Yoss

Ah, okay, so not tearing up contracts was part of the agreement made with teh SFL at that first meeting in which they discussed the rule change to bypass Massone and allow you to remain in the league? I must admit I didn't realise that. But then wasn't that agreement nullified the following week when you failed to provide the bond and they went back on it? Fair do's though, if you choose to honour them (and indeed sign more) and someone is prepared to put the money up to cover it I obviously don't have a problem with that, I'm just curious as to where the money is coming from.

Point four doesn't stack up as you were still signing players on full-time contracts after that (and the second part of it is simply untrue, since you were going through administration - indeed Clyde scrubbed their full-time contracts even without going through that). But we've been through all that many times on the thread: I'm more interested in the first part of point three, is that really true? Given McDougall's admission that you aren't balancing the books this season, not to mention the money required for the CVA etc in the first instance, where's the money coming from / who is it owed to?

No takers?

Oops, I didn't mean to leave Ian Bell out of my team for Bangladesh - put him in at five. I agree with most of what btb has just said, Trott still has something to prove, so does Bell. I wouldn't say Broad is "never" a number 8 but he didn't do well enough for it here, certainly. I believe Swann bats above him in their county side, and it'd be tempting to do the same,mbut I think maybe Swann gets a bit more freedom at nine, where Broad is seen as the better long term bet to dig in and play as something approaching a proper batsman. Prior is another one who has had a less than convincing series with the bat, but is due credit for his keeping, which is now first rate.

Ouch. Bit of a pasting that. I think even the biased English supporter would struggle to say South Africa didn't deserve to draw the series though. Fair play. I'm still in favour of the review system - we saw it working well in the third Test and clearly it didn't affect the result in the fourth - but it needs a bit of work yet, any system is only as good as the people operating it and I'm increasinlgy losing confidence in Darryl Harper's ability to do so. Hotspot cameras will be a big help though From an England point of view: I hope this performance at the end of the series will strengthen rather than weaken the argument for resting a few key players for the Bangladesh series coming up (Strauss, Anderson and Broad, certainly, maybe Collingwood, Prior and Swann too). Really busy year coming up with the Ashes at the end of it. Looks like the number three problem is far from being settle yet, and they really need to find a way of getting a fifth bowler in there. My team for Bangladesh would be something like: Cook, Denly, Trott, Pietersen, Carberry, Kieswetter, Wright, Rashid, Sidebottom, Onions, Plunkett / Tredwell dependsing on whether it needs two spinners (I presume it will, on the subcontinent). I suspscet they'd pick Davies ahead of Kieswetter behind the wicket though, and Prior may want the opportunity to play his way back into form with the bat though, while Collingwood and Swann have been in such good form they'd want to keep it going. The quick bowlers, at least those in both the Test and one-day sides who've been playing continuously for a year or more, shouldn't be given the option and should be told to rest up. South Africa: nearly a very good side. At the outset of the series I thought they were too reliant on Steyn, but Morkel has had a terrific series, and Parnell looks like he might provide excellent back-up. All they need to find is an opening batsman and a better spinner. Duminy has been the other weak point this series, which is a surprise, but he'll come good if they stick with him. I believe they're going to India shortly, which could make for a very interesting series.

So for all that injury crisis and the almost frightening loss of form at the end of the year we finished up with 11 of the target of 12 points from the second quart of games? (Six of them from Partick, the way the fixtures worked out.) And still slightly ahead of target for the season. Plus, it's not going to need as high a points total to avoid the bottom two spots this season, I don't think we need very many more wins at all to keep clear of a relegation scrap. Maybe even just another three would do it. I'm very happy this evening. A decent showing in the cup and another win at East End and that'll be my season made.

Not much fun this, they're somewhere past our score, Smith has another ton and still only one wicket down. Bif of controversy about his non-dismissal earlier but basically they're just playing better than us, I've written the match off already. I guess I'd have settled for a drawn series before the start of it but it's a bit disappointing nonetheless. We're not going to win the Ashes down under with this bowling attack.

