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Post by mercian on Apr 29, 2022 21:24:51 GMT
One of the things about Illingworth was his economy as a bowler. He went for less that 2 runs an over in tests. It's doubtful if he'd have played again at his age (39?) though if it wasn't for his captaincy skills. There were plenty of good off-spin bowlers around at the time - Titmus, Allen, Mortimore for instance.
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on Apr 29, 2022 21:41:34 GMT
One of the things about Illingworth was his economy as a bowler. He went for less that 2 runs an over in tests. It's doubtful if he'd have played again at his age (39?) though if it wasn't for his captaincy skills. There were plenty of good off-spin bowlers around at the time - Titmus, Allen, Mortimore for instance. I think it was reckoned that he destroyed Pat Pocock's career by being captain when he was. |
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Post by mercian on Apr 29, 2022 22:01:35 GMT
It's no doubt true that Pocock would have played more Tests, but I've just looked him up on Cricinfo. He still played 25 Tests, but only took 67 wickets at 44.
Illingworth's value as a captain and lower order batsman, as well as arguably being a better bowler means he was much more valuable to the team at that time (early seventies).
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on May 6, 2022 20:54:54 GMT
This got lost in the local election coverage but I feel deserves re-posting:
Ben Stokes scored a century off 64 balls for Durham v Worcestershire in the country championship. Out for 161 off 88 balls - 17 sixes, a new championship record. One over cost 34: 6,6,6,6,6,4.
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Post by leftieliberal on May 13, 2022 13:55:35 GMT
Who's going to take the last Champions League place? Arsenal or Spurs. Spurs 3-0 win in the North London derby makes it a close race again, but I'm inclined to predict that St Totteringham's day will occur on the last day of the season with both teams winning their last two games. Whenever Arsenal have stumbled this season, they have come back strongly in the next games and I am beginning to believe in Arteta as a manager.
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Post by leftieliberal on May 23, 2022 16:56:43 GMT
Who's going to take the last Champions League place? Arsenal or Spurs. Spurs 3-0 win in the North London derby makes it a close race again, but I'm inclined to predict that St Totteringham's day will occur on the last day of the season with both teams winning their last two games. Whenever Arsenal have stumbled this season, they have come back strongly in the next games and I am beginning to believe in Arteta as a manager. Credit to Spurs; they weren't at all Spursy and Son deserved his half-share of the Golden Boot. If Arsenal had only played against Newcastle the way they played against Everton I might have got the prediction right. Burnley's owners have got what they deserved for sacking Sean Dyche with 8 games to go. I'm happy that Leeds stayed up; they've had a terrible run of injuries and it is good that they will get another chance to show what they can do next season. The new UEFA coefficient could mean five Premier League teams in the Champions League next season and even if Man City and Liverpool are still a class apart there will be much to play for between those going for the remaining places. |
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Post by leftieliberal on May 30, 2022 16:10:36 GMT
Chelsea sale to Todd Boehly has gone through: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61629815The only unhappy people must be Huddersfield Town supporters who would have been promoted to the Premier League if Chelsea had not got their new licence for next season. Unless Mercedes improve their car quickly, Lewis Hamilton may decide he prefers watching Chelsea from the Directors' Box on Saturdays instead of trying to qualify in what is a 'dog' of a F1 car. |
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 2, 2022 17:36:59 GMT
England cricket is following a predictable pattern; after putting on 59 for the first wicket, they contrive to lose five wickets for eight runs. Thankfully Foakes and Broad are still there at the close. You can watch this "X"-rated show at 7pm on BBC2.
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 3, 2022 10:51:08 GMT
England cricket is following a predictable pattern; after putting on 59 for the first wicket, they contrive to lose five wickets for eight runs. Thankfully Foakes and Broad are still there at the close. You can watch this "X"-rated show at 7pm on BBC2. And all out for 141 within the first half-hour. So we now have a one-innings match with three days, two sessions and nearly an hour and a half to go. I don't believe that England can bowl and catch as well as that again, so the Kiwis must be strong favourites. England's best hope is rain, but it is not due in playing hours until Sunday, which will probably be too late to save England. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2022 1:27:09 GMT
Fine win for Somerset in the T20 last night after Wednesday's debacle. 174 in 14.1 overs isn't too dusty at all. Taunton is a small gound, but there was some pretty impressive hitting, including at least one in the river behind the Botham stand.
