Mental 42 from Mark Wood including 5 6s. :greengrin
England declare 499/9
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Mental 42 from Mark Wood including 5 6s. :greengrin
England declare 499/9
Close - England got a couple of wickets, both to Dom Bess. The first a gift from Malan.
Mark Wood with a very fiery spell at consistently over 90mph.
60/2. England well on top.
Despite the rain England have posted some real intent, with Pope and Stokes taking the game away from SAF and Dom Bess then setting up the potential for victory.
This tour looks set to be a real endorsement for the younger guys and that is really nice to see. It is curious how quickly the selection worries resolve themselves when you see players displaying form.
However, I am cautious in my praise. The pitches have been generous here in both regards and there will be far greater challenges in Kolkota or Brisbane. And this South African team are still under-performing, they are lesser than the sum of their parts. It is not hard to see how easily they could push on, given the players they have, but it is just not clicking yet.
For England it is exciting times. I remember when I was young, their football team had the problem of having available both Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence in goals, with the likes of Joe Corrigan staking a claim too. It is a bit like that behind the stumps, with Buttler, Bairstow and Foakes all challenging for the gloves. One could argue for pushing one of them up the order, but this tour has thrown open the possibility, depending on continued performance, of Burns moving to three, Denly to four and Root dropping to five. I’ve always thought Root should bat at three, it is the responsible thing to do, but if the opening pair were solid then I can see why him dropping down to five would allow him to pile up runs and manage the tail. I say ‘tail’ but the likes of Curran are clearly capable of runs. Of course, that means no room for Pope, so I suspect that it will be Crawley who loses out to Burns.
There have been many false dawns for England over the years but in this century they have already fashioned at least two very good sides and we could be on the cusp of a third. An Ashes series and a tour in the sub-continent will tell us more.
Good day of Test cricket today, if not complete due to the weather.
Dom Bess grabs the headlines with a well-deserved five-for and England certainly have the upper hand. It is a great achievement for a young man who maybe couldn’t or shouldn’t have expected to be playing here at all.
For me though, today was about South African defiance and nobody epitomised that more than Nortje. He was absolutely rock solid. There will be Ancient Greek philosophers turning in their graves realising that stoicism has been redefined.
The other star was Quinton De Kock. I have a lot of time for him as a batsman and look forward to seeing how his career pans out. Today he was excellent.
What struck me watching him today, and I hadn’t noticed this as much before, is his lack of footwork. Everything was dictated by the wrists and the angle of his upper body, with some beautiful boundaries as a consequence. That languid style is a joy to watch. I suspect that he will have to adapt his style on more challenging pitches but this guy is a real talent and someone that SAF will build their team around over the coming years.
So, England in the box seat for sure, but a welcome fight back from the SAF middle order to make the game interesting.
Really surprised at how little resistance SA put up in the end. They seem to be in a bit of a state.
England wrap up the series 3-1. It's hard to tell how good their performance has been and how poor South Africa's? Any overseas win is pretty encouraging though.
Sky Sports Cricket is absolutely brilliant right now. The Ashes from the 80s is brilliant and the show with Makhaya Ntini was both uplifting and tragic.
They have a bunch of really good documentaries and interview shows that will be bound to be on for the foreseeable.
The Charles Colville series where he interviews the various former England Test captains is magnificent. Just very good, well-researched television. Likewise the multi-episode series where Nasser interviewed Kevin Pietersen is great watching, though it is hard to warm to KP.
I thought Michael Atherton’s interviews with Malcolm Marshall and Steve Waugh were also really entertaining.
I really enjoyed this piece by Mark Nicholas about the supreme talent that was Viv Richards.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_...g-viv-richards
The KP interviews are really fascinating. We’re all aware of apartheid and the way it discriminated against black people, but KP definitely felt that the quota system was stalling his career. There’s no doubt in my mind that KP would’ve played for South Africa under normal circumstances. It’s just a pity that white people were such *******s and treated blacks as commodities. That’s just awful for a successful white cricketer.
