I trust you all had a great Christmas. I wish you all the best for this holiday period and for the upcoming New Year.
But before we get there there is a lot to do. First up is the Boxing Day cricket. There are ropey weather forecasts for both test matches, but let’s hope we get some play. England play in their lucky venue in South Africa, while Australia will only be concerned, in all likelihood, will only be slightly inconvenienced by hold-ups in play as the forecast for Melbourne after the 26th is fine.
Comments on this thread for the tests and any other comments on the New Zealand v Sri Lanka ODI at Hagley Oval will be welcome. I’ll probably not watch the Aussie game and be around for the morning’s play, weather permitting, for the Durban match.
Good night all…..
Being Outside Cricket 
Watching NZ V SL, Hagley Oval looks amazing, definitely a place I would like to watch cricket live. Kane Williamson on commentary was just asked what it takes to be a great batsman, his answer “better ask A B DeVilliers” great stuff! Enjoyed listening to Williamsons input, he did not seem to be on a ‘script’ or shackled in anyway, refreshing to see…….
SL making a real hash of their innings, 73 for 6, in the face of solid bowling, but nothing that warrants 6 down.
Can’t wait for the SA tests to start. Not convinced about Woakes coming in for Anderson,must the selectors rate him for some reason, so let’s see……
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Mind you, there were 27/5, with the entire top 5 gone. Oh, and Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
Siriwardene gone, but now at least it is a relatively healthy 163/7 after 38.5 overs. Kulasekara picking an excellent time to score his 4th ODI 50, to ensure that the game is not done and dusted by the time the interval arrives.
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Do you like cricket or boxing?
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The way James Anderson sometimes behaves when he plays for England you very nearly get both cricket and boxing.😉
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Cooks gone for zero…
Oh and merry Christmas
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Cook dismissal here:
https://goo.gl/tdcKCm
Elsewhere, Dave Richardson’s campaign for competitive matches seems to be going well.
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I’m feeling smug about part of my predication.
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SA bowlers starting to get it moving. Hales nearly went Arse over tit to keep one out
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Yowser – Compton lucky. Big edge drops short of 1st slip.
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And a few minutes rest in the pavilion. I can’t help thinking we could see a bit of this all day and the bowlers staying fresh as a consequence.
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I wonder if someone a little more statistically minded than me has Cook’s record against top bowlers? My instinct has always been that he’s a flat-track prefect as evidenced by his average against Australia. Am I right?
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Paul, there was a great article on a very similar subject to this, comparing the runs Cook has scored and the quality of bowlers he has faced, to past England openers, such as Atherton. I think it was on the old version of The Full Toss. The conclusion, using detailed stats, including a fulsome assessment of bowlers faced by the respective batsman, was that Cook scores more heavily against weaker attacks/on easier pitches. Whereas someone like Atherton scored good runs against high class attacks and generally faced better bowling throughout his career.
Sure others will be able to find/link to/remember the article better than I can.
Merry Christmas all!
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A personal view is that he would not have averaged in the mid to late 40s had he played in Atherton’s era, or even Trescothick’s, or indeed any ten-year span falling between 1976 and 2006.
But he once made 200 for Essex in a 12-a-side beer match against the 2005 Aussies (minus McGrath and Warne, and a few days before a massive Test match), so this proves otherwise if you’re a master of arslikhan.
It remains an article of faith with me that his home Ashes average is one of the more revealing stats of his career.
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Anantha Narayanan has also done a few of those analytical pieces. Atherton comes out better than his average suggests. Most modern players far worse than their averages suggest. Those articles are hosted on cricinfo as well.
But yes, against quality attacks Cook’s average is not that great. That is true for most players, of course . But I seem to recall that this is more pronounced for Cook, than it was for say a Gavaskar.
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Here you are http://www.thefulltoss.com/england-cricket-blog/alastair-cook-and-tough-runs/
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Switched on. First voice Lovejoy. Switched off.
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Elsewhere, West Indies have held Australia to a paltry 345/3, after inserting the hosts, who are now averaging 130+ / wicket for the series. No reason why not to expect another innings victory for the hosts.
It seems that the WICB are intent to get every negative record in the book before they will finally realize they need to do something other than be yap and being completely divorced from reality.
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England have limped to 50-3. Compton & Taylor at the crease.
Looks like a great toss to win.
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Thank you all, especially GreyBlazer for responding. As I thought.
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Any truth in the rumour that Steyn’s fist-pumping, vein-bursting celebrations were directly in front of Mike Selvey’s press box seat?
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That’s for him to know and he’s not telling you, you social media inadequate… 😉
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