Sorry, I know I'm a couple of hours late but I'd like to agree with that. Don't know whether or not anything is actually libellous but I find the unfounded accustions or at least insinuations against the McCanns to be worse than a joke about molesting kids. Not that I'd report any of it, I'm happy for the moderation to be as laissez faire as possible.

What a shit day. Cricket is rubbish.

Blaming the McCanns for the disproportionate media coverage is daft, they've lost their kid and you wouldn't expect them to do anything other than the most they could in response. If there's a loss of perspective in the press, blame the press.

All out for 180. bugger.

Make that 133/6.

133/5 Doesn't sound like there have been many demons in the pitch either, just South Africa have bowled better than we've batted. Hopefully we can struggle our way to 250 and give ourselves at least something to bowl at.

I haven't heard the talk about Onions. But yes, if for any reason he can't play Sidebottom would be the natural replacement. I wouldn't mind that at all actually, he's still very capable of bowling well in the sort of conditions we're expecting.

I'm a bit worried about Parnell, he's looked very good in some of the one-dayers and I don't think it's a bad thing at all for SA that they're "forced" into giving him a Test debut. I doubt they'll change the top six, but we'll see. Duminy is the future, and his bowling is useful; Prince is a very good player too but clearly he's struggled to find form at the top of the order and is probably nearer to being edged out. It's more to do with the lack of a specialist opener though, and I don't think Peterson is one either. Since they're preparing a seaming wicket there's some talk they may also drop Harris for McLaren and rely on Duminy alone for a bit of spin. That would make some sense, I still don't rate Harris anyway. England have no decisions to make, unless there are any fitness doubts I don't know about. But I'm going to disagree with Miller that the selectors come out with a clean bill of health. I still maintain they went into the series with the wrong line-up though I guess it's difficult to argue with the position it's gotten us into (England do deserve their 1-0 lead despite the narrow margins of the two draws). The squad is definitely lopsided though, they've got at least one player (Rashid) and maybe another (Wright) who the captain and coach clearly don't trust as Test players, and if they were thinking about playing six batsman why only take the six? They had to draft Carberry in when Collingwood hurt his finger - but if that had happened the day before either of the first two Tests they'd have had to change the shape of the team through lack of a like-for-like sub.

Well, apart from the covering costs bit. Can I ask a genuine question here, if anyone knows the answer - has there been a single season in Livi's history when they haven't run at a loss? And if so, when was the last time? Ta.

Flintoff bowled 51 overs in Sri Lanka's second innings at Lord's in 2006. http://www.cricinfo....tch/225264.html Although, right enough, it probably did put him out for six months ....

like this one: http://www.cricinfo....atch/62930.html Not only did the West Indies only need one more wicket but England only needed six more runs - all four results were still possible going into the last over. What a game that must have been.

Crikey, how could I forget that? I think I was trying to think of ones we'd been on the other end of. Good work.

Okay, quick scan of the Test match lists. The list five occasions when a team has saved a draw with nine wickets down have all featured England, the four in the past year already mentioned plus India saving a game at Lord's in 2007 - though not with the same drama because weather ended the match before tea on the fifth day. In addition there was the other match in the West Indies last year which finished with eight down - which again hasn't happened in any other matches in the same period. Last time it happened in any other Test was the West Indies saving a home Test against India in 2006. Very similar situation that one, the tenth wicket partnership had to survive the last nineteen balls of the match. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/239920.html

From memory I think it only happened once in the West Indies series, there was another very tight finish but it was the ninth rather than tenth wicket partnership that saved the day. But yeah, there has been quite a run of games with the result still in doubt right up to the last possible ball (or two). Don't know exactly how uncommon that is but to have several in a year is certainly well above normal. Previous to that I'm struggling to think when it last happened to England. Versus SA at Old Trafford in '98 is the obvious one that springs to mind though I'm sure there'll have been something else in the interim that I'm forgetting. I think Sri Lanka saved a match at Lord's in 2006 with a tenth wicket partnership, but it wasn't quite the same high drama because they'd already passed England's total so England would have had to bat again anyway.

fucking hell Once again, isn't cricket great?

oh lord, Bell out. Nine down, seventeen balls left.

Eight down, still three overs to go.

No you aren't.