Oh dear.
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I’m getting a sense of the 2019 Ashes series. India have burned through their reviews, England wickets are being taken at regular intervals. An experienced head of Root and inexperience Smith coming to the crease with a long tail to follow. 69 runs to win, there will be more twists and turns coming up
You can say that again! Eight failed reverse sweeps from Stokes. You just knew he wasn’t going to stick around.
What a remarkable win. Probably the best of the Bazball era!
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Root is just class - but well played Smith, calmness personified when the stress levels must have been stratospheric.
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Aadi Sharma also in the 12-man Northants squad to face Kent tomorrow. Might be tight to get from Canterbury to Chesham in time for game 2 assuming he’s not named in the starting XI
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Speaking of Kent, I wonder if Teddy Fleming is a relative of ex-Kent captain Matthew Fleming
In the first game, Berks made 171/7 from 20 overs, after being put in.
Bucks 165/9 off 20, Berks won by six runs. Bucks made a good start, going along at 10 an over, but a middle order collapse left a bit too much to do. Aum Raykar made a very good 57 off 43, and Ryan Friend, 49 off 34.
Game 2, Berks won the toss and batted, making 162/9 off 20. This included three very good run outs, two of them by Archie Dodds, both with only one stump to aim at.
Result - Bucks all out for 126 off 18.4 overs, Berks won by 36 runs. A repeat of too many injudicious shots up and a rather disappointing day for Bucks.
Big match starting on Wednesday, Edgbaston always produces good and close matches with an amazing atmosphere.
I really hope they don’t pick Jofra, I think he still needs time and needs more match practice at the longer game. Last time we drafted in a bowling one-day player (M Ali), he fell apart due to being asked to bowl more than 10 overs in a day. Jofra has only played 1 4-day match since the 2019 Ashes series.
Wasn’t Ali suffering some kind of hand injury.at the time? And isn’t a 90 mph plus bowler less likely to be taken apart by India’s batsmen than an off break bowler? But I must admit I hadn’t realised how little first class cricket he has played in recent years.
I see your point but a pace-bowler’s action is more physically demanding on the body than a spinner’s. If Jofra has only been putting his body through his action 24 (4 overs) or 60 (10 overs) in a match, his body will be conditioned to last for that stress whereas he could be bowling upwards of 15 - 30 overs in an innings.
Ali got blisters in his fingers during the match because he was required to bowl 30 overs plus and his skin wasn’t used to the additional wear & tear
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Thanks @Otter87. Makes complete sense. And I gather he’s not been picked in any case.
Cooler and fresher in Birmingham tomorrow so I expect Stokes will stick to his run chasing approach and will opt to field if he wins the toss. With the frailty of their lower order I don’t think the Indians will fancy a fourth innings run chase so, either way, we’ll probably be watching them bat tomorrow.
We’ll be watching them bat all day today as well!
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It’s going to be a high scoring match, I heard on TMS that the boundary ropes have been brought in close to the size of a women’s game. I don’t know if England requested that or what but it seems very weird. I remember when the boundary was just the sponsorship boards
Bazball has completely changed the paradigm hasn’t it? Have India batted themselves into an unassailable position already, or will we win comfortably by tea on day four. Are England more likely to win or lose by an innings at this point. Who knows anymore.
I think they have given themselves a large safety net to help protect their bowling attack without Bumrah
Which is sadly doing quite nicely without him
I take full blame for Duckett and Pope’s wicket as they fell straight after my post
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