Paxter Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 But first...the WTC Final. Looking forward to this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 I wish the WTC finals were at least 2 or 3 test matches long. One test game feels odd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 India win the toss and bowl. Also they leave Ashwin out. The big news today though is Moeen has decided to unretire for the Ashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastWolf Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 2 minutes ago, ljkeane said: Also they leave Ashwin out. I can smell the regret in the horizon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, TheLastWolf said: I can smell the regret in the horizon It feels a bit harsh on him in general considering his contribution to getting the side to the final but, honestly, I doubt they're going to get much use out of two spinners at the Oval relatively early in the season. It's probably the right call. ETA: Decent start for India, Shami and Siraj have been tormenting the batsmen, but only picking up the one wicket is a bit of an issue. Edited June 7, 2023 by ljkeane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastWolf Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 3 hours ago, ljkeane said: doubt they're going to get much use out of two spinners at the Oval relatively early in the season. It's probably the right call He should have been the one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Pretty poor day for India after a decent start. Hopefully they can bounce back and make a good match of it still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 5 hours ago, Paxter said: Pretty poor day for India after a decent start. Hopefully they can bounce back and make a good match of it still. Head and Smith were in ominous form, I suspect this isn't going to be the last century we're going to see Head score this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 yeah not sure i see us scoring that many runs but we'll see what happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 (edited) Signs as well that Smith is returning to the peak of his powers, which must be triggering for England. He's managed to keep his test average over 60 despite a slight dip in form since the pandemic. Kohli meanwhile has seen his average dip below 50 (currently at 48.9) and has a poor test record since COVID. Edited June 8, 2023 by Paxter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 (edited) 13 hours ago, Paxter said: Signs as well that Smith is returning to the peak of his powers, which must be triggering for England. He's managed to keep his test average over 60 despite a slight dip in form since the pandemic. Yesterday’s man, you can’t be going at a strike rate of 45 in the Bazball era. On the other hand Scott Boland currently going at zero runs for one wicket in England is a little concerning. ETA: India are in big trouble here. They’re staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat if they don’t put a solid partnership together soon. Edited June 8, 2023 by ljkeane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 7 hours ago, ljkeane said: Yesterday’s man, you can’t be going at a strike rate of 45 in the Bazball era. On the other hand Scott Boland currently going at zero runs for one wicket in England is a little concerning. ETA: India are in big trouble here. They’re staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat if they don’t put a solid partnership together soon. “Doesn’t matter how you get them, just matters how many”. I’d take Smith over any Bazball initiates :P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 8 hours ago, ljkeane said: ETA: India are in big trouble here. They’re staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat if they don’t put a solid partnership together soon. It was a poor performance, particularly to have two dismissals bowled when not playing a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 Warner gone early. I wonder whether he has done enough to get an Ashes berth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Paxter said: Warner gone early. I wonder whether he has done enough to get an Ashes berth... I thought he actually did quite well in the first innings to be fair. He definitely had the toughest period of the match so far to bat in and pretty much got Australia through it, the dismissal was fairly unlucky too. Labuschagne is looking very uncomfortable here. ETA: Come on. This is a bit ridiculous the spectator has paid for his seat (presumably), he’s allowed to sit there wearing a red shirt if he wants ffs. Smith should just be told to suck it up and get on with it. Edited June 9, 2023 by ljkeane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 You'd think with a lead of 300 and India missing the brilliance of Pant - this match is pretty much over. Australia definitely making a case that they could snag a rare away Ashes win. They seem to have most of their bases covered - defensive batting (Smith, Marnus), in-form aggressive batting (Head), all-rounder (Green) and a varied attack. I really hope Moeen's return to tests is a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 9 hours ago, ljkeane said: Labuschagne is looking very uncomfortable here. Labuschagne apparently trying to have a nap on the balcony and then being woken up by the crowd celebrating Warner's dismissal was amusing. I think definitely the best day of the Test for India so far, with Rahane and Thakur providing some good fight with the bat and then the bowlers causing some problems for the Australian batsmen but it might be too little too late, Australia's lead is already very significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 18 hours ago, Paxter said: You'd think with a lead of 300 and India missing the brilliance of Pant - this match is pretty much over. 444 to win does look a bit unlikely but we have seen some big chases to win in recent times. Sharma and Gill are giving it a good go anyway. As I was typing this Gill is out to a brilliant catch from Green. I’m not really sure why it took so much time to give it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastWolf Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Crazy stats, Lord Thakur at his namesake venue hits 3rd consec 50. Only Bradman and Border before him Anyway King Kohli will save us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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