkinson on strike.
If they had brought on a spinner I’m not sure that Jurel would have stood up to the stumps.
It probably depends when Woakes got in. I suspect with >15 runs still to get, they’d have done what they did to Atkinson on the last ball of the second over with Woakes batting - bowled a wide, offering Woakes an easy way to get off strike, and the chance of a runout at the strikers end.
With <8 runs to go…probably not, but maybe. Otherwise, bowl very full at the stumps.
Didn’t watch the game, but if I read correctly, awful gesture by Indian cricket to not shake hands with Pakistan after their Asia Cup match today. During the rare times the 2 sides play each other, I enjoy watching the friendly exchanges between the players of both after matches. As an India fan, it was tough to read.
From my Pakistani friends this has really got them riled up. I don’t want to drag “geopolitics” into this discussion too much, but the way things are going seems unsustainable. India has the economic clout to bend the ICC to its will and no one else will draw any lines. And the government of India has total control of BCCI. Pakistan has no allies it seems.
At some point India might refuse to play Pakistan at all. Then multilateral tournaments will become a joke.
The Division One County Championship took a big turn yesterday, and Notts beat Surrey to put themselves in the drivers seat.
Notts will need a maximum of eleven points (likely fewer) out of their last game to secure the title. We could see a last day with Surrey chasing a win against Hants if Notts vs Warks is headed for a draw.
I’m just hoping rain doesn’t have the last word. I’m generally an “anyone buy Surrey & Yorks” kind of guy, but want to see the result decided on the field.
Pakistan and India have made it to the Asia Cup T20I final.
Which means another episode of the no-handshake shit show.