The International Cricket Thread

[Meanwood Villa]

Kylie Minogue, Rolf Harris, Joe Mangel, Crocodile Dundee, Russell Crowe, Dame Edna Everage, can you hear me?? Your guys took a hell of a beating.

[PaulWinch again]

Very pleased for Bavuma. I really respect him.

[dcdavecollett]

Great news.

Well done, South Africa. Not a result I would have predicted.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

That was a great match, I'd have bet the house on the Australians blowing SA away.

Oh, and this is touching:

[Meanwood Villa]

I fancy England to win this series because India tend to struggle in Tests over here and they've lost some big names through retirement. Am I being daft?

[Gareth]

I fancy England to win this series because India tend to struggle in Tests over here and they've lost some big names through retirement. Am I being daft?

We shall see…Bumrah & co will still be stars & im sure by the end of the summer one or two of their batsmen will step up.  Really looking forward to seeing how Jaiswal does in English conditions (disclaimer no overcast mornings this test lol) as he’s looked really good whenever I’ve seen him

[Villan For Life]

Our attack looks thin for this test and I think the Indians will target Bashir so how he copes with that will be interesting.

We need some of the injured bowlers back, Atkinson is back in training and even Archer is pencilled in to play red ball cricket for Sussex this weekend, although he will probably get injured tying his bootlaces.

[Meanwood Villa]

When I first saw the bowling lineup I did think it looked weak but that's probably unfair on Woakes in English conditions. Debatable whether this weekend is typically English of course!

[PaulWinch again]

I’m not sure it’s weak, but it is inexperienced at Test level. This will be a very interesting series.

[Tony Daleys Shorts]

Woakes averages 22 in home tests, he’s still a tad underrated, Atkinson will be a big miss for the opener, hope he’s back soon but it’s a great chance for Josh Tongue to show what he can do. Hopefully Stokes can contribute fully with the ball, makes a massive difference to the balance of the side if he can.

Should be a superb series.

[PaulWinch again]

I’m not sure Woakes is underrated is he? Everyone knows he’s brilliant at home. He’s going to be critical. There’s also no way he’s playing at all 5 so Cook will have big boots to fill.

[manic-road]

Surprised England have chosen to bowl after winning the toss, could be a long hard slog in the heat today.

[Villan For Life]

Surprised England have chosen to bowl after winning the toss, could be a long hard slog in the heat today.

The stats show that, at Headingley, if you win the toss you bowl first. There have been a lot of successful 4th innings run chases there.

[paul_e]

Surprised England have chosen to bowl after winning the toss, could be a long hard slog in the heat today.

The stats show that, at Headingley, if you win the toss you bowl first. There have been a lot of successful 4th innings run chases there.

Yep, historically it's a ground where the pitch flattens out and becomes easier to play.

[LeeB]

Surprised England have chosen to bowl after winning the toss, could be a long hard slog in the heat today.

The stats show that, at Headingley, if you win the toss you bowl first. There have been a lot of successful 4th innings run chases there.

Yep, historically it's a ground where the pitch flattens out and becomes easier to play.

I reckon they make a decent score today, run through us with a bit of cloud tomorrow and then build a mammoth lead, the size of which is enough to induce a pathetic reply.