Good point. Woakes then, as he doesn't strop when dropped, and does worse on slow overseas tracks too. Assuming we'll be playing two spinners; well, one spinner and Bess.JM2K6 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:52 amA bowler, I'd say. 5 quicks and a spinner is a bit much.Woddy wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:49 am Glad that Buttler's got his mojo back. Gives England a good headache over selecting him or Foakes. I hope the latter will get his chance over the winter, as his superior keeping will be needed against the spinners. Please let Leach have a go too!
Not sure who to drop for Stokes, once he's back. Pope?
The Official Cricket Thread
Just dropped a sitter from Anderson's bowling
That's 4 dropped catches in less than 6 overs off his bowling
He just doesn't seem to do very much with the ball, even when he's had a big total to defend.
He's still developing, but you're being very harsh. He can turn the ball and he's been unlucky with the keeping - I said at the time his career could suffer because of Buttler's repeated fuckups.
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Insane_Homer
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PAK 41/0 after 18 @ lunch, still trailing by 269 and prayin' for rain.
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Bless said bowling last night under lights was dangerous facing quicks and spin should have been used more.JM2K6 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:28 amHe's still developing, but you're being very harsh. He can turn the ball and he's been unlucky with the keeping - I said at the time his career could suffer because of Buttler's repeated fuckups.
I'm sure he'll get much better, but right now I'm a little underwhelmed - though all the commentators credit him with great spirit etc. Also unsure why they haven't tried Leach. Bess is far better with the bat, but...JM2K6 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:28 amHe's still developing, but you're being very harsh. He can turn the ball and he's been unlucky with the keeping - I said at the time his career could suffer because of Buttler's repeated fuckups.
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3.10 pm: We have news - Play will re-start at 3.45 pm.
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You're not wrong. Buttler spilling another opens the door for questioning his place again
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Weather's proper shyte and pissing rain here, down sarf, what are the prospects of any play today?
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Met office reckon it'll be over about 11:00 in Southampton - might take a while to mop up though. And there are odd spots of rain around thereafter, which seem to have honed in with great precision on any ground currently hosting a test match this summer.
Wha daur meddle wi' me?
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9.40am: Morning all. Unfortunately the weather has been as advertised in Southampton - the match officials were probably right not to bother with the 10.30am start option today - and the ground looks pretty waterlogged. That said, some of the forecasts for this afternoon are looking brighter, so there's every chance we'll get on at some stage.
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3.10pm: Another inspection at 3.35pm, the super-soppers have trundled back out to try and deal with a couple of those wet patches. The umpires are having a chat with both teams - could go either way, I think. Conditions look much better, but there's no point trying to squeeze in two hours of cricket, with a positive result some way off, if someone's at risk of doing a knee ligament on a damp playing surface.
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Insane_Homer
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Well done Jimmy, fantastic milestone 
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Fantastic achievement by Jimmy. Decent ball to get there too.
And 1 guest wrote: ↑Tue Aug 25, 2020 3:58 pm Fantastic achievement by Jimmy. Decent ball to get there too.
Full story behind Ben Stokes's return home to be with his Dad
Gerard Stokes, the former Kiwis rugby league player and father of England cricket star Ben, has revealed he is battling brain cancer.
Ben Stokes arrived back in New Zealand this week to be with his seriously ill Dad, and is in managed isolation due to coronavirus safeguards. He left the England squad during the recent Pakistan series to be with his family.
"I didn't sleep for a week and my head wasn't really in it," Ben Stokes told the Weekend Herald. "Leaving [the team] was the right choice from a mental point of view."
In an interview with the Weekend Herald at his Christchurch home, Gerard Stokes, 64, revealed he was diagnosed with the illness in January on his return to Christchurch from South Africa. He, wife Deb and eldest son James were there to watch Ben represent England in four tests against the Proteas.
Ben Stokes offers up a special three-finger salute for his dad as he celebrates after reaching his century.
Stokes senior was admitted to hospital in Johannesburg ahead of the Boxing Day test due to a brain bleed for which he required surgery. It was reported at the time as a "serious illness". Further tests on his return to New Zealand revealed cancer.
"They had to assess how I travelled and from that they discovered I had a couple of tumors on my brain as well," Stokes says.
"So, basically brain cancer. How that came about nobody knows but obviously I've had a few bangs on my head through my life so that's probably contributed to it."
Stokes, a well-known Canterbury league identity, coached professionally in England for a decade before returning home seven years ago. Once back in Christchurch, the qualified builder and a man notorious for his toughness led a large team who worked with inmates at Rolleston Prison, a role which he says taught him a great deal about empathising with those less fortunate.
Ben, 29, one of the world's best allrounders, was just 12 when he left Christchurch with his parents to live in the north of England; a journey which put him on the path to cricketing stardom.
He played a key role in England's dramatic World Cup final match against New Zealand at Lord's last year which was won on countback by the home side. But he acknowledged that his dad, known as Ged, plotted a path in a different and no less significant way.
"He was tough [on me]. But as I got older I realised it was all for a reason. He knew I wanted to be a professional sportsman and he was drilling that into me as I started to make a career in cricket."
Ben also says his dad's illness had given him a new perspective on suffering, adding that he now pushes himself a lot harder on the cricket field. He says his innings of 120 against South Africa in Port Elizabeth a few weeks after his dad's emergency surgery was hugely emotional.
As has become traditional, he recently celebrated a century against the West Indies in Manchester with a three-finger salute, a tribute to Ged, who dislocated a finger during his league days and requested an amputation in order to get back on the field quicker.
"His reputation sort of speaks for itself," Ben says. "You speak to anyone who knows him, played with him or worked with him, they'd all say the same thing. Most people acquire a softer side with age and sometimes with dad that has been quite weird to see.
"What he's going through has brought that side out as well – we all knew he had it, he just didn't show it that often."
James, Ben's brother, says of his dad: "He has never taken a backwards step in life and never lost his sense of humour, even when life threw him a few curve balls."
I drink and I forget things.
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Insane_Homer
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3rd T20 6pm tonight, to decide world No.1 ranking.
No Buttler, time off to visit family. Morgan not certain either with Finger injury...
No Buttler, time off to visit family. Morgan not certain either with Finger injury...
“Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true.”