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

On the opening pair, inevitably some TMS "experts" were dropping them after yesterday. Seems they would have gone to bed last night dreaming of Alex Hales and Jason Roy as the opening pair smashing the ball to all parts (i.e. gully, cover, third man etc)

Joking aside, we have to remember England still went into the second innings with in theory almost three days left, and a short batting lineup. It also backed the players to go out and play the roles they were selected for. I have no complaints, but then again I don't text into TMS demanding KP is recalled so what do I know

I do think England will need to find a more natural scoring rate between digging in and putting the hammer down for harder opposition, but equally given where they have been, hard to argue with accumulation of runs

GSC wrote:I do think England will need to find a more natural scoring rate between digging in and putting the hammer down for harder opposition, but equally given where they have been, hard to argue with accumulation of runs

Maybe in the longer term Crawley as an opener is the answer, as he certainly has more scoring options than Sibley and to a lesser extent Burns. TMS were making the point that Sibley needs to find a couple of scoring shots on the off side, so that he can get fielders moved there and give more space through his strong area on the leg side - currently he hits a lot of leg side shots well that find fielders rather than getting him any runs. Doesn't have to learn to cover drive like Pope (best nickname suggestion - Ricky Pontiff), but just be able to push through defensive shots a bit more to let him take easy singles.

Of course, we're talking about Test cricket anyway, and there is a skill and value in grinding down the opponents, especially in the first innings or when fighting a rear-guard action to save a game. It's just situations like yesterday when the ability to bat a bit more positively is needed that this becomes an issue.

Oh, and to follow VTR's point above, we did end up with a (virtually) 400 run lead and enough time to bowl a handful of overs last night, so it wasn't as though we've really run out of time. If it wasn't for the expectation in some parts that today will be a total wash-out, there would be no issue*

* Current Met Office forecast is not encouraging - rain may stop for a couple of hours around lunch and become showery after 4 pm, but could be completely rained off or limited to 1-2 hours play at best, by the time the ground ahs been dried.

I have no real issue with how Sibley goes about things, he plays his natural game and invariably grinds the opposition bowlers down but the onus is on Burns a bit more considering he does have a good range of shots, can score equally comfortably both sides of the wickets. I'd like to see him after open up slightly once he's in, grind your way to 30 then start to play a few more shots, nothing risky but seeing him get the sweep out yesterday was a positive. If they were persist with Crawley at three then there's a lot of shot makers from 3 through to 10.

Yeah we've all discussed that Sibley just needs to find a rotation option off the spinner particularly, that will of course take some time and practice, whereas those you mention calling/texting in VTR probably want it to happen overnight...
I'm sure they'll be working on it with him when they get the chance too, as Alfie pointed out last night, it'll be pretty crucial if he is to have success *if* they tour India this winter.

But I think overall in the past 12 months we've made pretty decent strides in the batting order...if you consider this time last summer we were opening with Roy, then moving him to 4 later in a test and him still coming in in the first over...it does feel like we're beginning to see a settled lineup. Also, in this test, good to see them rack up a good total with little to no contributions from Stokes/Root...

Critising an England opener who averages over 40 feels a bit off, but that doesnt mean he cant get even better as a player. I dont think he himself would argue that hes not a complete player, but what he does do is absolutely invaluable for England.
Whats exciting is that this partnership is just getting going and both players are still new to tests and developing their game. They have the potential to keep working on things and improving. Sibley already made a change to his stance which helped overcome the problems he had in new zealand. Vaughn seems to think he could be very effective in Australia taking the heat out of the new ball attack and find it easier to score with the ball coming on to the bat quickly, but he may struggle a bit this winter facing a lot of slow bowling.

In terms of the tactics England are in a strong winning position, so they didnt get it that wrong. It did feel like they had plenty enough wickets to have started the push a little sooner, but it wasnt a start with Stokes and Buttler and risk being 3 down for peanuts and shutting up shop to grind out a small lead situation. I was actually surprised by just how many of the pundits were getting so edgy about englands approach up till tea. Some basic maths an an acknowledgement that the Windies struggle to make 300/80 overs in any innings of any test against any attack made it clear there was plenty of time. After tea I do feel they couldve earned another 5 overs o bowling in the evening from the hard work the openers had done, but end of the day things were pretty spot on.

