The Official Cricket Thread

[Paddington Bear]

Overcast and early, India will need to strike soon. Expect a nervy session

[Paddington Bear]

103 off 136 with barely a shot in the air. Just proper shots and strike rotation. We're watching England's greatest every batsman right now.

[JM2K6]

Including the byes we've had 10 boundaries this morning.

[FalseBayFC]

I was firmly neutral for the England-NZ series but now just loving seeing India getting pasted. They've replaced Australia as the team I love to watch losing the most.

[Paddington Bear]

I was firmly neutral for the England-NZ series but now just loving seeing India getting pasted. They've replaced Australia as the team I love to watch losing the most.

Yes they're a foul side and deserve this upcoming loss for refusing to play last year.

[FalseBayFC]

Johnny Bairstow, what a legend!

[JM2K6]

Including the byes we've had 10 boundaries this morning.

16. Including a six.

Bairstow gets his ton. He can't keep this up, surely, but it's been a phenomenal summer from him.

This has been ridiculous. A really difficult target made to look utterly routine by pretty much every batsman. England have gone from being terrified of batting last to being Eoin Morgan's "yeah whatever, we'll chase whatever you can set and look good while doing it" cold-blooded target-chasing psychopaths.

Enjoyed the Indian meltdown yesterday, Siraj especially. Kohli deserves to have this one rammed down his throat and I say this as someone who quite likes him normally, but he's been full-on cunt this time round. India have been broken in pieces by this game.

[JM2K6]

Bairstow has decided he's had enough and is now treating Siraj like a 2nd XI net bowler.

[JM2K6]

Siraj 0-98 from 15 overs.



Ow.

[JM2K6]

All over. Absolute carnage. It looks like we'd have happily chased 450. Completely mad.

This may fall over immediately away from home on pitches that do fall apart but I cannot give that team (and management) enough credit for having the brass bollocks to do it, especially given the incredibly shit state we started in. And I mean the entire team. Every player did their part this summer, even Crawley. Everyone was told to be brave, risk failure, but do what they're good at. And as a collective their will to play this way has been superb to watch.

Proud of that.

[JM2K6]

Gotta get back to work shortly, but...

Record target set for England. An opening pair considered no-hopers. Superb front-line bowlers in the opposition and decent backup. And Crawley and Lees batter their opening bowlers out of the attack, and put on a 107 run partnership at almost 5 runs an over. Then the mini collapse. Then just a casual 269 run partnership at more than 5 runs an over to win the game.

Video game level stuff.

[Paddington Bear]

Ludicrous to watch. Not sure what India could have defended there.

There will be times when this approach fails (as the old approach did constantly), and indeed it may well do against SA later this summer. However I do believe we are watching a genuine change to test cricket that will reverberate through the game. Major respect for doing it.

[Gumboot]

Is baz a verb yet? If not, why not?

[JM2K6]

Ludicrous to watch. Not sure what India could have defended there.

There will be times when this approach fails (as the old approach did constantly), and indeed it may well do against SA later this summer. However I do believe we are watching a genuine change to test cricket that will reverberate through the game. Major respect for doing it.

Yeah, I agree. It's not hubris - as I think you said earlier it's not about England doing this, it's about countries realising this is a genuine step forward. England just happened to be well suited to trying it - at a very low ebb playing traditional cricket, with a player base aimed at playing limited overs stuff but with enough serious Test talent with loads of experience with the willingness to take BazBall seriously because frankly they couldn't get any worse.

I don't think there's a single country that isn't geared towards producing limited overs players over traditional Test players and every single country is going to look at this and realise they could do something similar. Windies and Sri Lanka especially might well be the next sides to give this a go and that would be incredible for Test cricket.

My only real doubt is about pitches; just like Morgan's ODI side looked a lot less fun and more human on low and slow wickets, I can certainly see pitches being prepared to halt this in its tracks. I'm thinking mostly of India, who despite being the owners of the IPL are not necessarily the gods of limited overs cricket but who produce traditional Test class bowlers and batsmen more regularly than most.



Or it turns out it's just a flash in the pan inspired by two batsmen in the form of their lives, the bounce of a new coach, and wickets that played nicely even on the final day.

[OomStruisbaai]

Sorry to repeat. England is on a different level. They set the market in ODI after the WC and is doing it in tests aswell.

[Paddington Bear]

Ludicrous to watch. Not sure what India could have defended there.

There will be times when this approach fails (as the old approach did constantly), and indeed it may well do against SA later this summer. However I do believe we are watching a genuine change to test cricket that will reverberate through the game. Major respect for doing it.

Yeah, I agree. It's not hubris - as I think you said earlier it's not about England doing this, it's about countries realising this is a genuine step forward. England just happened to be well suited to trying it - at a very low ebb playing traditional cricket, with a player base aimed at playing limited overs stuff but with enough serious Test talent with loads of experience with the willingness to take BazBall seriously because frankly they couldn't get any worse.

I don't think there's a single country that isn't geared towards producing limited overs players over traditional Test players and every single country is going to look at this and realise they could do something similar. Windies and Sri Lanka especially might well be the next sides to give this a go and that would be incredible for Test cricket.

My only real doubt is about pitches; just like Morgan's ODI side looked a lot less fun and more human on low and slow wickets, I can certainly see pitches being prepared to halt this in its tracks. I'm thinking mostly of India, who despite being the owners of the IPL are not necessarily the gods of limited overs cricket but who produce traditional Test class bowlers and batsmen more regularly than most.



Or it turns out it's just a flash in the pan inspired by two batsmen in the form of their lives, the bounce of a new coach, and wickets that played nicely even on the final day.

