bearded_red

How many points are Somerset going to get deducted for this pitch?

This looking more like how I imagined this tour would go..

Another cracker from the third umpire. It’s hard enough playing against eleven.

Any danger of the third umpire giving that out?

Virat Kohli, such a good player he thinks you can review it when you get bowled. Have to respect that.

Moeen! What a ball!

Don’t think this pitch was designed to last five days..

What crippling jealousy I have of everyone in that crowd.

27 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

If they stick to their policy I think it would mean Wood comes in for him and Broad replaces Anderson. They must be tempted to just bring Broad in for Archer though 

Wood isn’t there until the third test.

Absolutely incredible result. Could well be the best England performance I’ve seen all things considered.

Thought the most likely result before the series was 4-0 India with a couple probably by an innings. 

1 minute ago, bearded_red said:

That is an absolute nonsense from Jimmy. What a bowler.

He’s gone and done it again.

That is an absolute nonsense from Jimmy. What a bowler.

6 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Pant and others were obviously targeting Leach. Pant was even giving Bess respect at the other end...

Let’s see if he can win us the game seeing as it’s a minefield.

It wasn’t ‘Pant and others’ was it, it was Pant. His economy was under two against every other batsman.

If he was targeting Leach (I’m not sure you’ve seen much of Pant if you think he targets specific bowlers), it’s because he spins it into him and Bess is the more dangerous bowler to left handers as he spins it away. Bearing in mind Pant’s dismissal, I’m not sure how much respect was being shown there, but there we go.

Yeah because if he doesn’t bowl out Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant and Sundar in India that will definitively prove you right that he’s village..

A bloke with 44 wickets in 12 tests and over three hundred first class wickets at twenty six. Village. 
 
I’d hate to know how you describe the utter dross that bowled spin for England before Swann. If Leach is village I fear for the likes of Richard Dawson, Gareth Batty and Chris Schofield.

5 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Got plenty of tap first innings but I didn’t come on here and gloat... wasn’t great until that one ball that got the wicket this innings...

Let’s see if he can win us the game tomorrow and not the odd ball he gets right...

Been impressed with Bess however.

Yeah getting slapped about by Rishabh Pant proves that’s he’s village.

Good point.

Decent delivery that for a ‘village spinner’.

Just one of those ‘village spinners’ getting Virat Kohli out.

A reminder of just how tough the next few weeks are likely to be and if England get well beaten, which I expect they will, the criticism shouldn’t be go too over the top. 
 

Playing India (a) at the moment right up there with the toughest tasks in the history of test cricket.

Also shows just how impressive it was England winning there 2-1 in 2012 under Cook.

20 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

Not long now until the 1st Test.  I think the team will be:

1. Burns

2. Sibley

3. Crawley

4. Root

5. Stokes

6. Lawrence (if Pope not fit)  (or Moeen if playing 3 spinners)

7. Buttler

8. Bess

9. Leach

10. Wood 

11.  Broad (or Anderson depending on rotation)

 

Players without brackets more likely to start I reckon.  Outside chance of 3 spinners.  Only when Stokes isn't available does it drum home how important he is for the balance of the side.  Almost like playing with 12 players.  

Only question mark if 3 spinners play is whether Moeen would come in for Lawrence or Wood.  Cannot see them going into a Test with only Broad and Stokes as the pace options so think it would be Lawrence if the pitch is a big turner.

Wood isn’t there for the first two tests.

15 minutes ago, Red Army 75 said:

Do you think Bairstow could open in the sub continent. IMO it could be an option 

It’s the conclusion I came to in the week before they announced he wouldn’t be there for the first two tests.

Not the long term answer there, but certainly the best bet for the India series in my opinion.

11 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

I know they’re Somerset lads but they are village spinners. Not international quality imo

40 wickets in 11 tests at 29.
 

299 first class wickets at 26.

Decent village standard Jack Leach must play.

14 minutes ago, phantom said:

Didn't say anything about Hamilton not being a better driver than Bottas, the point is the car is A MASSIVE factor in his records.

George Russell is obviously a novice driver in Formula 1 racing terms compared to Hamilton. 

Yes, obviously the car is a massive factor in his success. That is so obvious I can’t believe you think it needs pointing out. Clearly Vettel was helped by a dominant Red Bull, Schumacher was helped by a dominant Ferrari and so on..

That doesn’t change the fact that he is quite obviously a great. Would he win the championship in a Alfa Romeo? No. Would he beat anyone else out put in an Alfa Romeo with him and get results the Alfa doesn’t deserve? Yes.

As Carlos Sainz said in the week, 90% of drivers would win the championship in a Mercedes, but 90% of drivers wouldn’t win it if Hamilton was their team mate.

If you want to talk about novice drivers, how about an actual rookie, not one with two full seasons, who at the age of 22 beat the two time reigning champion in the same car? What was his name again? Oh yeah, Lewis Hamilton.

1 hour ago, phantom said:

No, I don't believe he is

This is the point.

Any other car a novice driver debuts in wouldn't probably make final qualifying, not alone the front row

Sorry you don’t believe Hamilton is superior to Bottas?

George Russell isn’t a novice driver driver. He is someone that, up until today, had beaten his teammates in qualifying 36 times in a row, a record only beaten by Schumacher and Senna.

18 minutes ago, Super said:

Why are Worcs playing at Edgbaston?

All the televised games in the ‘Central’ group are being played at Edgbaston.

Glad that ******* idiot is ‘trusted’.

1 minute ago, Lew-T said:

That puts football into real threat now. I guess it was only going to be a matter of time.

The Arteta news coming less than an hour after the Premier League announced it was business as usual for the weekend!