GRcade

So, for the New Zealand series, my XI is:

Burns
Sibley
Denly
Root
Pope
Stokes
Foakes
Curran
Leach
Archer
Broad/Anderson (depending on fitness, may have to make Curran 12th man).

I think you might get one out of Sibley, Pope, Foakes and Curran actually playing. I think Bairstow and Buttler are too ensconced in the side to get dropped.

Be interesting to see where England go next for their coach. Alec Stewart was getting a mention, I've always been a big fan of his and I think he'd do a top job.

I heard that Root might be rested. Intriguing if true. Broad to captain?

Otherwise I like Drummy’s impossible improbable side.

Rex Kramer wrote:I think you might get one out of Sibley, Pope, Foakes and Curran actually playing. I think Bairstow and Buttler are too ensconced in the side to get dropped.

Be interesting to see where England go next for their coach. Alec Stewart was getting a mention, I've always been a big fan of his and I think he'd do a top job.

Being a Surrey boy, Stewie would get all of those in the team (Sibley was at Surrey previously).

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... s-jury-out

Decent article on Test selection under Bayliss.

The strawberry floating S*n. There's an extremely narrow portion of society I will bring out the C-bomb for in my life, but anyone involved with that shithole of a company falls within those boundaries. Absolutely unbelievable.

I don’t think I want to know what they’ve dug up. It sounds like none of my business and none of theirs.

Balladeer wrote:I don’t think I want to know what they’ve dug up. It sounds like none of my business and none of theirs.

Tldr: Stokes' Mum had a first husband who was not a nice man. They literally went and knocked on the door of his parents' house to dig around for information. Absolute scum.

Mini E wrote:Tldr: Stokes' Mum had a first husband who was not a nice man. They literally went and knocked on the door of his parents' house to dig around for information. Absolute scum.

That is, amazingly, even worse than I’d though.

Twats.

twitter.com/benstokes38/status/1173893834377441280

Great response from Stokes.

strawberry float The Sun.

Kyle Abbot has just taken 9-40. Is too late to get him into the England set up or are Kolpaks not allowed?

James Vince is in apparently "irresistible form" this innings. Oh goody.

Dom Sibley with another ton. Get him on the plane to NZ, Ed.

Are there two worse players to (effectively) lose the CC to? The Kolpak who left just when he’d cracked the national squad, and the selectors’ darling who everyone else can patently see doesn’t deserve it.

I don’t like Hampshire much.

Counties update:

-Kyle Abbott now has match figures of 15-78 and there's 3 wickets left for Hants/Abbott to take
-Dominic Sibley has now passed 200*
-Essex on course to win Div 1
-Sam Billings approaching his third consecutive FC ton

Edit:
-16 wickets now for Abbott
-Sibley carried his bat for 215*
-Billings has his third consecutive FC ton

I wouldn't say "Essex on track to win Div 1" - it all comes down to Essex/Somerset in the final round of games. Exciting!

Essex/Somerset is going to be dominated by rain.

Congratulations Essex. Again.

Why the rolleyes?

Somerset have never won the Champ. I was rooting for them. (The cruel might say that this is an example of why...)

I’ve got nothing particularly against Essex, and tipped them to win the Champo before the start of the season (one of only two predictions I got anywhere near right, the other being Lancashire topping Div. 2). Didn’t want it to be like this though.

Sibley got his second ton of the match.

Notts.