There is still some danger from the weather, today is a write off and tomorrow may have some small disruption but hard to imagine the west indies mustering much of a defence.

Broad...unlucky not to get his 500th yesterday evening. He really something special with dukes when hes on form. Bit of a fairy tail comeback all round, what really impresses is his attitude and hunger. Maybe part of that is from having lived in Andersons shadow his entire career, and even that partnership when it was first put in ahead of Hoggard/Harmisson was having to prove itself from the off. Part of him must be desperate for Anderson to retire so he can be the senior pro, bit like Charles waiting for the Queen to die.


In regard to Roy ... he was out first ball in the Lions vs Ireland game yesterday.

Olly
Certainly there is some strength and some potential in the current line-up - generally it also doesn't seem to be trying to fit square pegs in round holes:
Burns and Sibley are genuine openers
Crawley could open or be a stable number 3 in the Trott manner
Root, Stokes, Pope is a solid and potentially excellent middle order (I wonder long term if Pope will move up the order)

I think a bit more squad depth would be good - someone better than Denly to cover the top 3 and Lawrence probably needs a chance to show he's good enough to cover the middle order.

Another warming thing from this test is that (so far) England have dominated without needing Stokes. It was starting to feel like he was singlehandedly keeping them afloat in the series. Broads taken on his role to some extent, but we have also seen every player either take wickets or make a good score at some point in the series now (with the exception of wood and Curran who only played one test each).
Stokes, Sibley and Broad will come out as the stand out players but it has been a squad series. The one stain on Stokes' copy book ... https://twitter.com/bbctms/status/1287067777187090432


The West Indies conversely have had some absolute passengers. Amazingly though their opening partnership has averaged more than Australia did in the last Ashes series! If only someone had hit their star batsman on the head they mightve unearthered a Labuschagne. Or maybe not, but the kid de Silva should have been given a game, he did a better job with the gloves than the first choice keeper had been. Theres still time for them to get one of their "batsmen" to walk into something and have a concussion sub mind.

Goose

Good point first up that pretty much every batsman has scored important runs at some point in the series, and most of the bowlers have had good wicket-taking spells. When England were last good (around 2005), one of their strengths was that different players were putting in the match-defining performances in different matches.

The Windies do look light at least 2 top level batsmen, and while their 4 first choice seamers are all good, they look well and truly cooked - England's options in resting and rotating the attack has certainly been a significant advantage.

Doesn't look like they'll be getting on any time soon...

The forecast I read suggested it was just possible they'd get a dry spell this afternoon but I wouldn't put money on it. An hour or so later could be interesting I suppose but can't see it being wrapped up today.
Be rather unlucky to have two days in a row washed away though ? Imagine there will be enough time to finish the game on Tuesday , even if it is a bit on and off between showers.

dummy_half wrote:Goose

Good point first up that pretty much every batsman has scored important runs at some point in the series, and most of the bowlers have had good wicket-taking spells. When England were last good (around 2005), one of their strengths was that different players were putting in the match-defining performances in different matches.

The Windies do look light at least 2 top level batsmen, and while their 4 first choice seamers are all good, they look well and truly cooked - England's options in resting and rotating the attack has certainly been a significant advantage.

Hang about ! Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower wish to remind you of the number one , Ashes winning side circa 2009-2013... I trust you didn't sleep through that

Surely England were last good around 2010/11? A team, incidentally, that was better than the 2004/5 vintage.

And good news from the ICC.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/29546256/tv-umpires-call-all-no-balls-odi-super-league

Won't be getting any play today, I imagine. And the Met Office are predicting a few drops tomorrow. We've been lucky with the lack of rain on Saturday/Sunday, wonder if it'll continue tomorrow?

What’s going on up north? Starting in 5 minutes at the Oval. Just saying!

guildfordbat wrote:What’s going on up north? Starting in 5 minutes at the Oval. Just saying!

Only just stopped peeing it down in Cambridge.

ODI squad for Ireland

Squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Joe Denly (Kent), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Yorkshire).

Reserves: Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire).


