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(dun dun duh-duh-dun)
Absolutely engrossing day 5 so far, England currently needing 192 off 55 overs to win the first Test - having probably made the wrong decision in putting India in to bat first...
Ah balls, jinxed it 😌
They're back on and no overs lost. But the weather looks a bit ominous (just had a huge rainstorm in Harrogate which is 14 miles away).
Oh dear!
Let's hope there are no slowing down the over rate shenanigans here.
The over rates have been piss poor from both sides in this game anyway. It certainly doesn't need exacerbating.
Hope the rain stays off too.
Me too..great game
Let's hope there are no slowing down the over rate shenanigans here.
The over rates have been piss poor from both sides in this game anyway. It certainly doesn't need exacerbating.
Does rather sound like India are trying it. All we can hope is 2 days after the summer solstice the light stays good late into the night so they can play all the overs! Or that the umpires have the balls to make them play them all anyway - I think it's happened before with ****stan in England a few years back; and I remember in New Zealand with Thorpe at the crease smacking it around
Ooof, 2 quick wickets - Duckett gone for 149, Brook came on, saw his first ball, departed.
Squeaky bum time, or a real test of sticktoitiveness?
This is great stuff! Exactly what this Test series need to kick it off...
Shame that Duckett fell with over 100 still to get, would have been some achievement if he could have seen them over the threshold but an excellent innings nonetheless!
What is it with Headingley and the bowling team burning through all their reviews in a tight 4th innings finish...? 🤔
Tense.........
I feel like it's going well now. I didn't want to curse it.
Cracking five days 😁👍
Went Sunday and went back again today which was terrific! Oddly today was the first time I’ve not had a pint at Headingley.
Duckett and Crawley (and subsequently Root and Smith) very measured and a joy to watch.
Trying to bowl against a left-short / right-tall partnership must be real ball ache.
I'll be tuning in at 1055, last night got rather feisty as England ran the clock down to avoid a second over. Nicely set up for a one innings target set game.
However, really dug out this thread to post this article, which I found interesting (others will say it's a load of old balls) and in particular ideas that Pant's dissatisfaction with the Dukes ball might not be entirely based on truth? The article's conclusion is to quash that but they've used a lot of word count to tell you what it isn't, is that just arse covering? What do you think?
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/12/cricket-dukes-ball-england-india-test-series
Cricket being the backbone of sporting tradition in this country it’d be awfully remiss not to mention the Captain Flashheart 138 page / 9 year old megathread
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/off-topic/my-dear-old-things-its-stw-tms/paged/138/
“Lets Go” giving me The Hundred ick 🤪
Some pretty grim batting today 🙄🙄
Isn't this delicious. 15 mins to go, I wonder how much shameless time wasting the Indians will be doing
Set up brilliantly for tomorrow.
Just seen Ashley Giles at Wimbledon, wouldn't have recognised him if they hadn't pointed him out.
Class day. Proper test cricket.
What happened to the other thread?
Hostage to fortune typing this as it might be out of date by the time it loads but.....Money is on India from here (30 runs and 1 wicket left)
Getting to the point where a few swipes could win it, otoh India are scoring at about 2 an over so could take another dozen overs.
I'm wrong - happy days!
Brilliant day of cricket!
Why? Until someone tagged it at the weekend it hadn't been posted on this year, whereas this one is as old as this test series, about 3 weeks. This has far more relevant content, who's going to go back through the old one?
I'm happy with either thread, just couldn't find the other one as it had sunk so far down the forum list!
GReat result today; and it's really an enthralling series. TMS is making a big thing of 20 years since the 2005 Ashes series, which was proper box office cricket; it's fantastic to see that you don't need the Aussies to make a really gripping, close-fought series. And it's gone the distance in all 3 tests so far!
Tradition dear chap
Exactly this - we're not F1 with their new thread every year uncouthness for gawds sake.
Has a cooler title too - in a if you know, you know kind of way.
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/off-topic/my-dear-old-things-its-stw-tms/
is there a way for STW to graft the 30-odd posts of this thread onto the almost dead trunk of the other that hasn't had a post since Nov 2024 and bring new life into it?
What are we gonna do when Stokes retires? He's 34 and his body appears to be cracking under the strain. Seems like he's so often the one that drags us over the line, if only by willpower alone. He's got what, another year in him? 2 at the most?
I’ve not been watching this series, for reasons, but I went over to it in the closing stages, and what a brilliant ending! The bowler’s catch on the return of his delivery was extraordinary, and the very last wicket; what can I say, the shock and disappointment and disbelief on the batsman’s face, to turn and watch the ball dribble up to the stump and knock the bail off in that fashion, poor sod is probably going to be haunted by that moment for the rest of his career! If only it had been like that which propelled the stump end over end, but no! 🤣
What are we gonna do when Stokes retires? He's 34 and his body appears to be cracking under the strain. Seems like he's so often the one that drags us over the line, if only by willpower alone. He's got what, another year in him? 2 at the most?
This is a really good question. In all likelihood it'll be Harry Brook, but he's no Stokes is he?
Sometimes it's only once the position is vacated that the next steps up....but I can't imagine Brooks bowling 12 overs of heavy balls unchanged in the way that Ben can.
I'm also worried by what happens when Joe decides that he's finally bored of accumulating runs.
But in the meantime....some say that the Barmy Army trumpeter is a bit of an acquired taste, but I think he's met his match here.
Smith is the next Root, absolute quality player.
Might need someone else to keep.
It is really hard to see who is the next cab off the rank as first class cricket is too late. They are trying to identify those that have the attributes far earlier than county cricket.
Yeah we've got good batters and bowlers coming through, I'm just worried about that ineffable 'fighting spirit' that Stokes has - this unbelievable determination to make things happen by any means necessary.
It's something that England have historically lacked (not always, but often) and IMO that's a part of what feeds the Classic England Batting Collapse. The Aussies tend to have it in spades - they just never know when they're beaten and can dig out some incredible results from unlikely circumstances. We need more of it!