creeeeeeeekeeeeeet

[Bruce Rioja]

gonna be close...

Sri Lanka 70-6

Woakes has three and looks the fastest we've got.. has he got quicker over the last year or so?

See, BWFC-I told us that we should have declared when we were guaranteed "at least a draw". I wish I had such foretelling qualities. Whenever will I listen?

You do.

Cook wins the toss and puts us in to bat in perfect bowling conditions. #prayforsun

We were never going to need 500 runs. That was my only point. Once Moeen got his hundred we had more than enough.

Turns out though that this is such a one-sided affair that it doesn't actually matter. But hey, let's secure at least a draw.

[BWFC_Insane]

gonna be close...

Sri Lanka 70-6

Woakes has three and looks the fastest we've got.. has he got quicker over the last year or so?

See, BWFC-I told us that we should have declared when we were guaranteed "at least a draw". I wish I had such foretelling qualities. Whenever will I listen?

You do.

Cook wins the toss and puts us in to bat in perfect bowling conditions. #prayforsun

We were never going to need 500 runs. That was my only point. Once Moeen got his hundred we had more than enough.

Turns out though that this is such a one-sided affair that it doesn't actually matter. But hey, let's secure at least a draw.

Well yes. You bat till you think you can't lose. Adding extra runs won't change the result if the opposition knock 400 plus themselves. But in this case that was never going to happen. The very point I was making was that if by some miracle Sri Lanka got 450 the match would end a draw anyway, whether we got 400 or 500. And as that was never happening adding an extra hundred runs made little difference. We'd have probably had enough at 300 to win comfortably even if it meant batting for a bit second time round.

[Worthy4England]

So you might as well get some batting practice against some cafeteria bowling.

[Enoch]

I don't like cricket.....

[bobo the clown]

I don't like cricket.....

... I live it.

[Worthy4England]

I think Yorkshire should declare.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I don't like cricket.....

Always knew there was something not right about you

[Enoch]

.....I love it!

[thebish]

Don't you queer on me pitch!

[Bruce Rioja]

gonna be close...

Sri Lanka 70-6

Woakes has three and looks the fastest we've got.. has he got quicker over the last year or so?

See, BWFC-I told us that we should have declared when we were guaranteed "at least a draw". I wish I had such foretelling qualities. Whenever will I listen?

You do.

Cook wins the toss and puts us in to bat in perfect bowling conditions. #prayforsun

We were never going to need 500 runs. That was my only point. Once Moeen got his hundred we had more than enough.

Turns out though that this is such a one-sided affair that it doesn't actually matter. But hey, let's secure at least a draw.

Well yes. You bat till you think you can't lose. Adding extra runs won't change the result if the opposition knock 400 plus themselves. But in this case that was never going to happen. The very point I was making was that if by some miracle Sri Lanka got 450 the match would end a draw anyway, whether we got 400 or 500. And as that was never happening adding an extra hundred runs made little difference. We'd have probably had enough at 300 to win comfortably even if it meant batting for a bit second time round.

So you don't think that getting some practice in might be useful then? Righty oh!

[thebish]

Aye. And those reasons may be valid against an opponent that can actually bat a bit.....

nahhhh - batting practice doesn't depend on how well they can bat! Even though it is Sri Lanka - batting out in the middle against a test side in a real game is always better than dossing about in the nets or in a practice game... it's like the old penalties and should you practice them argument - no substitute for the real thing - and we might as well take advantage of the offer of the real thing...

[TANGODANCER]

Silva and Mathews seem to have steadied the boat and at least are making a game of it. 181-3 right now.

[TANGODANCER]

And with that said, Silva goes. Make that 186-4.

[Bruce Rioja]

Aye. And those reasons may be valid against an opponent that can actually bat a bit.....

nahhhh - batting practice doesn't depend on how well they can bat! Even though it is Sri Lanka - batting out in the middle against a test side in a real game is always better than dossing about in the nets or in a practice game... it's like the old penalties and should you practice them argument - no substitute for the real thing - and we might as well take advantage of the offer of the real thing...

All those wasted hours that Rory McIlroy spends fecking about on putting greens, and that David Beckham spent hitting dead balls at corner flags after training. Waste of time according to the genial BWFC-I.

[TANGODANCER]

309-5 is a pretty good test total in any circumstances. "If" they can hold out and keep scoring it'll be to their credit after the mauling so far. I reckon we'll wrap it up today though.

[Worthy4England]

Aye. And those reasons may be valid against an opponent that can actually bat a bit.....

nahhhh - batting practice doesn't depend on how well they can bat! Even though it is Sri Lanka - batting out in the middle against a test side in a real game is always better than dossing about in the nets or in a practice game... it's like the old penalties and should you practice them argument - no substitute for the real thing - and we might as well take advantage of the offer of the real thing...

All those wasted hours that Rory McIlroy spends fecking about on putting greens, and that David Beckham spent hitting dead balls at corner flags after training. Waste of time according to the genial BWFC-I.

As I think Boycott once said when asked about hit natural ability. "The longer I spend in the nets, the more natural ability I get."

[TANGODANCER]

Just paid my forfeit for Saturday's cricket day and crawled in from two days gardening. Garden looks in far better shape than the gardener. Splendid fight back from the Lankans and credit to em. Chandimal will probably have a statue erected in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte ( had to look that up) for his innings today.

And with that, Jimmy uproots an Eranga stump. Well done sir.

[Worthy4England]

They'd have been pushing a 200 lead now, had we declared at 400. Just saying, like.

[TANGODANCER]

79 to get to win. Five for Jimmy in that innings. Great innings from Chandimal.

[TANGODANCER]

Leather on willow time again. We won the toss and are batting. 27-0 so far but the bowlers are sounding dangerous.