***Official*** NatWest Series/Challenge

[Barney Rubble]

40 over game : 229 to win
35 over game : 209 to win
30 over game : 187 to win
25 over game : 162 to win
20 over game : 134 to win

The shorter the game, the better England's chances, in my opinion. A 30-over game would produce a very interesting contest. It's not short enough to be a slog, but not long enough to build an innings, really. England would need around six an over for anything less than 40 overs, but if it went down to 25 or even 20, then the players England have with the ability to hit a big shot (Trescothick, Flintoff, Pietersen, plus Collingwood and *winces* Jones to a certain extent) will come into play, and seven an over for 20 overs to make 134 is very gettable. It's well below the average Twenty20 RR.

 

[Barney Rubble]

33-over innings, restarting at 8.40 - YAY!!

England need about 190 more off 30 more overs - an interesting contest indeed people, let's get going and pray there's no more rain.

 

[Neil Pickup]

If that's true, the target is 200

ie 192 off 30 @ 6.40

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Great news. The delay advantages England I think, but not that much. 33 over match... that means 7 overs for 3 bowlers and 6 for 2 others I assume? That means only 6 overs from Symonds, which can't be too bad for Australia.

Interesting to see what the pitch does after being under covers for a bit.

 

[Barney Rubble]

If that's true, the target is 200

ie 192 off 30 @ 6.40

It's true - they just talked to Shep on TMS, he told them what the game was going to be but had no idea what the target would be!

See - even they don't understand it Neil, maybe you should apply for a job at the ICC....

6.40 for 30 overs is tough, but with all ten wickets left, England can be confident of giving it a good go. If they can get to the 20-over mark (overall, so in the next 17 overs) with about 110-120 on the board with less than 4 down they're favourites.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Billy Bowden says 134. Muppet. Sky confirming I'm right.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Billy Bowden says 134. Muppet. Sky confirming I'm right.

Am I the only one slightly confused and mildly worried that not even the umpires know what's going on? Surely if anyone's going to know, they should be the first - not Neil!

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

What's with the odd camera angle?

 

[Barney Rubble]

Strauss cuts the second ball away for 4 - good start. Sounds like the crowd have spent the rain break drinking, too - good on them.

Edit: And the third ball goes through midwicket for 4, too....

 

[Neil Pickup]

Am I the only one slightly confused and mildly worried that not even the umpires know what's going on? Surely if anyone's going to know, they should be the first - not Neil!

It is a little disturbing, but it does feel pretty damn good to know this before anyone else on earth. CricketWeb - best for Duckworth/Lewis

 

[Neil Pickup]

What's with the odd camera angle?

My assumption would be that the TV camera towers, like the floodlights, came down during the T-storm.

 

[BoyBrumby]

As poor an over as I've seen from McGrath. Shows he's human.

Nice that Strauss was good enough to capitalise too.

 

[Barney Rubble]

It is a little disturbing, but it does feel pretty damn good to know this before anyone else on earth. CricketWeb - best for Duckworth/Lewis

Haha - maybe the umpires should have a live CricketWeb feed in their dressing room during the breaks.

Strauss hits McGrath for 4 boundaries in one over! Great stuff.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Strauss cuts the second ball away for 4 - good start. Sounds like the crowd have spent the rain break drinking, too - good on them.

Edit: And the third ball goes through midwicket for 4, too....

And the fourth and fifth go through the covers too.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Oooh. Lucky man Tres. Chinese-cuts a decent Lee yorker for two.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Oooh. Lucky man Tres. Chinese-cuts a decent Lee yorker for two.

That's a legitimate shot don't you know.

Strauss really getting after them here, he slashes another one away, stopped just inside the boundary.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Is it me or do the crowd seem the loudest ive probably ever heard for a cricket game in England...great stuff

 

[superkingdave]

that was strange because the fielder pushed the boundary rope out and the ball probably would have hit the rope if he'd not moved it

 

[Barney Rubble]

Is it me or do the crowd seem the loudest ive probably ever heard for a cricket game in England...great stuff

They've all been getting hammered during the rain break. Wish I was there!

 

[Slow Love™]

Looks like it's raining again.