This team can get in the sea.
We have bred a generation of flat track bullies and this is the end result. I want Clarke pilloried when he gets back. Just chuck him in the stocks outside the airport so we can express our displeasure.
To have the gall to say at the press conference "Live by the sword, die by the sword" when back in December as you spoke over your friend's coffin the requirement was "we must dig in and get through to tea." You should be ashamed of yourself.
Couldn't have foreseen that after the debacle at Lord's.
Good work saving some graft and application in tough conditions until the dead rubber.
The test series between Australia and New Zealand is almost here, I'm getting rather excited!
I did laugh the other day at all the cricket pundits (Michael Vaughan in particular, who is always the quickest to have a moan and open his mouth) saying that the bad light which ended in a draw for England V Pakistan is bad for test cricket, almost oblivious to the fact that there is a lot of anger at the moment over how the cricket boards of England, Australia and India are killing test cricket.
A week in contrasts for Test Cricket.
The massive go slow where SA almost held out for a draw, compared with the trans Tasman smash fest where the home teams in Aus and NZ belted the visitors for more than 400 runs on the opening day.
It's extremely disappointing how poor the West Indies have become. The ICC should be funding that country more, much like the AFL props up the poorer clubs.
No-one gains from series where teams are just getting smashed. Almost glad to be missing the Boxing Day test this year if this continues.
#watermelonboy
Other than Steyn, who is actually absent from this "no 1 in the Test rankings" side ? I know they've had a significant number of top quality players retire recently, but is this it ?
Oh, and this just in from the 'Dept. of Stating the Obvious'....Amla is nowhere near a Test captain, despite his undoubted skill with the bat. I'm getting a real David Gower vibe from him, just not involved enough.
We haven't recovered from the loss of Smith and Kallis, and the captaincy has impacted Amla's form for pretty much no gain, those three along with AB have long shored up and covered for an otherwise fragile middle order. Without Steyn we also don't have much in the way of consistent effective attack.
Even when Smith was struggling he was an effective opener who could stick around to take the shine off the ball and so far we haven't replaced that.
I guess we had a good 9 year run and that can't carry on forever. Hopefully we can bounce back within a year or so, just need to find suitable talent and guys with a bit of mongrel.
I am not sure which team has less on-field leadership, SA or WI. Both seem rudderless and unable to spark anything once a partnership is underway.
WI gave up 450 in a day to a single partnership and now SA have been brutalised by Stokes and Bairstow.
Stokes innings was unbelievable. Loved his comments about all the boundaries he hit "it was too hot to run"
That's more like it. teams have ups and downs, but at least they are showing some grit. It's the one thing you can usually really expect from a South African team and it's something they've been lacking. Hopefully the bowlers can show some fight now, even if the game isn't winnable.
Adam Zampa sniffs out a wicket.
Wow, this is a spectacular collapse even by England's standards. That second Chris Jordan over was frightening by AB and Amla.
RIP Tony Cozier.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/3...
Another of the voices of my TV cricket-watching youth gone.
Cricket season in England is under way, and what better what to start it for myself than going to the Saturday at Headingley for the England game this week where it is forecast to rain all day? 
Would have been nice if Sri Lanka could actually play as though they could be bothered.
Some good fielding, but the bowling has been indifferent and the batting little short of a disgrace.
Would have been nice if Sri Lanka could actually play as though they could be bothered.
Some good fielding, but the bowling has been indifferent and the batting little short of a disgrace.
I was there today, although their fielding looked good on day 1, their fielding on the Saturday was abysmal, so much so the wicket keeper got subbed off, can only presume it was out of embarrassment for the clanger he dropped, which seemed an easy catch. Hope this Sri Lanka test team doesn't go the way of the West Indies, they barely look like a team that deserves test status.
Well done Captain Cook for 10000 runs. Amazing to think he is the first Englishman to do so.
It can only be achieved in the last 30 years though, there is no way greats like Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond or even Boycott could get there without the high number of tests on offer now.
Aussies are touring SL shortly. They might be in for a bad time unless they serve up a very home town pitch. Is Herath better than Lyon?
Srees 254-7
England 256-0. In 34 overs.
Sad news, as Michael Carberry has been diagnosed with cancer a shame he only played 6 tests for England, was just unlucky that they came in a whitewash Ashes series, he actually did a lot better than all of the England openers with Cook after him, I believe.
Nice to see Pakistan getting their act together at Lords.
So, test cricket is dead, is it ?
Not a bad win from a first innings deficit of 103.
Nice to see Johnathon Trott sticking it to Vaughan.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cri...
Vaughan is another branch from that tree of 'players who became far better when they actually stopped playing', as epitomised by the non plus ultra, G.Boycott esq.
County Championship finale is fun. Somerset top after winning but if Yorkshire or Middlesex win they will win the title. They are playing each other with one day left and it is on a knife edge.
After a bit of a torrid time it's good to see South Africa playing well again. Developing good depth across the squad too.
I was slightly underwhelmed by this Ashes series coming into it, but after that first test it’s really got that excitement back. It’s good to see the day night test this weekend too, hopefully even more adjustments are made to test crickets to make them more appealing.
I can almost definitely see English batsmen crumbling the minute the floodlights come on though!
12 minutes. 17 deliveries.
That was all it took to crush the hopes and dreams of the Barmy Army.
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