The CRICKET Thread, Finally!

[Iceman]

Pakistan got 247-8. England on 72-4 after 14 overs. Not quite so straightforward today.

 

[Iceman]

England won with a couple of overs to spare. Stokes and Bairstow got 60s.

 

[Iceman]

Do you know much about this guy reg?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/37281623
Trevor Bayliss hints at new England opener with Haseeb Hameed in frame

 

[regwec]

Do you know much about this guy reg?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/37281623
Trevor Bayliss hints at new England opener with Haseeb Hameed in frame

Ahem, you heard it here first.

I went along to Old Trafford to watch the second day of Lancashire v Yorkshire. It is interesting that some influential figures are identifying Lancashire's 19 year old opener Haseeb Hameed (who scored a century in each innings) as a future test batsmen, and have suggested that he join the squad for India. Yorkshire's Alex Lees was also very impressive, and in the best tradition of gritty openers: he just refused to play at anything that wasn't hitting the stumps, and was completely unfazed by anything short. I guess most top order batsmen in the county circuit have a sense that, with Alex Hales continued struggles, each innings is a job interview.

Hameed seems to have the talent and the temperament, and his figures are very fine. As Lancashire are my county club, I would love to see him make the cut, ideally alongside Jimmy Anderson and Jos Buttler. All the same, there are other strong contenders with a more proven record (Mark Stoneman of Durham springs to mind). There are also other young insurgents with serious talent (Sam Hain of Warwickshire who, at the age of 21, has seven first-class centuries and a double; or Daniel Bell-Drummond of Kent, who has nine first-class hundreds and a century that he scored against the last Australian Ashes team to tour England). It's a tough decision to make but, on balance, Hameed's average makes him as likely a choice as any.

 

[Iceman]

Haha I knew you'd be on top of this!

That's cool. Alex Hales just got his ODI record and now the pretenders to the throne are presenting their case. The situation is looking a lot healthier.

 

[regwec]

I would definitely stick with Hales for the shorter formats. He doesn't have great technique but he has strength, reflexes, and reach, and they are more useful attributes in that form of the game.

Meanwhile, Pakistan are hammering England in the T20. Odd how England sometimes don't turn up at all. It tends to happen when Joe Root fails...

 

[regwec]

This is pathetic. With the batsmen failing completely, there is no scoreboard pressure on Pakistan at all. They can just swing with abandon.

 

[Iceman]

What happened in the end? I got busy and lost track. Didn't even read about it.

 

[regwec]

Pakistan walked the T20.

Really great to see Jonathan Trott winning the One Day Cup for Warwickshire. An England legend in his time and a huge asset to the county game.

 

[Iceman]

Pakistan walked the T20.

Really great to see Jonathan Trott winning the One Day Cup for Warwickshire. An England legend in his time and a huge asset to the county game.

At least England have made progress on the one dayers. Quite proud to have the record.

And I'm really glad to hear about that on Trott after all his problems. I don't know all that much about how well he did at county level but he was a great for England before the illness.

 

[Iceman]

England 309-8 batting first against Bangladesh in the ODI.

 

[Iceman]

England won by 21 runs. Ball took 5 wickets and Rashid 4.

 

[Iceman]

Bangladesh win the 2nd ODI to take the series to 1-1.

 

[Kaleb]

wow I didnt see this happening at all

 

[Iceman]

Wow coudl be a whitewash for South Africa.

England just beat Bangladesh to win the series 2-1.

 

[Kaleb]

just looked at the score Australia are 88/3 (currently need 239 off 174 balls)

 

[Iceman]

Will be quite humiliating for them to lose 5-0. The Aussies are not the team they used to be!

 

[Kaleb]

yeah its been a while since I payed much attention to the cricket and I'll be honest the only name I recognized in the Australian squad was Warner.

 

[Iceman]

Have South Africa got any new guys?

 

[Kaleb]

The only new player they seem to have added is Andile Phehlukwayo

 

[Iceman]

How good is he? Batsman or bowler?

 

[regwec]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ is your friend.

Quite an impressive series victory for England in Bangladeshi conditions, and very encouraging to see Adil Rashid come to the fore. Also good to see Jos Buttler in a decent run of form.

 

[Kaleb]

South Africa have swept Australia 5-0 in the ODI series

 

[regwec]

 

[Iceman]

South Africa have swept Australia 5-0 in the ODI series

Great stuff, congrats!