The summer of cricket 2020

First topic message reminder :

Stokes gone at last...and Roach gets one at last ! Bit fluky , reverse leg side edge but I think Kemar was entitled to dome good fortune...

Hell of an innings from Stokes

alfie wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Hope and ... hmmm ... Buttler struggling with Bess.

I know you are on the Committee for Foakes , guildford ; but I do share your concerns that England may not have the ideal man behind the stumps for a spinning day...

To be fair to Buttler  , he has been generally OK standing back since he returned to the keeper's spot. But he has never really looked comfortable up to the stumps.  No idea what chances he's had off the top of my head ; but I do note he has never yet executed a Test Match stumping.

Maybe today's the day ?

I did wonder if I should declare my ''in the Foakes camp'' allegiance when posting the above but thought it was adequately known. I also reckoned the dig at Buttler there was fair and genuine ... although I would, wouldn't I?

Duty281 wrote:Think we've seen enough in the opening hour to learn that victory will be very tough to get for England. Seamers will have to work very hard for their wickets with less assistance available for them than in the opening two days. Bit of turn out there but nothing outrageous.

Only 189 to avoid the follow-on.

Looking that way atm, Duty, but 2 more wickets before lunch and it would seem very different. Not impossible.

It's not impossible...wickets might tumble in a bunch at any stage as the West Indies side isn't exactly Richards Lloyd (Gomes ? For Guildford etc...

But I've held all along that this is going to be a tall order for England to force a win. Nothing I've seen this morning has changed that view.

I wait ...but more in hope than expectation.

Whose idea was that ? Right waste of a precious review...not even close.
Desperation already ?

Yes, totally wasted review. Seeing a lot of those in this series due to the quota increase.

Outfield is so much quicker than Thursday/Friday - allowing the West Indies to get going at a fair lick. Even Hope's got a strike rate of 50!

Tough going out there for Root's lads this morning. Bess seems like the best hope.

alfie wrote:It's not impossible...wickets might tumble in a bunch at any stage as the West Indies side isn't exactly Richards Lloyd (Gomes ? For Guildford etc...

But I've held all along that this is going to be a tall order for England to force a win. Nothing I've seen this morning has changed that view.

I wait ...but more in hope than expectation.

Alfie - thanks for the Gomes name call. He wasn't a great individual player but he was a very valuable player for the team. Brathwaite showing signs of the same.

Duty281 wrote:Yes, totally wasted review. Seeing a lot of those in this series due to the quota increase.

Outfield is so much quicker than Thursday/Friday - allowing the West Indies to get going at a fair lick. Even Hope's got a strike rate of 50!

Tough going out there for Root's lads this morning. Bess seems like the best hope.

Maybe some more spin in the afternoon. As well as Root, there's also the option of Sibley and a bit of leg spin.

Anyway, here's Root now ....

Skipper having a go before lunch...

Sometimes has a golden arm. Worth a try...but not today.

Top session for West Indies

Way to go yet : but that trophy is starting to look Caribbean bound...

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Yes, totally wasted review. Seeing a lot of those in this series due to the quota increase.

Outfield is so much quicker than Thursday/Friday - allowing the West Indies to get going at a fair lick. Even Hope's got a strike rate of 50!

Tough going out there for Root's lads this morning. Bess seems like the best hope.

Maybe some more spin in the afternoon. As well as Root, there's also the option of Sibley and a bit of leg spin.

Anyway, here's Root now ....

But no Denly

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Think we've seen enough in the opening hour to learn that victory will be very tough to get for England. Seamers will have to work very hard for their wickets with less assistance available for them than in the opening two days. Bit of turn out there but nothing outrageous.

Only 189 to avoid the follow-on.

Looking that way atm, Duty, but 2 more wickets before lunch and it would seem very different. Not impossible.

Clearly the Windies' morning with no more wickets following that of nightwatchman Joseph and we should have had him back in the hutch on Friday night.