The thing that will stop pitch changes is that this will put bums on seats, so yes India are the prime candidate for doing so given they don't need the cash.

[Paddington Bear]

Contrary to my March post of 'I will not buy tickets to watch England this year', following on from that our entire XI are heading up to Old Trafford for Day 2 in August. Please God we have nothing on the line to play for in the League the next day (penultimate day of the season). Bazball, what a phenomenon.

[Enzedder]

Happy birthday Paddles - 71 today

[Thor Sedan]

Kohli and Williamson.

2 of the saddest sights in cricket at the moment.

(Although one of them is pretty funny).

[Torquemada 1420]

You gotta laugh. Eng suddenly remember how to play test cricket and immediately crumble in pyjamas.

[Thor Sedan]

Good to see that NZ now struggling against Ireland in the ODI....something not right with NZ cricket at the moment.

[Thor Sedan]

Good to see that NZ now struggling against Ireland in the ODI....something not right with NZ cricket at the moment.

Apparently Bracewell had other ideas. 20 required in the last over. 9 down.

4.4.6.4.6

Bracewell 127 not out.

Harsh on Ireland who had NZ by the short and curly's for most of the innings.

[Insane_Homer]

clucks bells how did NZ win that!?

[SaintK]

[OomStruisbaai]

[Paddington Bear]

Pretty ugly scenes in the North Staffs League

[SaintK]

Pretty ugly scenes in the North Staffs League

Bloody hell! I played cricket for donkey's years and never saw anything like that
Sincerely hope that there are some life bans being doled out.

[Paddington Bear]

Pretty ugly scenes in the North Staffs League

Bloody hell! I played cricket for donkey's years and never saw anything like that
Sincerely hope that there are some life bans being doled out.

Given the involvement of spectators and an iron bar, I suspect that there might be a club being kicked out the league after this.

[Thor Sedan]

Safe to say that Blair Tickner isn't going to be a huge part of the NZ line up for the world cup.

Expensive and worst of all unlucky AF.

Gets the batsman caught behind - but his towel tucked into the back of his trousers fell out in the delivery stride so the batsman didn't walk. Umpires called deadball. He has been hugely unimpressive in these 2 innings - going at 7 an over.

[SaintK]

India rapidly heading for a 10 wicket win in the firsst ODI
Skittled England out for 110 (Bumrah 6-18) and are 70 -0 off 14 overs!!!

[Ymx]

So a different head coach for ODI’s.

How odd.

The ODI team needs more baz ball.

[Torquemada 1420]

They should be applauded for their enterprise. Plus I doubt their league was any more bent than the real thing.

[OomStruisbaai]

South Africa and Australia cricket still rocky

SS

South Africa has withdrawn from the one-day international series with Australia in January after the host board Cricket Australia (CA) was unable to accommodate a request to reschedule.

CA said Cricket South Africa had asked to shift the series, which was scheduled for Hobart (January 12), Sydney (January 14) and Perth (January 17).

"Unfortunately, due to the congested international schedule including the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, there are no alternative dates available," CA said in a statement on Wednesday.

CA said South Africa had agreed that Australia would be awarded the competition points, pending approval from the International Cricket Council.

South Africa's forfeit could affect their chances of qualifying directly for next year's one-day World Cup in India.

The Proteas are 11th in the World Cup Super League standings, with only the top seven teams apart from hosts India qualifying directly for the 10-team tournament.

South Africa's test team are scheduled to tour Australia for a three-match series starting in Brisbane on December 17.

Australia pulled out of their test tour of South Africa last year citing health risks amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a decision greeted by disappointment and frustration by Cricket South Africa.

[Biffer]

South Africa and Australia cricket still rocky

SS

South Africa has withdrawn from the one-day international series with Australia in January after the host board Cricket Australia (CA) was unable to accommodate a request to reschedule.

CA said Cricket South Africa had asked to shift the series, which was scheduled for Hobart (January 12), Sydney (January 14) and Perth (January 17).

"Unfortunately, due to the congested international schedule including the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, there are no alternative dates available," CA said in a statement on Wednesday.

CA said South Africa had agreed that Australia would be awarded the competition points, pending approval from the International Cricket Council.

South Africa's forfeit could affect their chances of qualifying directly for next year's one-day World Cup in India.

The Proteas are 11th in the World Cup Super League standings, with only the top seven teams apart from hosts India qualifying directly for the 10-team tournament.

South Africa's test team are scheduled to tour Australia for a three-match series starting in Brisbane on December 17.

Australia pulled out of their test tour of South Africa last year citing health risks amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a decision greeted by disappointment and frustration by Cricket South Africa.

Looks like they’re joining the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe later on this year, along with Netherlands, probably Sri Lanka and Ireland, and Scotland, Oman and three other associates. Format is two groups of five in a round robin, then a super six and a final. Top two teams in the Super Six go to the World Cup. 7 ODIs between 18 June and 19 July next year. Hope your players don’t have any other commitments at that time….

[Thor Sedan]

Will Young needs to take some time off cricket.

Maybe head to an all inclusive spa resort with Kane and Kohli and just forget about cricket for a while.

[Uncle fester]

Ireland v New Zealand ODI 3rd test
Ireland 148 for 2, doing alright.

[Uncle fester]

[Biffer]

Ireland now 301/5. Require 60 off 48 balls.

They’ve kept up a run rate more than 8 an over since the 25th. This could be tight.

[Uncle fester]

Down to the last ball. Sun burned silly. Drunk.
Will be hungover by 9pm.
Can't ask for much more than that

[Biffer]

Ireland really unlucky not to come away from one of those three games with a win.