The Official Cricket Thread

[Big D]

Bairstow cannot play the rest of this series. He's been terrible.

[Margin__Walker]

Always feel for any sportsman when everyone is on his back, but boy has he been the deadest of dead weights in this series.

[tabascoboy]

Bairstow cannot play the rest of this series. He's been terrible.

Appalling shot!

[Paddington Bear]

Remember when we got a new coach who stated you always pick your best keeper? Boy I wonder what happened to him

[Paddington Bear]

Oh god I can’t take this

[Paddington Bear]

Starc on, last roll of the dice…

[Thor Sedan]

They made hard work of that!

So surely Bairstow is gone right? There is no justification of him staying.

If Wood can stay unbroken....where does it leave Anderson? Wodd has bowled and batted well.

What do Aussie do about Labuschagne? Drop him for next test?

[tabascoboy]

Carey got the Bairstow disease near the end, not that it would have made any difference tough.

Wood is basically Lance Cairns with the bat

[Paddington Bear]

Tbf to Carey it was never his catch and he did well to get there. Suspect the game was gone by then anyway but it did my heart rate no good. Roll on Old Trafford

[JM2K6]

They made hard work of that!

So surely Bairstow is gone right? There is no justification of him staying.

If Wood can stay unbroken....where does it leave Anderson? Wodd has bowled and batted well.

What do Aussie do about Labuschagne? Drop him for next test?

Bairstow will be the beneficiary of the fact that we have so many injured players, I expect they won't dump another experienced head. Best we can hope for is Foakes coming in to take the gloves, hopefully allowing Bairstow to improve his batting.

Cracking win, the positive aspects of Bazball coming through nicely there - chased down a tricky target in 50 overs, helped massively by the positive start last night, the fact that no-one bar Ali got bogged down, Wood's brilliant cameo in the first innings, etc. Still plenty of issues but a well deserved victory and the series is still alive for now.

[Paddington Bear]

They made hard work of that!

So surely Bairstow is gone right? There is no justification of him staying.

If Wood can stay unbroken....where does it leave Anderson? Wodd has bowled and batted well.

What do Aussie do about Labuschagne? Drop him for next test?

Bairstow will be the beneficiary of the fact that we have so many injured players, I expect they won't dump another experienced head. Best we can hope for is Foakes coming in to take the gloves, hopefully allowing Bairstow to improve his batting.

Cracking win, the positive aspects of Bazball coming through nicely there - chased down a tricky target in 50 overs, helped massively by the positive start last night, the fact that no-one bar Ali got bogged down, Wood's brilliant cameo in the first innings, etc. Still plenty of issues but a well deserved victory and the series is still alive for now.

Worth bearing in mind that for all the ‘no adjusting’ etc rhetoric Stokes adjusted more than he ever has before during this match. Ali to three didn’t work in the sense that Ali failed, but it kept Brook in his best position which allowed him to win the game. Stokes himself again batted very cautiously for much of the first innings until wickets fell, and he wasn’t the only one.
Woakes’ return was long overdue and well rewarded. All in all a much more intelligent performance, and gives me hope they might backtrack on Foakes. Very pleased.

[tabascoboy]

Tbf to Carey it was never his catch and he did well to get there. Suspect the game was gone by then anyway but it did my heart rate no good. Roll on Old Trafford

Boland hardly moved so I guess that Carey called for it? Much easier for the fielder to judge the carry and get there. Mind you they are horrible to take and I speak from personal experience I'd have been happy to leave it to the keeper!

[JM2K6]

I'm still amazed they didn't drop the Brook catch, given the fielders ran into each other

[Biffer]

Scots - and I know plenty of you are on this thread. Any pubs near Waverley station that are unlikely to tell an Englishman to fuck off if he asks for them to show the cricket?

Sorry, first time on today. Did you find somewhere?

[Grandpa]

They made hard work of that!

So surely Bairstow is gone right? There is no justification of him staying.

If Wood can stay unbroken....where does it leave Anderson? Wodd has bowled and batted well.

What do Aussie do about Labuschagne? Drop him for next test?

Bairstow will be the beneficiary of the fact that we have so many injured players, I expect they won't dump another experienced head. Best we can hope for is Foakes coming in to take the gloves, hopefully allowing Bairstow to improve his batting.

Cracking win, the positive aspects of Bazball coming through nicely there - chased down a tricky target in 50 overs, helped massively by the positive start last night, the fact that no-one bar Ali got bogged down, Wood's brilliant cameo in the first innings, etc. Still plenty of issues but a well deserved victory and the series is still alive for now.

Bairstow will stay... I hope they bring in Foakes though... that will allow Bairstow to concentrate on his batting (I think his keeping has affected his confidence all round) which if like last year would be a boon... and allow a proper keeper to take the gloves.. but who goes? A batter or a bowler? England will need spin at Old Trafford which will likely be flat again...

