Cricket

[Phirstman]

Our batting has been poor for the last eighteen months and that again was brought to light today.

Yet again Anderson bails his country out - need Broad to be fit in sunny weather tomorrow. Could be a slog to get through their long tail if we don't grab a couple of early wickets.

Really need to be back batting in the sunshine ASAP.

 

[Johnuk123]

Our batting has been poor for the last eighteen months and that again was brought to light today.

Yet again Anderson bails his country out - need Broad to be fit in sunny weather tomorrow. Could be a slog to get through their long tail if we don't grab a couple of early wickets.

Really need to be back batting in the sunshine ASAP.

Your right about our batsmen, time and time again we have to be bailed out by the bowlers.

I would say Australia have a slight edge at the moment and will not be anywhere near as bad as some would have had us believe.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Your right about our batsmen, time and time again we have to be bailed out by the bowlers.

I would say Australia have a slight edge at the moment and will not be anywhere near as bad as some would have had us believe.

Yes, I concur with you about Australia, best to ignore most of what Ian Botham has to say!
- but it was a great day of Test cricket!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I wish to make a quick return from the Test Match postings to the county game to note that Lancashire's 27 year old left-arm spinner, Stephen Parry, who was hit on the arm during net practice, has had the injury confirmed as a fracture to his forearm, which looks like ruling him out for the rest of this season, when they are hoping to make a quick return to the top division.

 

[Johnuk123]

114 for 7 at Trent Bridge, England definitely now on top.

 

[Cab2Cab]

114-7 now, COME ON, COME ON!!!!!!! Sir JIMMY ANDERSON

 

[ainsworth74]

And they're 117-8 now, like I said England are in the driving seat in this game.

Edit: Correction that would 117-9 now.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Clearly however I hadn't counted on Agar being a better bat then the rest of the Australian line up :roll:

 

[Johnuk123]

From 117-8 to 206-9 with the Aussie no. 11 Agar a debutant smashing England all over the pitch.

England were looking comfortable but not now.

 

[David]

Who the hell is this Ashton Agar? hock:

 

[Oswyntail]

Who the hell is this Ashton Agar? hock:

Someone who had nothing to lose, and so played like the club cricketer he has been until now. Next time out, when he is expected to repeat this performance, then see the weight come to his shoulders.

 

[Johnuk123]

Aussies now in front as England fail to deal with a debutant 19yrs. old no.11.

106 partnership for the last 2 Australians.

227-9.

Major embarrassment for England.

 

[Cab2Cab]

This is not good!!!!

I can feel a England wobble coming on now with the bat!

Surely captain Cook would have been in Finn's ear telling him not to bowl short but just keep pegging just outside off,

Well miffed now..........

 

[Johnuk123]

This is not good!!!!

I can feel a England wobble coming on now with the bat!

Surely captain Cook would have been in Finn's ear telling him not to bowl short but just keep pegging just outside off,

Well miffed now..........

229-9 At lunch and still going.

 

[Cab2Cab]

Maraius Erasmus (4th ump) if that's how you spell his name, has cost us, I thought the stumping chance was out, look at Erasmus's record for getting umpire's decisions wrong. Prob the worst umpire on the books at the mo!!!

 

[CallySleeper]

Not incredibly happy, esp. Finn giving runs away for free. But fair play to these two. What did everyone think of the third umpire decision?

 

[Johnuk123]

271-9 will it ever end, Agar must be odds-on for his century now currently on 91.

History being made here with a world record 10th wicket partnership in test matches and it's not finished yet.

 

[Whistler40145]

Should Cook surprise the Aussies and bring on Trott or Root?

 

[Johnuk123]

Agar gets caught on 98, the convicts now have a lead of 65.

 

[flymo]

Cannot believe I am saying this but I would have liked to see the laddo get a ton. (Then out of course....)

 

[bnm]

Agar gets caught on 98, the convicts now have a lead of 65.

