The Cricket Thread 2014

[taylorsworkrate]

Poor batting performance aside from Ballance.

Ali did okayish, but then got out to a joke bowler.

[PaulWinch again]

This England side can't seem to win the big moments of the game.

[Villan For Life]

The loss of Ali and Ballance has tipped the match back in India's favour. We'll do well to reach their total.

[PaulWinch again]

Good from Plunkett there keeping Prior down non-strikers end.

[olaftab]

The one thing Ali needs to iron out from his game is occasional lapses in concentration.

Aha the essential difference between the great and the good.

[paul_e]

The shot by Moeen looked tired to me, it just looked like he was tkaing it a bit easier before the new ball.

[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.

Because I haven't seen mention of it on here before I'm going to roll this thread back a way to point out that Senanayake has been banned from international cricket for a illegal action.  I thought it looked like chucking at the time, it makes everything that happened in those matches all the more annoying.


We're still poor but I glad a guy who looked so dodgy has been proven to be so, couldn't have happened to a more deserving person either.

[peter w]

To be fair most 'issues' around the game tend to come from the sub-continent.

[PaulWinch again]

The one thing Ali needs to iron out from his game is occasional lapses in concentration.

Aha the essential difference between the great and the good.

I'd say it's far too early to judge. For instance his 100 at Headingley was one of the greatest I've seen, but then he's done some average stuff too.

[Chris Jameson]

I don't think any batsman can be considered a 'great' until they've spent a few years playing Test cricket at a consistently high level.

[PaulWinch again]

I don't think any batsman can be considered a 'great' until they've spent a few years playing Test cricket at a consistently high level.

Agreed.

[tomd2103]

The loss of Ali and Ballance has tipped the match back in India's favour. We'll do well to reach their total.

Losing Ali and Ballance late on was a blow, but Prior, Stokes and Broad are more than capable of getting the runs needed to take us up to and past India's total.  The match is really in the balance at this point. 

[Villan For Life]

Interesting article on Cook:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2014/content/current/story/761795.html

He will be batting for his future in the second innings. No pressure then.

[PaulWinch again]

Good start to the morning.

[PaulWinch again]

Plunkett doing some real damage.