A bit of pressure on both Hales and Compton, I imagine every England qualified opener will be fancying their chances of a call up
And that's the 'problem' , - they're only playing Sri Lanka and Pakistan - so likely to score tons of runs. However, in saying that didn't we lose to Sl the last time they were here ? (seem to remember Jimmy holding out til the last over) - if that's the case then we should recapture some points for the Test League.
A bit of pressure on both Hales and Compton, I imagine every England qualified opener will be fancying their chances of a call up
And that's the 'problem' , - they're only playing Sri Lanka and Pakistan - so likely to score tons of runs. However, in saying that didn't we lose to Sl the last time they were here ? (seem to remember Jimmy holding out til the last over) - if that's the case then we should recapture some points for the Test League.
Yes we lost to Sri Lanka at home and Pakistan away. Two series wins will go down nicely, so I hope they don't experiment too much
A bit of pressure on both Hales and Compton, I imagine every England qualified opener will be fancying their chances of a call up
And that's the 'problem' , - they're only playing Sri Lanka and Pakistan - so likely to score tons of runs. However, in saying that didn't we lose to Sl the last time they were here ? (seem to remember Jimmy holding out til the last over) - if that's the case then we should recapture some points for the Test League.
Sri Lanka are nowhere near the team they once were though, nearly all of their big names have now retired. This scorecard for their match against Essex doesn't suggest they're that good...
Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh are the other batsmen to reach the milestone.
"It will be a nice moment and you get to join an elite band of Test cricketers," Cook told BBC Test Match Special. "Those guys are far better batters than me.
Typical Cook modesty. Looking at that list (plus Tendulkar), none of them were openers, facing the new ball, which is much harder than striding out at 82/2 after 25 overs
Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh are the other batsmen to reach the milestone.
"It will be a nice moment and you get to join an elite band of Test cricketers," Cook told BBC Test Match Special. "Those guys are far better batters than me.
Typical Cook modesty. Looking at that list (plus Tendulkar), none of them were openers, facing the new ball, which is much harder than striding out at 82/2 after 25 overs
Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh are the other batsmen to reach the milestone.
"It will be a nice moment and you get to join an elite band of Test cricketers," Cook told BBC Test Match Special. "Those guys are far better batters than me.
Typical Cook modesty. Looking at that list (plus Tendulkar), none of them were openers, facing the new ball, which is much harder than striding out at 82/2 after 25 overs
I'm trying to decide who is the best batsman on that list. My favourite is Brian Lara.
Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh are the other batsmen to reach the milestone.
"It will be a nice moment and you get to join an elite band of Test cricketers," Cook told BBC Test Match Special. "Those guys are far better batters than me.
Typical Cook modesty. Looking at that list (plus Tendulkar), none of them were openers, facing the new ball, which is much harder than striding out at 82/2 after 25 overs
I'm trying to decide who is the best batsman on that list. My favourite is Brian Lara.
Lara is my favourite by a mile - I was lucky enough to see him live a few times when I was a kid and my Grandpa took me up to Edgbaston to watch Warwickshire, loved it.
Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh are the other batsmen to reach the milestone.
"It will be a nice moment and you get to join an elite band of Test cricketers," Cook told BBC Test Match Special. "Those guys are far better batters than me.
Typical Cook modesty. Looking at that list (plus Tendulkar), none of them were openers, facing the new ball, which is much harder than striding out at 82/2 after 25 overs
I'm trying to decide who is the best batsman on that list. My favourite is Brian Lara.
Lara is my favourite by a mile - I was lucky enough to see him live a few times when I was a kid and my Grandpa took me up to Edgbaston to watch Warwickshire, loved it.
Second best batsmen of my lifetime, after the truly great Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards.
A bit of pressure on both Hales and Compton, I imagine every England qualified opener will be fancying their chances of a call up
And that's the 'problem' , - they're only playing Sri Lanka and Pakistan - so likely to score tons of runs. However, in saying that didn't we lose to Sl the last time they were here ? (seem to remember Jimmy holding out til the last over) - if that's the case then we should recapture some points for the Test League.
Sri Lanka are nowhere near the team they once were though, nearly all of their big names have now retired. This scorecard for their match against Essex doesn't suggest they're that good...
On a more serious note if we beat both Sri Lanka and Pakistan then we'll be holding all the Test trophies available to England so surely this ought to put us at the top of the world rankings?
Might even be worth a punt at the bookies of whitewashing them both - weather permitting of course!
On a more serious note if we beat both Sri Lanka and Pakistan then we'll be holding all the Test trophies available to England so surely this ought to put us at the top of the world rankings?
Might even be worth a punt at the bookies of whitewashing them both - weather permitting of course!
Not sure how the points system works, but I heard on the radio that if we beat these two we will get points "back" so that would make sense
Be honest, ever since the world rankings have been introduced have you ever been that bothered about them? Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
Be honest, ever since the world rankings have been introduced have you ever been that bothered about them? Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
It's a real shame and I think we've seen it effect India already.
Be honest, ever since the world rankings have been introduced have you ever been that bothered about them? Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
Agree generally Riv, however, not with NZ - they will always have Test cricket high on their agenda.
On a more serious note if we beat both Sri Lanka and Pakistan then we'll be holding all the Test trophies available to England so surely this ought to put us at the top of the world rankings?
Might even be worth a punt at the bookies of whitewashing them both - weather permitting of course!
Interesting, mght be worthwhile going for whitewash of both, but also winning both series.
Pakistan I think will be harder opponents, they gave England a good test last winter, and Sri Lanka have drawn the short straw in terms of time of year and locations.
"Test matches in May and early June, when it's cold and windy, let's send them to Leeds and Durham, ha ha ha"
Be honest, ever since the world rankings have been introduced have you ever been that bothered about them? Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
When did WI stop caring about tests? Can't fault their t20 skills. But they used to be awesome in tests
Be honest, ever since the world rankings have been introduced have you ever been that bothered about them? Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
When did WI stop caring about tests? Can't fault their t20 skills. But they used to be awesome in tests
Be honest, ever since the world rankings have been introduced have you ever been that bothered about them? Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
When did WI stop caring about tests? Can't fault their t20 skills. But they used to be awesome in tests
As usual...money.
When not why.... why is self evident... though maybe competition for players is involved. Lots of skilled sportsman choosing sports like basketball. Cricket had already long been drawing talent from a limited pool in England.
Comments
A bit of pressure on both Hales and Compton, I imagine every England qualified opener will be fancying their chances of a call up
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/scorecard/ECKO39243
Agree, and playing in England on green tops.
I'm trying to decide who is the best batsman on that list. My favourite is Brian Lara.
It's Lord's.
Lara is my favourite by a mile - I was lucky enough to see him live a few times when I was a kid and my Grandpa took me up to Edgbaston to watch Warwickshire, loved it.
Second best batsmen of my lifetime, after the truly great Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards.
And other shorter names such as Vaas and Dilshan
Might even be worth a punt at the bookies of whitewashing them both - weather permitting of course!
Unfortunately due to T20, Test cricket for the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, NZ and even India will become less and less a priority over the next few years.
"Test matches in May and early June, when it's cold and windy, let's send them to Leeds and Durham, ha ha ha"