Cod Eye

Quite enjoyed the boxing last night. When it comes to pure boxing skills, Fury is head and shoulders above the rest of the Heavyweight division, isn't he? His footwork and speed is phenomenal for a bloke who is 6ft 9, and I can see him easily outpointing Wilder for his belt. 

The money that could be made is Joshua has the guts to get into the ring with him at Wembley, would be eye watering. I think the match could be just as good as the AJ/Klitchko match too...

58 minutes ago, Gus Mears said:

Hindsight and 'wait until you both bat' and all that, but don't understand the decision to bowl first yesterday. It's such a negative move to increase the chances of not losing the match, as opposed to winning it.

In situations like that, you ought to be stepping on the throat of the opposition and burying them. As it is, India have a decent platform here to work with.

Again, probably need to see how the match plays out, but Christ, we were crying out for some variation from the fast bowlers yesterday. Almost as if having a left armer in there would have been useful.

2

As is often the case, a players stock has risen by being dropped. 

I can see why Root chose to bowl first, if I'm honest. Sky was reporting that the pitch had about 10mm of live grass at the start, plus the sky was mostly overcast(although the cloud was high cloud cover). With how the Indian batsmen have struggled with a swinging and seaming Duke ball, I think I would have considered bowling too.

You're right about the attack lacking variety though. It was easy for the batsmen to pick up the line, length and pace of the ball. 

What is the idea behind starting a test match on a Saturday? Chances are everyone is going to be at work on the crunch days.

5 hours ago, The Four Horsemen said:

She looks decidedly more happy about it.

My son. who didn't know he suffered from Bells Palsey(or what Bells Balsey is to be fair), though Jr was trying to pull a face like the winking emoji in the tweet. I don't know if I should bollock him or what?

This Stokes situation really doesn't sit well with me. What sort of message does this and out to the up and comers and fringe players? That you can perform brilliantly, do everything that is asked of you but you can fuck off when an established player returns.

I

41 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

A huge tray of chips and mixed veggie kebab from the chippy down on Sandy Lane. The place is cut into two with the smaller side just selling veggie and vegan options, they've tried making it all as close as they can to the normal stuff too, no pretentious artisan bollocks.

 

I had a massive, full blown argument with my Mrs a few months ago over a Veggie Kebab. 

We go to this kebab place that does the best kebabs we have ever tasted. Anyway, she decided she was going to call for us a kebab after work one day, and I couldn't fucking wait. Well, that was until she walked through the door with 2 vegetarian kebabs. All it had was salad and cheap cheese in a pitta bread. It was a fucking cheese salad sandwich and the daft bastard had paid £6.50 each for them. I didn't talk to her for a fortnight...

footlong fish, chips, large battered sausage and curry sauce. If I'm mega hungry I'll get a couple of tea cakes(let's not get into that argument either!).

Will sometimes have a kebab from there though, as they are pretty decent and cheap too. You can get a kebab n a pitta for 2.50, so will get two and put them together. Tried Kebab meat and chips from there, but I can buy into the idea of Kebab meat and proper chippy chips...

Alonso has looked very jaded by F1 for a few years now. His luck with cars has been awful ever since he left Renault, he's been lumped with bag of spanners after bag of spanners...

1 hour ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

They've gone with the same squad for Trent Bridge haven't they, so no Stokes. 

They said that if Stokes got off, he would be added to the squad...

See Stokes has been found not guilty then. The line up is going to be interesting for the next test...

21 minutes ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

Sorry, Keith, but you can fuck right off with that.

I pay my fair share in my country of residence. I do more than my fair share, even, if you consider raising money for charity at a loss to myself, for example, as doing more than ones fair share. But, frankly, successive governments have done basically fuck all for me and people like me, at my level in society. What "my country has done for me" is the bare fucking minimum they could get away with. Yet I'm expected to do, what? Go off and fight for in their wars? Work for their shitty opinion of what a "living wage" is? Please, tell me more about how much I owe this great nation of ours that has, in both Brexit and politics in general, shown that it doesn't care one iota about me or people like me.

