England announce their squad:
Anderson and Wood rested; Sam Curran and debut squad member Ollie Robinson take their place.
Denly makes way for Root, as predicted.
Wasn’t expecting those bowling changes.
Certainly wasn’t expecting this one: Archer breaches bio-security protocol and has to self-isolate for 5 days. Clown.
Might see Woakes and Curran getting a chance then. Archer is an idiot, you’re not going to get away with acting up like this when they’re are so many quality bowlers after your spot!
What’s the protocol if he did that in the middle of a test?
Good question. Let’s hope we never have to answer it!
I didn’t have TMS on this afternoon so decided to watch the ‘highlights’ - looked to me like they were really struggling to get an hour’s watchable footage out of it. As Carlos Brathwaite said at one point (about Sibley): “I wouldn’t pay to watch him bat, but as his team-mate I’d be very happy to see him out there”. So I’m certainly not going to complain - this was exactly the sort of performance we’d been crying out for, for years, good on them for building a pretty good platform.
I think Holder was right to save the new ball for tomorrow once his attack has had a good night’s rest, wouldn’t have made any sense for them to waste 2 overs of it at the end of a long day. But if Stokes and Sibley can stick around for the first 10 overs, then when Buttler comes in he will really have no excuse not to perform, seems like it could be a tailor-made situation for him. Let’s hope Stokes stays patient for a while first thing, then we might be able to put together a really strong total.
Watching live England played a lot of shots but the ball slowed down quickly in the outfield so we ended up running a lot of 2s and 3s that would normally be boundaries.
Sibley to be out stumped second ball this morning for 92, you heard it here first.
Not sure about the method of dismissal but I also expect him to get out on the early nineties. He’s effectively starting again and he hasn’t shown he can do that very consistently.
Huh. Bet you didn’t think that would actually work, it doesn’t normally. Although as I type Sibley is on 98, so this post may well get him out, apologies in advance if so.
I’ve only just turned on TMS and had to cross-check with ESPN that the start hadn’t been delayed by rain, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case. They’ve just continued to dig in (well, Stokes has opened up a bit and might yet reach his century first), good for them.
Windies didn’t take the new ball until the 93rd over, which seems strange - they must have thought the old ball was giving them some movement, but it didn’t bring a wicket.
I reversed jinxed him. I am happy to trash my reputation on this board for the good of the country. Good work also by @Teuton. We are the true heroes here.
I’m not saying anything at all about Buttler, except that’s he’s 26* with a decent platform against a tiring atta… I’m not saying anything at all about Buttler.
If there was ever a situation built for him it was that. Was 40 enough?
I dunno, I’ll probably give him a pass for this one. Chasing runs, he got out swinging, it was going to happen sooner or later. At least he got those 40 pretty quick.
Tricky situation for WI here, batting an hour or so before close, but they’re looking pretty set. Work for England tomorrow.
Lots of work to do indeed, WI know they only have to get to 270 to avoid the follow on, and pretty much guarantee they keep the Wisden Trophy. And, at 151/3, it’s looking good for them.
At risk of being told off for posting too many times in a row, Buttler and Stokes are opening together!
Series will be lost with a draw, England need to push the runs and then make a bold declaration.
EDIT: Buttler has just played on. Classic.
He should not play the next test.
I feel for him a bit there. He’s been asked to play attacking shots and he was unlucky to play on. However I think it’s been painfully obvious for a while that the experiment was doomed to failure.
FYI: every time I post a reply in this innings the stumps go flying so I think I’m going to stay silent for a bit.
Ok, having calmed down a bit, Buttler was a calculated risk that didn’t come off there, and that innings shouldn’t count against him.
I do get this, but I also feel that Buttler’s supposed role in the side is to take those calculated risks that sometimes don’t pay off, so keeping track of how many times they pay off or not seems fair.
In part it’s a philosophical question about what averages mean. Of two players that average, say, 30, would you rather have one player who every innings scores no less than 25 but no more than 35, or his twin whose scores will either be <10 or >60? That’s partly about one’s individual tolerance for risk, but it’s also about what you’re trying to achieve. Buttler is in there because the bet is that when it counts he can put on those quick destructive runs. But you do have to balance that against the failures.
Really, it’s a trick question because why would you want a batter who averages only 30, regardless of how they get them?