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bewlay

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Thanks for the responses. I'm just trying to understand the flow of the game. So a draw is unlikely, barring weather and if England can be, say, 260ish ahead by lunchtime tomorrow then the omens look good?

BTW I really appreciate the intelligent replies to my untutored questions.

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Thanks for the responses. I'm just trying to understand the flow of the game. So a draw is unlikely, barring weather and if England can be, say, 260ish ahead by lunchtime tomorrow then the omens look good?

BTW I really appreciate the intelligent replies to my untutored questions.

It tends to be difficult for the side batting last to get a reasonable total. There are reasons why teams find it very difficult to get scores of 200 plus in last innnings of tests. The pressure of the game itself, the natural wearing of the pitch means that the ball is hitting cracks or plates of earth that are loose. The surface is breaking up sometimes which means the ball grips and spins as well as bouncing up and down randomly. Its very difficult for batsmen to score runs in those conditions ordinarily never mind at the business end of a match.

To be on the safe side England will simply want to bat two sessions and get as many runs as they can on the board. BUT if you look at the history of fourth innings run chases through the history of the sport, youll see that England are already in a decent position now.

But the runs can still be knocked off by the Aussies :lol: test cricket is a bit like that.

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having to start again in the morning means this game is 60/40 england. if eng bat til lunch red hot favourites and if not still favourites.

surprised if pitch doesnt proper misbehave from here on in.

even with an anchor will be a great aus batting performance to keep series alive for them.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Pie & Bovril mobile app

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But the runs can still be knocked off by the Aussies :lol: test cricket is a bit like that.

Thanks, Reynard. I love cricket's uncertainty and balance and that's a good summary - but hard for we 80-minute and 90-minute blokes to adjust to. The rhythm is so different.

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Thanks, Reynard.  I love cricket's uncertainty and balance and that's a good summary - but hard for we 80-minute and 90-minute blokes to adjust to.  The rhythm is so different.

Aye, a lot of folks in my work know I'm a cricket fan and they'll feign interest and say "who's winning the cricket?" It's not a question you can answer (bar a series score). You then totally lose them when trying to explain the finer points.

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Absolutely cracking couple of days, well worth the admission fee. You get a totally different perspective on the game but can buy a radio to get the the Sky and TMS commentary.

Best queueing for a bar system I've ever seen as well. 25 folk on at each bar and those multi pint pouring machines.

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Aye, a lot of folks in my work know I'm a cricket fan and they'll feign interest and say "who's winning the cricket?" It's not a question you can answer (bar a series score). You then totally lose them when trying to explain the finer points.

Wullie, the reason I took an interest was because my son started playing cricket for a local club and then his school. I also remember asking, "So who is winning" and got told, "Well we don't know yet".

When I was told that I was perplexed. I THINK, now, I'm beginning to understand!

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Absolutely cracking couple of days, well worth the admission fee. You get a totally different perspective on the game but can buy a radio to get the the Sky and TMS commentary.

Best queueing for a bar system I've ever seen as well. 25 folk on at each bar and those multi pint pouring machines.

Glad you had a good trip. Are you sunburned? The beer machines are efficient: They have them at Twickenham. Really impressive.

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Wullie, the reason I took an interest was because my son started playing cricket for a local club and then his school. I also remember asking, "So who is winning" and got told, "Well we don't know yet".

When I was told that I was perplexed. I THINK, now, I'm beginning to understand!

This is in English conditions. It changes depending on which part of the world you are playing. The pitches all vary so much. It used to be even worse back in the day before drop in pitches in some of the parts of the world where you got some really difficult wickets. The days when in the west indies they had that pace attack with some incredibly dangerous up and down wickets, Australais were fast and bouncy generally, the sub continent were just patches of earth with barely a blade of grass on them. NZ and their seaming greeners...

