Cricket

It’s an amazing effort but at the moment Jimmy is not in the top ten of the ICC ratings.

Well he has had several injuries in the last two seasons and missed a lot of matches so I’m not sure that his ranking would be terribly relevant at present. Nor indeed for anyone with no Test Matches except in the UK for six months or more.

He was No 1 in 2016, No 2 in 2017, No 1 in 2018 and No 3 in 2019 in this same week of August. You can look at the rankings on any date!

Click the timeline. Basically top 5 since 2011.

Bruce

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Jimmy looked so relieved and happy. Justly deserved all the plaudits.

Reflecting on yesterday’s weather affected play, it occurs to me that the captains agreed amongst themselves to facilitate Jimmy’s 600th rather than try to force a result. I think this because Root’s tactics were so anaemic; Pakistan could not have won in the overs left in the day, but England could have, if they applied themselves. However, Root choose not to have an aggressive field to press home England’s advantage, which, paradoxically, might have Given Jimmy greater opportunity to reach his 600th wicket faster.

It did all seem rather passive. Starting uo with Archer bowling bouncers-but jogging in to do so etc.

I really enjoyed watching the first Pakistan Test as this is an exciting side and I think the matches could have been great with better conditions and weather.

When all is said and done we have have the most part of two series with good quality competitive cricket and no Covid hiccups. Great attitude on and off the field it appears too. The ECB and the teams deserve considerable credit for this. Test cricket definitely the winner.

Bruce

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The days of ‘all around the bat’ when chasing a win appear to have gone. I’m glad the wicket didn’t break up as some have done and become a gift for the spinners but, as you allude, a high quality spinner should be able to produce their own pressure. Even with so many runs to play with, having ‘protection’ (as the commentators call it), seems to be a natural move when one ball gets cut to the boundary.

This is where I like Warne on commentary, as he’s very much a risk v reward evaluator, something which came across when he captained Hants.

@Pete_the_painter - Pete, FYI, it’s T20 v Pakistan tomorrow (Friday) but too late for you I suspect at 6pm UK time. Sunday is better with 2pm start…all subject to weather which, again, is looking variable at the moment.

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6pm UK time is almost breakfast for us. I’ll watch while enjoying coffee and pastry.

Bess has emerged as very much a work in progress through the summer. Not really looked like producing a match winning spell even on some reasonably responsive wickets. Warne on commentary has been fascinating talking about him with positive suggestions and observations.

Bruce

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I wish Joe Root would adopt Warne’s approach to captaincy as it produces more exciting cricket.
Doubtless Joe’s decisions are based on an outdated approach to test cricket where you ensure there is no possibility of losing before thinking of winning.
England wasted two hours boringly accruing an impossible target.
Looking to the future of the game it should be borne in mind the younger generation our not as patient as my generation when it comes to cricket as there are other options nowadays.

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I loved watching Warne bowl that ball to Gatting will stay with me for the rest of my life however he does rabbit on a bit.

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Root needs a little more aggressive. That hopefully will come with a bit of confidence and experience.

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There was a segment one day at lunch when Warne looked at some video clips sent in by kids bowling leg spin. He was just fantastic, offering help and encouragement as well as simple suggestions. His enthusiasm was a real joy.

I guess Root will look at results and say that England are winning plenty of matches and rising up the rankings whatever we may think from the sidelines.

Bruce

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IIRC, when Warne captained Hants, his approach was to generate a result - just playing out for what is sometimes called a ‘winning draw’ in club league cricket wasn’t his way…with the risk that sometimes you lose but that’s often a reflection of how you played with bat/ball in the deciding phase of the game. And his bowling (shoulder issues doubtless) wasn’t as prolific in county games as it had been at Test level.

Given the changes in the game now and the attitudes of batsmen, we’ll be very lucky to see someone akin to Warne again (and Murali’s action wouldn’t get him on the pitch - even if a physical trait). Such a shame, as a ripping leggy is a site to behold.

Above said, it’s great how spinners (esp leg-spinners) are successful in the limited-overs formats. I love watching Rashid Khan bowling.

There was a Big Bash game a couple of years back (full 20 overs) which was played on a ‘sticky dog’ of a wicket and the chasing team only had to get ~60 and nearly didn’t. Not a game for the bucketeers in the crowd but great watching batsmen trying & often failing to play the spinners that night.

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He should have captained Aus but unfortunately he got himself in trouble and I think they were scared of him.

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Incidentally Pete Sunday’s T20 is only the second free-to-air live cricket since 2005 in the UK. The other being the ODI final last year which Sky generously let the BBC air.

Considering the amazing 2005 Ashes and the attention it gained here it makes me grind my teeth in frustration that this has been the situation.

Bruce

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Money, we’ve also now lost a lot of free to air cricket. Murdoch, mans an ass.

Thankfully the Ashes is protected by law.

Not sure I’ll be awake at 2.30am this Saturday, however I will try.

To be fair Bruce, highlights have been on terrestrial channels (C4 & C5 IIRC), often in good early evening slots. Sky, for all their detractors, have enhanced the viewing experience and, I suspect, have had a hand in getting the DRS & review tools going…and they appear to pay handsomely for it albeit where the money goes is another matter.

I recollect the days when Test cricket featured in the BBC’s summer schedules and then C4 took it over and the staid BBC presentation was changed and new features added, for which C4 got many plaudits.

Such a shame England are only scheduled to play pyjama cricket against the Aussies - a single test would have been good but that would probably have involved a much bigger squad of players coming over.

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Weather report?

I intend to try and stay awake tonight and watch the first T20 so I expect you blokes to put up a decent fight and make the effort worthwhile.

Latest suggests light winds, cloudy with ~10% chance of rain.

Under floodlights of course, as 6pm start local.

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It doesn’t get dark till late though ?