*Official Third Test at Edgbaston

[GIMH]

Serious question - would you rather see a day where England were buried alive or a day where it rained? Interesting question for a partisan like you.

Forecasts seem to be changing every 5 minutes (not surprising with the jetstreams as strong as they've been the last month really). Earlier today all I was hearing was how Sat and Sun were both looking dreadful.

Toughie, it really is, but I've been loooking forwards to this since about Feb (when my might said he had a ticket for me), it's basically the high point of my year, have taken my hols from work around the Ashes. So yeah, I wanna see cricket.

Watched us get absolutely caned last summer and still enjoyed myself.

 

[stumpski]

I think, in your place I'd want to see about 4 hours cricket - so long as we weren't getting hammered, and presumably we'll be batting by then - with the knowledge that there'll be more rain on the way.


Might sound mean, but I'd be happy to see 10-12 hours wiped off each Test from now on, tbh. Make those Aussies work for thier win(s).

 

[GIMH]

I'm confident in our batsmen putting on about 400 tbh, so if the bowlers do their job tomorrow, game on

Am hoping we are chasing about 250 on Monday, yeah I'm too optimistic, but what the hell

 

[Pizzorno]

I'm confident in our batsmen putting on about 400 tbh, so if the bowlers do their job tomorrow, game on

Am hoping we are chasing about 250 on Monday, yeah I'm too optimistic, but what the hell

I love your spirit. I'd feel the same if only it wasn't for Ian Bell and Stuart Broad.

 

[social]

At the rsk of incurring TC's wrath, Manou must be the worst player to don the baggy green since we were the worst test team in the world in the mid-80s - absolute shocker

Why, ffs, was our only viable keeping option on the field breaking his finger at the time of the toss - the mismanagement of a professional sporting side is so bad as to beggar belief

Oz need a massive first innings score and then pray that Johnson is over the yips

Glad for Watson, he is a high quality batsman

Sad for Clark, he is our best bowler but is subject to political bs

 

[Prince EWS]

I honestly think Manou's better as a cricketer than Hauritz and Krejza, and I'm a pretty big Krejza fan. Better than White in the role White was actually picked in, too, although White's obviously not a bad cricketer in general.

He's a good gloveman and although his career average is absolutely terrible with the bat, he's improved quite a bit in recent seasons. Last season he averaged 46 and hit two hits and the season before he averaged 37 with a top score of 190. He was out of the team for a season but has come back with a bang. Not a great player by any stretch but I don't think he's as bad as you're making out.

 

[JimmyGS]

Why, ffs, was our only viable keeping option on the field breaking his finger at the time of the toss - the mismanagement of a professional sporting side is so bad as to beggar belief

What?

This is a completely retarded statement. My bet is that he was keeping to the bowlers and caught one wrong on the half volley or something.

So what you're saying is that the keeper shouldn't be warming up his keeping before a test match? I suppose none of the bowlers should bowl either, and none of the batsmen should have a bat, just on the off chance that they get injured.

Completely ludicrous statement.

 

[social]

I honestly think Manou's better as a cricketer than Hauritz and Krejza, and I'm a pretty big Krejza fan. Better than White in the role White was actually picked in, too, although White's obviously not a bad cricketer in general.

He's a good gloveman and although his career average is absolutely terrible with the bat, he's improved quite a bit in recent seasons. Last season he averaged 46 and hit two hits and the season before he averaged 37 with a top score of 190. He was out of the team for a season but has come back with a bang. Not a great player by any stretch but I don't think he's as bad as you're making out.

Is he any better than a decent no. 9 or 10 in test cricket?

NO

Anyway, it's totally farcical that our wk was injured AFTER teamsheets were exchanged (Management 101 - hope for the best, plan for the worst)

The guys associated with the Oz team are so friggin' dumb, it defies belief

 

[social]

What?

This is a completely retarded statement. My bet is that he was keeping to the bowlers and caught one wrong on the half volley or something.

So what you're saying is that the keeper shouldn't be warming up his keeping before a test match? I suppose none of the bowlers should bowl either, and none of the batsmen should have a bat, just on the off chance that they get injured.

Completely ludicrous statement.

So, who is right?

Me by saying that it was totally ludicrous for our only viable wk to break his finger "warming up" (he's a pro ffs and needed an extra couple of takes as much as Eng need more incentive) or you who hasnt a leg to stand on

Let's get real, as a cricketer you know that wk warm up with throw downs and short catches. When he was injured, the only benefit that he was providing was as a back-stop

This is nothing more than another example of Oz shooting themselves in the foot

 

[inbox24]

Hay guise, wherez brad haddin?!

Isn't he gud enuf 2 play 4 Oztraylia anymore?

edit: injury

 

[JimmyGS]

Anyway, it's totally farcical that our wk was injured AFTER teamsheets were exchanged (Management 101 - hope for the best, plan for the worst)

I don't see how that makes a difference at all. Warmups frequently continue after the toss is done if players feel like they need more work.

So, who is right?

