CC discussion thread 2014

[m@tt]

Notts avoid a points deduction for their wicket against Warwickshire, which was branded as below average.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cric ... 40499.html

Nice to see commonsense prevailing.

The key seems to be that although it was inconsistent and challenging, it wasn't dangerous.

[SaintPowelly]

So, going into day 4 :

Middlesex require another 242 to beat Yorkshire with 9 wickets in hand and Chris Rogers set on 122*, but 472 in still a massive chase against a good attack.
Northants require another 95 to beat Lancashire with 5 wickets in hand and Midddlebrook 78*, low scoring game and Northants aren't beyond collapsing.
Sussex need a miracle ( or thunder storm ) to avoid defeat to Somerset, trail by 68 with 4 wickets in hand after following-on, Joyce is 76* chasing a 3rd ton of the season.

Essex will look to force a victory against Gloucester, currently lead by 171 in the first innings. Foakes 132*
Hants and Surrey are in a bonus points accumulation day after only 74 overs played in the first 3 days
Leicester will look to extend their lead of 218 with 9 wickets in hand, and bowl Glamorgan out.
Worcestershire will look to add to their lead of 213 and bowl out Derbyshire for victory.

So only 1 dead game out of 7 and of course we have already had a result between Notts and Warks.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Lord's gets easier to bat on as the game progresses. If there's no cloud cover, Middx will win. If there is, Yorkshire should win.

[D/L]

Ah, the old chestnut that clouds determine how a cricket ball behaves.

The match is nicely poised and it will be performances on the day and probably a measure of fortune that most affect the outcome.

[sussexpob]

Haya he he...haya he he.... haya he he...

[SaintPowelly]

I assume thats your attempt at a rain dance Pob ?

[sussexpob]

I assume thats your attempt at a rain dance Pob ?

No.... its my "please bring me a *****ing 6 hour tropical thunderstorm" dance....

[Aidan11]

I assume thats your attempt at a rain dance Pob ?

No.... its my "please bring me a *****ing 6 hour tropical thunderstorm" dance....

I always find there's one thing guaranteed to bring rain. I put the washing out on the line.

[sussexpob]

I assume thats your attempt at a rain dance Pob ?

No.... its my "please bring me a *****ing 6 hour tropical thunderstorm" dance....

I always find there's one thing guaranteed to bring rain. I put the washing out on the line.

You know what to do Aiden!

[Aidan11]

I assume thats your attempt at a rain dance Pob ?

No.... its my "please bring me a *****ing 6 hour tropical thunderstorm" dance....

I always find there's one thing guaranteed to bring rain. I put the washing out on the line.

You know what to do Aiden!

I think it only works in my back yard though.

[DiligentDefence]

Cloud lifting and the sun has emerged in Northampton.

[D/L]

It has been remarked before, by someone from a non-cricket playing country seeing the game for the first time over here, that its purpose seemed to be a very intricate rain dance, performed with much pomp and ceremony, by strangely clad participants and that the heavens almost always opened, sometimes almost immediately but invariably within half an hour or so.

Bill Bryson, in his excellent book "Down Under", has an interesting take on cricket...

"After years of patient study (and with cricket there can be no other kind) I have decided that there is nothing wrong with the game that the introduction of golf carts wouldn't fix in a hurry. It's not true that the English invented cricket as a way of making all other human endeavours look interesting and lively; that was merely an unintended side effect. I don't wish to denigrate a sport that is enjoyed by millions, some of them awake and facing the right way, but it is an odd game. It is the only sport that incorporates meal breaks. It is the only sport that shares its name with an insect. It is the only sport in which spectators burn as many calories as the players (more if they are moderately restless). It is the only competitive activity of any type, other than perhaps baking, in which you can dress in white from head to toe and be as clean at the end of the day as you were at the beginning.

Imagine a form of baseball in which the pitcher, after each delivery, collects the ball from the catcher and walks slowly with it out to centre field; and that there, after a minute's pause to collect himself, he turns and runs full tilt towards the pitcher's mound before hurling the ball at the ankles of the man who stands before him wearing a riding hat, heavy gloves of the sort used to handle radioactive isotopes, and a mattress strapped to each leg. Imagine moreover that if this batsman fails to hit the ball in a way that heartens him sufficiently to try to waddle sixty feet with mattresses strapped to his legs he is under no formal compulsion to run; he may stand there all day, and, as a rule, does. If by some miracle he is coaxed into making a misstroke that leads to his being put out, all the fielders throw up their arms in triumph and have a hug. Then tea is called and everyone retires happily to a distant pavilion to fortify for the next siege. Now imagine all this going on for so long that by the time the match concludes autumn has crept in and all your library books are overdue. There you have cricket."

[Arthur Crabtree]

Looks like a sunny day in London.

[D/L]

Could go either way then.

[SaintPowelly]

2 quick wickets for Anderson ( 5-32 ), Northants are screwed.