******Cricket Thread******

[beehive_bob]

Do what the opposition least want you to do.

Drag them out onto the field again, try to get up to 600 and then declare.

 

[jimharri]

Do what the opposition least want you to do.

Drag them out onto the field again, try to get up to 600 and then declare.

Yep. Tell the remaining batsmen to go out and play their shots. Even if they only add another 10 runs or so, so be it. 550+ is not a shabby score.

 

[Protein Junkie]

And elsewhere James Vince and Liam Livingstone top score in the BBL final.Vince is an enigma- can be brutal,brilliant and awful in equal measures

 

[SWP's back]

You don’t think he’ll declare overnight?

Not a chance. They’ll make the openers come out, stand around for an hour and not be able to get into their zone overnight.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

They would probably need to score at 4 an hour and get 600 runs to threaten us. We scored nearly 3 runs per over overall so that’s not unusual for test match cricket.

I think the pundits said that a team that scored 500 in a first innings in a test match in India had never lost a game. Still, it’s hard to say whether we would have been better with 530 on the board and half an hour to attack the Indian openers. We are in a strong position either way but the pitch is still placid.

It’d take them 25 days to reach 600 at that rate!

 

[ancoats]

normal if you bat for 2 days you are playing not to lose and bat again. it can take the win out of the other team hands and they play for the draw and that works when bowling to them. defending and and batting for time is dangerous and you become just sitting ducks

late on today the wicket started to change and the ball started to grip a bit more. movement both with the reverse swing and keeping a bit low the wicket will give the england bowlers a lift. if they get it right and bowl good lengths and field and catch and hold on to them maybe england can win

2 big things tomorrow for root the captain is what type of roller he wants and can he set the right fields
england have the fire power and 2 spinners so should be easy root to make the rotation and have options

555 is enough and england can declare over night ? but knowing root he will fancy a look at the wicket in the morning and still bat for a hour if he can ? india can still get something out of the game ? not the win but batting time and runs for their batters. even getting england in the field for 2 and half days will be a plan because its hot out their

i want to see england have a right go at india make it uncomfortable for batting ? bounce it around their ears and get in their faces and show we mean business

 

[Citizen in Pakistan]

If pitch deteriorates as it usually does in India then bowling indian team out twice wont be an issue, play for an hour if possible because once it starts turning wildly it becomes v difficult to handle and their was some evidence it might, especially on day 4 and 5

 

[Chris in London]

Have to say, I’m loving this discussion. Personally, I’d have given them 30 minutes before stumps with Jimmy, Jofra and Ben Stokes duffing them up, and same again tomorrow morning, and if that meant declaring with “only” 525 on the board, so be it.

But the different options are fascinating, and it’s brilliant to be even talking about how best to beat India in their own back yard. I thought we might face a kicking in this series, especially bearing in mind how well Indian did in Australia.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Have to say, I’m loving this discussion. Personally, I’d have given them 30 minutes before stumps with Jimmy, Jofra and Ben Stokes duffing them up, and same again tomorrow morning, and if that meant declaring with “only” 525 on the board, so be it.

But the different options are fascinating, and it’s brilliant to be even talking about how best to beat India in their own back yard. I thought we might face a kicking in this series, especially bearing in mind how well Indian did in Australia.

In English conditions, I’d be totally with you, but on the subcontinent getting as big a score as you can in the first innings in the first 2.5 days means you can’t lose.

It also makes India make a decision. Do they force the pace of their first innings and risk their wickets, or do they bat naturally and see where they are at the end of day 4?

As you suggested though, it isn’t an exact science and only the people who have seen and used the pitch have all the relevant information to make an informed decision. Root definitely knows the pitch by now!

 

[dadnlad]

I thought we might face a kicking in this series

if India had batted first this is what we'd be saying