They didn't - though it was in the "Pope Catholic!" school of prediction. I think SA are going to cruise this steadily, just to make sure they don't lose silly wickets.
Then England will fly home and try to work out how to rebuild from this mess.
I believe that every completed match in the tournament has included a century thus far, I suspect this will be the first match not to simply because there aren't enough runs to chase.
Still on the subject of cricket, the tradition of cricket teas in the League my club plays in appears to have been killed off by Covid. The system was that the home club would supply a tea for all players, umpires and scorers, with the away team paying an amount agreed by the League. In Covid the system was that teams could no longer crowd into the social area of the pavillion and players had to bring their own food.
I find it very sad that this system has continued. Some clubs would really take a pride in what they provided.
They didn't - though it was in the "Pope Catholic!" school of prediction. I think SA are going to cruise this steadily, just to make sure they don't lose silly wickets.
Then England will fly home and try to work out how to rebuild from this mess.
I believe that every completed match in the tournament has included a century thus far, I suspect this will be the first match not to simply because there aren't enough runs to chase.
England appear to be picking the best players but they are not good enough. The only quality bowler is Rashid and the quicks go round the park. The batting is not reliable. Very disappointed with Brook. He kept getting a start and then got out
I've oiled up the bats today. After years of ribbing a team mate for their bat collection (and remembering Phil Tufnell's comment of "When I was out on the town, Nasser and Thorpey would be in their rooms listening to their bats"), I've suddenly found myself with three! One bat SWMBO bought for my 50th, bless her, one I then won in a bat raffle having put £1 in to show willing, and a club bat.
They are currently stood in the back passage drying off, and as a result said passage now smells wonderfully of linseed oil.
I'm also waiting for another bag of kit to arrive - I've ended up as unofficial photographer for the Village Cricket Company, and the last two years they've sent out a bag of kit (and a donation to club funds) in return for photos of it in use.
I did manage a photo of the box "in use" last year, with a little artistic licence as to what it was protecting (plums from the greengrocer rather than mine), not sure what I'll manage this year...
The back of our house used to have a flat-roofed brick-built coalhole/bogshed, seperated from the house by an open-ended passage under the flat roof. One end has been bricked up and a door put on the other end but, as it is indubitably a passage and is likewise at the back of the house, it can only be the back passage.
The England and Wales cricket board have been a bit embarassed by their retweet of the Pope's Ash Wednesday message. IIRC he's a bit of a sports fan, if he wasnt in such a bad way right now I suspect he'd have quite enjoyed the joke.
498/3 after Day 1. Is that good? That sounds good.
That is very good indeed, especially for the loss of only three wickets and as three batters have scored hundreds. Normally you would play until all of your batters are out (XXX/10) but in this case I think England are likely to throw bat at ball tomorrow for half an hour or forty minutes, get to somewhere between 550 and 600, and then declare the innings closed whether or not they are all out.
Having done that they will need to bowl Zimbabwe out twice to win. Unless Zimbabwe also bat like gods the likeliest way of that happening is if Zimbabwe do not get within 150 of England's score in their completed first innings at which point England can ask them to bat again - this is known as enforcing the follow-on - and bowl them out a second time. If the total of the two innings is greater than that of England's innings, England bat again at the end to score enough runs to win.
Enforcing the follow on usually means the team following on lose. Sometimes they draw, but a team asked to follow on have won only four times since 1877. Bizarrely, on three of those occasions it was Australia losing.
Yes, can't see it lasting into tomorrow, especially with Bennett back in the hutch. I was very impressed by the speed of his ton, given the likes of the Flower brothers in the ranks of Zimbabwean centurions. Though he also exemplifies how cricket can humble the best!
Comments
Then England will fly home and try to work out how to rebuild from this mess.
I believe that every completed match in the tournament has included a century thus far, I suspect this will be the first match not to simply because there aren't enough runs to chase.
I find it very sad that this system has continued. Some clubs would really take a pride in what they provided.
England appear to be picking the best players but they are not good enough. The only quality bowler is Rashid and the quicks go round the park. The batting is not reliable. Very disappointed with Brook. He kept getting a start and then got out
They are currently stood in the back passage drying off, and as a result said passage now smells wonderfully of linseed oil.
I'm also waiting for another bag of kit to arrive - I've ended up as unofficial photographer for the Village Cricket Company, and the last two years they've sent out a bag of kit (and a donation to club funds) in return for photos of it in use.
I did manage a photo of the box "in use" last year, with a little artistic licence as to what it was protecting (plums from the greengrocer rather than mine), not sure what I'll manage this year...
Elementary, o much-boggled Piglet.
What could you have thought I was referring to?
ECB apologises for Pope Francis Ashes post joke - https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/crknz7v7063o
That is very good indeed, especially for the loss of only three wickets and as three batters have scored hundreds. Normally you would play until all of your batters are out (XXX/10) but in this case I think England are likely to throw bat at ball tomorrow for half an hour or forty minutes, get to somewhere between 550 and 600, and then declare the innings closed whether or not they are all out.
Having done that they will need to bowl Zimbabwe out twice to win. Unless Zimbabwe also bat like gods the likeliest way of that happening is if Zimbabwe do not get within 150 of England's score in their completed first innings at which point England can ask them to bat again - this is known as enforcing the follow-on - and bowl them out a second time. If the total of the two innings is greater than that of England's innings, England bat again at the end to score enough runs to win.
Enforcing the follow on usually means the team following on lose. Sometimes they draw, but a team asked to follow on have won only four times since 1877. Bizarrely, on three of those occasions it was Australia losing.
I was a bit startled by that myself - rare that I get it that close!
I guess that Ben Stokes wanted his tailenders to be bowling rather than batting.
Should be an easy win for England, weather permitting.