The Cricket Thread 2016

[DaveD]

Sounds like Misbah got a bit of a shocker when it was reviewed. But England have done quite well to keep plugging away, we could do with another couple though.

They played about 73 replays and I wouldn't have given it. Without HotSpot or Snicko evidence, that was extremely harsh.

[Villan For Life]

Bell has dropped two sitters today. Things are not going well for him at the moment.

[PaulWinch again]

That's shocking from Bell. Once is bad, but twice on a pitch like this is absolutely atrocious. I do think the bell is tolling on his international career. If he'd held those two catches we would have had a good day.

[olaftab]

This bit of excerpt from BBC really highlights how good a bats man Cook is as Younis and Chanderpaul are much older than him.

"Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has become his country's all-time leading Test run scorer on the first day of the first Test against England.
When he reached 21 in Abu Dhabi he overtook Javed Miandad's mark of 8,832, which has stood since 1993.
Younis, 37, is playing in his 102nd Test having made his debut in 2000.
He is now the 15th highest run scorer in Test history,  and third among active players, behind only Shiv Chanderpaul and Alastair Cook."

[PaulWinch again]

You can almost guarantee that those dropped catches mean that Bell won't get any runs now. He's always been a confidence player.

[aj2k77]

Ian Bell is finished anyway, he's shelled about 10 catches this summer.

[Villan For Life]

You can almost guarantee that those dropped catches mean that Bell won't get any runs now. He's always been a confidence player.

Vaughan just said as much on TMS.

Bell's drops and the wicket from a no ball means that we've given them three lives. It's difficult enough to take wickets in those conditions and it's vital to take the chances when they are presented. Pakistan 7 down at stumps looks a lot better from an English perspective than 4 down.

[PaulWinch again]

This is getting brutal.

[lovejoy]

Can any Warwickshire supporters out there, who no doubt know more about cricket than me, run me through what Ian Bell brings to the team to justify selection?
Not trying to start an argument but I really can't see it in him.

[PaulWinch again]

I'm not a Warwickshire fan, but Bell has had an excellent career at Test level. However he has incredibly fragile confidence and as he gets older that seems to be getting worse. I think he's on borrowed time now, because his form with the bat has been very poor.

[PaulWinch again]

I wonder what the odds are on Pakistan being 500/600 - 6 declared and then us being about 150/6.

[Villan For Life]

I wonder what the odds are on Pakistan being 500/600 - 6 declared and then us being about 150/6.

The pitch hasn't offered anything to our pretty average spinners. Once we get into day 3 and beyond it will deteriorate and their spinners will wreck havoc with our fragile batting line up. I can see them batting most of today and declaring about 30 minutes before the close. Our batsmen will be tired after almost 2 days in the field and will face a difficult few overs.

It's all about playing for the draw now, trouble is I have no confidence in our batting line up to see us through to safety.

[Villan For Life]

Can any Warwickshire supporters out there, who no doubt know more about cricket than me, run me through what Ian Bell brings to the team to justify selection?
Not trying to start an argument but I really can't see it in him.

I rate Bell but he is on borrowed time.

His stats just about justify continued  selection and I think that leaving him out would leave us very short of experience in the batting line up.

For the record, he's got over 7,500 test runs, 22 test centuries and is 9th on our list of all-time test run scorers. Only Pietersen and Cook have scored more test centuries. He also virtually won the 2013 home Ashes series as the only batsman in form. He's also won 5 Ashes series, a record he shares with Botham.

Whenever he's been at risk of being dropped, he's produced an innings that counts. His batting has been in decline for a couple of seasons and I'm not sure he has the confidence to dig in and play that big innings.

[Ads]

Bell has had his day. His language after the Ashes suggested he knew it too.

[Dave Cooper please]

Utterly pointless and boring Test match on an utterly boring shite flat pitch.
Win toss, bat and win if it cracks up or it's a draw.

They should have a rule where preparing a pitch as utterly boring as this is banned.