This could be over by the end of day 2.
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This could be over by the end of day 2.
98/6, Prior bowled by Rehman.
England send in James Anderson as nightwatchman. They're 6 wickets down ffs. Does Stuart Broad need protecting?
What a piss poor Test series :lol:
2 shite ass teams going at it.
More importantly, India won :bow:
Pakistan are 120-2, England were bowled out for 141. :rolleyes:
143-2 now, hundred partnership :faint: , both guys have reached 50. Somewhat naively they seem to have shut up shop and are playing for the close...with 14 overs left. Not a wise move - runs were coming freely; they should've carried on with their natural game.
I don't think I've seen Younis Khan without a smile plastered on his face. Doesn't do the stupid "Inshallah" shit at every interview either. Deserves respect tbf.
Should declare and have a crack at them this evening.
:haha:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Bendtner
Why is that stupid?
Younis Khan gets a century :bow:
Even with the ball Jimmy gets the night-watchman role :lol:
England's batsmen. :doh:
I'm sure a bowling change for the next test series will make all the difference though.
:lol:
If you end up relying on the same old faces - and that includes that humper Morgan - will come back to bite you in the end. Hubris can only get you so far.
It's reminiscent of the post 2005 Ashes come down. :rose:
I am kinda glad that England are getting battered because I never thought they were as good as the media were making out and some perspective was needed. But will they be the best side in the world right now even if they get white-washed by Pakistan? Yes, I think so. They're still a very strong side with, by far, the best bowling line-up. The true test of a good team is always away from preferred conditions. India's stay as no.1 for 18 months was impressive because they winning and drawing almost everywhere - even in South Africa. Australia and South Africa are nearly on the same level right now. Australia have improved a lot since their Ashes defeat. But even they can't win away to New Zealand. Nobody can win away these days.
If people are hoping for England to dominate world cricket in the same way West Indies did in the 80s and Australia did in the 90s, it's not going to happen. There just isn't enough money devoted to bringing up talent on the grassroots level. I don't see any team dominating now. Maybe in a year time, someone else will be no.1 and it'll keep fluctuating between England, Australia, South Africa. Maybe India and Pakistan can pose a challenge - but in India's case, they've got the balance all wrong by piling money into the rubbish Twenty20 format that doesn't really favour Test technique.
The recent Australia-South Africa Tests were amazing. But I don't think there will be an interesting Test series for a while now. Maybe England in Sri Lanka will be close. Then West Indies are coming here which is a complete waste of time. The next Ashes should be great if Australia can keep improving at the rate they are.
Not to discount the series before that, but England-SA this summer could be a key indicator. If South Africa could win that, it would be a marker laid down. They won a few years ago, but obviously the England side was a lot poorer. I think South Africa are better equipped than most to try and nudge ahead of the pack. They have had tremendous success abroad before, and nearly won in India last time. England have some way to go in that regard. SA have been quite ordinary at home, though. That's really where England have been brutally efficient. Good test this summer. I've applied for the ballot thing for the Lord's Test.
Yuvraj Singh has been diagnosed with cancer.He's off in the states for cemotherapy. :yikes:Some sort of tumour in his lung. Optimistic of full recovery and doctors have described it as 100% curable.
I guess they must have found it quite early in its formation then. Get well soon though to him regardless.
Pakistan are 345-6, Monty has four-for!
346-7. :popcorn:
Pakistan are 350-8 at tea.
Azhar Ali 157 off 442 balls. Misbah 31 off 115. These guys are something else. Ach is on suicide watch.
Anyway England need 324 to win.
Gettable.
lol.
Misbah's a maniac. I don't think I've ever seen anyone accelerate and stop as frequently as he does. He got 31 off 115 but he could've been on 61 off 123. And then 62 off 176.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Bendtner
Weirdo.
He is weird. Only has two gears. Does it in the ODIs and T20s too.
Come on England FFS.
India lost the opening ODI against Australia. Rain-affected.
Kohli top-scored for India with a majestic 31.
Tendulkar out for 2 :haha:
You'll get your 100th century when Rosicky scores.
Cook dropped. Simple chance.
Has Taufeeq dropped the Ashes?
England close on 36-0. Should be a good day tomorrow. :popcorn:
116-3, Pietersen fails again, goes for 18.
