*Official* Fifth Test at The Oval

[benchmark00]

Spikey possibly out of action due to lack of power.

 

[Spikey]

I'm all good

 

[Tangles]

Hoping Smith can ton up today. Maybe they will be nice and have Woakes and the pie man bowl out the first session.

 

[Adders]

Think they said 25 tests since his last ton? So he can throttle back to 2nd gear for a couple of years now.

As hard as yesterday was to stomach, I guess ultimately it's not a bad thing (for Eng) that Watson made this score. Not sure how close the Aussie selectors would have been to ****ing him off but he must be nailed in for the return series now. Just hope he doesn't injure himself in the ****s and giggles first.

 

[Tangles]

It was a good knock I just highly doubt it's career defining, or a turning point. In a live game he wouldn't have been able to tee off against pies and get into 1 day mode. The head knock probably helped any nerves he had as he didn't try to hit his way to 3 figures.

 

[Adders]

Did he stutter in the 90's at all??

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Yeah that Anderson bloke has always let England down too. And what did Flintoff ever achieve?

Buffoon.

Flintoff - record worse than Watson.
Anderson - turns up for one Test in a five match series.

Gawan - keep picking those loverly Lankies.

This post is in....

 

[Riggins]

Did he stutter in the 90's at all??

nah they left the field back and he could just keep knocking singles.

 

[Pothas]

I'm on a train into London, just outside the city currently and it's pissing down. Could struggle to get a full day based on this, though The Oval is right on the other side.

With a bit of luck the sky will be grey first up and then miraculously clear once the filth have been bowled out.

Been raining solidly for hours here.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Did he stutter in the 90's at all??

More of a stagger stagger then fall really.

Just a relief he was ok as it looked horrible.

 

[Maximas]

Nice to see England fans gleefully accepting Watson's innings now that the Ashes are gone, hope this ushers in a dominant form run though, he is a special batsmen when in form

 

[Spikey]

Watson's innings has sparked outrage

Nick Hoult ‏@NHoultCricket 46s
Security at the Oval has been increased following a threat from Fathers4Justice to spray the pitch with acid. Police investigating

 

[Spark]

Did he stutter in the 90's at all??

He actually said that the blow he took was a blessing in disguise - he was so busy concentrating on his footwork right after getting hit that he didn't really have time/space to be nervous about the 90s.

 

[Maximas]

I'm expecting another batting day, perhaps a bit more turn and less movement, but the same thing as yesterday essentially, by day 3 Lyon should really be getting some help from the pitch though.

 

[CarlsbergXpress]

I'm expecting another batting day.

I'm not so sure, bit of moisture around and a bit more humid - might do a bit. Forecast is a for an on-off day also, which is never in the batters favour.

 

[wpdavid]

I'm not so sure, bit of moisture around and a bit more humid - might do a bit. Forecast is a for an on-off day also, which is never in the batters favour.

Yeah, it should swing more today, which is good news for the side with 307 for 4 on the board. You can easily see England losing quick wickets batting in overcast conditions later in the day. Not that they've needed overcast conditions to do that all summer.

 

[King Pietersen]

Looking forward to this bouncer masterclass, the one clip we saw, with Strauss serving tennis balls at Nasser looked, erm, interesting.......

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Looking forward to this bouncer masterclass, the one clip we saw, with Strauss serving tennis balls at Nasser looked, erm, interesting.......

Odds on Botham joking about how they missed his nose?

 

[wpdavid]

Odds on Botham joking about how they missed his nose?

Sounds about right. I'd quite like to see Beefy advise him to play them with his eyes closed, like against DKL at Old Trafford all those years ago.

 

[Maximas]

I'm not so sure, bit of moisture around and a bit more humid - might do a bit. Forecast is a for an on-off day also, which is never in the batters favour.

ah OK, was going entirely off the pitch myself tbh, I'd still say Australia on top though, as long as we get to around 450 we will have plenty on the board