Post by mikedPost by John HallPost by John HallPost by John HallI have a nasty feeling this could finish 5-0.
<big snip>
Shows how much I know! But it's been a remarkable turn-round. The only
pity is that the final match, at Bristol, seems to have a high risk of
being rained off.
It seems to have been a good toss to have lost, as Brook too would have
put the opposition in. After Starc and Hazlewood's initial spell, the
pitch seemed to settle down, though Marsh got the ball to swing and
should perhaps have bowled himself for more than four overs, as everyone
else was going round the park.
archer started well in the previous then i think his last 3 overs got
hit for ?40, same thing happened to starc, and in this match, starc
again got smashed around despite his experience and undoubtedly still a
v good bowler whatever his critics say. poss only quicks like bumrah and
hazel seem to be able fend off the sloggers all the time.
Talking of Archer, it was encouraging to see that he was bowling at
pretty close to top speed, with a number of deliveries over 90.
Post by mikedPost by John HallWhen Australia batted, once the floodlights came on the ball started
seaming a lot more, fortunately for England. (Though the commentators
often ascribe this effect to the lights, it's hard to see how that could
be the real reason. Maybe it's that as dusk falls the temperature starts
to drop, which increases the humidity and that has an effect on the
pitch.)
yes its fair to say that england had easily the better conditions
although until 9th over oz looked like they might stroll it. i know that
in the past england have always preferred to chase and often under
morgan had a lot of success, but i dunno why if conditions are good, you
would prefer to bat under lights.
As the pitch had spent a lot of time under covers and the sky was
overcast, it was understandable why both captains wanted to bowl first,
even though of the previous nine ODIs played at Lord's eight had been
won by the side batting first (and the other match was the tied WC final
in 2019 which England won after the "super over").
In the event, this didn't seem to be a typical Lord's pitch, conditions
during the last two-thirds of England's innings being far more
favourable for quick scoring than is usually the case there.
Post by mikedanyway i wouldnt want to watch cricket
in this weather, and perhaps the cold affected the oz, basically winter
weather for them.
Some of the crowd were so well wrapped up that they looked like
Napoleon's army retreating from Moscow. And when Mike Atherton was out
on the pitch before or in between innings, the same applied to him.
Post by mikedbut certainly their best perf this entire series,
kudos to brook for turning it round, and if bristol is rained off, a
good end to the season.
Currently the hour by hour forecast for Bristol on the Met Office
website is suggesting that the rain won't start there until getting on
for 4pm. As play starts at 11, depending on how many overs the side
batting second needs to face to get a result, with luck they might just
manage that.
Post by mikedmeanwhile NZ are getting slaughtered by SL 601-5 and NZ 88ao.
Yes, not like them to fold like that. It looks to be close to their best
side too, remembering that Boult sadly has opted out of Test cricket.
Post by mikedmaybe we
were lucky to beat them 2-1!
mike
I imagine that they find conditions a lot more amenable at home. Even
so, it's clearly a good performance. No doubt their confidence was
bolstered by beating England.
They've had better luck with the weather than India v Bangladesh. I seem
to remember something similar happening last year as well. Scheduling
matches in the Indian subcontinent so close to the end of the monsoon
season seems like tempting fate, but I suppose the programme is so
packed that there's no alternative.
--
John Hall
"I don't even butter my bread; I consider that cooking."
Katherine Cebrian