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.
Anyone watching England v South Africa in the Women’s World Cup semifinal?
After the BBC went on for weeks about whether England could beat Australia, it looks like they are gone for all money in the first ten minutes of the innings against South Africa.
Following online, and yeah - 320 (169 from Wolvaart!) was a pretty tough ask at 0-0. At 3 wickets down for 1 run (extras) after 7 balls…
Continuing to follow online, because why would I want to miss a historic comeback?
(Yeah, they’re cooked)
Ecclestone put in a very good shift with a dodgy shoulder in a losing cause.
Ashes 2025/26 Australia vs England.
Well after a phoney war of past players and the commentariat saying things of varying degrees of silliness and inflammatory to generate interest ( for column inches, each Test is sold out) the first Test starts in Perth tomorrow.
Australia has named it’s side with 2 debutants, one opening the batting. The other opening the bowling.
Khawaja
Weatherald
Labuschagne
Smith (c)
Head
Green
Carey
Starc
Lyon
Boland
Doggett
The exclusion of Webster is disappointing for me. He is a well seasoned career performer now at both Test and First class leel and has done everything expected of him since his debut. To fit him in I’d have omitted Lyon. However:
- Weatherald is another who has earned his spot through prolonged performance at the first class level, being Shield season’s highest aggregate last year. Positive and knows his game and role. Closest we have to a sub for Dave Warner IMHO. None of the alternatives really made their case.
- Have long been a fan of Khawaja but apart from one big score he hasn’t been in the runs for some time. I don’t agree that he can to chose to retire after the (5th) Test in Sydney. Would love to see him earn that right.
- Labuschagne’s form had fallen away severely and should have been spelled earlier. But this season he’s been consistently scoring big runs and has earnt both his recall and the right to bat at #3 as he prefers.
- Smith is, well Smith. Since 2010 and after 3,417 runs @56 inc 12 100s ENG still still don’t know how to restrict him or dismiss him. He’s a significantly better captain than the injured Cummins (who’s no mug in the job) but when available Pat comes back in, as captain.
- Head is the best counter attacking batter we have in a series where I think both teams will be under constant pressure to build a score they can defend.
- Green has been injured and kept in cotton wool. Whole lot of AUS’s best cricket minds think he’s the second coming. Best kept (to my mind) batting #6 rather than in top order. Has barely bowled this season. Don’t think that will change for at least the first Test. Hence my inclination to retain Webster.
- Carey is still the best gloveman in the country, though Inglis just shades him with the bat. Carey might do as well here as Haddin did in a couple of series ago.
- Starc is now an aging warhorse whom no opposing top order batter in the cricket world would like to face.
- Lyon has earned his ranking and is most effective on local wickets with bounce and when Starc is bowling well in long spells giving him some rough to work with. The team doesn’t suffer from his inclusion but on the expectation that Perth and Brisbane are played on seamers decks I think Head could fill a reduced role and with Webster have the team batting down to #8.
- Boland was superb in the last home Ashes series and disappointed in the last away Ashes. ENG have expressed the view he holds no fears. The locals think they are kidding themselves.
- Doggett included in the side when Hazelwood was injured. Has the airspeed to make good bats jump. He’s no flash in the pan. The team will miss the experience of Hazelwood’s 300 Test wickets, but in normal circumstances Doggett is not a outa-left-field pick.
With Cummins and Hazelwood and 600 Test wicket experience on the injury list the locals notional advantage is diminished. Balancing that is the injury to ENG’s Wood. On current form the batting of ENG is at least the equal, but they seem to think they don’t need to acclimatise. A courageous call. Anticipate this to be a pace bowling dominated, low scoring battle with the locals winning the Ashes 3-1.
What were the odds on Zak Crawley nicking off for nought looking for the drive? Very short indeed.
Starc takes a wicket in the first over for the 24th time in his 100th Test.
Finishes with 7-58 and ENG with 172 in 33 overs.
ENG lost the last 5 for 12. During that period Khawaja left the field for 17min and ENG were bowled out 10mins after he returned so he was excluded from taking his place opening the batting.
So much for all the locals consternation and fussing about the opening pair. 
Well.
I was prepared to wake up - 4.5 hours into the match- to various scenarios, but England all out was at the extreme end of even my pessimism.
Kudos to Starc, the remaining senior players leading from the front is exactly what you need when injuries strike.
England fighting back, two good wickets from Archer and as I write Smith has just fallen, 30-3.
Trying to work out if this is a difficult wicket to bat on. It doesn’t look like it has any gremlins whatsoever, but it is fast (and the outfield looks very slow indeed|).
Looks from here like it’s pretty bouncy but otherwise not doing too much. Certainly not enough to be an excuse.
And now, 91-6 was outside the bounds of my optimism!
Crazy game.