[Grandpa]

Forecast isn't great for tomorrow but Monday looks better, so looks as if there should be enough time for a result in a low scoring game

Think it's in reverse? Monday looks iffy and tomorrow could be ok...

Forecast changes every time I check! Now says showers in later afternoon today and fine tomorrow until the afternoon. Interruptions to play very likely then, but should be able to get 70 - 80 overs at least which will be enough one way or the other

Hard to predict these thunderstorms... the rain came eventually, been thunderstorms the last hour (I'm not far from Leeds).

[Paddington Bear]

Scots - and I know plenty of you are on this thread. Any pubs near Waverley station that are unlikely to tell an Englishman to fuck off if he asks for them to show the cricket?

Sorry, first time on today. Did you find somewhere?

Not in Edinburgh, I worked out my train through to Glasgow timed almost perfectly with lunch, and somewhere near George Square I know has Sky and successfully persuaded them to show it. ‘First time for everything’ in the words of the barman!

[Torquemada 1420]

Pleased for Woakes who shows that it's possible to be a nice guy and perform well.

[Torquemada 1420]

I'm still amazed they didn't drop the Brook catch, given the fielders ran into each other

Aussie fielding became a bit of a horror show under pressure as evidenced by Carey going for that take which was never his. Nice to see them rattled a bit and let's hope Eng can keep that pressure up to force a series decider.

[tabascoboy]

Three in the S/SE and none north of Nottingham? Headingly gets a Women's Ashes test though. Also has Chester-le-Street been abandoned as an option?

In 2027, England Men will play Tests against Australia at Lord's, The Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and The Ageas Bowl

[Biffer]

Three in the S/SE and none north of Nottingham? Headingly gets a Women's Ashes test though. Also has Chester-le-Street been abandoned as an option?

In 2027, England Men will play Tests against Australia at Lord's, The Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and The Ageas Bowl

No tests scheduled at Durham until at least 2032. One days and t20s.

[tabascoboy]

Three in the S/SE and none north of Nottingham? Headingly gets a Women's Ashes test though. Also has Chester-le-Street been abandoned as an option?

In 2027, England Men will play Tests against Australia at Lord's, The Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and The Ageas Bowl

No tests scheduled at Durham until at least 2032. One days and t20s.

Well glad to hear it's still on the international calendar in some way, even though I'm down in the south!

[Big D]

Three in the S/SE and none north of Nottingham? Headingly gets a Women's Ashes test though. Also has Chester-le-Street been abandoned as an option?

In 2027, England Men will play Tests against Australia at Lord's, The Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and The Ageas Bowl

I think Durham was removed as a test venue due to their financial issues. I was there in 2013 when Broad took 6 for 50 or something like that to win the urn.

[Woddy]

Three in the S/SE and none north of Nottingham? Headingly gets a Women's Ashes test though. Also has Chester-le-Street been abandoned as an option?

In 2027, England Men will play Tests against Australia at Lord's, The Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and The Ageas Bowl

I think Durham was removed as a test venue due to their financial issues. I was there in 2013 when Broad took 6 for 50 or something like that to win the urn.

Read somewhere yesterday that Cardiff and C-l-S have been officially binned as Test venues. Didn't say why, but report seemed supportive of them not working for Tests (while v anti idea of neither Headingley nor OT getting a test). Don't understand why Southampton should be more deserving than Cardiff or the N/E.

And separately, it's very bad news that Foakes is not coming in for Bairstow. I'm all for supporting players through a rough patch, but Bairstow looks completely shot mentally.

[Big D]

International team selection is always tough. Not selecting Foakes instead of Bairstow has been based on blind faith.

The moments Bairstow left that catch to Brooks when it was his and then getting out the way he did should have been the end of debate.

[Hal Jordan]

Mate's club selection.

[Biffer]

Three in the S/SE and none north of Nottingham? Headingly gets a Women's Ashes test though. Also has Chester-le-Street been abandoned as an option?

I think Durham was removed as a test venue due to their financial issues. I was there in 2013 when Broad took 6 for 50 or something like that to win the urn.

Read somewhere yesterday that Cardiff and C-l-S have been officially binned as Test venues. Didn't say why, but report seemed supportive of them not working for Tests (while v anti idea of neither Headingley nor OT getting a test). Don't understand why Southampton should be more deserving than Cardiff or the N/E.

And separately, it's very bad news that Foakes is not coming in for Bairstow. I'm all for supporting players through a rough patch, but Bairstow looks completely shot mentally.

Yeah, I don’t understand Southampton getting test matches. I was there for a T20 earlier in the summer, and it’s a decent ground, but it’s not Old Trafford or Headingley.

There may be a purely commercial aspect here as you make more money from hospitality in the SE of England. Chaps from the city and their clients will take a day trip to Southampton but not to Manchester, Leeds, Durham or Cardiff. In fact there’ll be plenty of them living in Hampshire.