Since there isn't any live sport on, then here is a challenge. Name your best XI
Rules are
- It is based on Test cricket, not ODI or T20
- It is players who have been around since you got into cricket - for me that was the early nineties
- The XI has to follow the rules - two proper openers, a wicket keeper and a balance in the bowling attack. For the avoidance of doubt, I am basing it on a pitch that offers something to batsmen, pace bowlers and spinners in equal measure
My shot
1. Sanith Jayasuriya
2. Matthew Hayden
3. Brian Lara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Steve Waugh (c)
6. Adam Gilchrist (wk)
7. Jacque Kallis
8. Shane Warne
9. Shaun Pollock
10. Curtly Ambrose
11. Glenn McGrath
The question with a Test team is always that slight weighting in one position - batsman or bowler. I have gone for five bowlers - you need to take twenty wickets to win the match. But the two South Africans could score runs with the bat and Shane Warne turned into a decent barsman over his career.
There are a lot of very good Test players who didn't make the cut in this XI. I could probably name a side that would give my first-picks a decent contest.
Anyone else want to name a side?
Rainy days in the eighties watching cricket on the tele just adds problems.
Gordon Greenidge at No 2
Sir Viv Richards at No 3
Ian Botham as the alrounder instead of Kallis. In at 6 or 7
Richard Hadley for Pollock
Malcolm Marshall for Ambrose
The players being left out are top tier and in some cases greats.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bit harsh - we all like a drink now and then.
My XI
1 Sunny Gavaskar
2 Barry Richards
3 Viv Richards
4 Brian Lara
5 Sachin Tendulkar
6 Kumar Sangakarra
7 Imran Khan (c)
8 Richard Hadlee
9 Shane Warne
10 Malcolm Marshall
11 Waqar Younis
My team doesn't really have a number three (so we're looking for a good start, lads) but I had to fit in Lara, Viv and Tendulkar. Also, bit short on if it starts spinning but Viv can hold up an end while Shane does the damage at the other. I just don't know who Imran's going to give the new ball to.
3 x West Indies, 2 x India, 2 x Pakistan, 1 South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kiwi and Australia. Only one Aussie! No English players.
I so nearly went with Sangakarra but Gilchrist was irresistible. Being honest, from a technical point of view I thought Ian Healy was a better keeper but AG could change a game in one or two overs with the bat.
I am glad to see you went with the Richards brothers. Family is important and they only fall slightly short to the Showumnis in being a great sporting family.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=67xXbTaQlKI
Play due to start tomorrow at Southampton for England vs the Windies.
For England a new and sudden certainty about the top order, helped by Root’s absence on paternity leave. It just leaves the decision about how you place Sibley, Crawley, Denly and Burns. For me it is Sibley and Burns opening but first drop is up for grabs.
Bowling-wise England have options too. Everyone is more or less fit in the pace attack and we could see Broad sitting out, which is a big decision.
For the Windies, the sense is that they will go with a four man pace attack and include a spinner, on a pitch that could be sluggish but reward late spin. I have read that Hetmyer might be the batsman sacrificed to accommodate five bowlers. That is a shame because I have a lot of time for him, but he is young and he will have many more opportunities.
Weather forecast is warm but a decent chance of showers. That mugginess might certainly suit winning the toss and bowling first. Jimmy Anderson would relish that. Ricky Holder, who has got back to fitness, would probably be the same.
Toss delayed.
Now it seems like summer really is here. :greengrin
West Indies must be a bit disappointed to only get the one wicket considering the conditions. I can’t help thinking England would’ve had the ball swinging and nipping around in the overcast conditions.
Only just seen highlights. England were only managing two an over and Denly was looking shaky to say the least.
Muggy again in the morning, with the next couple of days dry and fair. Advantage Windies for me.
As you say though, it would potentially be a whole different game had England bowled first. Also got to wonder whether Broad is being eased out ahead of the next Ashes.
I'll be surprised if this match goes to Sunday. Honestly, the batting is atrocious.
The days of Boycott holding his end up for a day and a half are long gone - no offence!
I thought that Holder and Gabriel bowled particularly well but Roach and Joseph did well too, just didn't get a share of the wickets. They found some very subtle lines which unpicked the English batsmen. There was also some really good fielding by the Windies, though a couple of clangers as well.
As ever in Test cricket, there is a risk in calling things too early but England omitting Broad looks a real mistep. On the other hand, the conditions are Anderson-perfect, and Archer and Wood have done nothing to not deserve a chance.
Pleased for Jason Holder, he is really showing as quite the all-rounder. For England, I hope Sibley and Crawley are persevered with. England have an unfortunate trait of giving a youngster a few games then dropping them. Keaton Jennings was a good example. At that age the drop dents their confidence, they go back to county games and don't perform as well, which makes the whole process self-reinforcing.