159-6. :(
246-9
Prior and Panesar to win it
Pakistan win it
England :haha:
Worst number one ranked team of all time
Monty nearly outscored Bell. :lol:
Last 20 Tests: W12 L4 D4
Away record: P11 W5 L4 D2
Last 20 Tests: W12 L7 D1
Away record: W3, L5, D1
Winning at home is not difficult. England have had one (very) impressive series victory - that was winning 3-1 in Australia which nobody really does. They caught them at a fortunate time though when the team was in transition. Since then Australia have won in Sri Lanka - something England haven't done. Australia drew in South Africa and Australia drew in New Zealand. (3 away series against good opposition unbeaten). And obviously now they've crushed India at home. This Australian side is good - if anyone's the best team right now, it's them.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2021719/Is-best-England-team-Sportsmails-panel-experts-join-debate.html
:lol:
Lets wait until they start avoiding defeat away. England have had an easy run of tours. The only other away tour they've won recently was in Bangladesh. Lets see them win in West Indies. Lets see them win in New Zealand. Lets see them draw in Sri Lanka. They won't. India had done all these things and drawn in South Africa - having a good record in all conditions, on all sorts of pitches.
Until any team - Australia, England, South Africa, India, Pakistan, whoever...starts not getting hammered against a good team away from home quite consistently, begin the hype. One good away series isn't enough.
Can't wait for England's Sri Lanka trip. Sri Lanka will be stronger than Pakistan in their real home.
ICC Test Championship
6 February 2012
Team-------------Matches--------Points--------------Rating
England ---------41------------4830--------------118
South Africa---------28------------3277--------------117
India --------------46------------5111---------------111
Australia------------42------------4655---------------111
Pakistan------------35------------3781---------------108
The ranking system is stupid. If England were to play against West Indies and the 3 matches were called off for rain, England would lose a lot of points - which makes no sense. If England beat Australia 4-0 at home, that counts for more than winning 1-0 in India. Silly.
Upcoming tours:
New Zealand v South Africa, Feb - Mar 2012
Sri Lanka v England, Mar - Apr 2012
West Indies v Australia, Mar - Apr 2012
Top 3 are all away. Aussies, on current form, should win in WI. England will almost certainly lose. And SA-NZ will be close.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...-surprise.htmlQuote:
SRI LANKA legend Muttiah Muralitharan has told England their ranking as the ICC's number one Test team "means nothing".
And the bowling hero insists they must master subcontinental conditions before they can be compared to the best teams in cricketing history.
England are on the verge of losing their crown in the Test rankings as they head towards a 3-0 series whitewash against Pakistan in Dubai, only a few months after taking on the mantle from India.
But Muralitharan claims he is not surprised by England's struggles on the current tour as the subcontinent has long been their Achilles heel.
He said: "I was not surprised because England always struggle coming to the subcontinent.
"On the subcontinent you have to learn to play spin very well and in that department they are lacking so you can see the results now. Pakistan are dominating with spin."
The only solution, Muralitharan said, is to play more often in the region, and play longer tours with more warm-up matches.
He added: "They are not used to the conditions. The conditions are always very important in cricket.
"They need to play here more often, and get used to the conditions better."
England head to Sri Lanka next, and Muralitharan believes the Pakistan tour could stand them in good stead.
He said: "They might play well in Sri Lanka because they have now played so many matches (in the United Arab Emirates) before coming here, but in the Pakistan series they did not have enough time to play matches."
While much has been made at home of England's No1 status, Muralitharan questioned the value of the ICC rankings, saying the great teams in cricketing history were measured by an ability to dominate for long periods in any conditions.
He said: "England are No1, but they have more to do to become a No1 like Australia were for a period of time.
"They have to be the team to beat.
"A few months ago, the ICC ranking system said India was the No1. Then England, and now it will pass to South Africa.
"It changes every few months, so that means nothing."
I would say that Murali can STFU and that the only reason that chucker had a career was due to a deformity at birth but he's kinda backing my point up, so I won't.
I think you are basically right re. Syn's first post. Too many people went gaga over England basically winning a lot in familiar conditions. The Ashes win was most impressive. To be fair, the manner of victory in most of England's series has been very impressive. Shitting out innings wins regularly. Not much in unfamiliar conditions, though.
I would expect a closer series against Sri Lanka. The batting this tour was embarrassing, but Sri Lanka were Murali + 10 others at home. They definitely don't have a great bowling attack. I dunno, though...maybe even ordinary spinners could trouble them. The fact that that needs to be questioned shows that they have a great deal to prove yet.
Murali should come out of retirement for this one Test series and get 30 odd wickets and the fans get a few more lols at England