Cricket

Think that's right.

Make that from 18. Should do it. All wickets in hand.

in a one day match, you'd back the batting side IMO. Depends on the fields Somerset are setting, as you say above- they have nothing to play for, but you'd expect them to give it a go fielding wise?

Yep, definitely. Any worth in Somerset putting everyone on the boundary? At the moment, Lancs are hitting boundaries galore, and Somerset aren't taking any wickets. Can understand Somerset setting attacking fields at the beginning, as Lancs have to play shots, but that hasn't worked.

Wicket at Taunton. 130-1. Need another 81. Still cruising.

Come on you Nothern bastards

First outright title in 77 years if they do it.

they split it one year IIRC?

Yep. Apparently shared with Surrey in '55, oh wikipedia says '50.

2 down now, suddenly looking a lot more difficult. First time I can remember hitting F5 repeatedly on a county championship scorecard!

Yeah, did wonder if they lost a wicket or two whether the new starters would get bogged down, run rate goes up sharply. Fascinating.

Run a ball will do it for Lancashire. Both new batsmen doing ok. Couple of wickets gone down in the space of two balls at the Rose Bowl, but any chance for Warks. next to impossible.

Match drawn at Rose Bowl, dropped catch at Taunton. Lancs cruising.

so well done Lancs, a great victory considering they have no Test players in the current team. Amazing they never did it in the 90s/ 00s, considering the likes of Murali, Wasim, Crawley, Athers, Fairbrother etc. were playing for them.

wonder if that helps tbh - losing players to international players or even having them come in for a short while in these days of central contracts can seem quite disruptive.

yeah settled team FTW, I suppose Durham in the last few years are an example of that.

most one-sided tour by a top side in england since....?

aww man RIP Graham Dilley. One of my alltime favourite England cricketers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/15185575.stm

Great swing bowler and underrated batsman. Who will ever forget his heroics at Headingley 1981 backing up Botham and finishing 50 n.o.

RIP

we were just talking about him at work. great bowler on his day (and of course his batting at Headingly as you say).

That dreadful phrase 'after a short illness' as well.

That'll be cancer then?

i assume so.
he wasn't 50 n.o. obv btw botham was n.o.

someone said on the other thread that sporting heroes from when you were young shouldnt die so soon is otm.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/55844000/jpg/_55844219_dill.jpg

Guilty

'"The West just wants to destroy the image of Pakistan," says Zahim, a cricket fan eating at a restaurant outside Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.'

It's a shame, particularly for Amir who had enormous potential.

I can't really hold it against them, tbh. Cricket gambling in Pakistan is run by some of the most ruthless gangsters in the world. They might have been making stacks of money but the supposed alternative of simply saying 'no' is never going to be that easy.

Amir will be back, he's still young plus he admitted his guilt, I reckon he'll be around for a long time and play a lot of international cricket

Interesting scorecard from Newlands -

1st Innings - Australia 284 (of which Clarke got 151 - from 176 balls too, must have been an incredible innings). South Africa 96.

2nd Innings - Australia are currently 21-8.

21-9 now.

Something quite Victorian about that Australian 2nd innings score.

We are amused

Genuinely amusing that Australia should still win the Test! Cricket, eh?

I know, especially now they're 41 for 9. Not entirely sure what's going on there. Apparently it's a seaming pitch. Well yes and.

They've managed to avoid their lowest ever Test score

Smith and Rudolph going great guns on 5 and 1 respectively.

SA FTW I reckon.

Certainly looking that way at the moment. What a strange test.

yeah 23 wickets in the day, I make that. SA need another 150ish to win, it looked like when the sun came out it was much easier.

?!

What is it about cricket that produces these crazy passages, more than any other sport? I do wish my watching days weren't mostly over.

I love the collective psychosis that can seem to affect both sides sometimes, seeing demons in the pitch when there are none, or at least few.

All four innings in a day.

Didn't Crowded House wrote a song about that? Andy Partridge should certainly consider doing so.

8wk win for SA, despite conceding a 188 first innings lead and being bowled out for 97 in that first innings. Astonishing!

the air of a private school headmaster that gets a bit too close to his favourite sporting lads

ah peter roebuck

gotta say though, I do like Roebuck's writing

― acoleuthic, Saturday, November 20, 2010 7:31 AM (11 months ago) [IP: 109.157.43.101] Bookmark

Never liked his writing, too much provocation for the sake of it. Word from Australian friends was that he was thought of as a bit of a joke, but is now being hailed as the CLR James of his day. Weird.

"Weird" sums him up

LJ gets it right with his first line.

Hope he's not talking from experience there

No. 1 in the world my hat!

Flower & Strauss out!