England v Pakistan

[BobHelm]

Failing that it's stattos recommendation of me and you at 10 and 11,Bob, for a quick 50 last wicket stand !

They would have to be in boundaries these days Zid..

I agree with the 3 batsmen in serious danger.
I wonder about moving Moeen further up the order (5 ??) & playing Adil Rashid as the out & out spinner - he can bat a bit too.
Agree that Bairstow is still nothing like a First Class keeper, let alone a Test one & the "Buttler as keeper while retaining Bairstow" call is probably a good one.
I don't think Hales will ever make an opener... maybe worth a try at number 3 (& drop Joe down to a more suitable number 4). The opener who can stick with Cook is still the big question mark though!!

[BobHelm]

Interesting technology development for the ODI series between England & Pakistan.

Front-foot no-balls will be called by the third umpire in the upcoming England-Pakistan one-day international series, as part of an International Cricket Council (ICC) trial scheme.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/37143001

I always thought that it was asking too much from the on field umpires to ensure a correct ball was bowled & then be able to readjust his vision in time to make a good LBW decision.
In the favour of the International class umpires though, I will say that technology advances have proved decisions correct in a fairly large % of cases..

[pfffill]

Yes, amazing how good those umpires generally are.

[BobHelm]

First one of the ODI's yesterday from Southampton.
It has not been an especially happy hunting ground for the English squad but they have quite an impressive line up (on paper ) & the Pakistani side are quite a new team replacing a pretty ineffective side in this format of the game.

Pakistan won the toss & elected to bat. They did lose a fairly quick wicket but then settled down as the English bowlers served up too much dross & the fielders dropped what opportunities came their way. However getting towards the foot to the floor stage of the innings it was interrupted by a rain break & England bowled with a great deal more discipline at the end to restrict the visitors to a bit of a slightly under par score of 260 for 6 off their 50.

Hales continued his dismal opening form with the bat & left for 7. However Roy & Root combined well in a second wicket stand of 89. Then the weather again played a part. Firstly by reducing the England target to 252 off 48 overs & then killing the game with only 34 overs gone.

However by then England were well ahead on the scoreboard. Their innings ended on 194 for 3 after 34.3 overs. That was sufficient for Duckworth–Lewis to award England a comprehensive 44 run victory.

Next up Lord's at 10:30 am Saturday 27th August 2016.

Slightly interesting sideline..
After the transfer of the front foot no ball decision to the 3rd. Umpire - not 1 no ball was called against either side...

[BobHelm]

Second ODI at Lords.
Pakistan again won the toss & elected to bat as the pitch resembled a desert they must have thought they were playing at home.
They must have thought that there were in hell after a couple of overs though as Woods & Woakes reduced then to 2 runs for 3 wickets..
Wickie Sarfraz stepped up to the mark though & had sensible stands with Azam, Malik & Wasim to put Pakistan towards respectability. He was eventually out for 105 & then Wasim put in a little cameo of his own to second score with 63 not out. The tail rather failed to wag again though & the innings closed on 251 a ball short of the 50 overs.

England will be well pleased at half time. 5 an over is a bit of a gift in the modern ODI game & the bowling & fielding was a great deal more satisfactory than in the first game.
You still have to score them though & England can skittle themselves out as quick as Pakistan when the mood takes them..

[BobHelm]

The 2 England openers had a game to forget. Roy out before a run was scored & Hales went when he got to 14. It mattered little though as Root & Captain Morgan added 112 for the 3rd. wicket. Root was the last England batsman out for a very controlled 89. By then though the game was as good as won.
England made the total with a couple of overs to go & for the loss of 6 wickets.
All a bit too comfortable as Pakistan again fail to set a challenging total. Unless it is a strange wicket 350 is needed to put some pressure immediately on the side batting second.

Next up is Trent Bridge on Tuesday 30th August 2016 at the later 2pm. start time...

