Cricket

getting closer !

Part of me wanted it to go to a final test but this has been great entertainment.

Alistair Cook to retire from internationals after Oval test...

Sad day, but time. Hope he finishes with a big one. Truly a great player.

I'll miss that jawline

So it's as-you-were gentlemen for the last test...

FFS.

Rory Burns passes 1000 Championship runs for the season. Just saying.

If Cook's retiring, you could say it's selfish that he's playing this week - it's a dead rubber and we need to see new openers. Giving him a swansong seems the right thing in terms of the service he's given over his Test career, but not helpful to selecting the team for the winter.

Ludicrous he’s not had a chance this summer.

He (surely) now gets an overseas tour to stake his claim before the Ashes.

Lancs have folded yet again. I despair.

selfish? wow, england fans are fucked in the head.*

why would you not allow one of your best players ever the chance to have a farewell test on home soil, in a dead rubber? so one grom can have a free hit against an attack that doesn't give a fuck?

*not necessarily your view, i know, but read this shit on the guardian btl, as well

england fans are fucked in the head

Well, I'm sure they are, and, having sat near the Barmy Army on occasion, fortunately I'm not one of them. I'll be there on Friday as a neutral and will be happy if I see one of the legends (which he will be, down the line) batting in his final game. However, if I were an England selector, I'd be thinking about putting aside sentiment and considering who's going to open in Sri Lanka. England have gone this whole series without a clue as how to open the batting, and now have one opportunity to blood a new partnership.

Not sure what you’d learn from a dead rubber - if they bring someone in who scores 0 or 100 what more do they really know?

Can’t wait to hopefully see the great man bat on Saturday/Sunday

Have first dibs on a ticket to go on Friday with my neighbour. Unlikely to be able to go due to work.

Bollocks.

What you'd learn in a one-off dead rubber would necessarily be limited, but you'd get an indication of how they fit into the team environment (including making them feel part of it before they go away), how they cope against subcontinental bowlers, how they deal with the step up to a Test match with the bigger crowds, greater pressure, media focus etc, and get a view of how their technique stands up to the scrutiny of a Test quality attack.

I'm a sentimentalist and would prefer to see him bat, but can see why the argument to the contrary could hold sway in the selectors' room.

Rain is forecast for Saturday, as someone with a Day 4 ticket I'm selfishly rather pleased.

Also sat with loads of Barmy Army in NZ, the tour organiser Andy's a really sound bloke.

If it goes to Monday I think I may wander along.

Cricket is full of that kind of sentiment, though, and it’s a nice part of the game (eg waiting half an hour to deflate so someone can get their century).

Declare not deflate, obviously

We drew

madness

Will be all the more sweeter if Somerset are docked points for what must be an abject pitch

Madness sums it up very well. Sounds like the pitch was an absolute minefield.

Sounds like it was utterly terrible

Perhaps cook's greatest misfortune was to play in the TV blackout times... Can't say I've sat and watched him play for a continued spell ever. Highlights and bits and pieces but no sustained all day cricket immersion.

You fans will know exactly what he's done but the casual sports fan is almost entirely in the dark...

Taking tea when the opposition need two runs to win is peak village. Ah, county cricket