Lambert Simnel
One across
Good comeback from England this morning - got to be happy with limiting the lead to 32 after having been pretty much outplayed fore the first two days. Can England's top order finally live up to their reputations?
The CFC Cricket Thread
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Lambert Simnel
One across
So what do we reckon would be a par target for the 4th innings here? I suspect anything about 250 will be a challenge, and above 300 will be probably too tough. Which means England need to look for another 100 tomorrow, I reckon.
azzaman333
meh
Depends if our batsmen actually show some grit and determination at the crease. If they do, probably anything up to 350-400 is chaseable with enough time. If they don't 150 could be too much.
The pitch itself seems fine when the sun is out. Cloud cover seems to help the ball swing and seam so I reckon it'll ultimately come down to conditions and the new ball.
Watson's injury does hurt though so if he can't bat I'd say 250 would be more than enough.
Watson's injury does hurt though so if he can't bat I'd say 250 would be more than enough.
azzaman333
meh
Still not sure if Khawaja or Hughes is more incompetent when facing spin bowling.
Watson. 
rugbyLEAGUEfan
Deity
Honestly, the poor bowlers. They've been fantastic and deserve much better.
Yep, but as Clarke said post-match, who else you going to put in there??? Khawaja or Hughes isn't a choice a team should want to have to make...
rugbyLEAGUEfan
Deity
It`s the lack of application when things are tough, not the lack of talent that worries me.
azzaman333
meh
A symptom of a juniors system that requires batsmen to retire when they reach x runs, coupled with matches lasting 50 overs per side. Add in the financial incentives to play t20 over long form cricket, not to mention the much greater financial incentives to play the various football codes, and it's no wonder there aren't any young batsmen with the mentality to grind out an innings on a tough pitch. Hell we had to bring in a 35 year old to show the youngsters how to bat on pitches that aren't complete roads.
But that is a talent! Point still stands that we are stuck with what we have (plus Hughes and Cowan I guess), no other candidates around with talent or application. As azzaman said 20/20 has bred test match batting out of youngsters.
rugbyLEAGUEfan
Deity
Whilst I agree that an ability to apply oneself to a task is made easier given an aptitude to do so, it's still something that more people can achieve without that aptitude than say, be a brilliant stroke player.
One of the great things about cricket is that a guy like Steve Waugh can be an all time great despite having half the natural talent of his peers. Many sports don't afford the mental giant the chance to shine.
azzaman333
meh
Was Kerrigan completely overwhelmed by the emotion and nerves of his test debut, or is he really a bog average tweaker who does little more than merely roll the arm over?
Lambert Simnel
One across
If you go back far enough then you get to Emburey and Edmonds (I had the privilege of watching them play for Middlesex at Lords in the 80's). I've never seen Kerrigan, so all I know of him is received wisdom, but I doubt he's going to be a replacement for Swann.
Edit: To be fair to Kerrigan, he has shown a lot of promise, and trying him out on a potentially friendly pitch in a dead rubber is probably an indication that England think there's a real chance that this guy is a real talent, and not comparable to the sort of trundlers you've mentioned above.
Lambert Simnel
One across
Crazy last days play at the Oval. 447 runs. 17 wickets. Attacking play and an aggressive declaration from Australia. Excellent reply by England. And while a draw was the fairest result, the scene at the end of Australia time-wasting and Clarke having a go at the umpires to stop the match for bad light was just too precious and ironic for words 
azzaman333
meh
England played for a draw for the entirety of day 3 and a large portion of day 5, with English win still very much possible if they wanted to play for it. We played for a draw for maybe the last 30 minutes of the match when a win was as good as impossible, after doing everything in our power to try and get a win out of the match.
rugbyLEAGUEfan
Deity
Why the hell the light rule was ever changed from the being the batting side having the privelidge to request play be suspended is beyond me? It's clearly a better rule.
Lambert Simnel
One across
Quite agree. The incident at Manchester where the umpire told Cook that play could continue if and only if he bowled spinners was an equally bizarre unintended consequence.
Azza, I fully agree that it was only at the end that Clarke turned negative (though I wonder what part of day 5 you think England were playing for a draw?). It was just very funny to watch Clarke suddenly doing all the things he, Faulkener and others were decrying before. Which kinda suggests that it's all about what is doing the best for your team, and not a function of the high moral stance that was being implied up to that point.
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