Need a wicket

Got a wicket

Another wicket straight after a break. Great catch by Pope off Root's bowling and Conway goes.

Williamson gone

Hopefully we will take one of the early chances that Mitchell offers rather than mess it up with a drop or lack of review

comment by Emile Death Rowe (TCM) (U8959)
posted 2 minutes ago
Hopefully we will take one of the early chances that Mitchell offers rather than mess it up with a drop or lack of review
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m expecting someone to drop a sitter when he’s on ten and he goes on to score a hundred

Potts has been brilliant in this match so far. Deserved better than his 1/34 in the first innings although that came from 26 overs.

I don't know who I'd bring Jimmy back in for

comment by palmers_spur (U8896)
posted 8 minutes ago
comment by Emile Death Rowe (TCM) (U8959)
posted 2 minutes ago
Hopefully we will take one of the early chances that Mitchell offers rather than mess it up with a drop or lack of review
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m expecting someone to drop a sitter when he’s on ten and he goes on to score a hundred
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Probably off Broad's bowling, feels like he gets batters dropped off his bowling quite a lot

Need a wicket

GONE

comment by Neo (U9135)
posted 57 seconds ago
Need a wicket
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Well NZ lead by 130 but the Mitchell/Blundell partnership is together

At least the chase should be below 350

Why is it every time I see a wicket has fallen it’s never bloody Mitchell

Like Steve Smith in the 2019 Ashes

Well this time they can't build much of a partnership before the next morning session.

comment by ●Billy The Spur● 20*21*22* ENIC OUT! (U3924)
posted 8 hours, 21 minutes ago
People like to slate Bairstow while at the same time championing inferior players, they also forget he has played around half of his tests as a wicket keeper, has been up and down the order with no settled position in the batting order, and been dropped in favour of inferior players (Butler, Foakes).

It is good to see him doing well and proving all his critics wrong.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You say "he's played half his tests as a keeper" as though that's some sort of handicap. His average with the gloves is a lot better than without, and he himself is the one who used to strop and sulk when he didn't get to keep and bat higher than his average said he should.

I really don't get why people take these weirdly dogmatic positions in cricket, the one sport above all others where every stat you could ever need is readily available

Look, he scored 1334 runs in 56 knocks at a average of 24.7 from the start of 2018 up until the end of 2021. That's superb and Bairstow didn't deserve the criticism we gave him. He shouldn't have been dropped and he shouldn't have worked on his game. How dare we question him. What mugs we are.

comment by Emile Death Rowe (TCM) (U8959)
posted 13 hours, 59 minutes ago
Potts has been brilliant in this match so far. Deserved better than his 1/34 in the first innings although that came from 26 overs.

I don't know who I'd bring Jimmy back in for
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Early days but he strikes me as someone who could have a lot of success overseas too as his whole gameplan is aim for top of off stump.

If he can maintain and even improve the accuracy he's shown this game then his low 80s pace won't even matter.

Yeah he's taken a lot of wickets for Durham on flat decks and there has been a lot of talk about pace vs skills. If you're a highly skillful bowler in the low 80s then batters will find it tough against you even on a flat wicket.

Potts can crank up the speed a bit and maybe he will develop an ability to bowl accurate spells with a few more mph on the speed gun.

Foakes replaced by Billings for the rest of the test after testing position for Covid.

Surprising that Billings has been selected as the back up. I know it would have been pre determined as like with concussion subs and I know Bairstow would have been the back up keeper anyway.

I presume Bairstow will keep the gloves rather than chucking them to Billings for the rest of the NZ innings.

Actually, he's a Kent lad isn't he

Shame that Brook couldn't have been selected as the back up to the majority of our middle order but good luck to Billings, hopefully he won't be required to bat though.

Need a wicket.

I read that Billings will keep wicket...

Not only is he a Kent lad TCM, he's also a seriously good T20 bat, which qualifies him for a test batting gig nowadays

Yeah, seems Billings is keeping

comment by Amanda Hugginkiss (U11574)
posted 20 minutes ago
I read that Billings will keep wicket...

Not only is he a Kent lad TCM, he's also a seriously good T20 bat, which qualifies him for a test batting gig nowadays
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Obviously, he had a good couple of years in the CC from memory though. Hugely surprised Butler wasn't the back up though.

These two are an annoying pair. At least we have come out just to bowl at them properly rather than a short ball barrage strategy to start the day.