England v South Africa, Lords, 3rd Test Thread

[eirebilly]

First topic message reminder :

Yeah, the fielding certainly has left alot to be desired. Still the chances are being created and things must surely stick soon.

[mystiroakey]

no

[eirebilly]

That was close.

[Biltong]

For Pete's sake how long does this need to take?

[msp83]

Morkel survives on review. He went for the review right away and a wrong call reversed.

[Biltong]

We need 15 more runs.

[eirebilly]

Thought it was out at first glance and still not sure that it wasnt out...

[msp83]

It came off the grill, no glove or bat involved and surely he can't be given out caught of the grill?

[Biltong]

You're searching billy,

[eirebilly]

Not searching Biltong, was almost certain he was out. A good decision in the end but it was very close to me

[Biltong]

Close? Mate close is a gnat's whisker not a PVC pipe.

[Biltong]

On a serious nore, how many wickets have fallen to the short delivery?

[Shelsey93]

Not searching Biltong, was almost certain he was out. A good decision in the end but it was very close to me

No, it was nowhere close.

Tend to agree with the commentators that a short-leg is a must if bowling short to Morkel. Take a slip out if necessary.

[trebellbobaggins]

Nah this is too high now, far too high. Sounds like some loose bowling to be honest.

SA will have deserved it. Hope to god eng compete a bit I the odi series.

[KP_fan]

Not searching Biltong, was almost certain he was out. A good decision in the end but it was very close to me

No, it was nowhere close.

Tend to agree with the commentators that a short-leg is a must if bowling short to Morkel. Take a slip out if necessary.

strauss has given up........he's probably hoping he doesn't have to bat tonight
wonder why he has gone into the dressing room ?...perhaps to find out on the net........what KP called him

[Biltong]

Smart work by Prior there.

[mystiroakey]

KP fan- are you actually KP?

[ShahenshahG]

Not searching Biltong, was almost certain he was out. A good decision in the end but it was very close to me

No, it was nowhere close.

Tend to agree with the commentators that a short-leg is a must if bowling short to Morkel. Take a slip out if necessary.

strauss has given up........he's probably hoping he doesn't have to bat tonight
wonder why he has gone into the dressing room ?...perhaps to find out on the net........what KP called him

Perhaps he wants use the toilet duck and is wondering if KP has returned yet

[eirebilly]

Not searching Biltong, was almost certain he was out. A good decision in the end but it was very close to me

No, it was nowhere close.

Tend to agree with the commentators that a short-leg is a must if bowling short to Morkel. Take a slip out if necessary.

strauss has given up........he's probably hoping he doesn't have to bat tonight
wonder why he has gone into the dressing room ?...perhaps to find out on the net........what KP called him

And this has what to do with the what i said and what Shelsey responded to?

[Shelsey93]

Dopey from Morkel or a brilliant bit of wicket-keeping from Prior? A bit of both probably, but remember that the replay is considerably slowed down - in real time I doubt Morkel's foot was up for more than a fraction of a second. Fantastic awareness from Prior to wait for the exact moment when the foot moves

[Biltong]

KP fan- are you actually KP?

If he was, he would have shown us those tweets.

[KP_fan]

KP fan- are you actually KP?

good catch.....i wasn't posting when the 2nd test was on

[eirebilly]

Close? Mate close is a gnat's whisker not a PVC pipe.

It did look close to me but thats my old eyesight i guess Third umpire must also have my eyesight as it took him an eternity to make the decision as well

[Biltong]

Not searching Biltong, was almost certain he was out. A good decision in the end but it was very close to me

No, it was nowhere close.

Tend to agree with the commentators that a short-leg is a must if bowling short to Morkel. Take a slip out if necessary.

strauss has given up........he's probably hoping he doesn't have to bat tonight
wonder why he has gone into the dressing room ?...perhaps to find out on the net........what KP called him

Perhaps he wants use the toilet duck and is wondering if KP has returned yet

Maybe there will be a new product on the market.


Golden Duck.

[Biltong]

Close? Mate close is a gnat's whisker not a PVC pipe.

