The Crisp Crack Of Leather On Willow

[CrystalCastles 229]

21 hours ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

Indeed - but a fine recovery 

Yep in fairness it was. The partnership between Stokes and Bairstow was very attritional, Bairstow is back to his best and hitting back at the critics, worked very hard on fixing the problems with his red ball game.

Very decent score from Foakes who showed his adaptability, kept the scoreboard ticking when Bairstow was making sure he kept his wicket and then played a supporting role, and played a few shots.

Much prefer Foakes keeping and the fact that he can adapt his batting approach to circumstances hopefully gives us a lot more balance.

[orion 7,024]

Don.t really understand West indies pitches ...So slow and just does suit  there style of play even the outfield gives you no value for yours shots  . This is  a painful watch even for the most loyal cricket fan 

Edited March 10 by orion

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv 9,433]

6 hours ago, orion said:

Don.t really understand West indies pitches ...So slow and just does suit  there style of play even the outfield gives you no value for yours shots  . This is  a painful watch even for the most loyal cricket fan 

Attritional and dull

If Test cricket dies it will be due to surfaces like these......

[Bagpuss 8,180]

You watch the Windies bowlers find lots of life in it when we bat again though!

[The Cheese 1,656]

Yesterday just highlighted that some of the criticism the bowlers got was a little unfair. There's just nothing in this pitch for anyone, initially with the new ball they weren't great but after that they did a good job of chipping away whilst keeping the run rate down. To get through 90 overs in a day limiting the opposition to less than 2 rpo is almost unheard of these days. 

I wouldn't even bother trying for the win today, it'll be almost impossible so just keep going and give the batsmen some confidence whilst wearing down the Windies bowlers. 

Edited March 12 by The Cheese

[orion 7,024]

Zzzzzzzzz  Test match cricket at its worst .... at least it's not Pakistan v Aust i guess 

[The Cheese 1,656]

Anderson and Broad probably glad they're missing this series now 

Might as well play Parkinson for one of the seamers if conditions are similar for the last test. 

Edited March 20 by The Cheese

[orion 7,024]

3 hours ago, The Cheese said:

Anderson and Broad probably glad they're missing this series now 

Might as well play Parkinson for one of the seamers if conditions are similar for the last test. 

Why is Woakes in the team or squad for that matter .. great at home but his away is shocking and has  little or no effect on  flat wickets 

[orion 7,024]

 With West Indies have no chance of getting this total why have we got a mid on and mid off ? must have missed something 

[The Cheese 1,656]

21 hours ago, orion said:

Why is Woakes in the team or squad for that matter .. great at home but his away is shocking and has  little or no effect on  flat wickets 

Seems to be there just to give some batting depth. They've basically got rid of 35 year old Broad who's been excellent in recent years so that 33 year old Woakes can have a chance, doesn't make much sense.

[The Cheese 1,656]

Back to normality 

[Bagpuss 8,180]

Wonder if our bowlers can match the Windies line and length?

I bet I know the answer.

[Humphrey Appleby 11,300]

Jack Leach to open the batting next time?

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv 9,433]

3 hours ago, Bagpuss said:

Wonder if our bowlers can match the Windies line and length?

I bet I know the answer.

Well they certainly know what the pitch is like - they batted on it long enough......

[screm 7,132]

England`s attempt to halt the slump from the Ashes tour coming undone in the West Indies.