England need something to happen (Stokes often the man to play that part?!) and soon upon the resumption. In the meantime, credit to Hope and especially Brathwaite.

Some variable bounce keeping England interested, but 18 wickets from here is a hell of a task.

Draw 1/3 now.

[quote="Good Golly I'm Olly"]

GSC wrote:Anything more than a test and a slapping down is overkill.

He nipped home on his way to Manchester, let's not crucify him. It was stupid but hardly malicious

Agree with you on this GSC - made his mistake, taken his punishment which has been handed down appropriately, move on and learn from it.

As for this game...England are gonna need a good morning tomorrow, take advantage of the moisture that’s been put into the pitch, and it will presumably swing. Then, hopefully as the day progresses, Bess will come into it more. Personally, would like to see him bowl round the wicket a bit more often to the right handers, especially with the bounce and turn on this wicket[/quote]

Hi Olly - Bumble just saying he would like to see Bess trying it round the wicket. He hasn't bowled round at all so far. Lloyd fairly complimentary about Bess but encouraging him to vary it more.

You playing today?

Sam gets the break ! Little movement away does for Hope ...phew ! England needed that.

Can they enlarge on it now ?

The boy wonder does it again

Good bit of bowling

Think young Sam is a bit underrated - on here as well as elsewhere ; mainly due to his lack of pace. I think he has a few tricks to his game already . And might develop more as he gets more experience. Home Tests mainly ? Perhaps. We will see.

Close for Broad ! Umpires call on impact saves Brathwaite...England not having much luck with the marginal calls...

Lively period of play !

Love Sam Curran as a bowler. In home conditions he's such an ace card and, seemingly, so underrated.

Was thinking Broad had Brathwaite stone dead on that one...umpire's call on the line. Shame. Still, Broad's bowling his best stuff of the match so far.

Stokes nearly ...not enough catchers in , I'm afraid.

England still seem to me to be waiting for errors rather than really pressing hard. And it isn't really achieving much as the run rate is better than England's anyway.

Can't see them dismissing West Indies under 300 . Unless they have some brain fades. But I guess the old add two wickets rule still exists...

alfie wrote:Stokes nearly ...not enough catchers in , I'm afraid.

England still seem to me to be waiting for errors rather than really pressing hard. And it isn't really achieving much as the run rate is better than England's anyway.

Can't see them dismissing West Indies under 300 . Unless they have some brain fades. But I guess the old add two wickets rule still exists...

It does but I feel I've already been relying on that for a long time today ....

It really has the feel of a stalemate , I'm afraid. In truth I've been rather expecting this since England crawled through the first day...was clear fairly early on West Indies were content to sit on their one match lead unless an opportunity presented itself.
Pitch has done nothing much and the loss of a day hasn't helped. Still think England could have been more aggressive throughout ; but it may not have helped anyway.

Need a magic spell from someone. Or a silly run out or two...but I don't think the batsmen are up for that...

Not getting Brathwaite on that marginal call really killed any chance of momentum. That would have been two quick wickets, two new batters at the crease, and the WI firmly on the back foot.

Instead, they're only three down and just 78 away from making England bat again.

Duty281 wrote:Not getting Brathwaite on that marginal call really killed any chance of momentum. That would have been two quick wickets, two new batters at the crease, and the WI firmly on the back foot.

Instead, they're only three down and just 78 away from making England bat again.

Yeah it was rather a big moment , wasn't it ? On another day that might well be given on field. Small margins...

Stokes giving it everything but no joy. Can't see where a wicket might come from.

We need Trebell.

There we go. Easy caught and bowled ...trouble is they wanted it over an hour ago.

...and there...out of the blue...

Stokes gets a simple c&b...

Brathwaite has popped it back to him to end his patient vigil. Ball might have held up a bit ?

Now : can one bring a clatter ?

alfie wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Not getting Brathwaite on that marginal call really killed any chance of momentum. That would have been two quick wickets, two new batters at the crease, and the WI firmly on the back foot.

Instead, they're only three down and just 78 away from making England bat again.

