Cricket Thread

[ragged]

England should Mankad the next non-striker who is out of his ground.
After all, it's within the laws.
Might be the only way to get Steve Smith out...

[Jomoore]

Out 100% by the laws - over had not been called and the ball is only dead when finally settled in the fielders hands
 
he was on another planet wandering around and in Careys defence he underarmed the ball immediately - in fact Bairstow was still in his ground at that time but if I was captain I still would have withdrawn the appeal - with a warning not to take the piss again

Agree fully with this, and am pleased Stokes was dignified about it, but if I were the Aussie skipper I'd be a bit ashamed.

[Thephoenix]

Agree fully with this, and am pleased Stokes was dignified about it, but if I were the Aussie skipper I'd be a bit ashamed.

I've been regularly WhatsApping my old Australian buddies about the cricket but they've gone a bit quiet, which as you can imagine is almost impossible.
I think they're a wee bit embarrassed.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

A neat little book to while away the hours;)...



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[Marmalade]

I've been regularly WhatsApping my old Australian buddies about the cricket but they've gone a bit quiet, which as you can imagine is almost impossible.
I think they're a wee bit embarrassed.

A sad day for cricket.

I still like the fact that it used to be 'a gentleman's sport'. It's hard to be paragons when everyone else likes mischief, the English team no longer have perfect halos: but I doubt the Aussies have ever shared the same ethos.

I don't think the Aussies feel ashamed. They should.

[timsussex]

A neat little book to while away the hours;)...



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this is better

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as it deals with interpretation as well as the basic laws and was the "bible" of the umpiring course

[Marmalade]

this is better

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as it deals with interpretation as well as the basic laws and was the "bible" of the umpiring course

True, and no disagreement that the fiasco was within the rules. My copy of Tom Smith is probably not the most up to date, yet it gets woke as soon as it is opened: "The players, umpires and scorers in a game of cricket may be of any gender, and the Laws apply equally." I personally prefer the terms "men" and "women". I think I am a bit sexist when it comes to sport.

I do hope the umpire maybe gave a polite confirmation. He could at least have tried to defuse the tension. Politeness is still in the 'rule book' (Section 3, Section 6), though would not have been obligatory in the present circumstances.

Lack of politeness can get to the point where the eponymous phrase kicks in "It's just not cricket".
Yet cricket is what the rule book says it is.

[timsussex]

True, and no disagreement that the fiasco was within the rules. My copy of Tom Smith is probably not the most up to date, yet it gets woke as soon as it is opened: "The players, umpires and scorers in a game of cricket may be of any gender, and the Laws apply equally." I personally prefer the terms "men" and "women". I think I am a bit sexist when it comes to sport.

I do hope the umpire maybe gave a polite confirmation. He could at least have tried to defuse the tension. Politeness is still in the 'rule book' (Section 3, Section 6), though would not have been obligatory in the present circumstances.

Lack of politeness can get to the point where the eponymous phrase kicks in "It's just not cricket".
Yet cricket is what the rule book says it is.

interestingly when cricket was heavily critcised in the recent report on racism, sexism etc it is one of the few sports which is completely open to men and women and whatever you call yourself.
Ive played against more than a dozen women in the "mens" game and the only sexist remarks were aimed at the cocky young lad who was bowled by a girl 
The fact is there are open leagues and women only leagues - there are no mens leagues 

[Marmalade]

interestingly when cricket was heavily critcised in the recent report on racism, sexism etc it is one of the few sports which is completely open to men and women and whatever you call yourself.
Ive played against more than a dozen women in the "mens" game and the only sexist remarks were aimed at the cocky young lad who was bowled by a girl 
The fact is there are open leagues and women only leagues - there are no mens leagues

Very interesting!

[Thephoenix]

A neat little book to while away the hours;)...



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For the benefit of fellow punters who might not share our interest in cricket, does it give any advice on bowling a maiden over?

[mysteryman30]

A sad day for cricket.

I still like the fact that it used to be 'a gentleman's sport'. It's hard to be paragons when everyone else likes mischief, the English team no longer have perfect halos: but I doubt the Aussies have ever shared the same ethos.

I don't think the Aussies feel ashamed. They should.

What continues to surprise me is opponents of Australia thinking Australia give a hoot about the spirit of cricket, they will do literally anything to win, including using sandpaper on the ball. Why did England go into the Ashes thinking Australia wouldn't do all they could to win? Why didn't the dozen or so coaches England employ realise that JB goes walkabout before the ball is dead?

