**Official** Tour Matches

[andyc]

Good to see Hussey pass 50, really expecting him to cut loose again this series. [/jinx]

 

[Prince EWS]

Onions by far the best of the bowlers so far today IMO.

 

[andruid]

Can't believ Boyd Rankin is skyving his teams Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya on the third to play a tour game against England

 

[inbox24]

Noooo! Katich!

 

[BoyBrumby]

D'oh. Katto misses the ton.

Good knock tho.

 

[pskov]

the batsman's got absolutely no say on whether or not the opposition fielders have butter or glue on their hands so I doubt its credibility on that issue

Obviously, but the concept is that you would have a statistical way of rating batsmen independent of outside factors. If I edge a ball straight to first slip at a comfortable height, from the point of view of rating how well I played that delivery it doesn't matter whether the catcher takes the chance or drops it, I've still made exactly the same mistake either way.

As an aside, Richard to me always seems to push FCA because he believes there are 'lucky' batsmen and 'unlucky' batsmen and that this new statistic would expose such players as not as good as they are popularly perceived. I think that is unlikely to be true, but the measure would be quite useful in any case.

 

[TT Boy]

Only caught the bit where Mahmood and the fat Yorkie bar pissed away the good start. But at least it will silence any Mahmood apologists (got a few on here…) for a while.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Katman out between 50 and 100? Surely you jest, cricinfo!

 

[BoyBrumby]

Clarke goes. Middles a wide one from Bresnan (first of the spell, as it goes) straight to Rashid. Decent catch 'cos it was travelling.

Never really got going.

 

[BoyBrumby]

North nearly drags on straight away. Doesn't look a man in the best of nick from the four balls he's faced.

 

[inbox24]

Haha! North, what a gun. Really hope he performs woefully but they keep picking him.

 

[S Chanderpaul]

North nearly drags on straight away. Doesn't look a man in the best of nick from the four balls he's faced.

Now he does.

 

[BoyBrumby]

& chops on first ball next over. Onions gets his second. Ball held up on the ptitch, maybe. North through his shot v early anyway and wasn't deliberate slower ball.

 

[Langeveldt]

Only caught the bit where Mahmood and the fat Yorkie bar pissed away the good start. But at least it will silence any Mahmood apologists (got a few on here…) for a while.

I think he's bowling alright, only going for 5.71 an over?

 

[Uppercut]

The way I see it you can get out two different ways in cricket. Either due to a technical deficiency, such as a tendency to walk across to off stump too far or leaving a gap between bat and pad when defending, which can be worked on and ironed out in the nets. The other way is mental, such as poor shot selection, getting stuck in the crease because you fear a short ball, getting stuck too rigidly into a defensive 'must not get out mode' when on a poor run on form etc. These are mental deficiencies which you cannot really work at in the nets so easily. That's what I was referring to when I said Hooper and Lara are roughly equal in the technical aspect, but Lara was streaks ahead mentally (add Bell in to the Hooper category too if you like).

What about the Michael Vaughan way of getting out, where your foot movement, head position and general technique is absolutely spot-on but you nick the ball? That's how Ian Bell gets out normally i reckon.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Atherton & Colville making the point that if North's not in decent enough form to play at #6 is his off-spin good enough to justify his place? Watto apparently buggered, so would McDonald come in and Haddin move up?

Haddin looks in decent touch ftr.

 

[pasag]

We need to fly another batsmen over stat.

Great to see Hussey and Katich doing well.

 

[Uppercut]

Atherton & Colville making the point that if North's not in decent enough form to play at #6 is his off-spin good enough to justify his place? Watto apparently buggered, so would McDonald come in and Haddin move up?

Haddin looks in decent touch ftr.

Haddin always looks in decent touch in my experience. Just one of those players. Whereas Hussey always looks awkward but scores more runs. Bit more free-flowing today against England's prank first-change bowlers but pretty uncomfortable against Onions at times.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Painful stuff from Mahmood. Every other ball down the leg side and barely moved one off the straight. Not really any quicker than Onions or even Bresnan either.

 

[Briony]

North has done **** all since that ton he made first up against the Saffers.