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 5, 2022 11:11:34 GMT
Rooooot.... New coach, new captain, and the old Root back again. There couldn't be a better present for the Platinum Jubilee. And good to see Foakes hanging in there when it really mattered.
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Post by mercian on Jun 12, 2022 19:14:55 GMT
Great day at the Test. A good batting pitch, but Lees, Pope and Stokes showed that there's some decent backup for Root. And Foakes still there. I think he's underrated as a batsman. Last time I looked he's got a better FC and Test average than Buttler. He's averaging 95 in the county championship this season. He seems to be a better wickie too.
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Post by alec on Jun 12, 2022 21:33:26 GMT
Just been announced that Phil Bennet has died. Absolutely brilliant fly half, and responsible for the start of possibly the greatest try ever, in one of the greatest games ever - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMd7PQavavw |
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 15, 2022 9:09:23 GMT
What a great final day to finish a Test Match. Of course all the dropped catches during the five days led to a high-scoring encounter, but seeing the England team chasing almost 300 on the last day and reaching their target in just 50 overs shows that you can apply one-day cricket methods to Test Cricket even when the opposition put almost all their fielders back on the boundary. if this doesn't bring spectators back to Test Cricket, nothing will. The only change I would like to see is for Moeen to be brought back in place of Leach, whose bowling is not quite Test standard. Crawley, I think, should get one more chance under less pressure in the Third Test but if he fails again we need to look for another opener. Lees seems to be finding his feet and will get better.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 0:10:23 GMT
A tense evening at Taunton, with Somerset prevailing by 7 runs against local rivals Gloucestershire in front of a full house. The evening was made more tense by the drunken yobs in my row, actively encouraged by the club to pour as much alcohol down their necks as possible during the time available, constantly needing to imbibe, or expel, cider or its residue with astonishing regularity, even within overs. I deliberately chose my back row seat to avoid people kicking me in the back during the match, but you can't legislate for people in your row.
Thankfully, this season has at least dealt me a crusty old buffer in the seat next to me, with whom I can converse sensibly about the cricket, whilst also tut-tutting vigorously about the behaviour of the yobbish tendency further along the row.
Rant over.
It was actually the most enthralling match I have seen this season, in the balance until the last three balls. And we won, which was nice. 😎
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2022 23:47:38 GMT
Another enthralling evening at Taunton on Sunday. Weird to be watching live sport at 9.45 PM on a Sunday. A full house at the County Ground and a surprisingly straightforward victory over leaders Surrey. Home to Derbyshire in the quarter finals next Saturday. Ticket already sorted.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2022 13:29:32 GMT
What a incredible Test Match. Glued to the screen yesterday -imagining I was back at Edgbaston.
Wonderful to see two Tykes coming off the pitch after that record run chase.
But what an astounding turnaround. Stokes and McCullum have somehow flicked a switch to positivity. There will be learned studies of this in the future.
Cant wait to see them against the Aussies.
Gareth !-are you watching this ?
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Post by leftieliberal on Jul 8, 2022 13:27:10 GMT
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Post by mercian on Jul 9, 2022 17:53:40 GMT
Yes, an unfulfilled talent. I remember reading once that he got injured so much because of his style of running. No idea if that was true or not. There are so many great players who never quite cracked it at international level. Len Shackleton, Frank Worthington, Charlie George, Le Tissier etc etc. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2022 23:52:52 GMT
Fantastic evening at the County Ground, Taunton, with Somerset setting two records. Their 265-5 was the highest total ever recorded in domestic T20 cricket. Their 191 run margin of victory over Derbyshire was also a record. Absolutely tremendous evening. Somerset therefore qualify for Finals Day at Edgbaston. I won't be going. Even if Somerset win, it wouldn't cap the feeling of this evening. Also, I went last year, and it was one of my worst experiences of recent years. And not just the cricket.
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Post by leftieliberal on Jul 18, 2022 16:32:47 GMT
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Post by leftieliberal on Aug 27, 2022 16:52:18 GMT
Fantastic end to the Test Match. England take the last five South African wickets for 7 runs in 31 balls. After the debacle at Lords the obvious answer is for England to play all their Test Matches away from Lords.
