Look on the positives guys ........ errrrrr

Jimmy Anderson was 0 NOT OUT yet again

Yes, lunchtime was about as good as it got for England.
Unfortunately the batting lineup is full of aggressive batsmen bought up on limited over cricket where you need to score off every ball or throw yourself on your own sword. There is no thought on waiting a bowler out until he tires, because that doesn't happen when restricted to 5 overs.

England all out 205, SA already 205 ahead with 9 wickets & 2 days until the close.
Good second game to win for Captain Root...

More of an issue is who to bring in as a replacement early in the order.
Jennings is proving to be yet another opener who can score runs in the county game, but can't in Internationals.
Ballance is being fitted into the side on emotion. He is either good enough to replace Bairstow or he isn't. He is certainly no number 3. However the number 3 job is being made that much harder because, since Strauss left batting, England have not managed to find a number 1 & 2 that are a Test class pair...

Spoke to Mr Helm , as he is flying back to Blighty soon, kindly he asked if there was anything I wanted in the UK , he could bring back for me.........

I replied " The Ashes " sadly AIS reception cut out

Well it looks like that might be the only way Australia will get their hands on them, as it looks like fielding a team might be difficult...

Mind you, that could be good with the current England schedule - after the SA Test series are 3 Tests against the West Indies.
They have not won a Test series since Bangladesh in 2014 & only have that country & Zimbabwe below them in the Test rankings. However the Caribbean cricket authorities have decided, in their wisdom, to give England a real chance of thrashing them by leaving Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels out of the squad.
I gather this is based on the cunning thought that only players who play in the domestic competitions will be eligible for selection....meaning players who have the quality to play the game anywhere in the world are automatically excluded..
Should be a great series .... either so one-sided as to be the equivalent of watching train wrecks for fun, or behind the sofa cringing with embarrassment if the actually make a game of it..

South Africa 343 for 9 declared 472 runs ahead, England 0 for 0.

The SA side had a steady day with the bat, slowly accumulating but no one ever dominating the day.
The pundits all suggest that it is just a matter of time & by how many runs England will lose by.
The batting side have shown little ability to do anything but have a thrash & the wicket is always doing enough for that to be a dangerous policy..

The most interesting thing for an England supporter is how the selectors will react to the defeat. The without thought of keeping the same side for this very different pitch after Lords has proved a bit of a disaster...

England supporters with day 4 tickets won't be very happy.
Anyone with a day 5 ticket is looking at how to get a refund.

Eng 79-4 - Lunch

Cook was the only one who showed anything this morning & now he is out for 42.. The rest hardly put up any resistance.
Will it get to tea??
Will it be the most miraculous victory ever? Less than 400 for that to happen.. If only Stokes & Bairstow can both get double hundreds all should be well...

You have a negative attitude Bob, don't think they will pull this out of the fire.

Well there goes my evening, I usually get the last 20 odd overs here in Dubai.

I rest my case with my statement about if Root was no in the bating lineup, where would England be in recent history.

If there are any guys who know stats it would be a trivial interesting point to know how long most teams keep an ex-captain in their ranks. I don't think aussies keep their discards long. Question I allude to is how long will ex Capt Cook keep his position?? Maybe till after the Ashes if we have a team?

Problem is Barney that he is the only Test batsman in the side.
They can't even find a decent partner for him - let alone a replacement!!
The rest (captain Root included) all want to hit every ball to the boundary.

Bob unfortunately England aren't the only team who don't have the patience for test cricket at the moment.


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You are probably correct Barney. The 'money' is all in the 20/20 bash (says it all really ), so I guess it will carry on that way.

In the second Test though, South Africa certainly showed a great deal more application in what Test cricket is all about than England..
Because of that they won it easily, with a day to spare as England crumbled to 133 all out.
Statts will be disappointed that, this time, Anderson was out for his zero...

Next one up is Thursday 27th July 2017 at the Oval, at 1 each..

Be interesting to see what the selectors do... especially in regard to Jennings, Ballance & Dawson.
One of the Beeb commentators pointed out that one Graham Gooch had a torrid time when he first started in Test cricket - so bad he was dropped for 3 years after a couple of pathetic scores.
However Jennings hasn't been particularly unlucky in his dismissals, he just doesn't seem to have the defensive technique to be an opener.
Ballance is no number 3 & never will be, however England persisted with Bell well after his sell by date just because there does not seem to be an obvious candidate.
Given the batting display, having an extra spinner in Dawson is just a luxury that the side cannot afford. His figures in this Test (1 for 68 off 18 overs) suggest he is not bringing much to the party!!

At least you have a team !!

We got a team wazza

Their playing in the semi final of the world cup in Derby in a couple of days against the curry munchettes.

The Third Test of this topsy turvy series is currently underway at The Oval.
The latest on day 3 is.....
England 353 (Stokes 112,Cook 88)
South Africa 143-8 (Roland-Jones 4-39)

Topsy Turvy is the correct term for this series.
England 200 in front with all wickets left and only day 3. But the pommy weather has come into the equation again.
The young opener Jennings should not have any pressure this innings and maybe get a substantial score???

England close in on victory and a 2-1 series lead.......
England 353 and 313-8 dec(Bairstow 63,Westley 59, Root 50)
South Africa 175 and 117-4 (Elgar 72n.o)

England to win this one by 300 runs and then South Africa the next by 400 runs ??

Zidane I thought no your prediction is a safe bet. Watched the SA innings last night. The SA settled well but I think in an ugly manner by losing wickets. Pitch and weather today will play its part, but an eventual win for the poms. Unbelievable drop catch by Jennings at 3rd or 4th slip when Elgar was just starting his innings.


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England duly won the match after bowling out South Africa for 252 to win by 239 runs.
Moeen Ali clinched the match with a hat trick to return figures of 4-45.Elgar made 136 for the South Africans.
Some plusses for England from newcomers Westley and Roland-Jones but Jennings remains unconvincing as an opening partner for Cook so maybe a chance to give Stoneman of Surrey a try for the final Test in the series.
The last Test is at Old Trafford and if the series runs to form should result in a big win for the South Africans.However the notorious Manchester summer weather,similar to what has been experieced in Isaan recently,may have the final say.

Watching the game live now and lunch has mercifully been called. I can now see the 1 wicket highlight or go and watch some grass grow.
Frantic pace by England with the score racing quickly past 50 in the first innings. Both batsmen scoring at a SR of 38.
Draw on the cards if England keep control.
This me for another Guinness to catch my breath.


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England 265-6 at the end of day 1.
Stokes and Root both got half centuries but South Africa will feel they shaded the day.