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bewlay

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Rain on the horizon today and Sunday apparently.

I'm not convinced it will be a draw though, despite the favourable batting conditions the pitch could still turn and I can see England having a monumental collapse.

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I think you have to play the way you play. I fear that there will be a few lifeless pitches this series.

Four draw pitches in a row and England win the Ashes 1-0.

After the 5-0 whitewash in the last series this might not bother some people.

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Netherlands beat Canada as expected, when Canada got 172 I thought the game might be on, when Netherlands got to 64/0 after 4 overs I knew it was back off. Oman vs UAE was a washout .

5 teams separated by a point going into the final round of games tomorrow- permutations remain unchanged for Scotland

Win and we'll definitely finish above Oman, and at least one of Kenya and Netherlands so will get 3rd minimum. There's an outside chance we could top the group and secure automatic qualification if we win, Kenya lose or are rained off vs the Dutch, and Afghan lose (or more likely are rained off) vs group diddies Canada.

Tie / washout means we'll qualify as Netherlands and Kenya can't both finish above us but we'll almost certainly qualify in 4th and have to play 2 playoff matches to qualify with no margin for error.

Loss and we're out unless Kenya beat Netherlands. Having by far the best NRR in the group has bought us a fair bit of margin for error.

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As for the Ashes, can we just fast forward to Australia's declaration, presume they'll get about another 120 in this session then another 100 or so in an hour after tea and declare on about 600. Then it's down to scoreboard pressure.

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As for the Ashes, can we just fast forward to Australia's declaration, presume they'll get about another 120 in this session then another 100 or so in an hour after tea and declare on about 600. Then it's down to scoreboard pressure.

You say that, but England have bowled well this morning, and Australia may end up getting bowled out after all.

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Have been at all Scotland's games in the 2020 qualifiers so far, and will be at the Oman game tomorrow. Also took in the Dutch against Canada today, as Goldenacre is a short walk from my house.

Thoughts so far:

Scotland have plenty of batting. Munsey is a great find, his 12 ball 33 against Canada, albeit a weak bowling side, was superb, as was his innings against UAE. Coetzer and Mommsen have played fairly well, Cross and Berrington are solid, McLeod is a good player but is incapable of resisting the urge to try flashy reverse sweeps or unorthodox scoop shots, which tend to be his undoing, as against Canada yesterday. Batting-wise, Scotland are as good as any of the other associates at the moment, including Ireland.

However, the Scotland bowling is rank rotten. A bunch of trundlers barely fast enough to constitute 'medium' pace and indifferent spin options. Losing Haq after the World Cup affair was unfortunate, he was one of the few bowlers that could be relied upon to exert some control at this level. Fielding the inexperienced Watt in the crucial games against Afghanistan and the Netherlands was a mistake. He was ruthlessly taken apart by both teams.

Judging by Oman's results to date, the game tomorrow could go either way. It would be disastrous if Scotland missed out on a top 4 place in a qualifying group on home soil, but our tendency to lose the important games (Afghanistan and the Netherlands invariably tend to beat us when it matters - in fairness the Afghans are a better all-round team than us, The Netherlands are a similar side to us, stronger in batting than bowling) has left us vulnerable. There is no doubt that the Irish have benefitted from a much easier group, but Scotland, with their current level of batting firepower, will have no excuses if they go out.

I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a Kenya win against the Dutch. The Dutch, who were cruising along at just under 15 an over for the first seven overs against the Canadians today, should have too much batting for Kenya, and the Kenyan fielding was a rung below abject against Scotland.

I think we might just sneak it tomorrow, and if we do, we should qualify for the main tournament.

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I'm amazed the Aussies haven't declared yet. Can't see England catching this total, if Cook and Bell can put together a decent innings for Root to follow up then it might be a different story.

Shane Warne looks like a paintball salesman these days. Or a failed paintball salesman who has given up and set up a bar in Zante.

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I'm amazed the Aussies haven't declared yet. Can't see England catching this total, if Cook and Bell can put together a decent innings for Root to follow up then it might be a different story.

Shane Warne looks like a paintball salesman these days. Or a failed paintball salesman who has given up and set up a bar in Zante.

If he wasn't such a great player and an insightful commentator, he'd be an absolute laughing stock. As it is, I've never seen an Australian so popular with the English fans.

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