[Thephoenix]

What continues to surprise me is opponents of Australia thinking Australia give a hoot about the spirit of cricket, they will do literally anything to win

Yes!... particularly against the Poms, and particularly at Lord's.
You could see from the smirks on their faces as they left the field.

Many years ago whilst working for an organisation in Australia, I ran the sports and social club.
About 25% of the staff were Poms.

I suggested organising an annual sporting series between The Poms & Aussies, starting with a game of 'soccer', then 'Aussie Rules', followed by a social game of cricket in the Summer.

Of course the Poms battered Aussies in soccer, Aussies battered Poms in Aussie Rules, so  allowing for an enjoyable game of cricket with families, kegs of lager and the barbie.

But it didn't take long for us Poms to pick up the limited skills required to play the Aussie's aerial ping pong game, and one year the unthinkable happened.
The Poms won the soccer AND Aussie rules.

Needless to say, I lost a lot of Australian friends that year. The cricket didn't happen and the events never took place again.

What makes the Aussies so good at sport is they just hate losing and will win at all costs.

I was down in Australia recently meeting up with the few old cobbers still alive and I was reminding them of those sporting events. Unsurprisingly no-one said they remembered those days, despite them no doubt suffering with PTSD for many years after.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

Yes!... particularly against the Poms, and particularly at Lord's.
You could see from the smirks on their faces as they left the field.

Many years ago whilst working for an organisation in Australia, I ran the sports and social club.
About 25% of the staff were Poms.

I suggested organising an annual sporting series between The Poms & Aussies, starting with a game of 'soccer', then 'Aussie Rules', followed by a social game of cricket in the Summer.

Of course the Poms battered Aussies in soccer, Aussies battered Poms in Aussie Rules, so  allowing for an enjoyable game of cricket with families, kegs of lager and the barbie.

But it didn't take long for us Poms to pick up the limited skills required to play the Aussie's aerial ping pong game, and one year the unthinkable happened.
The Poms won the soccer AND Aussie rules.

Needless to say, I lost a lot of Australian friends that year. The cricket didn't happen and the events never took place again.

What makes the Aussies so good at sport is they just hate losing and will win at all costs.

I was down in Australia recently meeting up with the few old cobbers still alive and I was reminding them of those sporting events. Unsurprisingly no-one said they remembered those days, despite them no doubt suffering with PTSD for many years after.

I quite admire their winning mentality, I’d rather have that mindset than a nation of people that applaud plucky losers like Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards and Tim Henman. We celebrate failure and the Aussies don’t; Cricket is central to their national psyche/identity and they are generally good at it. That’s why on the odd occasion that we win down under they disappear. It’s not in their nature to even countenance losing to the Poms in their own backyard.

[ulstersubbie]

I quite admire their winning mentality, I’d rather have that mindset than a nation of people that applaud plucky losers like Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards and Tim Henman. We celebrate failure and the Aussies don’t; Cricket is central to their national psyche/identity and they are generally good at it. That’s why on the odd occasion that we win down under they disappear. It’s not in their nature to even countenance losing to the Poms in their own backyard.

As a Scot I would take their winning mentality any day of the week. The Southern hemisphere nations do seem to have this desire to never be beaten, the Boks and Kiwis in rugby, Aussies at cricket and so forth. Perhaps by leaving the old country behind, they have developed a different mindset which has seen them proven to be successful.

[timsussex]

In the last 50 over world  cup one of the NZ team caught Stokes but fell over the boundary; as he fell he passed the ball back to his teammate. If he released the ball before touching the ground over the boundary Stokes is out and NZ probably world champs - but if touched the ground before releasing the ball then it is SIX.
The NZ who caught his throw immediatley signalled 6. Now of course the third umpire would probably have awarded six from the slow motion replay.

Now imagine its the FIFA world cup final and an English player chases the ball slides and passes it to Kane in front of an open goal, Kane can see the ball crossed the line before his teammate got to it. What do you think Kane would do ?
1 Stop
2 Put it in the net quietly
3 put it in the net and run away celebrating
and if he chose 1 would he be pilloried ?