...and unfunny prejudices come to the fore.

 

[Johnuk123]

England now 11-2 at tea, awful.

 

[Ferret]

A good day for Australia, a very bad day for England and third umpire Marais Erasmus. Were I Mr Erasmus, I'd be concerned that my status as an elite level umpire will be removed when the matter is next discussed by the ICC - it is simply inexcusable to get two decisions wrong in the TV chair that have turned this match. The stumping was out - Agar had nothing behind the line when the bails were removed, and Trott's inside edge seemed very visible to the naked eye if not hotspot which allegedly was not functioning correctly. Given Mr Erasmus' performances on the field are some way short of those from the likes of Messrs Dar, Dharmasena, and Taufel in days gone by - I suspect Mr Erasmus' time on the front line is coming to an end.

To balance that, it's worth remembering that in 2009, England were the beneficiaries of some poor umpiring so these things do balance out in the end. Also, hats off to Agar and Phil Hughes who batted wonderfully. And England need to revisit their bowling plans - this is not a bang the ball in halfway down pitch....

I'd still marginally rather be in England's shoes at net 15-2. I would not fancy chasing on that wicket which will deteriorate with these prevailing weather conditions. If England bat well tomorrow, they'll need 300 to win the game... good luck!

 

[Cab2Cab]

[QUOTE=Ferret;1502662]A good day for Australia, a very bad day for England and third umpire Marais Erasmus. Were I Mr Erasmus, I'd be concerned that my status as an elite level umpire will be removed when the matter is next discussed by the ICC - it is simply inexcusable to get two decisions wrong in the TV chair that have turned this match. The stumping was out - Agar had nothing behind the line when the bails were removed, and Trott's inside edge seemed very visible to the naked eye if not hotspot which allegedly was not functioning correctly. Given Mr Erasmus' performances on the field are some way short of those from the likes of Messrs Dar, Dharmasena, and Taufel in days gone by - I suspect Mr Erasmus' time on the front line is coming to an end.

Hats off to Agar and Phil Hughes who batted wonderfully. And England need to revisit their bowling plans - this is not a bang the ball in halfway down pitch....


Here Here i second these statements.

I think Erasmoose should maybe have gone to specsavers (and not forgetting other reputable opticians).

It was quite prominent from watching Agar facing the first 6 balls the lad can bat the way he takes his stance/defence technique then beyond all that the shots he played with perfect balance. Well done to him..........Grrrrr,

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Meanwhile at county cricket level in the second division, Lancashire beat Northants in the top-two match by eight wickets, to go top with a game in hand.

Lancashire's Australian batsman, Simon Katich, scored a double hundred in that match, which would have been noticed by the Australian squad.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Agree with Ferret, not a very good day for the third umpire, but hey ho....that's twice in a year that England have let a number 11 get into the nineties (remember Tino Best last year?) and whereas once might be excusable and a fluke, twice???? Having said that, Agar batted magnificently, put most of the other Aussies to shame and he deserved a hundred (can't believe I wrote that!)
...also I wonder if Root had referred his decision what Mr Erasmus would have done?

 

[ainsworth74]

Were I Mr Erasmus, I'd be concerned that my status as an elite level umpire will be removed when the matter is next discussed by the ICC - it is simply inexcusable to get two decisions wrong in the TV chair that have turned this match.

What I want to know is why was Billy Bowden dropped from the elite panel whilst an umpire like Erasmus remains on it! I'd take Bowden officiating a match or in the third umpire's chair any day of the week over Erasmus.

 

[Phirstman]

I'd still marginally rather be in England's shoes at net 15-2. I would not fancy chasing on that wicket which will deteriorate with these prevailing weather conditions. If England bat well tomorrow, they'll need 300 to win the game... good luck!

Disappointing to let them off the hook but plenty of positives. We had them in deep trouble at 115-9.

