Thetownend.com

Another early morning for Larwood :)  The team for tomorrow will be:
Cook
Strauss
Bell
K.P
Colly
Freddie
G.Jones
Plunkett
Hoggy
Harmy
Monty
The sneaky Indians have come up with two wickets though,the bastards :wink: So if they choose the faster wicket i'd go with Plunkett,if not it'll be the o.a.p himself Udal.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/4785248.stm

No Blackwell  :beers:

I thought that would please you Spud :) Of course i could be wrong,although that doesn't happen very often :wink: The problem with Blackwell [apart from the pasty diet he lives on]is that he and Monty are both left arm bowlers,Udal is a rightie so he offers a different option.Anyway it depends on the wicket.

udal is utter crap. blackwell isn't much better as a test player. Need giles back.

i would think india would pick the spinners wicket considering we don't have a great spinner as they have both kumble and singh.

But the KOS ain't going to be back for this series at least :(
The big Indian news is that they have dropped Laxman and Kaif,so Yuvraj Singh will play and they can add another bowler :o .
I'm not sure how much to read into this pitch stuff,i mean the experts in the Nagpur test insisted it was going to get harder and harder to play on,but it wasn't :-))(
We'll find out at 4.30 tomorrow morning,nurse where's my caffeine drip?

Agreed.

im not an Udal fan. tbh we only really need Monty our other options are shit! if Giles was there him and Monty would be a great combo!

Flintoff won the toss and were batting, currently 37-2  :(

Plunkett came into the side in place of Blackwell Tart  :beers:

blackwel was never going to be a test player. shame, but he aint one. will definitely play in the one dayers though after his bowling in pakistan surely.

plunkett i don't rate at the moment, everyone says how great he is, but last series he played in he just got hit for about 6 every over and showed nothing.

I wouldn't describe him as great,i'd say they isn't really a lot of difference between him and Jimmy,Plunkett has the edge because of his batting.
Rachel Flintoff had her baby,it must have been early because Freddie was due to miss the third test,so he wouldn't have missed a test anyway.It was a boy called Corey,after Corey Feldman perhaps?
104-2,Bell and K.P seem to be set in.

Absolute shocking judgement by Bell to get bowled by Kumble.  :evil:

163-4,another dodgy day batting first :( the weather could save us though :-))( . If we can get our heads down tomorrow,have a few decent partnerships it might not be so bad and we all know what Freddie can do with the bat :)
4.00 a.m start to make up for the rain delays,don't think i'll manage to get up for that!

My prediction is  a draw unless we score under 250.

draw again i hope. i'd take draw from this series!

 :nod:  Considering we are missing four of our best players a drawn series would be a major acheivement.
As for this test,there is still a lot of time left,plus the conditions,overcast and rainy,should help our fast bowlers,but of course the weather will change just as the Indians come out to bat :-))(
Oh, and the Indians chose the dry, flat, dust bowl like wicket,surprise surprise :wink:

Thats what i hate about the sub continent teams, they bowl seamers for 10 overs and then the rest of the time its spinners for 100 overs.

Bit harsh Spud :) ,spinners are in the main their best bowlers,you can't blame them for using them most of the time.Personally i quite enjoy watching Kumble and Harbahjan bowling,although in a sort of petrified way :wink:

Big ton from Geraint Jones tomorrow. You heard it here first.

 He needs a big innings....

lay off Jones. i think he's the best of our wicketkeeping options at the mo! certainly batting wise. so what he makes mistakes? unfortunatly those are remembered and not the good points like some of his catches in the ashes and the tour to pakistan

Currently 200-5 with bad light stopping play for the past hour.  :)

still bad light....draw again i hope!

200-5,only 14.3 overs were bowled.Its looking like a draw is inevitable now.

I agree with your point about the fact that mistakes are remembered more than the successes,but to say we have no alternative is quite frankly bollocks.I don't know about anyone else but i'd like our wicket keeper to be able to keep wicket well first and bat well second.I just don't think Jones keeps wicket well and he certaintly isn't scoring many runs.Personally i think Chris Read should be behind the stumps,he is first of all a good wicket keeper and a more than competent batsman.

He recently scored a 100 in the WI, im sure Jones knows that his place is uncertain at the moment.

I hope so,and i hope he plays accordingly.It pisses me off that there is never a suggestion of replacing him in the side,its as if he's as irreplaceable as Freddie or something :-))(

Where have you been?, the pundits are always talking about Read replacing Jones.

The pundits maybe,but it doesn't seem to be an issue with the England managerment,thats what annoys me.Anyway Read is doing all he can to make them take notice,hopefully he'll get another chance to play in the side soon.
Its looking like Spencer White will be seeing the deciding test match,the lucky git :)

i think we can win this one........300-350? then get the seamers to bowl them out on a productive pitch (the first of its kind in the sub continent) i wont accept a draw! i think India are getting shitter now. their players are starting to get old just like the aussies

we hit 300 all out...flintoff 70 Jones 50 odd....there now 30-1. Harmison and hoggard bowled well. Harmison got sehwag for 11.

