General cricket chat
Didn't see anything like this on a quick browse on the appSo a couple of enthral long ODI's between England and New Zealand but the talking point today has got to be the duckworth Lewis method. A seemingly insurmountable NZ lead was looking on until the rain came. Half hour shower meant reducing England's 50 overs to 46 and requiring us to hit 34 off 13 balls
So prior to the rain we needed 9 an over, after the rain we need over 15!
We all know the rules so I'm not stating this due to thinking England were hard done by merely that D/L in general is just out of date
In this day and age of full floodlights why can't we just play those last 4 overs, barely another 10 minutes would have been needed It's difficult, there's no perfect system, every one that's ever been used has had its flaws. Pity the rain ruined what was shaping up to be a great finale, I think Plunkett and Rashid would have pulled it off. The ICC insist on playing regulations around latest finishing times etc, ironically its primarily to minimise the risk of corruption i.e. match fixing.
Also there are licensing and police considerations as well: imagine trying to arrange overtime for hundreds of officers 'on the hoof'. After a dull 4 days in a very flat pitch the last few hours were quite entertaining! It was. Pity England couldn't finish it off. Credit to the spinners after the difficult first innings showing, particularly Rashid. Cook's captaincy was excellent again. The pitch was so slow at the end it was almost impossible for the batsmen to hit any boundaries in the run chase. Could be a missed opportunity as Pakistan will be back to full strength in the next match. Any thoughts on the squad https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjj5vqj6bfJAhXIVhoKHcKiBXcQFgg2MAM&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/12005020/Ian-Bell-dropped-from-England-Test-squad-for-tour-of-South-Africa.html&usg=AFQjCNFlKYivlI47Z3TGqsKTV92K7CXLwQ&sig2=guJarNYQxsYDmLdNHK-YLA for the South Africa tour?Can't help thinking that's the end of Bell's career, but picking Compton seems like a backward step.Also I'm not convinced that Ballance has had time to iron out his (pretty obvious) technical deficiencies.
Omitting Rashid and retaining Patel also seems very negative.The one positive (for me) is the inclusion of Footit, though I'd like to see Willey or Topley given a go as well. Wow: what a performance by Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow.Stokes was simply imperious.
Sadly,also RIP Matthew Hobden. Loads of records broken;
Second fastest double hundred
Highest 6th wicket partnership of all time
Second highest England partnership of all time
Highest score by a no.6 That's 2 records.