It's obviously your prerogative to have the outlook you do, but Keith is right. Your reasons for getting Irish/dual citizenship(for how it benefits you personally, with no care for how it affects the many/the country it's self) is a very Tory-esque attitude. Your politics in general may not be right leaning, but that outlook on your dual nationality is.

5 minutes ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

I'd leave Curran out. Stokes has the ability to be exceptional at all aspects of the game. Curran will be ok in English conditions but he isn't quick enough, nor does he have enough skill to play for England overseas, with the exception of New Zealand. The line up for the next test has to be for me. 

  

Cook

Jennings

Root

Pope

 Bairstow

Stokes

 Buttler

Woakes 

Rashid

 Broad

Anderson

  

It's tough on Curran but he still has a lot to learn. 

I agree that is probably our best test team at the minute(although Jennings must be getting close to being dropped), and the balance Stokes gives the batting line up is great, but I've always been of the "don't change a winning team" disposition. With that in mind, I'd have to make Stokes fight to get his place back, rather than handing him it. I can see it being humbling for him too to have to carry the drinks for a series, which would also act as a punishment(if he is indeed found guilty). 

I'd also be mindful of completely destroying young Curren's confidence be dropping him when he's playing well. Obviously when we're on the tours of Sri Lanka and the West Indies(I'm fucked if I'm calling the "The Windies" like they want) then the need for two spinners will mean it's necessary to drop a seamer, and that's likely to be Curren. But at least then he will know that he's been dropped for tactical reasons, rather than just to give a place back to Stokes.

9 hours ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

So, I've long known I'm entitled to Irish citizenship and am in the process of acquiring an Irish passport. I and my partner looked into ways, at the time I first started looking at it, that she too could get Irish citizenship, but it isn't as simple as her marrying an Irish citizen to get a passport. You would have to live in the Republic for, I believe three or five years before you could be considered.

Today, my partner found out that her grandfather, although he didn't actually live in Ireland for very long at all, was actually born there. Thus, she too is entitled to Irish citizenship, meaning we can both retain our European citizenship and our rights to freedom of movement to live, work and study in any one of 27 other nations and, just as importantly (once we get married) any children we have will also have that right, the right *everyone* in the UK currently has and most are about to lose.

 So fuck you, Brexit. Fuck you, Boris Johnson. Fuck you, Michael Gove. Fuck you, David Davis. Fuck you, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Fuck you, John Redwood. Fuck you, Theresa May. Oh, and an extra special fuck you to Nigel Farage. Have your "red, white and blue Brexit." Have your sunshine and lollipops and rainbows and unicorns Brexit. Or, alternatively, enjoy the shithole that the UK will further become once Brexit happens. It's going to be monumentally shit and I'm so happy that I can take myself off to any number of other countries, without having to worry about a work visa or anything else.

 I'm sorry if I've offended any Leave voters here who still think Brexit is a good idea but I am so incredibly happy that me and my future wife and our future children get to Remain European.

I can't blame anyone for taking advantage of a second (EU) nationality in this day and age. You're going to have the best of both worlds. If Brexit does have a positive effect on the UK you will reap the benefits, but if it does indeed become a shit show, you can trundle off somewhere else.

Personally speaking though, I feel that long term it won't matter as I can honestly see the EU as we know it crumbling in the mid term future. 

As good a player as Stokes is, the place should be Woakes to lose now. 

As long as the ruling is favorable to him, he needs to knuckle down and play the county game until either Woakes' form dips, or he is playing so well they simply can't leave him out anymore

Sorry about the double post, but India look a bit fooked after that defeat.

The batting line up look completely bamboozled by the conditions, and you can almost see their confidence dripping away. Add to that the fact it looks like Kohli is carrying a knock, and Ashwin has had his spinning finger clattered hard twice, and the white wash must be at least an outside bet, weather permitting obviously.

1 hour ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Bairstow's first test hundred was one of my favourite ever sporting moments. If you didn't shed a tear when that happened then you're a better one than I. A wonderful moment. Love watching him bat.