Smart move not to pick Phil Salt who hit an unbeaten 100 off 58 balls in the warm up

LondonTiger wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:What’s going on up north? Starting in 5 minutes at the Oval. Just saying!

Only just stopped peeing it down in Cambridge.

You’re much closer than I realised, LT. We’ll be breaking 606 rules if we’re ever there at the same time!

The covers are being mopped! We might get play against all the odds

Good news - inspection at 3 if there's no further rain.
Bad news - there's further rain on t'way.

Duty281 wrote:Good news - inspection at 3 if there's no further rain.
Bad news - there's further rain on t'way.

Going to be one of those really annoying days , isn't it ? Time an inspection , bit more rain , then it stops and they name a new time...maybe even get covers off at some point ; but the rain can be relied upon to come back just in time to stop any play taking place...

Think I'll get some sleep...and trust the cat will wake me if they do get on by some miracle

Hopefully things will be a bit better tomorrow. All credit to West Indies but they haven't earned a complete Get Out of Gaol Card...

Spoiler...it rained

Well, Saturday got much more play than expected, so losing a complete day (as now looks almost certain) isn't the end of the world.

Confirmed no play today - and appears to be a few showers about tomorrow. WIndies might somehow escape with a draw if they apply themselves...

Would be surprised if England win. Still 7 genuine batsmen to remove, a pitch that is playing well (unlike the one in the second test which had plenty of variable bounce), an over rate so slow that it's likely only 75-80 overs will be bowled before light becomes an issue, a highly motivated West Indian side who know they're only one day away from retaining the series trophy and drawing the series in England for the first time in 25 years, and the possibility of intermittent showers.

Going to be tough.

Duty281 wrote:Would be surprised if England win. Still 7 genuine batsmen to remove, a pitch that is playing well (unlike the one in the second test which had plenty of variable bounce), an over rate so slow that it's likely only 75-80 overs will be bowled before light becomes an issue, a highly motivated West Indian side who know they're only one day away from retaining the series trophy and drawing the series in England for the first time in 25 years, and the possibility of intermittent showers.

Going to be tough.

If anywhere near 75 overs are bowled tomorrow then England win, i'd be genuinely surprised if the Windies survive a further 50 overs, they as a team are spent.

Duty281 wrote: Still 7 genuine batsmen to remove

OK we know you are trolling with that comment!

Now, now. Brathwaite, Hope, Brooks, Blackwood and Chase are no pushovers, and are capable of playing long innings. Holder and Dowrich are certainly no mugs with the bat, albeit they're a little out of form. And Cornwall could prove to be a large obstacle for England's chances.

If we get the full 98 overs in, England should win as they'll wear the West Indies down, and they'll have a more than decent spell with the second new ball. But I expect the bad light to intervene at some point, it could be as early as just after 16:00 in a worst case scenario, and there's still a possibility of a few drops of rain.

Shai Hope- 16, 9, 25, 7 & 17

It's unlikely but not implausible. The WI now have a carrot of surviving one day to secure a draw.

West indies haven't batted over 71 overs in a fourth innings since 2017. None of their players avergaes above the mid 30s despite playing a high proportion of tests against weak nations. This is england in England with a fit attack (arguably their strongest ever for these conditions) , a new ball, two out already cloud cover and a wicket thats doing a bit enough runs to keep close catchers in, frankly they should be utterly ashamed not to win unless the weather is worse than predicted. Currently even the most pessimistic gives a 50% chance of a small disruption and they all suggest it won't bee too gloomy late on. The light was fine past 6:40pm yesterday to even make up the 3 minutes farcicaly lost from the previous day.

No excuses, just keep bowling as they have done. The west indies are a genuinely awful batting unit even if they do have a couple of handy allrounders.

Soul Requiem wrote:Shai Hope- 16, 9, 25, 7 & 17

He doesn't score many, granted, but he does hang around. Three of his five innings this summer have lasted for 84 minutes or longer (the other two being 94 and 102 minutes).

Just watched the opening batting masterclass with Strauss and Atherton; Trescothick averaged over 52 when opening with Strauss, I sometimes forget quite how prolific he was in the last few years before his international retirement.

Duty281 wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Shai Hope- 16, 9, 25, 7 & 17

He doesn't score many, granted, but he does hang around. Three of his five innings this summer have lasted for 84 minutes or longer (the other two being 94 and 102 minutes).

