NPR

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:30 pm Christ knows why there was a gap!

Brilliant Test, ridiculous win for England. Well done Jos and Woakes. Couldn't ask for more in that chase - top order did their job, no-one threw their wicket away. Nerves of steel throughout. Brilliant.

A6D6E6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:34 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:30 pm Christ knows why there was a gap!

Brilliant Test, ridiculous win for England. Well done Jos and Woakes. Couldn't ask for more in that chase - top order did their job, no-one threw their wicket away. Nerves of steel throughout. Brilliant.

We were 117 for 5. The top order included scores of 7, 9 and 10. Sure for the last few years that is pretty much what we expect from the top order, but I don't consider that as "doing their job".

Longshanks wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:36 pm

A6D6E6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:34 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:30 pm Christ knows why there was a gap!

Brilliant Test, ridiculous win for England. Well done Jos and Woakes. Couldn't ask for more in that chase - top order did their job, no-one threw their wicket away. Nerves of steel throughout. Brilliant.

We were 117 for 5. The top order included scores of 7, 9 and 10. Sure for the last few years that is pretty much what we expect from the top order, but I don't consider that as "doing their job".

Stop moaning and enjoy the win for goodness sake

A6D6E6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:34 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:30 pm Christ knows why there was a gap!

Brilliant Test, ridiculous win for England. Well done Jos and Woakes. Couldn't ask for more in that chase - top order did their job, no-one threw their wicket away. Nerves of steel throughout. Brilliant.

We were 117 for 5. The top order included scores of 7, 9 and 10. Sure for the last few years that is pretty much what we expect from the top order, but I don't consider that as "doing their job".

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:41 pm

A6D6E6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:34 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:30 pm Christ knows why there was a gap!

Brilliant Test, ridiculous win for England. Well done Jos and Woakes. Couldn't ask for more in that chase - top order did their job, no-one threw their wicket away. Nerves of steel throughout. Brilliant.

We were 117 for 5. The top order included scores of 7, 9 and 10. Sure for the last few years that is pretty much what we expect from the top order, but I don't consider that as "doing their job".

Nope, they saw off the real danger. Sibley and Root might only have scored 78 runs between them (though that was almost 30% of the total), but they survived 33 overs. This was a pitch where batsmen were getting out to obscene deliveries, and Buttler & Woakes would never have managed that big partnership if they hadn't come together when the ball was old and soft.

Pope is a middle order bat btw, not top order, and he got an unplayable delivery. Stokes' one wasn't far off either.

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:44 pm Come on, I'm hardly a hype merchant for the England cricket team. On that wicket, facing that attack, they set the platform that led to a great win.

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:44 pm Come on, I'm hardly a hype merchant for the England cricket team. On that wicket, facing that attack, they set the platform that led to a great win.

Gumboot wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:14 pm Well done, England. Sounds like a hell of a game.

Was just looking at Cricinfo - did I read this right, Naseem Shah is only 17 years old?

Saint wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:48 pm

Gumboot wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:14 pm Well done, England. Sounds like a hell of a game.

Was just looking at Cricinfo - did I read this right, Naseem Shah is only 17 years old?

Yep. Could genuinely be that once in a generation player, but he needs looking after at that age

Glaston wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:38 pm Stokes gooooorne for the rest of the Test series

Off to NZ for family reasons

Cricket: Ben Stokes to miss rest of Pakistan series, heading to New Zealand for family reasons
10 Aug, 2020 4:55am 2 minutes to read

England star all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the rest of the ongoing test series against Pakistan as he prepares to travel to New Zealand to be with his family.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced the news in a statement Sunday.

Stokes has played a full part in England's red-ball team this summer, captaining his country for the first time in the series opener against West Indies, scoring important runs and taking wickets while fighting a thigh injury.

He took part in a rousing three-wicket win in the first test against Pakistan that concluded at Old Trafford on Saturday but subsequently informed the squad that he needs to return to his family home in Christchurch, where his father Ged and mother Deb are based.

The second of three tests between England and Pakistan starts Thursday at Southampton.

The precise reasons for Stokes' departure have not been made public, with the ECB requesting respect for his privacy.

Ged Stokes was rushed to hospital in Johannesburg on the eve of England's Boxing Day test against South Africa. Stokes was encouraged by his father to play a full part in that game and the 3-1 series win that followed but spent regular time at his bedside when England returned for the fourth test at the Wanderers.

He later posted a picture of his father leaving hospital after 37 days and three operations praising him as "strong and stubborn."

A statement from the ECB read: "England all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the remainder of the #raisethebat test series against Pakistan for family reasons. Stokes will leave the UK later this week and travel to New Zealand."

Stokes has played the last two matches predominantly as a batsman given a recent thigh complaint. Kent batsman Zak Crawley is the likeliest beneficiary, having been left out to balance the side since Stokes' bowling workload was compromised.

Sandstorm wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:33 pm You plan to let a Pom back into NZ during Covid? That went well the last time......

Enzedder wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:27 am

Sandstorm wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:33 pm You plan to let a Pom back into NZ during Covid? That went well the last time......

He will go into quarantine and he will pay for it. Then he will be chained to the gates of the Basin Reserve for 5 years to punish him for his deeds last year - and then he can play for us to put things right. We may even pay him for that if he's any good.

And 1 guest wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:00 am Two straightforward slip catches dropped already

Green light echo wrote: ↑Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:26 am The England cricket team

Green light echo wrote: ↑Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:26 am The England cricket team

Green light echo wrote: ↑Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:26 am The England cricket team

Woddy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:28 pm Can anyone remember a taller batsman than Crawley?