He's the ideal man to represent our country for me. Always plays with a smile on his face, seems a decent bloke off the pitch and has worked his ginger covered bollocks off to become the player he is today. Just wish some of the other players the test team has given a chance over the years had his work ethic!

We managed to get a song going for him at Headingley early last season that went:

(to the tune of "Oh Pretty Baby")

Oh Johnny Bairstow, you are the love of my life,

Oh Johnny Bairstowm I'd let you shag mi wife, 

Oh Johhny Bairstow, I want ginger hair too!

When he heard it, he sent one of the coaches up to us in the western terrace with a handfull of beer vouchers for the Headingly bar. Top bloke...

3 hours ago, PowerButchi said:

The more things change the more they stay the same. Top order fail, then from number 5 onwards we steer away from the iceberg. Wonderful knock by Woakes, and YJB (Our finest batsman in the set up for my money) was bloody unlucky not to get a much deserved ton. I reckon knock another 100 if possible in the first session and declare, as showers are forecast Sunday and Monday.

3

I have a full on man crush on Bairstow, and as a batsman he has to be up there with the likes of Kohli as the best in the world at the minute. He just never seems to let the team down when they need a bit of a shot in the arm. 

Whats the forecast like today for Lords? 

I've not purchased a PS4 game for ages now(the last Mass Effect game was the last, I think), but I can't wait until this is released. 

39 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

@Cod Eye and all other Last Chance U fans. There's another decent thing that I've just blitzed through on Netflix called QB1: Beyond The Lights, which focuses on high school quarterbacks already committed to colleges. It's well worth a watch if you like that sort of thing.

Cheers Bacon! I'll bang it on my watch list. 

7 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

What the fuck are England going to do with their batting line-up? I mean, I'm assuming they won't change it because they never bloody do but Jennings and Malan clearly shouldn't be there. Then there's Stokes who won't be playing. Probably time for Vince to come back in then seeing as though they're allergic to picking new young batsmen.

3 minutes ago, PowerButchi said:

The Grauniad reckons Joe Clarke is next cab off the rank.

I'd fuck Mallan off totally, as I just don't think he will ever get any consistency. Jennings, not so sure about, but again I'm leaning toward sacking him off for now.

Like the look of Joe Clarke, and I agree with the consensus that he should be at least in and around the squad. Also, I was at Headingley a few weeks ago and got talking to Martin Moxon(who I know through being matey with Darren Gough from years ago), and he was saying how the England selectors are keeping a close eye on batsmen Tom Cohler-Cadmore. I hope they are looking with the longer term in mind though as I don't think he's anywhere near ready for the step up in class...

10 minutes ago, PowerButchi said:

Has teams becoming shit at test cricket made it more exciting to watch for the neutral? 

I don't think teams lack of traditional test skills has made it more exciting on it's own. But when you add in a ball that stays harder and gives the bowlers more assistance longer and a pitch that brings the spinners into play into the mix, it definitely makes for more compelling viewing than a 5 day runfest on a track that is as flat as a fart, with a ball that goes like putty after 10 overs...

Wow, test match cricket at it's best over the past 3 and a bit days! It had everything...

I think Rashid is a world class spinner, and it's great to see him getting the recognition after watching him come up through the ranks at Yorkshire. Thing is, this call up really doesn't sit right with me as a Yorkshire fan.

At the end of the day, he has left us a little short at times in the County Championship by not playing red ball cricket, to the point we have had to draft in a spinner for a single game. So to see him happily take the test call up(although I can't blame the lad) is a kick in the bollocks. Only saving grace for us seems to be that the selectors have indicated that it's a one time thing and that all players have to be red ball contracted in the future, which should mean Crane, Leach and co will be back in with a shout...

I want to thank whoever mentioned and recommended Last Chance U on Netflix. I've just burned through the first two series and loved it. Also, and I'm not afraid to admit this, but I think I'm in love with Ms. Wagner! Shit, I wish I had a teacher/anyone at school who even looked as committed to their job as she does. Inspiring isn't the word!