*Official* Second Test at Lords

[Scaly piscine]

Because of a few innings against the West Indies. Why do you insist on thinking that a player should be judged entirely on his averages? Swann's a tailender. A pinch-hitter at best.

Nah. In most teams he'd be a good number 8.

 

[Richard]

Because of a few innings against the West Indies. Why do you insist on thinking that a player should be judged entirely on his averages? Swann's a tailender. A pinch-hitter at best.

Although tormenting Swann (for a couple of deliveries, before watching on as he plays a crucial match-saving knock) is clearly no achievement for a bowler to be screaming joyously from the rooftops about, Swann is certainly better than tail-end stakes. A useful lower-order batsman.

 

[Richard]

Is it actually possible for Pietersen to get out for less than 100 without people carrying on about how he threw it away?

He got out driving a good ball that was in one his scoring areas and moved away fractionally. I fully understand the criticism of his shot against Hauritz in Wales, but I think people are being overly harsh to this one. He's a quality bat who got out to a good ball - it certainly wasn't an unreasonable shot or even unreasonable execution. Sometimes you just have to credit the delivery.

Roles reversed again...

 

[wpdavid]

Is it actually possible for Pietersen to get out for less than 100 without people carrying on about how he threw it away?

He got out driving a good ball that was in one his scoring areas and moved away fractionally. I fully understand the criticism of his shot against Hauritz in Wales, but I think people are being overly harsh to this one. He's a quality bat who got out to a good ball - it certainly wasn't an unreasonable shot or even unreasonable execution. Sometimes you just have to credit the delivery.

I think part of it is the way he'd played before being dismissed. If he'd played like he had a brain before tea, then people would have been more forgiving about the eventual dismissal. Might not be fair, but there you go.

 

[Prince EWS]

Roles reversed again...

 

[Pizzorno]

Is it actually possible for Pietersen to get out for less than 100 without people carrying on about how he threw it away?

He got out driving a good ball that was in one his scoring areas and moved away fractionally. I fully understand the criticism of his shot against Hauritz in Wales, but I think people are being overly harsh to this one. He's a quality bat who got out to a good ball - it certainly wasn't an unreasonable shot or even unreasonable execution. Sometimes you just have to credit the delivery.

It's a force habit. Her normally gets himself out in such infuriatingly silly ways that we get used to lambasting him for any dismissal. Am I the only one thinking that if Australia had batted first we'd have been out of the game by now? I hate our lack of ruthlessness.

 

[Richard]

Haha, predicted that character-for-character response (that is, quote followed by : h u h : ). What I meant was, usually you beat me to saying something; this time I beat you to it (in this case by doing a "fix'd" on David's post).

In fact I've said it a good deal over the course of the last year. Really annoys me how Pietersen is expected to score 158 minimum every innings, and if he doesn't he gets pilloried regardless of whether he's been dismissed by good bowling, poor batting or a combo.

 

[Richard]

I think part of it is the way he'd played before being dismissed. If he'd played like he had a brain before tea, then people would have been more forgiving about the eventual dismissal. Might not be fair, but there you go.

How did he play brainlessly though? He scored quickly, yes - but he did so because there were balls there to be hit, exactly as he did when he came out and scored 8 off 3 balls against SA before being done by a decent ball from Kallis. The only time he looked like getting out was when he completely misjudged that Hilfenhaus bouncer.

He wasn't throwing the bat randomly.

 

[Prince EWS]

I think part of it is the way he'd played before being dismissed. If he'd played like he had a brain before tea, then people would have been more forgiving about the eventual dismissal. Might not be fair, but there you go.

I think a lot of can be put down to the points raised in this article, actually. I didn't fully agree with it when I first read it, but I'm reminded of it so often when I read other articles, hear commentators' opinions and even see forum posts about Pietersen. It really was spot on, IMO.

 

[NUFAN]

Marcus North needs to be taken off now. He's bowled fairly but he must be tired. Reckon it couldn't hurt giving Katich a couple of hours before the new ball is due.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Indeed. I believe our minds think somewhere near alike as well.

Good bottling England, good bottling.

If that's true you could see yourself getting less popular very quickly

 

[Richard]

I hate our lack of ruthlessness.

I just hate our inability to play to our best. We get the chance to rack-up a massive total, we fall for a moderate one (currently we're merely on our way to doing that, hasn't actually happened quite yet). We get put in a situation where we could make it look tricky or near-impossible, and we do the latter. And there are so many other similar things. We get the chance to win and we draw... etc. etc.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Oh yeah, that internationally reknowned batting powerhouse Graeme Swann? Yeah, I also saw Swann bill him around Cardiff too.

Swann who has scored a FC 180? Swann who averaged 50 before the last game? Swann who got pinged 4 times and then copped a mouthful? I'd say that was being aggressive still yes.

 

[Richard]

If that's true you could see yourself getting less popular very quickly

Oh come on, even you actually quite like me really, you just disagree with 82.61% of my posts.

 

[Prince EWS]

Haha, predicted that character-for-character response (that is, quote followed by : h u h : ).

Wasn't too hard to predict as it's not the first time I've done exactly that today.

What I meant was, usually you beat me to saying something; this time I beat you to it (in this case by doing a "fix'd" on David's post).

In fact I've said it a good deal over the course of the last year. Really annoys me how Pietersen is expected to score 158 minimum every innings, and if he doesn't he gets pilloried regardless of whether he's been dismissed by good bowling, poor batting or a combo.

Fair enough. AWTA.

 

[zaremba]

England lose no wickets before stumps: England ahead
England lose one wicket: even steven
England lose 2 or more wickets: Cardiff all over again

 

[Son Of Coco]

Oh come on, even you actually quite like me really, you just disagree with 82.61% of my posts.

I don't hate you Richard, that much is true. You're pretty harmless. I just feel that someone needs to disagree with you fairly constantly to keep you in check. Otherwise you get carried away

 

[Richard]

England lose no wickets before stumps: England ahead
England lose one wicket: even steven
England lose 2 or more wickets: Cardiff all over again

Bets now on whether England will chuck away a wicket before the new-ball?

And also on whether they'll go "we need to avoid throwing a wicket away against the new ball" and waste the vital chance to get some quick runs pre-new-ball, or whether they'll think "we need to get some quick runs pre-new-ball" and as a result throw a couple of wickets away and expose the tail to the new-ball?

 

[Richard]

Strauss has had three let-offs this innings and I've honestly lost count of the number of times he's been dropped since the series in West Indies. Amazing stuff.

 

[Prince EWS]

I've honestly lost count of the number of times he's been dropped

Surely not!