[BobHelm]

England won the toss for a change & elected to bat.
Unfortunately Roy had another poor outing & went when the score had reached 33 & he had 15 of them.
From then on though it became a day that the England batsmen will remember with joy & Pakistan will want to forget.
The other opener,Hales was next out, for a remarkable 171. Given the shocking summer he has had with the bat I imagine he will be pleased.
Joe Root then fell 2 balls later, as often happens with decent partnerships, for 85.
If Pakistan thought that the day would now improve then the were sadly mistaken. Being in the comfortable position of already having nearly 300 on the board Buttler & Captain Morgan swung the bat with gay abandon. When the 50 overs were up Buttler had scored 90 off 51 balls & Morgan 57 off 27 balls.
England had posted a new world record score of 444 off their 50 overs.

Pakistan never really stood a chance. Facing needing nearly a run & a half off every ball just creates too much pressure right from the start. They went for it & ended up with what is about their par score in 50 overs - 275 in just over 42 overs. With their tail again showing the 'real' batsmen the way..

A great day all the way round for England.
You have to feel that it will be strange circumstances indeed if Pakistan win either of the last two tosses & make England bat!!!

Series win already, England will be hoping for the whitewash..

Next up:
Thursday 1st September 2016, 14:00 Venue: Headingley Carnegie

[stattointhailand]

England had posted a new world record score of 444 off their 50 overs.

And they still have the cheek to call this cricket

[BobHelm]

Well Pakistan were never going to put England in after the last debacle, so had a bat themselves.
They reached 247 for 8 off their 50 overs with Azhar top scoring with 80 & Wasim leading the late charge with a not out 57.
Rashid was probably the pick of the English bowlers with 3 for 47 off his 10 overs on his home ground.

The score was par for Pakistan in this series, but it has proved to be the sort of total that is way too low to put much pressure on the England batting.

Mind you England's batters are quite capable of creating their own pressure out of nothing & so proved to be the case in this innings.
Roy, Hales, Root & Morgan all failed with the bat to leave England struggling on 72 for 4. England have people who can compile a total way down the batting order now though & so they proved again.
Stokes & Bairstow put on a 103 partnership & then Bairstow carried on with Moeen to put on another 50. England passed the total with a couple of overs to spare.
Well done to Bairstow especially as he only knew he was playing half an hour before the game when wicketkeeper Jos Buttler pulled out with a hamstring strain.

Final game of the series.... Sunday 4th September 2016 at 10:30 Venue: The SWALEC Stadium

[stattointhailand]

Final game of the series.... Sunday 4th September 2016 at 10:30 Venue: The SWALEC Stadium ???

Isle of Sheppey ? ..... 6's into the Medway

[BobHelm]

No, Cardiff boyo
They sponsored the ground to South Wales Electricity Board & so had a name change.

So the much loved (by me, but not by wazza & marjamlew) name of Sophia Gardens no longer exists..

[BobHelm]

It was a bit wet in Cardiff yesterday, better today but overcast & a greenish wicket for once.
Pakistan won the toss & despite having England having a record score last time they batted first, there was little choice but to put them in.
England started positively, in a large part due to some wayward bowling. However when the score reached 37 Hales went & England were never quite as comfortable.

They ended their 50 overs on a modest 302, having used all their batsmen in the process.
Opener Roy top scored with 87 & Stokes chipped in with 75, but everyone else had one to forget.

Pakistan have never managed to get very near 300 in the previous 4 innings & the wicket does offer the bowlers a bit. However they must think this is the best opportunity that they have had of actually winning one!!!

[BobHelm]

Well the theory that any 11 English(ish ) cricketers would beat this Pakistan side in the 1 day game proved not to be true..
Their top order again looked shaky & slow scoring but Malik & Sarfraz stepped up to the mark with a partnership of 163.
Pakistan crossed the finishing line with a couple of overs to spare..

One 20/20 to go & the series is complete..

Wednesday 7th September 2016 18:30 Venue: Emirates Old Trafford

[BobHelm]

Pakistan rather put England back in their place in the very short version of the game..

England a disappointing 135 for7 wickets in their 20 overs. with no one staring with the bat & Hales top scored with 37. Wickets just kept falling so the bowling side were always on top.
Pakistan then effortlessly trundled off that score in less than 15 overs & losing only 1 man in the process.