Cricket

Lots of ifs and buts. It's just a shame such a good series is let down by the weather. We deserved a blockbuster finish at the oval. I back England to win it comfortably.

Is it impossible to combine Bazball with ruthlessness?

I'm sure they are still learning - Stokes and McCullum still relatively inexperienced in their roles. Yes journalists and pundits can nitpick and redo decisions in hindsight (which is their job I suppose) but it's somewhat churlish to do so

At least we never got bowled out for 67.

If we can win at The Oval this will go down as a great England performance I reckon. Especially because of how much more we've clicked in the last two matches, and cut out some of the silly fielding.

England getting their first duck all series in this game, compared to 17 in the last series, speaks volumes of the mentality of the team. Fuck the tories in the commentary booths with their orthodoxies and hindsight. This series has been fantastically entertaining and the worst bit about it is that it’s been on at the same time as the most aggressive and entertaining Tour in a lifetime. Viva chaos!

Yeah, sorry about that. Was cycling through sleepy Suffolk villages on the way to a cracking little pub with a campsite. I apologise for the lack of pessimism, which appears to have angered the weather gods and thereby gifted the urn to the Australians again. Normal service to be resumed for the Oval.

It's always good to at least have someone to blame, and I for one am glad that it's @ketsbaia.

McGrath says "Ben Stokes' decision not to declare earlier on day three cost them victory....England can say they were unlucky but it rained as much as was forecast." Stokes says "the weather is the reason we sit here with a draw" and "anyone who is going to question the declaration in this game probably doesn’t understand the game as well as we do"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66282987
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66285533
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/ben-stokes-england-ashes-australia-30534949

Truth is probably somewhere in the middle, as always. I supported a declaration at lunch. England would probably have been closer to victory, but not there yet, by the time the rain came. I think the forecast at the time of the declaration was no play Sat (we got a session) and 1 maybe 2 sessions max on Sun.

McGrath is being his usual self, provocative as ever. He's about as right about this as he was the 5-0 prediction. It might have been meant as a broadside at Stokes/McCullum. But it's not that complimentary about the Aussies either - implying they would have folded under the pressure?

Stokes trying to shut the conversation down by saying the majority of commentators* don't understand the game is a bit sad really. You've got us all hooked, Ben, because of your brand of cricket and the fantastic entertainment. Don't spoil it now! Taking a chance and throwing the dice isn't a bad thing in sport.

*(I've not read anyone who doesn't at least say "what if..." about at least one of his declarations this series)

Anyone who thinks you can lose close to two full days to rain and still get a result having “done something a bit different” is kidding themselves or being deliberately provocative for clicks. If Stokes had declared at lunch McGrath would have said the opposite.

If he’d declared at lunch McGrath would have said the opposite.

Yup. This is what I was getting at (badly).

He seems very prickly, but being interviewed on live TV about how, as captain, you threw away the Ashes at home.....it doesn't get much worse than that. Maybe that's what he'll be remembered for. If he hadn't dropped Nathan Lyon in the 1st match he'd probably be the flawless hero with everyone calling for him to be knighted. He chose that ball as the one which he would have liked to play again. 11min50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR_hfc1iXKE
https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/cricket/12906439/ben-stokes-close-to-taking-unbelievable-catch

When you think about the sheer volume of quick decisions he's had to take on the field, plus his own batting and bowling and fielding...what a job.

Only the yellow pylons which go down to the ground, at a somewhat smaller diameter than their passage through the roof membrane

At the point they go through the roof it's ~209m between pylons at the Dome.

On the ground it will be considerably less, can't find a definitive answer but the legs quite chunky and the feet protrude inwards quite a way.

Looking at it might be ok though. Can't imagine you'd lose more than 20m at each end which would give an internal diameter of ~170m.

In contrast the shortest diameter of the pitch at the Oval is ~140m. At Lord's it is ~130m.

But there’s loads of ‘stuff’ inside the dome now rather than a big open area? I wouldn’t have thought there’s a big enough space to fit adequate cricket space in is there with the cinema, venues, restaurants and shops? Not sure if this is the actual floor plan these days but looks about right from when I was last there I think.

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you would have to completely gut the inside and rebuild spectator stands and facilities. It would be a huge project and costs multiple millions. Probably worth it though.

Probably worth it though.

For a couple of cricket games a year vs filling the arena with bands/comedians/mamma mia every night? Don't think so.

are you nuts? the Greenwich BazDome would be the hottest ticket in town!

One all-weather cricket venue in the country would just be shit.

Part of the "fun" of cricket is the fact that many things are entirely subjective (umpire decisions) or beyond human control (weather). This is all part of the appeal and it happens to both sides.

Things like:

• England winning the Ashes in 2005 due to Kasprowicz being given out caught even though his glove wasn't in contact with the bat when the ball hit it
  
• Broad not walking after the thick edge and Aus having wasted their reviews
  ...
  
  

It's part of the game and I don't want it to go away.

Kids who grow up playing cricket are used to it given the standard of the amateur umpires that officiate in their games. Hopefully they respect the decision and trudge off to get grumpy with their parents/team-mates knowing that they'll probably benefit from a poor decision later on in the game or in another one soon. League deciding games that are abandoned due to freak rain showers in late July, etc.

Agree. The weird interaction between weather and wicket and Dukes ball is everything. It's why playing in England is so intriguing for foreign players. They love it.

Aussies are gonna skittle us here.

Warner dropping an absolute sitter

Top work so far.

That was an ill-advised comment.

Collapse is on.

*clatter *

Yes - sorry everyone. All out for 150 now if we're lucky.