Several top order batsmen from both teams have had dismal series yet as often occurs in an Ashes series their has been some stunning & brilliant batting performances.. Steve Smith for Australia and Ben Stokes match winning effort for England.
Last night here in the Antipodes, Fifth Test match, day 3 (? it's a long series) I gave up watching on TV as England built a potentially match winning second innings lead & turned the darned TV off before the inability of the Australian bowlers to take wickets incited a greater display of wrath from my Adorable Fire Breathing MemSahib.
Her Serene Imperiousness Indoors lying on a sofa eating cakes had graced me with her company as I watched the cricket on TV and the steadily increasing vehemence of her delicate snorts & clash of knitting needles as the England second innings total rose unceasingly triggered an uneasiness on my part.
So I bravely and boldly turned off the TV and remembered that I had something else to do elsewhere & bid Ever Adorable Her Serene Imperiousness Indoors a fond au revoir, strolled off to another room and found a book to read.

Well, you can't say it wasn't deserved. I think a lot of the batsmen in this series are going to have to take a long hard look at themselves. It's been amateur hour on repeat for a lot of them.

No rain!
Nevermind.

BunnyGo wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:40 pm

But I didn't realize he was injured.

Apparently.

In any case, 350+ is an exceptional 4th innings score on any surface and all the ex-Pros are saying that the wicket is worse (harder to score on) than Headingley.

Throw in 0-2 and rain is the only hope; but it's Manchester so ...

diplomat61 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:37 pm

BunnyGo wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:14 pm

Fear of Stokes.

Stokes is injured "will only bowl if necessary"

But I didn't realize he was injured.

diplomat61 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:37 pm

BunnyGo wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:14 pm

Fear of Stokes.

Stokes is injured "will only bowl if necessary"

I meant, his batting to come back if they only have a 350 lead. See: Headingly

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:14 pm

Why are Australia still batting?!?

And if you're going to start with a double wicket maiden...it doesn't really matter.

Oh FFS

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:14 pm

Fear of Stokes.

Stokes is injured "will only bowl if necessary"

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:14 pm

Why are Australia still batting?!?

Fear of Stokes.

Why are Australia still batting?!?

Yeah, but it's far more likely to happen to Overton because he's a mediocre batsman in difficult conditions, and when it does the situation is very little improved. Put your decent batsman in and have confidence in him to bat sensibly until the conditions improve and he can turn it up a bit.

The logic is that a batsman is more likely to get out in the first part of their innings than later, because they get used to the bowling/conditions/something. I'm pretty sure that's true from patterns of scoring. So if you send Root in, he has to get used to the conditions twice - once at night and once in the morning - so he's more likely to get out early overall. Better to have that happen to Overton.

It doesn't make sense to me either, but I thought that was because I was an American who only recently discovered the wonder of the game. Is Overton less likely to get out than Root or Roy? Well, then what do you do when he gets out? Give them Leach?

I mean, I guess the logic is, better to lose 1 wicket with a batter that isn't going to score much anyways, than one who is'.

What's ugly is Overton batting so early. I've never been convinced by the logic of the nightwatchman, and I don't think I ever will.

Octavious wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 05, 2019 2:42 pm

Bloody hell, but he can bat...

Pretty ugly, but he makes it work.

Bloody hell, but he can bat...

BunnyGo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 26, 2019 1:29 am

And yet, I think it was yet another nail in Joel Wilson's coffin of being an elite.

The umps have had a terrible series. Consequently they have lost confidence in themselves, which is sad to see.

As before, I was impressed with the reasonably quick, smoothly done, review process in cricket; which produces results that are shared with the audience and almost never arguable (were Root's fingers under the ball?).

Contrast that with the (much newer) VAR system in football that is totally opaque and often produces what appear to be downright wrong decisions.

Headingley '81, with a seemingly impossible victory, is the only match that is comparable to this in my memory.

My wife and I had to go out when there was about an hour to go. When I checked the score/result she refused to believe me, twice.

That was the most exciting test match I ever remember.

And yet, I think it was yet another nail in Joel Wilson's coffin of being an elite. I doubt he'll be working many more top tests. It's been shameful. As great as Ben Stokes was, he was dead to rights one run shy. But blind Joel Wilson saved the match (and Paine wasting his review on stupidness).