Sibley has a century and two fifties, faster scoring rate, and still gets critisized ...yet you have Hope as a genuine test batsman? Hanging around for an hour and half isnt impressive for a number 3, Denly lasted 102 and 130 minutes and got dropped for it. Theres noone else who would try to make a case for the West Indies are a competent batting unit, including their own captain.

It would be highly unusual for the west indies to do this out unless a significant number of overs are lost to the weather and the forecasts have got better.

Gooseberry wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Shai Hope- 16, 9, 25, 7 & 17

He doesn't score many, granted, but he does hang around. Three of his five innings this summer have lasted for 84 minutes or longer (the other two being 94 and 102 minutes).

Sibley has a century and two fifties, faster scoring rate, and still gets critisized ...yet you have Hope as a genuine test batsman? Hanging around for an hour and  half isnt impressive for a number 3, Denly  lasted 102 and 130 minutes and got dropped for it. Theres noone else who would try to make a case for the West Indies are a competent batting unit, including their own captain.

It would be highly unusual for the west indies to do this out unless a significant number of overs are lost to the weather and the forecasts have got better.

Eh? I haven't suggested anything of the sort. Just pointing out that Hope can hang around for a decent interval of time - which is exactly what the West Indies need tomorrow.

8 batsmen average over 50 in ODIs (min 50 innings):

Kohli 59.33 (53.62)
Azam 54.17 (45.12)
Bevan 53.58 (29.07... FC Average 57.32)
ABDV 53.50 (50.66)
Hope 52.20 (26.35... FC Average 35.72)
Trott 51.25 (44.08)
Root 51.05 (48.07)
Dhoni 50.57 (38.09)

Bar Bevan, whose FC record is ludicrous so you have to think he would have worked it out eventually, everyone else who is that good in ODIs has a very good Test record (Dhoni obviously being a keeper and batting lower down has a lower average). It is partially explained by Hope beating up on lesser teams in ODIs, but to have that difference in averages is definitely unique.

Duty281 wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Shai Hope- 16, 9, 25, 7 & 17

He doesn't score many, granted, but he does hang around. Three of his five innings this summer have lasted for 84 minutes or longer (the other two being 94 and 102 minutes).

Sibley has a century and two fifties, faster scoring rate, and still gets critisized ...yet you have Hope as a genuine test batsman? Hanging around for an hour and  half isnt impressive for a number 3, Denly  lasted 102 and 130 minutes and got dropped for it. Theres noone else who would try to make a case for the West Indies are a competent batting unit, including their own captain.

It would be highly unusual for the west indies to do this out unless a significant number of overs are lost to the weather and the forecasts have got better.

Eh? I haven't suggested anything of the sort. Just pointing out that Hope can hang around for a decent interval of time - which is exactly what the West Indies need tomorrow.

Go back and read your own post that said they had 7 genuine test batsmen to get through. If Hope isn't one are you suggesting Cornwall is?
Fortunately for England Tino Best isnt playing.

Duty281 wrote:Would be surprised if England win. Still 7 genuine batsmen to remove, a pitch that is playing well (unlike the one in the second test which had plenty of variable bounce), an over rate so slow that it's likely only 75-80 overs will be bowled before light becomes an issue, a highly motivated West Indian side who know they're only one day away from retaining the series trophy and drawing the series in England for the first time in 25 years, and the possibility of intermittent showers.

Going to be tough.

Hi Duty - as ever, a game of opinions. All things being equal (and I realise things often aren't in the way they turn out), I would fancy our bowlers to win this contest. I would emphasise that we'll have available 5 or 6 genuine frontline bowlers who won't be lacking any motivation. They've had an extra day's rest and start with the real and psychological advantage of having reduced their opponents to 10/2.

As long as the weather doesn't take too much out of the day, feel we'll be ok.