Its not just the excuse of playing to the whistle - in virtually every football match I've seen someone tries to mislead the ref.
Diving, claiming handball, disputing decisions or most commonly when the ball goes out after a challenge all the players in the locallity claim the throw
Then of course we have trying to get other players booked or sent off - - remember Rivaldo ?
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nice bit of casual racism from the commentator as well - "part of the Turkish game"

[mr.bluesky]

Unfortunately that's the way football is and has been for a long time, I can only  remember two  particular incidents of sportsmanship in football in  the past . One was when Arsenal played Sheffield Utd in the FA cup in 1999. Sheffield Utd put the ball into touch so an injured player could receive treatment.  The Arsenal player played the ball back to Sheffield Utds goalkeeper but the ball was intercepted by Kanu of Arsenal who scored. Arsenal went on to win 2-1. In all fairness Arsenal manager Wenger accepted it was not in the spirit of the game and asked for the result to be void and the game to be replayed in which it was 10 days later.
Another time West Ham player Paulo Di Canio* had the opportunity to score against Everton in a league game in 2000 from a cross into the penalty area just after the Everton goalkeeper got injured outside the box.  He caught the ball instead of scoring into the empty net bringing play to a stop so the goalkeeper could receive treatment. Di Canio later received a Fifa fair play award. I don't follow cricket but it is a sport that has always had a reputation for fair play hence the expression " its just not cricket"
(* yes the same Di Canio who once got banned from pushing a referee over !)

[Malvolio]

England would be well on top in this match if they could hold onto catches - as it is looks like it will be another tight one.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

What a day, the Aussies were falling apart and had no answer to the pressure that we applied with the bat, Zak Crawley played one of the greatest Ashes innings of all time. This series is alive and the Urn is there for the taking.

[timsussex]

Gideon Haigh (an Aussie) writing in the Times

“The partnership would be worth 206 in 186 balls: bodies have been wrapped in blankets and dumped in the Thames more tenderly than Crawley and Root treated one of Australia’s most accomplished Test pace attacks.”

[Thephoenix]

Dare we dream?

[toon972]

Looking forward to tomorrow.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

Dare we dream?

Weather permitting, YES!!

[Malvolio]

Saturday looks like a total write-off - hopefully there will be around two or three hours play on Sunday for England to blast out the last six wickets.

I'm going to the Oval - would be great if it was 2-2 and a deciding test.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

Saturday looks like a total write-off - hopefully there will be around two or three hours play on Sunday for England to blast out the last six wickets.

I'm going to the Oval - would be great if it was 2-2 and a deciding test.

Momentum is with England, the Aussies look mentally shot. Now we just need the weather gods to be kind on Sunday.

[chrishornx]

Momentum is with England, the Aussies look mentally shot. Now we just need the weather gods to be kind on Sunday.

it is pretty grim weather today

[mr.bluesky]

it is pretty grim weather today

Weather forecast is not good for tomorrow either with showers all day for that area.

[timsussex]

knew they shouldnt have worn those bloody stupid hats

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made for rain !

[Thephoenix]

Shaping up for a good final test.
Pity the best we can do is only draw the series after that fiasco in Manchester.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

I fucking love test cricket!

[Jumping Jack Flash]

4-0 to Australia with 1 draw due to bad weather   

Remind me never to listen to your advice 

At least you called the draw right.

[mr.bluesky]

Remind me never to listen to your advice 

At least you called the draw right.

  and I don’t even follow cricket. All credit to England though for making a comeback.
2-2 with 1 draw, they should have another test to decide it imo.

[Thephoenix]

What a great series and hopefully will encourage more youngsters to take up the game.
We'd have won the ashes if it wasn't for the usual Manchester weather.

What a fantastic send off for Broadie.

[mikecee]

What a great series and hopefully will encourage more youngsters to take up the game.
We'd have won the ashes if it wasn't for the usual Manchester weather.

What a fantastic send off for Broadie.

So, with his last ball as a  batter he hit a six,  with his last ball as a bowler he takes a wicket. Never been done at test level. Probably never be done again.

[jackdaw]

and I don’t even follow cricket. All credit to England though for making a comeback.
2-2 with 1 draw, they should have another test to decide it imo.

One of my mates can’t work out why we didn’t win Manchester test on Duckworth Lewis method,

[mr.bluesky]

One of my mates can’t work out why we didn’t win Manchester test on Duckworth Lewis method,

Yeah, that Vera Duckworth has got a lot to answer for 

[Malvolio]

Given England's win today, I think it's time to resurrect this thread.  Did anyone see that coming at the end of day two?

[mikecee]

Given England's win today, I think it's time to resurrect this thread.  Did anyone see that coming at the end of day two?

Certainly didn't.   Fantastic win for England.   Apparently it's the first time India have lost a home test match after have a 100+ run lead after the first innings.

[chrishornx]

exceptional cricket match

[timsussex]

BBC guy pointed out that England had only twice overcome 190+ run deficit on first innings. At Headingly thanks to Botham and Willis and once when Queen Victoria was on the throne

[gonewest]

I felt quite certain at the end of day2 that we'd lose on day3, probably by an innings. 
Yet another brilliant example of the unpredictability of Test cricket.
The 2nd Test can't come soon enough!