The Cricket Thread 2014

[PaulWinch again]

Ballance started the series well but he's tailed off a bit.

[PaulWinch again]

This innings is going a bit sideways now, we need Morgan to perform. I'm still not convinced by Root, he frequently gets out cheaply.

[PaulWinch again]

Poor time for Cook to go, we really need to gain some impetus again.

[PaulWinch again]

Completely crumbling now. It's down to Bopara and Buttler to save us again.

[Villan For Life]

What really annoys me about England in ODI's is how often we look like we've never played this form of the game.

[paul_e]

Sounds like we're struggling with the pitch though, when a bunch of batsmen hit lobbed catches to the in-field it's normally because the ball is sticking in the pitch, if so tredwell, bopara and root have got a very important job to do and the quicks have to mix in a bunch of slower deliveries, really take advantage of the pitch.

[paul_e]

Buttler and Jordan are going to just have to go for this, 9 overs to go but we need 60-70 to get a competitive score, the wickets and disruption in the middle has done for us by the looks of it, which was my worry earlier, the start was ok by our standards.  Cook going when he did was a big blow.

[adrenachrome]

I can hear the booing from miles away.

[paul_e]

Silly from Buttler to wander down like that but that's just a scummy thing to do, particularly galling seeing as his action has already been reported and he's pretty lucky to be playing.

[Villan For Life]

I can hear the booing from miles away.

Although it's within the rules a dismissal like that is not within the spirit of the game.

[paul_e]

I can hear the booing from miles away.

Although it's within the rules a dismissal like that is not within the spirit of the game.

Sri Lanka always live right on the edge of the rules, look back at the discussion on here about Malinga and then look at Senanayake's action.  I'd be ok with that if they weren't the team that kicked up a stink about Finn kicking the wicket, I've not got a lot of time for them.

[PGW]

I don't really have any sympathy for Buttler there, he had quite clearly been warned a couple of times by Senanyake and blatantly left his crease, out i'm afraid.
Angelo Matthews could i suppose have retrieved the situation when the umpire asked him if he wanted to uphold the appeal which obviously he did.
For fcuks sake Buttler scored a quick ton in his last game, this is a series decider, very naive of him.

[adrenachrome]

Tweets from a list by ESPNcricinfo
   Michael Vaughan        ✔ @MichaelVaughan

    Totally blame the Captain... He is the man who makes the decisions and should have over turned the decision... No way to play the game...

[paul_e]

As I said, it's a little silly from Buttler but I'm pretty sure that it you froze the camera on the non-striker when the batsman is in his delivery stride 90% of the time they'd be slightly out of their crease.  If' he'd been a couple of yards down the wicket I'd not be so annoyed but that was taking the piss, it really does sum up the SL approach to the game, they were on top anyway and are clear favourites but any chance to get a benefit by playing slightly outside the spirit of the game and they just go with it.

[cheltenhamlion]

I am not watching it so can't speak specifically of the incident. In wider cricketing terms though, the Asian block and what they can get away with is pretty shitty.

India seem to have carte blanche to decide which rules they like, Pakistan are up there with the biggest cheats in any world sport and Sri Lanka punch above their weight as ****** because they can rely on those two to back them up.

I still like watching it occasionally but international cricket is now so riddled by politics and win at all costs that is slowly starting to resemble football and its race for ever more money at all costs.

There has always been a touch of gamesmanship but these days it is getting silly. Spot fixing in the tests, the games NZ are having with it, Afridi spinning like a top on a good length after what was feared to be a terrorist attack, ball tampering, media in Oz so abusive that they would be chucked out of a football ground if they shouted up in a similar fashion, T20 taking over as the most popular version etc.

I am a mardy old fucker about football. If the other sports I like go the same way then Christ only knows what I will do at weekends!