The Cricket Thread

You mean we might escape with an innings defeat in 2 days not 3?

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England going all out with their best player from the start it seems :rofl:

Jupiter Pluvious?

It looks really bad weather wise

And with as secondary as the longer form version of the game has become in our domestic calendar I don’t know why we’d expect them to be. Our best players play too little of the long form game in an environment that tells them it is of less importance than the various shorter forms. All the incentives are for players to focus on the various shorter forms and you cannot create that environment and then expect the best of them to magic up an attitude and technique necessary to perform at this level in what are completely alien conditions.

That was compounded further on this tour by the complete lack of preparation they had once they arrived in Oz.

Ignoring the state of the series, first day of a test, England bowling. 4 down by lunch please :slight_smile:

Warner turning his back on the first ball, excellent.

Does the Aus cricket schedule and governing body prioritise red ball cricket to a greater extent than the ECB?

Jimmy’s last ball there swung miles.

Good start for a draw :rofl:

With its poor timing on the international calendar and low pay, pretty much only Australians play in the domestic long format, the Sheffield Shield. This gives Aussie youngsters more time to break through the ranks, and it means foreigners don’t have time to play long format cricket in Aussie conditions outside of actual tests. On top of that, I’m pretty sure there are far more Aussies registered as cricketers than the are in England, and per capita there is no comparison (this is likely measured differently in each country though). Bigger sport there, bigger pool of players to choose from.
Sure the long format is declining due to the ££ in short format cricket in every country, but I think England in particular seem to have very different teams for short and long format teams. Australia seem to share more players between the formats. So there does appear to be a problem where you are creating players that are only suited for short format cricket than other countries.

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There is also the fact the Sheffield Shield has a small number of teams, so the level of talent required to make that level is going to be higher compared to County level where you have 18

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Commentator “Smith playing very cautiously this morning”

That’s why he’s still in the middle. Test cricket, who knew?

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Well done Bangladesh. A win for the ages. Excellent result.

Day 4 in Johannesburg - South Africa looking favourites, but a wicket in the first 30 minutes of the day’s play will get India right back into it.

Ashes – only hope (apart from the weather) is the new ball after lunch works it’s magic. Injuries happen to bowlers during an innings. Others need to step up. Stop feeling sorry.

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Ooohhhh……

Yeeehaw!!

1 brings 2 :slight_smile:
Need to go to bed….

Keeper and slips too deap.

Much better after lunch with three wickets. Aus will probably look for quicker runs after tea. Mustn’t let the tail wag.

Can it just be over please?