If we can do that once we can do that again second time around. Swann was getting some big turn earlier in the day so as long as we bat most of tomorrow we'll still be in a good position to bowl them out cheaply on a wearing day 4/5 pitch.

MUST bat with more discipline than first innings though.

 

[jb]

A good day for Australia, a very bad day for England and third umpire Marais Erasmus. Were I Mr Erasmus, I'd be concerned that my status as an elite level umpire will be removed when the matter is next discussed by the ICC - it is simply inexcusable to get two decisions wrong in the TV chair that have turned this match. The stumping was out - Agar had nothing behind the line when the bails were removed, and Trott's inside edge seemed very visible to the naked eye if not hotspot which allegedly was not functioning correctly. Given Mr Erasmus' performances on the field are some way short of those from the likes of Messrs Dar, Dharmasena, and Taufel in days gone by - I suspect Mr Erasmus' time on the front line is coming to an end.

To balance that, it's worth remembering that in 2009, England were the beneficiaries of some poor umpiring so these things do balance out in the end. Also, hats off to Agar and Phil Hughes who batted wonderfully. And England need to revisit their bowling plans - this is not a bang the ball in halfway down pitch....

I'd still marginally rather be in England's shoes at net 15-2. I would not fancy chasing on that wicket which will deteriorate with these prevailing weather conditions. If England bat well tomorrow, they'll need 300 to win the game... good luck!

Great post on all counts. The stumping decision, in particular, was abominable. One technical point which occurred to me at the time is that for line calls like that, the on-field umpires are not required to give a decision in the first place; they simply refer it straight upstairs. That results in a different dynamic to other referrals, particularly with respect to the (customary, rather than enshrined in Laws, "benefit of the doubt") - the TV guy has to be 100% sure to overturn. Although, as we saw with Trott, that in turn is apparently not always the case.

England are still clear favourites with the bookies and that's probably right. Although the fluctuations in odds today was a sight to behold along with everything else. Some smart arbitrage agents could have made a killing today.

 

[andrew bell]

I have said this a few times on twitter this afternoon and watching the highlights now i still think Erasmus has had a shocking day in the tv box. Agar was out stumped by millimetres as his foot was on the white line (only the back edge is the crease, the white line is known as the crease marking, there is no defination on how thick or thin the line must be, just as long as there is a line).
As for Trott's decision there was an inside edge onto pad, Mr Dar was convinced by that, hence his reaction after he had to overturn his original decision. The reason why there was no side on hotspot was it was on pause to show Root's dismissal the previous ball.

The ICC has a major decision to make with the umpires as there is only 4 people they can choose from (Dar, Dharmasena, Erasmus and Hill) because the remaining umpires are either English or Australian. I think the best umpires should be choosen for these games regardless of which country they come from

 

[jb]

I have said this a few times on twitter this afternoon and watching the highlights now i still think Erasmus has had a shocking day in the tv box. Agar was out stumped by millimetres as his foot was on the white line (only the back edge is the crease, the white line is known as the crease marking, there is no defination on how thick or thin the line must be, just as long as there is a line).

Agreed. As we all know, the line "belongs to the umpire" so its thickness is irrelevant. There's no question that any part of the foot was BEHIND the line.

As for Trott's decision there was an inside edge onto pad, Mr Dar was convinced by that, hence his reaction after he had to overturn his original decision. The reason why there was no side on hotspot was it was on pause to show Root's dismissal the previous ball.

Any time Aleem Dar looks as bemused as he did when forced to overturn, you know that something's very likely wrong.

The ICC has a major decision to make with the umpires as there is only 4 people they can choose from (Dar, Dharmasena, Erasmus and Hill) because the remaining umpires are either English or Australian. I think the best umpires should be choosen for these games regardless of which country they come from.

To be fair I think that the umpiring is generally excellent, I support neutral umpires but would be happy with non-neutrals, the use of technology is sensible, mistakes will happen no matter what and, as Ferret said above, what goes around tends to come around with these things.