Think Duty is playing the Trebell card - or just being devil's Advocate. Or trying to force up the odds so he can make a killing

Can't control the weather of course ; so if there are interruptions West Indies will perhaps have a carrot of sorts. But unless a lot of overs are wiped out - or England get overanxious and mess up their plans - it is hard to see them lasting the day. 98 overs on paper . Last week it only took about 70 to get all ten , despite one long partnership making the draw look very likely at one point.
Tourists need Brathwaite in particular to dig in at the start so expect England will be very keen to dislodge him with this new ball. Suppose you could say Hope is "due"...

I think the only person backing the Windies is Carlos Braithwaite, though I suppose he can't chuck his mates under the bus entirely whilst commentating on them. Not sure he truly believes Windies are a potential world number one side as he said after the first test either

Gooseberry wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Shai Hope- 16, 9, 25, 7 & 17

He doesn't score many, granted, but he does hang around. Three of his five innings this summer have lasted for 84 minutes or longer (the other two being 94 and 102 minutes).

Sibley has a century and two fifties, faster scoring rate, and still gets critisized ...yet you have Hope as a genuine test batsman? Hanging around for an hour and  half isnt impressive for a number 3, Denly  lasted 102 and 130 minutes and got dropped for it. Theres noone else who would try to make a case for the West Indies are a competent batting unit, including their own captain.

It would be highly unusual for the west indies to do this out unless a significant number of overs are lost to the weather and the forecasts have got better.

Eh? I haven't suggested anything of the sort. Just pointing out that Hope can hang around for a decent interval of time - which is exactly what the West Indies need tomorrow.

Go back and read your own post that said they had 7 genuine test batsmen to get through. If Hope isn't one are you suggesting Cornwall is?
Fortunately for England Tino Best isnt playing.

Oh I see. I just meant they have seven genuine batsmen to take out before they get to the last remaining tailender.

alfie wrote:Think Duty is playing the Trebell card - or just being devil's Advocate.  Or trying to force up the odds so he can make a killing  

Can't control the weather of course ; so if there are interruptions West Indies will perhaps have a carrot of sorts. But unless a lot of overs are wiped out - or England get overanxious and mess up their plans - it is hard to see them lasting the day. 98 overs on paper . Last week it only took about 70 to get all ten , despite one long partnership making the draw look very likely at one point.
Tourists need Brathwaite in particular to dig in at the start so expect England will be very keen to dislodge him with this new ball. Suppose you could say Hope is "due"...

Well lots of people seem to think this will be a walkover. I'm just urging caution and think the West Indies will put up more resistance than most people think.

Forecasts seem all over the place, although the bbc is consistently saying its going to be dry. The met breifly had a 90% chance of rain at lunch, now back down to 50. The others have 30-50 for much of the day. Realistically we can expect to lose a bit of the day to weather, but they should still get 80 overs in which really should be plenty.
West Indies would have to be at their best and England below theirs for this not to be a victory. Batting 4th in England on a balanced pitch with cloud around is incredibly difficult for anyone. For a weak batting unit against a very strong England attack it really is a mammoth task to survive, espeiclaly at two down.

On Hope the disparity on his averages ..Jason Roy would perhaps be Englands equivalent. The problem he has really is being chucked in at 3. Looking at the west indies batting line up as a whole its pretty similar to what England faced a year ago and the previous few years just without Joe Root. They have a couple of handy all rounders in Chase and Holder, and some decent stroke players,but no batsmen who can handle new ball bowling in difficult conditions. Hope is being asked to fulfill a role hes simply not suited to, and is stuck between playing high risk shots that dont work with test fields or blocking which he is just OK at and puts pressure elsewhere.
Braithwaites talked a lot about players playing their natural games to improve scores, but the situation here requires them to hunker down and try to play the long innings which they really aret that good at. K Braithwaite and Hope have had some level of stickability, but not to the point of being able to play mammoth innings on anything like a regular basis and certainly not in the fourth innings of a test against a good attack.

Any team should be favourites take 8 wickets on day 5 of a test. To not do so would be a failure for England.

VTR...not sure its any more unrealistic than the aims England set themselves 18 months ago, but they are 3 batsmen and a reserve bowler off being a strong side.

In all seriousness, how many of the West Indies players would you want in the England side at the moment?
Chase has been the most effective spin bowler of the series and is a decent batsman, so displaces Bess.

Brathwaite I make a toss-up with either of our openers. Brooks looks a decent middle order bat, but not better than what we have.