Yeah it was rather a big moment , wasn't it ?  On another day that might well be given on field. Small margins...

Stokes giving it everything but no joy. Can't see where a wicket might come from.

We need Trebell.

Yeah, I thought Brathwaite was gone on first viewing. Big moment as you say.

Would try a bit of Root or even Sibley now. Admittedly, veering towards desperate but I'm also struggling to see the next wicket.

Tbf, an impressive professional and disciplined approach from these two batters.


And with that - Brathwaite caught and bowled by Stokes to take us all by surprise including the Sky commentary team who said nowt for almost half a minute!

Scrub that about Root and Sibley!

Duty281 wrote:There we go. Easy caught and bowled ...trouble is they wanted it over an hour ago.

Certainly. But I'll take it now.

If they could grab another one quickly... New ball in eleven overs ? Just possible still...

Have to admire Stokes sheer willpower

201/4

guildfordbat wrote:

alfie wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Not getting Brathwaite on that marginal call really killed any chance of momentum. That would have been two quick wickets, two new batters at the crease, and the WI firmly on the back foot.

Instead, they're only three down and just 78 away from making England bat again.

Yeah it was rather a big moment , wasn't it ?  On another day that might well be given on field. Small margins...

Stokes giving it everything but no joy. Can't see where a wicket might come from.

We need Trebell.

Yeah, I thought Brathwaite was gone on first viewing. Big moment as you say.

Would try a bit of Root or even Sibley now. Admittedly, veering towards desperate but I'm also struggling to see the next wicket.

Tbf, an impressive professional and disciplined approach from these two batters.


And with that - Brathwaite caught and bowled by Stokes to take us all by surprise including the Sky commentary team who said nowt for almost half a minute!

Scrub that about Root and Sibley!

Indeed. I'd buy Root ; but when they get round to bowling Sibley I think I'll be calling it a night

That might just have been one fluke wicket I suppose. No suggestion of panic in the batting team.

But at least it has enlivened this lead up period to tea... Would prefer Stokes to pitch a few up to the new bat .

Guildford will probably tell us Foakes would have caught that

Has been a "nearly" day for Broad so far. We need one of his magic spells...

Legside dab by Brooks off Broad and Buttler can't get to it. Would have been a very fine take ... but it wasn't.

alfie wrote:Guildford will probably tell us Foakes would have caught that

Has been a "nearly" day for Broad so far.  We need one of his magic spells...

To be fair to Buttler and Foakes (and me) we will never know if Foakes would have caught it. As I said, it would have been a very fine take by anyone. However, I would prefer our best keeper to be the one attempting it, especially if the guy in his place isn't properly doing it with the bat.

guildfordbat wrote:

alfie wrote:Guildford will probably tell us Foakes would have caught that

Has been a "nearly" day for Broad so far.  We need one of his magic spells...

To be fair to Buttler and Foakes (and me) we will never know if Foakes would have caught it. As I said, it would have been a very fine take by anyone. However, I would prefer our best keeper to be the one attempting it, especially if the guy in his place isn't properly doing it with the bat.

I don't disagree. But to be fair to Buttler , that was a very tough one.

Somehow I just have the feeling England are not keen on Foakes. That he is mainly in this squad as injury reserve. I may be wrong. If Buttler doesn't get serious runs soon surely a change must be considered ? Not placing bets.

Hi Alfie - yeah, I agree that Foakes seems not to be the flavour for England's management and so is some way off selection. Not sure why. In addition to his ability, he always comes across as hard working and a good guy.

Tbf to Buttler, his performance so far in this Test shouldn't on its own have reasonable people demanding his head.

I've only been switching it on and off all day so maybe I have missed something...

But wouldn't a pertinent question be to ask the Captain why the West Indies were allowed to reach 150+ before arguably his best bowler on a high after a big score was invited to throw red round things ??

Broad strikes at last ! For once no review of an lbw...Brooks just about walked , it was that stone dead

Keep it full now , Stuart ...

