Today's Cricket

[Emmson]

I may have misheard or misunderstood but Sky said if there's no play today it's a draw. Is that just an assessment of the prospects of a win tomorrow? Surely, you play on till the end.

Today was day 5

[greenmark]

I may have misheard or misunderstood but Sky said if there's no play today it's a draw. Is that just an assessment of the prospects of a win tomorrow? Surely, you play on till the end.

Today was day 5

Oh.

[Archery1969]

Why don't test matches allow another day of play if day 5 is washed out ?

[greenmark]

I may have misheard or misunderstood but Sky said if there's no play today it's a draw. Is that just an assessment of the prospects of a win tomorrow? Surely, you play on till the end.

Today was day 5

Oh.

What possible logic is there in starting a test on a Wednesday? The world has gone mad.

[firlandsfarm]

Today was day 5

Oh.

What possible logic is there in starting a test on a Wednesday? The world has gone mad.

It's because the next test starts on Thursday so they wanted to give the players as long a break as possible to recover from any niggles and rest

[greenmark]

Oh.

What possible logic is there in starting a test on a Wednesday? The world has gone mad.

It's because the next test starts on Thursday so they wanted to give the players as long a break as possible to recover from any niggles and rest

Fair enough. The world is sane and I don't pay enough attention.
But the series is done now. An ex-colleague of mine talked regularly about professional pride. We shall see what The Oval offers up, but weather not looking too great for a 5 day game. How very England. C'est la vie!

[firlandsfarm]

I'm a big fan of Test Matches and have accepted drawn games because of the weather as part of life and I suspect the weather in the past has influenced the series result but I have not known such a dramatic effect on a series. Those that run the game must rethink their approach. First they have to understand that they are in the entertainment business and whilst they can't expect play in any weather/light they can be a little more encouraging and flexible. A game drawn because of the weather at best leaves one set of supporters relieved they didn't lose and the other supporters frustrated they were not able to press home an advantage they had built during the game. In a close game it leaves everybody disappointed. And in this case it wasn't just the game that had that affect the whole series has been so affected.

They allowed a possible 6th day for the World Test Championship Final to avoid a drawn game. I would not be advocating that because teams would play for the 6th day but to use a 6th (or 7th) day to catch-up on lost time/overs would make sense. The game was designed for a Test Match to take part over 30 hours (6 hours per day x 5 days) so why not schedule an extra day or two to make sure the 30 hours are played? I remember explaining to an American in an airport bar the difference between cricket and baseball. In baseball each team plays the 9 innings until each innings is closed ... there is no time parameter. Whereas in cricket there is a time parameter, it's not just about scoring the most runs, you also have to bowl your opponents out twice before the time parameter expires. The weather should not be the influencing factor on the time available.

I would also like to add that it doesn't look good for an umpire wearing sunglasses to rule that the light is too poor!

[Simoba]

I'm a big fan of Test Matches and have accepted drawn games because of the weather as part of life and I suspect the weather in the past has influenced the series result but I have not known such a dramatic effect on a series. Those that run the game must rethink their approach. First they have to understand that they are in the entertainment business and whilst they can't expect play in any weather/light they can be a little more encouraging and flexible. A game drawn because of the weather at best leaves one set of supporters relieved they didn't lose and the other supporters frustrated they were not able to press home an advantage they had built during the game. In a close game it leaves everybody disappointed. And in this case it wasn't just the game that had that affect the whole series has been so affected.

They allowed a possible 6th day for the World Test Championship Final to avoid a drawn game. I would not be advocating that because teams would play for the 6th day but to use a 6th (or 7th) day to catch-up on lost time/overs would make sense. The game was designed for a Test Match to take part over 30 hours (6 hours per day x 5 days) so why not schedule an extra day or two to make sure the 30 hours are played? I remember explaining to an American in an airport bar the difference between cricket and baseball. In baseball each team plays the 9 innings until each innings is closed ... there is no time parameter. Whereas in cricket there is a time parameter, it's not just about scoring the most runs, you also have to bowl your opponents out twice before the time parameter expires. The weather should not be the influencing factor on the time available.

I would also like to add that it doesn't look good for an umpire wearing sunglasses to rule that the light is too poor!

Very well said. I just dip into cricket very occasionally and know very little about the game, however I am amazed that the rain can, in effect, ruin the whole Test match series. Seems rather archaic to me in today's world of sporting entertainment.

[firlandsfarm]

Test Match captaincy ... do what your opponent most doesn't want you to do. So how about ... England's batters go out to the wicket this morning, the Aussies take up their fielding positions and then before a single ball is bowled England declare! Wonder how the Aussies would react to that!

[greenmark]

Test Match captaincy ... do what your opponent most doesn't want you to do. So how about ... England's batters go out to the wicket this morning, the Aussies take up their fielding positions and then before a single ball is bowled England declare! Wonder how the Aussies would react to that!

Well, they did almost exactly as you suggested, but by a different route.
Looks like the weather wil disrupt or shutdown today's play.

[firlandsfarm]

Test Match captaincy ... do what your opponent most doesn't want you to do. So how about ... England's batters go out to the wicket this morning, the Aussies take up their fielding positions and then before a single ball is bowled England declare! Wonder how the Aussies would react to that!

Well, they did almost exactly as you suggested, but by a different route.
Looks like the weather wil disrupt or shutdown today's play.

I know they didn't hang around long but I wasn't expecting them to ... the whole point of my comment would be to piss the Aussies off! The Aussies having got themselves prepared to field, gone into the field, moved to their fielding positions you then call them back in with them mumbling under their breath "WTF was that all about"! It would certainly piss me off.

[greenmark]

Test Match captaincy ... do what your opponent most doesn't want you to do. So how about ... England's batters go out to the wicket this morning, the Aussies take up their fielding positions and then before a single ball is bowled England declare! Wonder how the Aussies would react to that!

Well, they did almost exactly as you suggested, but by a different route.
Looks like the weather wil disrupt or shutdown today's play.

I know they didn't hang around long but I wasn't expecting them to ... the whole point of my comment would be to piss the Aussies off! The Aussies having got themselves prepared to field, gone into the field, moved to their fielding positions you then call them back in with them mumbling under their breath "WTF was that all about"! It would certainly piss me off.

Now the debate is the change of the ball. And it doesn't look squeaky clean does it. A knackered/damaged ball replaced by what appears to be a nice shiny one.
One of those occasions where you think the umpires should have to justify, on field, why they have selected one ball vs another.

[firlandsfarm]

Agreed Greenmark, the last side by side comparison I saw looked 'strange'! They are neutral umpires but can Surrey determine the balls for the selection i.e. if they only offer up a box of newish balls then the replacement ball will be ... well newish! In which case should the umpires not have the authority to request a different set to choose from?

[greenmark]

Agreed Greenmark, the last side by side comparison I saw looked 'strange'! They are neutral umpires but can Surrey determine the balls for the selection i.e. if they only offer up a box of newish balls then the replacement ball will be ... well newish! In which case should the umpires not have the authority to request a different set to choose from?

That ball selection has spiced the game up. But is it "cricket". Cricket is supposed to be the definition of etiquette. I know at every level in the game there are all sorts of bending the rules in your favour, but nontheless that decision looked a bit outside of etiquette.
Anyhow, it's all done. Ashes retained Series win is fairly irrelevent. I feel like a deflated balloon at the moment.

[Archangel]

The Superover can really ruin your day...