Johnny holed out in the white wash bucket...

Hopefully we haven't swapped the ball for some spin ripper

comment by Phendompelé (U20037)
posted 5 minutes ago
fair play to bess and leach.

Lanka still very much can win this. about 50/50. we have made an ok start under the circumstances here.
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They definitely bowled better but Sri Lanka were probably worse than they were in the first innings of the last test. I can only assume they thought the lack of wickets in the first innings makes them dreadful bowlers and they could just whack them out the park.

comment by Phendompelé (U20037)
posted 2 minutes ago
Kallis has shrunk 2 inches since i last visited his wiki page
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Couple of close ones for Sibley. Second one looked out but both were umpire's call. England 46-1 at tea.

Nice for Bess and Leach to show up!

England's match now for me...irrespective of whether it finishes today or tomorrow

comment by Blue Heaven (U20912)
posted 20 minutes ago
Couple of close ones for Sibley. Second one looked out but both were umpire's call. England 46-1 at tea.
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thought the second was givable by the ump myself

Oh Johnny...what have you done

comment by Sheriff JW Pepper (U1007)
posted 0 seconds ago
Oh Johnny...what have you done
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oh that's close...got away with it

England have had three ump's calls go their way now this morning

Hopefully we're not using up all our luck before the India series!

Given the intent Bairstow is showing, looks like we want to get this wrapped up today.

And for all the praise, Bairstow ends the series with scores of 47, 35*, 28 and 29. I suppose an average of 46 is good but it's hard to say he's really made a meaningful contribution. No doubt the selectors will feel vindicated though and he'll get plenty more games in future

Bairstow gone. A crucial point now as Root comes in.

He did a useful job and looked better due to our openers looking awful. Considering he came in and batted at 3, he does deserve some credit but I'm definitely not in the "not picking him for India is a mistake" camp.

comment by Blue Heaven (U20912)
posted 7 minutes ago
Bairstow gone. A crucial point now as Root comes in.
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Yep, we need Root to bat the situation here and not think about wrapping this up today. There's absolutely no need to go chasing desperately after these runs, just focus on building the partnership.

Think he got a pretty good ball is well, certainly not the worst wicket we’ve seen this test.

Pff. I think we can all agree I have no issues with bias against Bairstow, so I should definitely be listened to since I'm definitely giving a balanced, objective, fact-based view

comment by Amanda Hugginkiss (U11574)
posted 17 minutes ago
And for all the praise, Bairstow ends the series with scores of 47, 35*, 28 and 29. I suppose an average of 46 is good but it's hard to say he's really made a meaningful contribution. No doubt the selectors will feel vindicated though and he'll get plenty more games in future
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Same way I feel.

He's done ok, but he's not done enough to force his way back into the side like Vaughan and others are calling for.

In fact listening to Vaughan go on and on about it, you'd think he's just played a series similar to Root.

is pope back?

Credit to Sibley, regardless of what happens now, he looks like he's been working hard his method on how to play spin. He hasn't looked particularly comfortable but the more he does it, the better he'll get.

comment by Amanda Hugginkiss (U11574)
posted 3 minutes ago
Pff. I think we can all agree I have no issues with bias against Bairstow, so I should definitely be listened to since I'm definitely giving a balanced, objective, fact-based view
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comment by The Welsh Xavi (U15412)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Amanda Hugginkiss (U11574)
posted 17 minutes ago
And for all the praise, Bairstow ends the series with scores of 47, 35*, 28 and 29. I suppose an average of 46 is good but it's hard to say he's really made a meaningful contribution. No doubt the selectors will feel vindicated though and he'll get plenty more games in future
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Same way I feel.

He's done ok, but he's not done enough to force his way back into the side like Vaughan and others are calling for.

In fact listening to Vaughan go on and on about it, you'd think he's just played a series similar to Root.
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Vaughan bloody loves Bairstow though. He's the anti-Amanda.

comment by Amanda Hugginkiss (U11574)
posted 4 minutes ago
Pff. I think we can all agree I have no issues with bias against Bairstow, so I should definitely be listened to since I'm definitely giving a balanced, objective, fact-based view
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Whilst not updating the information on the thread...

comment by Phendompelé (U20037)
posted 2 minutes ago
is pope back?
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Fit enough to bat, but still concerns about his fielding I've heard. He's dislocated his shoulder twice now, and every time you do it, it becomes easier to do it again. I think there's concerns about the shoulder long-term, because obviously you can't dive or throw if it could mean the shoulder popping out again.