Glad to see Curran's got the new ball. Broad bowling serious dynamite with it at the other end, but likely to be too late. Still a chance of bowling them out tonight, however.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I've only been switching it on and off all day so maybe I have missed something...

But wouldn't a pertinent question be to ask the Captain why the West Indies were allowed to reach 150+ before arguably his best bowler on a high after a big score was invited to throw red round things ??

A fair question , truss. In truth Stokes often comes late into the attack.- and often seems to bowl less than he might. Even when he was captain last week , in fact. The theory seems to be that he does best when the ball is older and others aren't making an impact.

I'd have had him on earlier. But I imagine he and Root were talking and he was content to wait his turn ...might have been a bit weary after his batting effort too. They don't want to drain him completely.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I've only been switching it on and off all day so maybe I have missed something...

But wouldn't a pertinent question be to ask the Captain why the West Indies were allowed to reach 150+ before arguably his best bowler on a high after a big score was invited to throw red round things ??

Stokes is England's fourth seamer (behind Broad, Woakes, Curran), although yes he could have come on sooner.

What's that? 55% of the ball pitching outside leg? Another marginal one goes the Windies way.

Review on this one though...

Aarg...fractionally outside leg on pitching ! So close...microns only in it.

Definitely not England's lucky day with the close ones...

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I've only been switching it on and off all day so maybe I have missed something...

But wouldn't a pertinent question be to ask the Captain why the West Indies were allowed to reach 150+ before arguably his best bowler on a high after a big score was invited to throw red round things ??

I've often thought that with Stokes. He's worth a short burst earlier in the first innings. I wouldn't want him bowling that sort of 10 over spell regularly when he's got another innings to bat and bowl. For a few aggressive overs before the ball softens though I think it's worth the roll of the dice.

It is looking a different pitch with the new ball. England need to get another 4 tonight you'd think. There are a lot of overs tomorrow but it needs to happen now for England if there's to be a game of it.

Duty281 wrote:Glad to see Curran's got the new ball. Broad bowling serious dynamite with it at the other end, but likely to be too late. Still a chance of bowling them out tonight, however.

Yes . I've thought for a while the follow on was no chance. But theoretically , if they can bowl them out tonight there would be some chance to build a lead and shove them back in for a few nervy hours tomorrow. Not sure England have the verve to pull that off though.

Ball doing a lot more now , so maybe some action in next half hour...

Well that's out !

That's really encouraging how that kept low. Deserved for Broad.

Just four more to get and the tourists still need 22.

Two now for SB .

Is he into one of his wonder spells ? Batting suddenly looks a lot more difficult !

Dowritch played really well last week - twice. Can he do it again ?

Duty281 wrote:That's really encouraging how that kept low. Deserved for Broad.

Just four more to get and the tourists still need 22.

Two points. 1/ Those of us who thought Broad should have played last week aren't apologising to the selectors.
2/ If the ball keeps misbehaving like that we might just possibly have some tension tomorrow.

Still Dowritch and Holder though . Not bad for eight and nine...

Come on Stu!

alfie wrote:

Duty281 wrote:That's really encouraging how that kept low. Deserved for Broad.

Just four more to get and the tourists still need 22.

Two points. 1/ Those of us who thought Broad should have played last week aren't apologising to the selectors.
2/ If the ball keeps misbehaving like that we might just possibly have some tension tomorrow.

Still Dowritch and Holder though .  Not bad for eight and nine...

Think England will remember just how good Dowrich and Holder can be! With Anderson and Archer due to come back for the third test, it could be a tough job for the selectors this week.

Another one for Broad. Tremendous spell of new-ball bowling.

Wow ! Dowritch duck ...Broad on fire

Feared that was high : but apparently stone dead.

Seven down and life in the old game yet...

Broad's been extremely good here. One more now and ....

Stokes now for Curran...

Good move I think with the ball keeping low and gripping. Expect he'll be bowling a much fuller length now. Hope he's got some petrol left.