England v Pakistan
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And meanwhile England end the first day of the test in Pakistan at 506 for 4. Yes you read that right. Fastest ever test 500 up. Zak Crawley with the fastest ever ton by an England opener off 86 balls.
I wonder what’s going on at the bookies!
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@Catogrande From Cricinfo -
Never before has a team scored 500 on the first day of a Test, never before have they had four centurions. Zak Crawley's 86-ball ton was joint-fourth on the England list... until Harry Brook surpassed him with an 80-ball knock; Brook and Ben Duckett both scored their maiden hundreds, Crawley and Ollie Pope their third in Tests. -
Yeah 500 in 76 (I think) overs. Carnage.
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So, Eng v Pak. Talk about virus infecting squad and England might have to delay the match. I see Cricinfo scorecard has Livingstone still to come in to bat, at number 8, and Jacks at 7 who is also a specialist batsman.
So, is it whoever was well enough to play on day 1 is in the 11?
Specialist batsmen to 8 would certainly 'give them license', but 500 in a day is still extraordinary. -
@Catogrande said in Other Cricket:
Yeah 500 in 76 (I think) overs. Carnage.
Yeah pretty amazing that with still 15 overs left on the day they still got to 500. Ironic that they went off for bad light when the batters were seeing the cherry like a beach ball….
I watched a few highlights and saw that there was 6x 4s over, that were hit on both the off and on sides and down the ground.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Other Cricket:
went off for bad light when the batters were seeing the cherry like a beach ball….
mercy rule
i think Pakistan had 4 guys on debut? welcome to test cricket youngblood
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incredible that it's only a year since England couldn't buy a run in Australia
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Stokes goes bang and then goes to the sheds.
41 off 18 in a test match. Haha.
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Shit decks will be the death of the best format.
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@mariner4life said in England v Pakistan:
Shit decks will be the death of the best format.
I watched a few minutes of the game, it looked a terrible pitch. Funny that they prepare such a lifeless wicket when they have some very good seamers
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Someone on the BBC was wanking on after Day 1 about how England are irrevocably changing test cricket. Honestly it was embarrassing.
Certainly, the change in England now their mental shackles have been released is quite remarkable, but before we anoint them as worthy of all that jism we need to remember fortune definitely favoured the brave during their summer and Lady Luck is a fickle lass. Plus, this pitch. FFS if this is the new face of cricket - give me the old one.
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Was a complete cringe moment. Some of the press have been similar. Pope apparently has made the No3 spot his for as long as he wants it and Harry Brook is already a great of the game.
I like the way England are playing these days but it is far too early to be frapping on about how great we are.
Oh and back to the cricket. England’s lead is just over 200 with three wickets down. Brook hits a 6 with his first scoring shot. If that isn’t proof of greatness…
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This test is an interesting case study for batting on a road. With a traditional first innings this match is a draw with the English openers scratching around after tea on day 5 waiting for the captains to agree a draw.
The risk is than you got bowled out cheaply and then have to bat with a bug deficit and massive pressure in the second innings, but if the pitch is a road that you trust to hold up for all five days then going hell for leather on day one is actually a pretty decent tactical innovation. Either you're bowled out for 300 odd and back yourself to get out of the hole when you bet again or you do what the poms did and basically make two days progress in a day.
It's all a bit academic though since this is a rubbish pitch that (thankfully) isn't the norm anymore so building tactics around it are relatively pointless. And if you try it on a proper pitch you'll get cooked. As a novelty test I'm actually finding it kind of fun but if it becomes the norm I'll lose interest.
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Lots of runs in the first innings - check
A number of centuries - check
A 6fer - check
Test lasts 5 days - check
Both teams can still win - checkWhat’s not to like?