Edited by Reynard
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I think England will win this one if they manage to get another 80 to their overnight total. The bowlers, particularly Swann, will have fun on the last day. Fortunately Ian Bell has saved England again but that can't hide the fact that there are too many players not contributing enough this series and if it wasn't for Australia being so ordinary they would have lost this series. Players like Bairstow, Bresnan and perhaps even Trott should be in danger of being dropped for the next test.

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The one day stuff can be good fun too, but test cricket really sorts out the players abilities. Any weaknesses at all are nagged away at by the opposition bowlers if they are good enough. It was good listening to Warne trying to describe how he would operate as a bowler, taking a bit of time to work out what the ball was doing on a particular wicket, and what speed to bowl att, where to bowl to each batsman, They all have a plan for each guy batting. They know where they like to score runs and what they are not happy doing. It can really break a batsmans heart when a bowler has his number.

The TV coverage now is really helpful to people who are wanting to try and understand whats going on. The stats and the computer diagrams and stuff are light years ahead of what my age group ever had. Id love to be a kid learning to play now as half the coaching we got back in the day was trying to describe what the cameras can now pick up easily.

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I think England will win this one if they manage to get another 80 to their overnight total. The bowlers, particularly Swann, will have fun on the last day. Fortunately Ian Bell has saved England again but that can't hide the fact that there are too many players not contributing enough this series and if it wasn't for Australia being so ordinary they would have lost this series. Players like Bairstow, Bresnan and perhaps even Trott should be in danger of being dropped for the next test.

Trott is the best number 3 England have had in about thirty years. There's absolutely no chance he will be dumped. Hisis simply a form issue and not a technical thing. Players will tend to be dropped when theres a technical thing gpoing on thats being exploited. Bairstow actually got a good ball this time and was looking like he had been working on his issues. Root plays off the back foot and his issues now are playing back on slow wickets with the ball doing a bit or swinging. He could do a lot better in Australai where the wickets are quicker and you actually need to be good rocking back.

Bresnan isnt good enough to be a thrid seamer in my opinion. He isnt naturally quick enough to do it and his strike rate is pish. Once Finn sorts his run up he will be back in as his strike rate is up there with the better guys. Cook is struggling with form, nothing else. Root has some issues, but after shoving him in to open I dont see them dumping him at this stage. Bairstow is the most likely guy to be dropped for the likes of Taylor and Bresnan shouldnt have played as he isnt good enough. Depending on the result here youmight get two changes, its likely that there will only be one and it might not be Bairstow, possibly just Bresnan.

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Wullie, the reason I took an interest was because my son started playing cricket for a local club and then his school.  I also remember asking, "So who is winning" and got told, "Well we don't know yet".

 

When I was told that I was perplexed.  I THINK, now, I'm beginning to understand!

The pundits on sky and TMS are really good for picking up little bits as you get more and more into the game. They are very knowledgeable and because they basically have to commentate for 7 hours, you get some real insight. Some funny stories and filler too of course.

A lot of former captains in the sky box which is good for looking at setting fields and the like.

I enjoyed Shane Warne's spin bowling masterclass yesterday morning. Really got down to the intelligence side of things in a bowlers plan and showed test cricket to be like a game of chess

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Glad you had a good trip. Are you sunburned? The beer machines are efficient: They have them at Twickenham. Really impressive.

Yeah, bit of a tomato face, despite it not actually being that warm, was pretty windy today.

About 60-40 England from here on in, outfield is still slow, said before 2nd inns that 250 would be a good chase and you'd back England to get more of a lead than that now.

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About 60-40 England from here on in, outfield is still slow, said before 2nd inns that 250 would be a good chase and you'd back England to get more of a lead than that now.

This really intrigues me. The allusion may not be understood by many but in the 70s we used to play 'Postal Chess' - you'd never know the next move until you got a letter and then you'd either feel doomed or elated.

Test match cricket seems similar.

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Harris was tremendous this morning, what a good bowler that bloke is. Career best figures which he utterly deservedtoo.

299 is a tall order for Australia, they will need to see off this new ball and probably another one down the line as well if they are going to win this, it's gettable, but it will be a fantastic effort to do it.

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