Holder? Had a good first test with the ball, but hasn't been successful since (although very economical), and his batting contributions have been sporadic. On this form doesn't displace Stokes (few in history would on his recent form - possibly Botham of 81...), so you'd be looking at him as a bowler who bats a bit. Does he offer more than Archer / Woakes?

The other seamers are all decent, but again would you want any instead of Broad / Anderson / Archer? Gabriel of the first test for sure, but he's somewhere between Harmison and Devon Malcolm for consistency...

OK fair enough it might not be a walkover ..they did battle quite well even last time. Caution is always reasonable !

Think you might be overdoing it with suggesting the odds are against an England win though...guess we will see in the next few hours.

dummy_half wrote:In all seriousness, how many of the West Indies players would you want in the England side at the moment?
Chase has been the most effective spin bowler of the series and is a decent batsman, so displaces Bess.

Brathwaite I make a toss-up with either of our openers. Brooks looks a decent middle order bat, but not better than what we have.

Holder? Had a good first test with the ball, but hasn't been successful since (although very economical), and his batting contributions have been sporadic. On this form doesn't displace Stokes (few in history would on his recent form - possibly Botham of 81...), so you'd be looking at him as a bowler who bats a bit. Does he offer more than Archer / Woakes?

The other seamers are all decent, but again would you want any instead of Broad / Anderson / Archer? Gabriel of the first test for sure, but he's somewhere between Harmison and Devon Malcolm for consistency...

On current form

Burns
Sibley
Brooks (looks more suited to that role than Hope)
Root
Stokes
Pope
Buttler (in England at least where Dowrich has really struggled)
Chase
Archer (Holder is too much like Broad for me)
Broad
Anderson (Most at risk of losing his place to Holder)

dummy_half wrote:In all seriousness, how many of the West Indies players would you want in the England side at the moment?
Chase has been the most effective spin bowler of the series and is a decent batsman, so displaces Bess.

Brathwaite I make a toss-up with either of our openers. Brooks looks a decent middle order bat, but not better than what we have.

Holder? Had a good first test with the ball, but hasn't been successful since (although very economical), and his batting contributions have been sporadic. On this form doesn't displace Stokes (few in history would on his recent form - possibly Botham of 81...), so you'd be looking at him as a bowler who bats a bit. Does he offer more than Archer / Woakes?

The other seamers are all decent, but again would you want any instead of Broad / Anderson / Archer? Gabriel of the first test for sure, but he's somewhere between Harmison and Devon Malcolm for consistency...

Braithwaite equal to Sibley ? really????? He averages 33 despite padding with a lot of tests against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Sibley is averaging 44 despite playing all his tests against strong new ball attacks. Burns' average is on a par with Braithwaites (35 including this test)  but heading in the right direction after a difficult start to his career. Hes got 2 centuries and 7 50s in the last year / 11 tests. Both the England openers are improving players.
I guess a top 3 without Crawley he could get into.

Holder certainly wouldnt take Stokes' place but you could have him in the Woakes/Curran spot. Chases' bowling has been effective in this series, but his overall bowling average is 41...even Mo averages 36 and Bess 33.  He'd be a handy squad player but he isnt a front line spinner, and isn't a test class batsman averaging 31.

Gabriel bowls even faster than Archer (who's been pretty hot and cold in tests) or Wood so you could make a case for him. He and Jospeh would certainly be in that squad pool of genuine quicks. Where hes really improved in recent times is attitude and heart, hes been an absolute hero on this tour and gone well beyond the call of duty.

Met office and BBC in absolute disagreement about a shower due for the start of play...maybe something to put a side bet on which forecast we are backing!

I would think Eng need 80 clean overs to go thru to win today.
WI need to fight hard...and hope rain gives them a break

Gooseberry wrote:Met office and BBC in absolute disagreement about a shower due for the start of play...maybe something to put a side bet on which forecast we are backing!

BBC wins the weather forecast so far which is good because theres has consistently been the most optimistic!

Blimey, the England-Pakistan test series starts in just 8 days time. Didn't realise the turnaround time was so quick.

Looks like we've had more Saturday-esque luck with the weather. Raining everywhere in Manchester but not Old Trafford...for now.