A chase of 300 from 70-odd overs was rejectable even on this fast-scoring ground.Ī target of 300-odd from 70-odd overs was absolutely rejectable at 93-4 in the 26th over.
Here, though, was an early test of their commitment to the brand. They are not going to play any other way.Īt Lord's, there was never really any other way for England to play it. If you can't handle England at their 141 all out worst, then you don't deserve them at their 299-5 off 50 overs best.Įngland's commitment to Bazball is swift and seemingly already total. Games like this must be remembered when, as such high-wire cricket surely must, things go wrong.
#Planet horse full version series#
England can't, one imagines, carry on winning games quite so ludicrously as they have in this series as any kind of long-term plan, but they can carry on playing with this sense of freedom and joy. Just as at Lord's, this tells but a fraction of the story.īut it's a series-winning 2-0 lead for Ben Stokes' new-look side against the reigning world champions and even without the extraordinary manner in which it has been accomplished it would be a hugely significant achievement given just how flat and tired England's Test cricket had become.Īfter one win in 17, the transformation in mood is astonishing. Just as at Lord's, the game ends in a five-wicket win for England. It is a game that will be brought up every time there is third-innings declaration speculation in every match England play from now until the seas rise and claim us all. This is now one of those matches that joins the likes of Edgbaston '05 and Headingley '81 or '19 in the consciousness. We're not asking that every game or every series be as absurd as this one just that this sort of thing happens often enough to keep everyone interested. It doesn't matter where exactly you sit on the "Test cricket is dying!" panic - the sky has been falling in for Test cricket almost as long as it has been around, and it's still here the mad old time-consuming bastard - to realise that games like this, with atmospheres like this, in front of crowds like this can only help the longest form. That match was a huge shot in the arm for Test cricket everywhere. It almost defies description and analysis, which is a problem when you've got to write 16 pieces of description and analysis about it because someone once did so about a football game on Football365 for a laugh and now you're stuck with the format apparently forever.īut before we attempt anything vaguely serious let's just start with this: what an enormous, absurd amount of fun that all was.
0 kommentar(er)
