Cricket season

[big mervyn]

Aussies choked in those last few overs.Dropped 2 catches, fecked up a straigjtforward run out and p!ssed away their review.

Stokes' innings was better than Botham's in '81

[justinr73]

The review was bizarre. I was watching on my phone on the way back from Leeds and could see it pitched miles outside leg.

Proud I saw the first two runs of one of the greatest knocks there will ever be!

[solidarity]

Aussies choked in those last few overs.Dropped 2 catches, fecked up a straigjtforward run out and p!ssed away their review.

Stokes' innings was better than Botham's in '81

Agrreed on both parts. Do you think Stokes is a better player than Botham (or Flintoff)?

[Jackie Brown]

Aussies choked in those last few overs.Dropped 2 catches, fecked up a straigjtforward run out and p!ssed away their review.

Stokes' innings was better than Botham's in '81

Agrreed on both parts. Do you think Stokes is a better player than Botham (or Flintoff)?

He has a better swing

[justinr73]

But has 250 fewer wickets.

He’s a bit fitter than Beefy though.

[big mervyn]

Aussies choked in those last few overs.Dropped 2 catches, fecked up a straigjtforward run out and p!ssed away their review.

Stokes' innings was better than Botham's in '81

Agrreed on both parts. Do you think Stokes is a better player than Botham (or Flintoff)?

He has a better swing

Stokes is a better batsman than either. He seems to be the only oneday specialist in England who can play a proper test innings. Boycs reckons he's the 2nd best batsman in the side.

Botham was in a different class as a bowler. His figures were marred by carrying on too long but his average of 28.4 and his 5 wkt hauls are streets ahead of the other 2.

Ranking them, you'd have to go 1. Botham, 2. Stokes, 3. Flintoff

[Bart S]

Aussies choked in those last few overs.Dropped 2 catches, fecked up a straigjtforward run out and p!ssed away their review.

Stokes' innings was better than Botham's in '81

Agrreed on both parts. Do you think Stokes is a better player than Botham (or Flintoff)?

He has a better swing

Stokes is a better batsman than either. He seems to be the only oneday specialist in England who can play a proper test innings. Boycs reckons he's the 2nd best batsman in the side.

Botham was in a different class as a bowler. His figures were marred by carrying on too long but his average of 28.4 and his 5 wkt hauls are streets ahead of the other 2.

Ranking them, you'd have to go 1. Botham, 2. Stokes, 3. Flintoff

I’d agree with that assessment Merv. stokes turning into more of a batting all rounder versus Botha, who was at one stage the leading wicket taker of all time. After Root in the current team he looks far and away the next best player and his ability to play with discipline as well as power is impressive.

Didn’t see Botham’s innings in 1981 but that was some knock yesterday. Yes he had some fortune but with just a no.11 and si far out he had to take some risks. Never seen a guy show less emotion on reaching 100 as he was so focussed.

He is one hell of a player.

[Jackie Brown]

He's not even English, so fits in perfectly!

[big mervyn]

True Jackie. One of these days England will discover a player who was actually born in Blighty

If England lose the Ashes they'll kill Stokes off by giving him the captaincy.

Remember Headingley '81 very well Bart. Spent the 4th day of that test bringing in the hay. When we were having our dinner (lunch) Engerland were 7 wickets down in their 2nd innings and still about 50 short of an innings defeat. Couldn't believe the turnaround 4 hours later. The main difference in Botham's innings was that he had nothing to lose and didn't have the scoreboard pressure that Stokes had to deal with. Both of them played some outrageous shots mind.

[justinr73]

Do we really need Boycott to tell us that Stokes is the second best batsman in the side?

I thought he was fairly useful myself when I watched him get 250 and put on 399 with Bairstow in Cape Town, 12 runs short of our best partnership off all time.

If Stokes was born in Barnsley, then Boycott may rate him even more highly. I’d pick him over Root to bat for my life, that’s for sure.

The captaincy is an interesting one.

He certainly can’t be any worse than Beefy or Fred.

[justinr73]

Awful news.

RIP Bob.

That spell in '81 ignited my love for the sport and Mrs justinr73 enjoyed his TV work so much that she got a second-hand copy of his autobiography for her birthday this October.

[big mervyn]

Awful news.

RIP Bob.

That spell in '81 ignited my love for the sport and Mrs justinr73 enjoyed his TV work so much that she got a second-hand copy of his autobiography for her birthday this October.

A great pace bowler, especially in the later stages of his test career.

Not such a big fan of the broadcasting - he'd have given McWhirter a run for his money

[Bart S]

sad news. Definitely one of england’s great pace bowlers. As for that run up.....

RIP Bob

[Bart S]

2 mediocre teams making for an evenly contested series so far put in SA. Am sure you would have got decent odds on Sibley scoring the first century of the series. I don’t expect to see many more hundreds given the 2 batting line ups and pitches which are more likely to help the pace bowlers.

Some effort by Stokes. Fitted the description of “all rounder” perfectly!

[justinr73]

Hard to disagree with any of that, although I like the way our top 6 is taking shape.

I'd prefer Foakes to come in for Buttler in Sri Lanka.

V poor the way he turned on Big Vern yesterday. 'Fat-shaming' is out of order, even when it's initiated by a slightly camp occasional Lancashire player.