The Cricket Thread

[die hard doonhamer]

If England get past the follow on total then this will finish in a draw.

[dorlomin]

Root gone. This is crucial hour with Bell in new. Survive and England could draw, another wicket and the rout starts.

[AberdeenBud]

Horrific shot by Root.

[AberdeenBud]

'Less common sense than a chocolate mouse'

 

You tell em Geoffrey.

[jmothecat]

Pieterson out. Think I might go to bed.

[wellboy1991]

Huge wicket of KP for Siddle.

Ooft could be a quick one. Bell is going to be a massive wicket for Aus.

[Lex]

Pietersen is so far up his own arse he has became a parody of himself. He believes his own hype and thinks he can get away with shots like that. What a shocking winter he is having, Cook could do a lot worse than dropping him and bringing in someone like Ballance.

Follow on looks inevitable now, and an even worse humiliation than Brisbane looks set to follow for England.

They need a big partnership from Bell and Carberry here to have any chance of retaining the prospect of a dignified defeat.

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

Boycott just went so mental that he got pulled off the commentary. Absolutely magnificent. He doesn't like Pieterson apparently.

[Lex]

Boycott just went so mental that he got pulled off the commentary. Absolutely magnificent. He doesn't like Pieterson apparently.

Boycott is my favourite sports pundit of all time. Someone who truly tells it like it is and isn't afraid of what the players he's laying into thinks of him. Football pundits could learn a lot from him.

Pietersen deserves all he's coming to him after that dismissal. His team are backed up against the wall trailing hugely and he is apparently the star batsman. They need him to make a stand and put together a solid innings to keep them in the test match.

Instead he puts his own arrogant sense of invincibility above the needs of the team and gets himself out with a completely needless shot. No wonder an old school batsman like Boycott went a bit nuts.

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

Brian Moore is the only commentator that comes close IMO.

[AberdeenBud]

KP's the best English bat of my lifetime. Despite that horrendous shot, nonsense to suggest he should be dropped after a couple of failures.

[Lex]

KP's the best English bat of my lifetime. Despite that horrendous shot, nonsense to suggest he should be dropped after a couple of failures.

You must be younger than I thought.

It's more than a couple of failures, he was largely rubbish in the summer too. Bell's the best English batsman these days, yet he's a mile behind Michael Clarke.

Now that's what I call a cricketer.

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

I think Carbarry's innings is all important. Australia know they had him this morning and didn't refer. If he gets a big score and turns the test then it may well change the series.

[Lex]

Carberry's playing well. Amazing to think this is only his second test match, he looks like he knows what he's doing out there and he's playing sensibly. The complete antithesis of the supposedly experienced KP.

Got the feeling if either Carberry or Bell go England will collapse pretty quickly. If they can hang about for a while England could maybe somehow sneak a draw.

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

Agreed. 3rd test match though I think? Played Zimbabwe a couple of years ago?

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

Gone. F you see caid.

[Lex]

Shane Warne said it was his second earlier, more than likely he's wrong though. Carberry showed his lack of experience there, just as it was starting to look like a decent partnership with Bell.

Can't see a way back now.

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

If Bell doesn't get a quick 350 it is all over.

[AberdeenBud]

You must be younger than I thought.

It's more than a couple of failures, he was largely rubbish in the summer too. Bell's the best English batsman these days, yet he's a mile behind Michael Clarke.

Now that's what I call a cricketer.

33 mate!

Agree with you about Clarke, arguably the best bat in the world at the moment.

I'd still say KP is the man the English opposition fear the most although Bell might be pushing him now, although I'm not quite sure he can take the game away from the opposition quite the way KP can. But you're right, he needs a score soon. He's always been prone to soft dismissals, I just think he's the kind of player where you've got to take the rough with the smooth.

He's played numerous match winning innings in the last couple of years. With uncertainty and inexperience at the top of the order the last thing England want would be to lose him too.

This match and probably series is over though, tbh. Can see England batting again today.

[Carl Cort's Hamstring]

33 mate!

Agree with you about Clarke, arguably the best bat in the world at the moment.

I'd still say KP is the man the English opposition fear the most although Bell might be pushing him now, although I'm not quite sure he can take the game away from the opposition quite the way KP can. But you're right, he needs a score soon. He's always been prone to soft dismissals, I just think he's the kind of player where you've got to take the rough with the smooth.

He's played numerous match winning innings in the last couple of years. With uncertainty and inexperience at the top of the order the last thing England want would be to lose him too.

This match and probably series is over though, tbh. Can see England batting again today.

Pietersen has the most ability of any of the England batsmen, but I think everyone is getting sick of him giving his wicket away because he plays for himself and not the team. If we actually had someone decent to come in, I'd happily tell him to get tae f*ck.

He's like Theo Walcott. Burst onto the scene and you looked at him and thought "wow, this guy's going to be amazing!" It's now the best part of a decade later, and he's exactly the same player, still making the same mind-boggingly stupid decisions.