Cricket

I don’t think this test will be very close. Shambles this morning.

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Once again Crawley demonstrates that he’s not test quality.
The new regime have to reconsider whether playing a ten man team is to their advantage.

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I just wish it wasn’t the same shot, the same hard push out at the ball every time. Not exactly signs of progression.

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I think he’s had the freedom to express the fact he’s not test class.

Just going to comment, but as you say -spoilers

There was an element of Schadenfreude , given Mr Broad’s highly visible dissatisfaction with any of his team mates when he feels they have let him down

Ooh Matron

Screenshot 2019-12-28 at 19.02.51

Now that the highlights have been shown, I’ll comment on what I thought was the weirdest thing about the tactics to the tail. Broad is now no more than medium pace at best, he has been (totally justifiably) scared of and getting out to the short ball since Varun Aaron rearranged his face, so get him to continually bounce a genuine 150kph quick just in case Bumrah wasn’t planning to bowl short to him.

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Obviously the Australians of yesteryear who would fill the slips and bowl full to tailenders were wasting their time (that’s rhetorical BTW), especially when they had a new ball to play with. How bowling short around the wicket, much down the leg-side, is supposed to generate anything other than runs escapes me. It’s well known now that due to the IPL, even the lower order can swing a bit.

And then we get the walking wicket of Crawley who’d obviously passed the book on fly fishing to Pope. This said, there does appear to be a theme this year that the top order just clears the way for the middle order to get runs.

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I only saw a few of SB overs and they looked pretty second rate, he’s a much better bowler than that. It’s going to take more than a stuff upper lip to save this match.

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Some are praying :pray: for rain,our most effective player on many occasions

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That is the forecast, will we get any play?

India’s bowling attack looks at a completely different level to England’s. England again opt for no pace. Plus some of England’s tactics?

I missed the England top order batting yesterday as I was working. I think I will be able to watch them again today, probably just after lunch.

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Well they don’t have any real quick bowlers fit. It is hard to quibble with the bowlers chosen, just the tactics in my view.

India are a class (or two) above NZ. England made to look more than a little naive yesterday, and that Broad over was just dumb

Always going to be a bumpy road with this side

Bruce

Keep proving me wrong please.

Looking at the blast tonight Olly Stone seems back and fit.
Worth considering for the next test.
Attacking cricket requires extreme pace.

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Last night Sky had the Test Match on both channels. It overran , and finished at seven. Instead of switching one channel to the T20 , they showed the Test Match and then went to the T20 with the score at 45-3 . Why couldn’t they switch one channel to the T20 and keep the cricket on Test Match on the other?

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I think some TV packages only include Sky Main event or the Cricket channel - so this may drive this.

When I re-cut my Sky deal recently, I think they’ve changed back to providing the full Sports package now, rather than the slice & dice (5 from 7?) they sold several years ago.

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No spoilers as to the Eng v India Test save to say it’s getting to be an interesting game at ~3pm Day4.

Crawley has either (eventually) realised the error his ways in getting out so cheaply or one of the coaches has had a word, perhaps both.

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England chasing just 378 to win. Fine.

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Tell you what, after India’s first innings, I wasn’t convinced we’d be where we are!

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