It did look close to me but thats my old eyesight i guess Third umpire must also have my eyesight as it took him an eternity to make the decision as well

It looked more like the third umpire was "willing" the ball nearer the gloves.

[trebellbobaggins]

So will Strauss probably resign after this? Lots of sloppy fielding and his own batting is making It hard to justify keeping him. I think it could be time for a change.

[Biltong]

So England has 103 overs to get 346 runs.

[KP_fan]

getting them bowled out with 15 odd overs to go has worked against England...reduced the possibility of a draw....as Eng will have 15 more overs to survive.

It would be ironic if Eng lose the test match with about 10 odd overs to go

[eirebilly]

So 346 to win the match. Tough, very tough.

[trebellbobaggins]

They way they were batting two years ago I'd have thought maybe but on this years evidence? Impossible.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

If England dont get all out, I reckon they will chase that total down. However I can see Steyn and Morkel causing problems in this little period coming up

[mystiroakey]

so then 3.3 needed an over.. we need to get around this new ball!! 20 overs in with only 1 wicket down and id give us a good shot at this..

[chrisss]

So will Strauss probably resign after this? Lots of sloppy fielding and his own batting is making It hard to justify keeping him. I think it could be time for a change.

Well there is a theme of England captains resigning after losing against South Africa... but I doubt it.

[Mad for Chelsea]

on the plus side for England, it's still a pretty flat pitch (as Lords pitches tend to be on days 4 and 5) though Tahir will get a bit of help. On the minus side scoring rates have been under 3 runs per over for much of this game and England need to score at well over that, plus the fact of course that 350-odd is a huge fourth innings chase. First mission is to survive tonight's session unscathed (but score a few runs, 35-40 ideally).

[mystiroakey]

getting them bowled out with 15 odd overs to go has worked against England...reduced the possibility of a draw....as Eng will have 15 more overs to survive.

It would be ironic if Eng lose the test match with about 10 odd overs to go

not sure i follow mate- we will not care about the draw here- thats a vitual loss anyway

[liverbnz]

Top order has to stand up here. Bowling and fielding has gotten England out of many a hole in recent years, now time for the batsmen to repay the favour.

[KP_fan]

So will Strauss probably resign after this? Lots of sloppy fielding and his own batting is making It hard to justify keeping him. I think it could be time for a change.

where is the place for Strauss if an 11 is picked on merit.. is for all to see.
he might be given the option to retire with dignity....

the irony of Pitersengate is that it might eliminate Strauss test match position and hence captaincy and hence his entire career.

[Biltong]

So will Strauss probably resign after this? Lots of sloppy fielding and his own batting is making It hard to justify keeping him. I think it could be time for a change.

Who?

I think I must start a conspiracy theory here.

Headline " England to localise"

it has come to light that a file exists by the name of "The damn Foreigners" it outlines the ECB's goal to localise their national team with more local talent.

Step one was to get rid of KP and the next player on the agenda is Strauss.

It outlines how the ECB will "manufacture" electronic format communications that will be made public at an inopportune time to sway public interest away from the planted evidence......

[Shelsey93]

Well, England did OK in that little session in the end. A little sloppy at times but nothing disastrous - wickets don't come easy in Test Matches.

What this target means is that the match is highly unlikely to be drawn - it would be criminal if we bat out the overs but don't reach the target.

Tonight we need to keep wickets in hand, though it is too early to bat for stumps straight away. Going after this target in the morning even 2 wickets down will be a completely different kettle of fish.

[mystiroakey]

yeah totally agree shelsy

[KP_fan]

getting them bowled out with 15 odd overs to go has worked against England...reduced the possibility of a draw....as Eng will have 15 more overs to survive.

It would be ironic if Eng lose the test match with about 10 odd overs to go

not sure i follow mate- we will not care about the draw here- thats a vitual loss anyway

losing the series and No.1 rankling is not the end of the world.
saving the test limiting the margin to 1-0...losing less ranking points....still keeps Eng in with a chance to wallop India this winter and regain No.1

But for that England must pick teams on merit.....pick the 11 first and then the captain.
Pick the most potent bowlers and not the ones who can score 20 odd runs but trundle at 120 kph

[Biltong]

If England dont get all out, I reckon they will chase that total down. However I can see Steyn and Morkel causing problems in this little period coming up

If you look at the previous innings, it is unlikely anyone is going to bat 3.4 runs perover for 100 overs.