Me by saying that it was totally ludicrous for our only viable wk to break his finger "warming up" (he's a pro ffs and needed an extra couple of takes as much as Eng need more incentive) or you who hasnt a leg to stand on

What the hell are you talking about? If a 'pro' feels like he wants to take a few takes from the bowlers to get his feet moving (or for whateever reason) then he's going to do that.

Also you can't just announce that I don't have a leg to stand on. I don't believe you're the argument king, especially when you're making such ludicrous calls as this one.

Let's get real, as a cricketer you know that wk warm up with throw downs and short catches. When he was injured, the only benefit that he was providing was as a back-stop

As a cricketer, I know that everyone has individual routines to warm up. In fact I'd say far more often than not, a wicketkeeper likes to take a few deliveries from bowlers as a part of his warmup.

I believe the cricketing term for a backstop is wicket keeper by the way, hence why the wicket keeper was doing it.

What happened to Haddin was bad luck, and possibly a bit of bad keeping. Bad man-management it certainly wasn't.

 

[Richard]

At the rsk of incurring TC's wrath, Manou must be the worst player to don the baggy green since we were the worst test team in the world in the mid-80s - absolute shocker

Good job none of Hartley, Ronchi, Wade, Crosthwaite or Paine were picked instead of him then, because they'd be even worse.

Anyway, since the improvement of Australia in 1989 some worse Test players I can think of would include... Greg Campbell, Trevor Hohns, Peter Sleep, Peter Taylor, Mike Veletta, Wayne Phillips (NOT the batsman-wicketkeeper who played in the 1980s but a one-Test wonder in 1991/92), Brendon Julian, Peter McIntyre, Brad Hogg, Shaun Young, Simon Cook, Gavin Robertson, Paul Wilson, Adam Dale, Scott Muller, Brad Williams, Nathan Hauritz, Shaun Tait, Beau Casson, Cameron White (in the role he was picked for), Jason Krejza, and probably one or two otheres I've forgotten.

All right, it's remarkable that there's such a difference between Haddin's batting and that of all the rest of the competent wicketkeeping options in Australia. But Manou is far from as bad as some of the other fly-by-nights Australia have had of late.

 

[Athlai]

Smitteh to be amused.

 

[inbox24]

I thought Paine would've been alright, and maybe Ronchi if he wasn't so out of form/touch.

 

[Richard]

Paine > Manou as of the end of 2008/09?

 

[sephiroth123]

**** off, I'm going on Saturday!

Anyway, forecast suggests we will get full day tomorrow, about 70 overs each Saturday & Sunday, not sure on Monday yet. Could well be enough time left in the game for a result, anyway. Always find talk of a draw at this stage to be presumptuous, IIRC the same things were being said at this point during the Lord's test

You'll be amazingly lucky to get 70 overs on Saturday, the forecasts are changing BUT for the worse, the rain orginally was meant to ocme in overnight but each weather model run shows it slowly shifting to later in the day. Now they are showing it arriving just prior to Midday and not really moving all that much from that point onwards as a low forms on the rain band.

IF we are lucky that process could happen to Bham's east and that will be a right old blessing in that case we should get playing sometime in the afternoon session if the pitch isn't stuffed again...IF it happens as predicted, then you'll be lucky to get more then an hour or two of play in.

monday is expected to see some sort of rainband move across, timing is unsure but sure we wil lget delay out of it.

In otherwords I'd say 95% sure this will be a draw, esp if anyone gets a big score.

 

[GIMH]

Site I'm on suggests that we should get more than half a day tbh, but we'll see

 

[Richard]

I think, in your place I'd want to see about 4 hours cricket - so long as we weren't getting hammered, and presumably we'll be batting by then - with the knowledge that there'll be more rain on the way.


Might sound mean, but I'd be happy to see 10-12 hours wiped off each Test from now on, tbh. Make those Aussies work for thier win(s).

Can't say I ever enjoy seeing time wiped off Tests. I mean, all right, I can't possibly "wish we'd lost" at SWALEC, but if someone had said we're having another 20-odd overs on the final day (think that's what it'd be to make a full 450, or 444, overs) I'd not have complained at all.

 

[GIMH]

we'd have still drawn anyway

 

[Woodster]

So, who is right?

Me by saying that it was totally ludicrous for our only viable wk to break his finger "warming up" (he's a pro ffs and needed an extra couple of takes as much as Eng need more incentive) or you who hasnt a leg to stand on

Let's get real, as a cricketer you know that wk warm up with throw downs and short catches. When he was injured, the only benefit that he was providing was as a back-stop

This is nothing more than another example of Oz shooting themselves in the foot

Sorry mate, got to agree with JimmyGS on this one, a keeper (or anyone for that matter) can pick up a broken finger at any time, it's just unfortunate this happened to be right before the start of play. A keeper has to warm up, get his feet moving, feel the ball in his hands, regardless of how close it is to play starting. Had he misjudged his first take because his eyes weren't atuned and his feet weren't moving because he had not got himself ready, then have a go at the lack of professionalism.