[JM2K6]

Mate's club selection.

Basically. And Zac Crawley's relative success* this series after sticking with him through a loooong rough patch will only make them more stubborn.

It's mad that Bairstow gets to hold on to his spot. He's not just been poor, he's been an unmitigated disaster. A complete shitshow. What does it say to other players when you can perform like that and not even risk having to give up one of the disciplines, let alone lose your place?

* Crawley has performed above expectations but he's had 6 innings and hit one 50 for an average of 32.6

[Woddy]

Mate's club selection.

Basically. And Zac Crawley's relative success* this series after sticking with him through a loooong rough patch will only make them more stubborn.

It's mad that Bairstow gets to hold on to his spot. He's not just been poor, he's been an unmitigated disaster. A complete shitshow. What does it say to other players when you can perform like that and not even risk having to give up one of the disciplines, let alone lose your place?

* Crawley has performed above expectations but he's had 6 innings and hit one 50 for an average of 32.6

Couldn't agree more and that him leaving that catch to Brook is a really bad sign (c.f. Carey shouting Boland out of the way on Sunday). And quite aside from taking tough decisions for the good of the team and wider squad morale, I'm not even sure it's good for Bairstow himself. Any further shockers will just need him to dig a bigger hole to crawl into mentally. Sometimes I wonder whether they give him particular care given what happened with his father; but if so, I don't think this does help.

[Grandpa]

Mate's club selection.

Basically. And Zac Crawley's relative success* this series after sticking with him through a loooong rough patch will only make them more stubborn.

It's mad that Bairstow gets to hold on to his spot. He's not just been poor, he's been an unmitigated disaster. A complete shitshow. What does it say to other players when you can perform like that and not even risk having to give up one of the disciplines, let alone lose your place?

* Crawley has performed above expectations but he's had 6 innings and hit one 50 for an average of 32.6

Didn't Bairstow hit 78 in the first test? So I would keep him as a batter... and agree Foakes should have been brought in to keep. Drop Moeen and have Root bowl spinners.

[Woddy]

Mate's club selection.

Basically. And Zac Crawley's relative success* this series after sticking with him through a loooong rough patch will only make them more stubborn.

It's mad that Bairstow gets to hold on to his spot. He's not just been poor, he's been an unmitigated disaster. A complete shitshow. What does it say to other players when you can perform like that and not even risk having to give up one of the disciplines, let alone lose your place?

* Crawley has performed above expectations but he's had 6 innings and hit one 50 for an average of 32.6

Didn't Bairstow hit 78 in the first test? So I would keep him as a batter... and agree Foakes should have been brought in to bat. Drop Moeen and have Root bowl spinners.

He hadn't kept at that point, and there have been 5 innings since.

[Grandpa]

Basically. And Zac Crawley's relative success* this series after sticking with him through a loooong rough patch will only make them more stubborn.

It's mad that Bairstow gets to hold on to his spot. He's not just been poor, he's been an unmitigated disaster. A complete shitshow. What does it say to other players when you can perform like that and not even risk having to give up one of the disciplines, let alone lose your place?

* Crawley has performed above expectations but he's had 6 innings and hit one 50 for an average of 32.6

Didn't Bairstow hit 78 in the first test? So I would keep him as a batter... and agree Foakes should have been brought in to bat. Drop Moeen and have Root bowl spinners.

He hadn't kept at that point, and there have been 5 innings since.

I think the keeping aspect has affected his confidence not only keeping, but batting too.. hence remove the burden... and let him bat! Then again they have mental health gurus working with them who should know what's best...

[Paddington Bear]

Good morning from Manchester. Weather here a little overcast but we’ll get going on time I’d say. Radar suggests the weekend could be very iffy.

Had some good banter with Aussies on the train up last night, this just feels like a bigger occasion than most cricket matches manage - feels here like the morning of a big 6 Nations game

[Mahoney]

Looks like a pretty rickety old England team... not a fan of Ali as either a 3 test bat or a frontline test spinner. Has anyone asked Stokes why he's not batting at 3?

Praying that Anderson still has some great spells in him...

At least we bat down to 9 and there's some genuine options in the bowling attack. Going to be tough to bowl that Aussie side out twice, Cummins at 10! I hope it persuades England to carry on bowling properly, slips in and top of off, all the way through the innings. Never understood why you change from the tactics that get top order bats out when the whole point is that people lower down the order aren't as good at facing that sort of bowling...

[Sandstorm]

England haven't beaten the Aussies at Old Trafford since 1981.

[Sandstorm]

Movement already for Jimmy

[Sandstorm]

Borad gets Khawaja cheaply.

[Sandstorm]

Ball nipping about, Labuwhatshisname will surely struggle.

[Sandstorm]

Bairstow drops a couple of non-chances already

[Deepsouth]

Bairstow drops a couple of non-chances already

That's the thing about the English/Kiwi they are stubborn...