NPR

Another bone headed shot from Brook to piss away a century that just needed patience for the single that was going to be there sooner rather than later.

Paddington Bear wrote: Sat Jun 21, 2025 10:01 pm Away from the pro game, I took my 650th wicket for my club this afternoon. Took my first aged 11 having arrived to score with the kit in the car ‘just in case’, caught at cover by my Dad. Celebrated the 650th with a couple of quick pints then back home for an evening of nappy changes. Two decades or so well spent.

And yes, the big one was a rank half volley caught on the boundary, no pictures in the scorebook.

Awesome. Playing with your son, your dad obvious spend hours and hours with you in the nets and backyard.

Paddington Bear wrote: Sat Jun 21, 2025 10:01 pm Away from the pro game, I took my 650th wicket for my club this afternoon. Took my first aged 11 having arrived to score with the kit in the car ‘just in case’, caught at cover by my Dad. Celebrated the 650th with a couple of quick pints then back home for an evening of nappy changes. Two decades or so well spent.

And yes, the big one was a rank half volley caught on the boundary, no pictures in the scorebook.

Good man, well played

Paddington Bear wrote: Sat Jun 21, 2025 10:01 pm Away from the pro game, I took my 650th wicket for my club this afternoon. Took my first aged 11 having arrived to score with the kit in the car ‘just in case’, caught at cover by my Dad. Celebrated the 650th with a couple of quick pints then back home for an evening of nappy changes. Two decades or so well spent.

And yes, the big one was a rank half volley caught on the boundary, no pictures in the scorebook.

This is brilliant, well done.

Funnily enough I bumped into your old man on Wednesday morning

Thanks all, much appreciated, and Slick I have no idea how you two bump into each other so much!

Paddington Bear wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 10:04 am Thanks all, much appreciated, and Slick I have no idea how you two bump into each other so much!

I genuinely hadn't bumped into him like that for about 20 years and it's now the last 3 times I've been down. Very odd.

Carse has started well

I've watched a lot of Test cricket over the last 35 years & think I know a fair bit about how it works.......however can someone please explain to me how the fuck the only bowler on the planet who seems to be "able to mop up the tail cheaply..." is Josh Tongue??????

Sandstorm wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 4:30 pm I've watched a lot of Test cricket over the last 35 years & think I know a fair bit about how it works.......however can someone please explain to me how the fuck the only bowler on the planet who seems to be "able to mop up the tail cheaply..." is Josh Tongue??????

Like most things in test cricket, I put this down to players not playing red ball format enough. Bowlers no longer have the imagination, guile or often straight up brutality to knock a tail over quickly. And yes, I know you can't bounce people five balls an over to the head like in the past, but you can stick it right in their chest, which was always more brutal anyway (harder to avoid). Nowadays they're coached to use the bouncer as a dot ball in the death overs, not as a way to terrify 8/9/10/11. And the bizarre thing is it'd work even better now because those batsmen aren't used to facing it for the same reason.

344 to get - 3 sessions.

Crazy to think that India are about 150 runs short if England get going.

Good test this.

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 11:42 amGood test this.

I’m loving it

Sandstorm wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 11:44 am

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 11:42 amGood test this.

I’m loving it

Me too

Proper cricket, this

Terrible day to be in the office

Paddington Bear wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 1:28 pm Terrible day to be in the office

Might get more comfortable, looks like the rain is starting

That seems pretty stupid from Stokes, got to vary it a bit

Ooh, exciting. Wish my old links worked.

Superb chase by England, classy batting. Well played.

And that's a great finish from Smith.

Well done Poms

Sandstorm wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 5:29 pm Superb chase by England, classy batting. Well played.

+1

Phenomenal test match. Duckett’s ton will age very well in all time conversations I think

Proof that test cricket is way, way superior to the white ball game. Superb.

Looking forward to four more tests like that. World Cricket is properly shitting the bed over test cricket while it prostate itself in front of the IPL money men with its mouth open. Absolutely nothing is done to promote this form of the game, it relies on England basically, with some from the Aussies and an Indian public that will lap up any old shit quite frankly. I'm certain it's played a part in the demise of the West Indies. We need more day night tests, a WTC that makes some fucking sense and a genuine enthusiasm for tests from the authorities.

Terrific result to England.

Test cricket is best cricket.

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 6:18 pm Proof that test cricket is way, way superior to the white ball game. Superb.

Looking forward to four more tests like that. World Cricket is properly shitting the bed over test cricket while it prostate itself in front of the IPL money men with its mouth open. Absolutely nothing is done to promote this form of the game, it relies on England basically, with some from the Aussies and an Indian public that will lap up any old shit quite frankly. I'm certain it's played a part in the demise of the West Indies. We need more day night tests, a WTC that makes some fucking sense and a genuine enthusiasm for tests from the authorities.

All of this

Also puts paid to the recent pish about changing the format.

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 24, 2025 6:18 pm Proof that test cricket is way, way superior to the white ball game. Superb.

Looking forward to four more tests like that. World Cricket is properly shitting the bed over test cricket while it prostate itself in front of the IPL money men with its mouth open. Absolutely nothing is done to promote this form of the game, it relies on England basically, with some from the Aussies and an Indian public that will lap up any old shit quite frankly. I'm certain it's played a part in the demise of the West Indies. We need more day night tests, a WTC that makes some fucking sense and a genuine enthusiasm for tests from the authorities.

I don't think the ICC is in front of the IPL, it's much more in felching mode.

That said I'm utterly unsold on the notion of a WTC, the whole idea of test cricket is you are tested by a variety of teams in various conditions over time (across games and across years) and from that typically 1 or 2 sides emerge as the leader(s) in test cricket, having a one off game or even one off series just misses the point, and by a considerable margin. Day/night games..., well, maybe.

And the Windies demise is they're simply part of the US sporting market and they'd rather play basketball or even baseball than 40-50 years ago. Things change. I would agree with funding some grassroots facilities and school coaching, and giving them proper test series, but we might simply be trying to sell union into Wigan

Australia really struggling in Bridgetown

138/6 with Shamar Joseph 4/30 off 13 the real destroyer. Kuwahja and Head have saved Oz from a total failure

180

Windies 54/4 (including a night watchman who failed)

There’s public parks preparing better wickets than that

Windies appear to be getting the unlucky side of the close decisions today. I hope this "benefit of the doubt to the bowler" standard remains when Oz bat.

171/8