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Post by mercian on Aug 30, 2022 22:39:43 GMT
I like to read the 'On this day' section on Cricinfo because I love cricket history. Today it featured Roly Jenkins the Worcestershire leg-spinner. I knew a bit about him, but he seems like a real kindred spirit if you read this: www.espncricinfo.com/player/roly-jenkins-15495He made a lot of witty remarks which weren't appreciated by the cricket hierarchy at the time, which was why he played very few Tests. Here's an example of his wit: 'He wrote a piece on spin bowling for the Cricketer, and Walter Robins commended him. "That was a very good article, Jenkins. Who wrote it for you?" Quick as a flash he came back: "I wrote it myself, sir. Who read it for you?"' |
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Post by leftieliberal on Sept 7, 2022 11:53:27 GMT
A shock sacking: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62817993If you can be sacked for being sixth in the Premier League (3W, 1D, 2L) who is safe? When you bring in so many players (8), it takes time for them all to settle down. |
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Post by davwel on Sept 27, 2022 22:00:53 GMT
This thread is petering out.
I came on here to see if anyone was worrying about the demise of Worcester RU, or at least their suspension from the top league. And making suggestions on how to improve the RU set-up.
Also I was annoyed by Hugh Godwin, the i paper`s RU correspondent, in a column about Worcester Warriors including a hitting out at the excellent RL grand final: boring penalty kicks at Old Trafford compared to the excitement in RU of mauling forwards driving for push-over tries.
So much ball handling and tries squeezing in by the corner flag is scorned, but a mass of heavy forwards shoving with ball hidden is good entertainment.
I believe WW are victims of an over-complacent RU hierarchy - 15 players and lots of substitutes is too many for the crowds to fund - faster play and greater visibility is needed.
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Post by leftieliberal on Sept 29, 2022 16:04:33 GMT
Who needs "The Hundred" for exciting cricket? After Warwickshire collapsed from 97-2 to 177 all out in their second innings (Sibley last out for 77), Hampshire needed just 139 runs to win and relegate Warwickshire to the 2nd Division. Liam Norwell took 9-62 and Warwickshire won by five runs. So it's Yorkshire going down instead. Someone should really tell Rob Key not to cut back on red-ball cricket.
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Post by davwel on Oct 13, 2022 17:53:52 GMT
Is the former Australia RU coach taking on the coaching of the Lebanon team in the RL World Cup a foretaste of the merging of the two codes, or at least a narrowing of the gap between them. Michael Cheika clearly believes the latter is now happening from his article in the i on Wednesday.
We will soon see if the attendances for this World Cup have increased compared to the last two. But I don`t believe big attendances are needed to provide good entertainment - attendances have to be sufficient to pay the players` wages and for decent ground facilities at the clubs for spectators. To get skilful strong players some in the top echelons of the two codes have to be full-time, but that doesn`t need grounds with capacities more than 50,000.
It also doesn`t need a big number of substitutes in the present RU leagues, most of whom can expect to play for an average of just 15 minutes in their game. In RL, there are just 4 subs in the home top leagues, most of whom will be used in a game.
Michael Cheika will be lucky if he gets 1 win out of his 4 likely games, Jamaica being vulnerable despite Jason Robinson`s coaching. But coaching simultaneously for both RL and Twickenham is brave.
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Post by mercian on Oct 15, 2022 22:22:57 GMT
crossbat11 The point of the Blues fans singing "He's up, he's down, he's in the Rose and Crown" was that (a) It rhymed (b) It was a riposte to the Villa version "He's here, he's there etc" However 2 old gits arguing about a 50-year-old football chant that probably only ever happened at one match is possibly even more pointless than the interminable Brexit and Covid debates.
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Post by crossbat11 on Oct 15, 2022 22:36:53 GMT
Agreed, Pete!
It's possible that I'm mistaken on this and, as you say, it's over 50 years ago anyway.
By the way, alerting me to these issue specific threads has opened up a whole new world I never knew existed.
Fascinating.
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Post by mercian on Oct 16, 2022 11:34:04 GMT
Agreed, Pete! It's possible that I'm mistaken on this and, as you say, it's over 50 years ago anyway. By the way, alerting me to these issue specific threads has opened up a whole new world I never knew existed. Fascinating. Did you think the 'Covid thread' that people keep directing Alec and Danny to was some sort of imaginary limbo? |
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