[Mike Selig]

Very little chance then.

First objective: get through to stumps without losing a wicket.

Working backwards, England should be looking at getting it down to 70 off 10 with 5 wickets in hand, which means you are looking at 276/5 off 93.

That includes 13 overs with the second new ball, so expect a few more runs (say 46) but at least one wicket.

So 230/4 from this ball.

So 30/0 after stumps makes this doable.

It needs someone to get a (big) ton you feel, one of the top 4 certainly.

A word of praise for Finn - he's bowled superbly in this innings - and Amla - probably the series clinching ton, and a great show of guts and determination.

[Mad for Chelsea]

talk going on re the Morkel stumping, but for me it's clearly out. Morkel hasn't picked his bat up after his follow-through yet, so surely the ball can't be called dead there? Great work from Prior in my view (though as a keeper I'm biased )

[mystiroakey]

Sorry mate- i just dont follow that logic one iota. Gotta go for the win even if it brings up a loss. Forget the ranking its about going for a drawn series

[eirebilly]

getting them bowled out with 15 odd overs to go has worked against England...reduced the possibility of a draw....as Eng will have 15 more overs to survive.

It would be ironic if Eng lose the test match with about 10 odd overs to go

not sure i follow mate- we will not care about the draw here- thats a vitual loss anyway

losing the series and No.1 rankling is not the end of the world.
saving the test limiting the margin to 1-0...losing less ranking points....still keeps Eng in with a chance to wallop India this winter and regain No.1

But for that England must pick teams on merit.....pick the 11 first and then the captain.
Pick the most potent bowlers and not the ones who can score 20 odd runs but trundle at 120 kph

I am seriously struggeling to follow your logic here. England will go for the win even if it means loosing. They will not be 1 bit concerned with ranking points. These are competitive sportsmen.

As for the trundler you often refer to, care explain why he is the number 1 test wicket taker in 2012? Not bad for a trundler.

[hampo17]

getting them bowled out with 15 odd overs to go has worked against England...reduced the possibility of a draw....as Eng will have 15 more overs to survive.

It would be ironic if Eng lose the test match with about 10 odd overs to go

not sure i follow mate- we will not care about the draw here- thats a vitual loss anyway

losing the series and No.1 rankling is not the end of the world.
saving the test limiting the margin to 1-0...losing less ranking points....still keeps Eng in with a chance to wallop India this winter and regain No.1

But for that England must pick teams on merit.....pick the 11 first and then the captain.
Pick the most potent bowlers and not the ones who can score 20 odd runs but trundle at 120 kph

You can't pick the 11 and then pick the captain, just wouldn't work. Potentially you could be changing captain every game. When Strauss retires/steps down Cook will be captain anyway which would be a great move.

[ChequeredJersey]

getting them bowled out with 15 odd overs to go has worked against England...reduced the possibility of a draw....as Eng will have 15 more overs to survive.

It would be ironic if Eng lose the test match with about 10 odd overs to go

Why the hell would anyone play for the draw in this situation? We can either lose the series (and nobody but you appears to set much in store by how much we lose it by) or draw it and retain the no1 ranking... Going for the draw has no benefits and would, let's be honest, be about as difficult as going for the win (i.e. possible but hard) and we are just as bad getting out trying to play defensively as offensively. They will not go for the draw.

[ChequeredJersey]

Plus from what I've heard, the pitch is still pretty batter-friendly

[Mike Selig]

Sir Ian:

"England have got to go for the win; at the end of the day 1-0 or 2-0, doesn't make any difference does it? 1-1 does"

We're not always eye-to-eye but spot on with that assessment sir Ian.

The idea of batting out the draw at this stage (if England need 80 off 10 with 2 wickets in hand different story) is as stupid as the people supporting it

[mystiroakey]

jeasus..

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