I woke up annoyed, when i went to bed we were 267-5, i wake up and we're all out for 300.  :evil:

What a fucking catch by Ian Bell!  :beers:

im not far out on that one i dont think. just a bit short for time!

once again! england can not get rid of the tail!!!!!!! it is costing us wins.  :evil: getting on my nerves now. England Bowlers: IT IS EASIER TO GET TAILENDERS OUT!!

they bowl differently too them as soon as they got like 10 runs...theres no need. There not brian laras or ricky ponting. There crap. Now they have a lead which means i think, it will be a draw, or a tight finish for england. Knowing england we'll collapse to 150-200 all out.

Pathan got 52 even though he edged a Harmison delivery to Jones when he was on 8!.  :evil:

88-4 which really means 50-4  :evil:

we are fucked then? fucking hell! these players are pathetic i could do better!

Not over yet Rich, not with Fred still in. Tough ask though

i dont have any hope left! our side has turned shit again just like the old days  :-))(

Don't be ridiculous

im not its the truth! its just pathetic! i wish some players would actually put some effort in and we may win like we did against the convicts!

wow, aren't i good at predictions.

 :doh: This kind of judgement is why i don't bother betting on anything,it would cost me a fortune.The Indians have played well although considering all the major players we have missing they should be beating us.
39-1,Hoggy has just got Jaffer.

1-0 to the Indians then :( Third test in Mumbai starting on Saturday.
And Rich ffs man get a grip,of course its a disappointing result but we are playing India in India where they are very hard to beat,even if we had a full team [which we don't ]it would be very hard to win out there.The batting let us down again though and its a shame that some players don't appear to have learned anything in Pakistan,i mean what the fuck was KP doing yesterday?Prat!
Anyway still one more test to go,but i can't see us winning it :( Still i'm sure Spencer will still enjoy himself :)

according to the bbc.co.uk, pietersens decision wasn't out....

No he wasnt out it came off his arm but saying that he was out in the first test but got away with it.

True Johno,it wasn't out,i'd forgotten that :oops: Although he had been trying to attack from the start and maybe if he'd curbed that attacking instinct he might not have got out.But that is a big IF and of course that is the kind of player he is,bit rough of me to blame KP, and of course Kumble and the other Indians bowled well.

what a pathetic exuse for a cricket team! they should all be shot this very minute! the performances since the Ashes have been nothing short of abysmal!

:nod:

it doesnt matter who you are playing! its not hard to put in some effort is it? even i could do better! oh and we are ranked higer than India so we should be beating them

We are only ranked higher than India, because we beat the Aussies with our strongest team, at home. Now, we have half that side missing, all replaced by youngsters making their Test debuts, out in one of the toughest places to tour (Panesar, Cook and Plunkett). I think we are doing rather well considering.

Also, why would they not put any effort in Rich? Surely, they are trying their best, and are not quite up to that level yet?

its the players body language! they look like they dont give a shit! if thats true then its not on! yes im not blaming the young ones it's the likes of struass and bell and KP that need to get their act together. i agree they are not up to that level yet. they should be dropped for that very reason

And replaced by whom?

I disagree that you can tell they aren't trying. Heads probably dropped when Jaffer and Dravid got settled, but i think that's understandable, seeing as it was a lost cause by this point.

someone who can bat! Cook did well in the first test so replace Bell with him. then when Tresco comes back he'll open instead of struass and colloingwood can bat at 4 simple! ill let KP off but only because he can score the odd 50!

Back where?. He wont be back until the summer.

This wouldn't have happened if we hadn't sold Trescothick to Wales  :x

Of course you could :-))(  :)

I don't think the rankings are that important really,i reckon most teams above the West Indies could probably beat each other, especially at home.Plus this test series will decide who's number two in the table.Personally i'm not too bothered.

Hopefully we can make a miraculous recovery for the 3rd Test .. but I think we might lose that one again

The onedayers first 2 games need to be won tho!

ive lost all hope. i think we will slide back to the hoplessness of the 90's tbh

oh we arent that bad ... a few injuries cos of the heavy schedule .. weve got some good players still ...

Win the first 2 ODI  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:  India beat Pakistan recently in a ODI series. :shock:

The worrying thing is Shaun Udal is looking like he will be in the team Saturday morning, id sooner have fucking blackwell in for that old cunt.

we have started making mistakes reminisent of the Atherton era and unless it stops now we are going to be in 8th again!  :-))(

have to agree with u there Spud .. Udal hasnt ever been any good .. id go with Blackwell too

how shit? this is exactly what i mean when i say we are going back an era  :soapy tit wank:

like i said .. just a few injuries

with Tresco, Vaughan, Giles and Jones fit we will be much better

i dont want giles back! i think Monty is 10 times better! if only Freddie actually used him to take wickets rather than stem the runs  :-))(

blackwell would be better than udal. but udal will be picked

I cant believe im agreeing with you on picking Blackwell.  :|

Are things really that bad?.

Here we go again.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/4811790.stm

 :( Fucking mare! Guess it'll be Plunkett and Udal,though i would like to see Jimmy given a chance.

 :)  I miss you Fats :cry:  
I think we have to give up on the dream mate.I can't see us beating India many times in the odis so we will have to qualify for the Champions trophy i'm afraid,and quite honestly its what we deserve.

harmison out? damn we are fucked again!