The cricket thread

crunchman

The way Root is bowling, we are probably ok without Bess.  Root actually looked better than Bess in the first test a lot of the time.

Root probably should have bowled himself yesterday though.

Heartfeltdawn

If you're bowling left arm around to right handers and you're getting the ball to pitch off stump and straight, it's still turning. You aren't bowling straight balls there. 

If we can get them out for a lead under 50... fuck it. Let's go out blazing. Crawley and Stokes to open, just go for it. 

Michael Clarke bowling darts all over again... 

scrumhalf

Blimey. Should Root have brought himself on earlier? 

Heartfeltdawn

scrumhalf said:

Blimey. Should Root have brought himself on earlier? 

And will he and Leach open in the 4th innings? 

guitars4you

wow - Root and Leach

scrumhalf

Ashwin goes. Root has 4-5!

Teetonetal

What.the.hell is going on??

scrumhalf

145 all out, Root 5-8!

Not quite what I expected to happen at 9am. India's lead of 33 seems to be worth about four times as much. 

Heartfeltdawn

Anyone willing to place money on us still batting by stumps? 

Teetonetal

Not sure how MV works this out....

https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1364886783696265216

First innings deficit + fragile batting.

India could still win this by an innings!!

scrumhalf

By the time India bat again the pitch is going to be even worse than it is now. If we can get to 150 this could be very interesting. But that's a very big "if". 

Heartfeltdawn

Teetonetal said:

Not sure how MV works this out....

With some of the things he says, I'm not sure how MV manages to put his trousers on unassisted. 

rocktron

What am amazing morning's cricket!!!

C'mon England batsmen . . . score some blooming runs to give the bowlers something to defend!!!

crunchman

Heartfeltdawn said:

Pitch and straighten. That's all you need. And now Root is in on the action. Nice work, Mr Foakes. 

Good luck to those folk with Day 4 tickets... 

If England bat like they did in the first innings, good luck to those with day 3 tickets.

scrumhalf

Crawley bowled first ball.

Uh-oh. 

JanekLubanski

100 all out....looks a good total now for England.

Heartfeltdawn

Michael Yardy would have been fucking lethal on this deck. 

crunchman

Why was Bairstow playing that shot first ball?  He's got away with it, but he doesn't look like his head is in a good place.

scrumhalf

His head will be back in the dressing room now. He's in no sort of form and that was no sort of shot. 

Stuckfast

Heartfeltdawn said:

Michael Yardy would have been fucking lethal on this deck. 

Ha, I was thinking yesterday that Axar is basically a taller Yardy!