Oink

I think it's time to put all this iced hockey nonsense behind us and start discussing a way more important and civilized sport.

After a couple of weeks of county Twenty20 that Sky and thus Cricketplus are televising one game a day, its back to the test series.

There's about an hours play after lots of rain. Seems that England are moving the ball around and have Sri Lanka in trouble for 54-4 so far.

Oink

Sri Lanka 81 for four at stumps. Thought the England bowlers bowled pretty lax in the latter part of the spell and really let them off the hook. We'll get at them in the morning when hopefully the weather is a little more cooperative.

Novocastrian

SL really don't have much of a tail right now, so I think you're right with all out before lunch tomorrow.

I'm really looking forward to listening to TMS on BBC4 on my trusty old radio all summer.

B91212

SL continue to be in trouble at 177-9, although yet again it's raining. Tremlett doing the main damage, although Swann got a wicket in his first over for a change

Not overly bothered about the Twenty20. Went to a few games at Trent Bridge but I seem to have lost interest in it, although I do still enjoy the 50 over games. I am thinking of getting cricket plus again for the test series with India, it's just a shame the time difference means I will mainly be in bed or at work. Perhaps they could play the series over in Australia, the time difference there was ideal for getting in from work and watching 6 hours of uninterrupted test match cricket

Here at work they have stopped us listening to the radio over the internet due to it slowing it down or something, which is just plain wrong and I feel could be an infringement of my human rights (doesn't every Englishman have the right to listen to TMS at all times?) . Yet they can and do continue to discuss some stupid game and the following childish temper tantrum in Vancouver with every breath they take, oblivious to the lost productivity this causes. Not to mention the endless watching of youtube clips relating to the above game and subsequent throwing of toys out of pram.

JamesM

Yes I'm really looking forward to the series with India.

I quite enjoy watching the dodgey streams whilst sinking a few Amsterdam Blondes.

B91212

Couldn't sinking into a few Amsterdam Blondes cause you to have a dodgy stream?

JamesM

It depends what you mix it up with.

Oink

Thought England played okay, Tremlett was very good,, Anderson meh and Broad looked bad. We should have got them all out for 40 runs less than 177. Shame the rain came in.

As for Twenty20, I didn't like it at first, too much razzle dazzle and not enough substance but now with spin becoming a real tactic/threat the complexity of the play has increased and I'm starting to enjoy it. I do wish they'd stop playing stupid songs after every hit or out.

Get youself a DVR/PVR tape the cricket and then you can have a nice evening with a Indian take-away with Bumble, Beefy and Nasser.

B91212

I've got a PVR and did think about taping it like you say, although I did find the cricket plus production to be less than A1. During the first couple of Ashes tests they kept taking too long with the adverts in between overs and so I kept missing the first ball of the next over. They did finally fix it in time for the third test but kept getting the program times wrong on the guide. I would record what it said would be live one day cricket only to find I had missed the first hours play as the guide was wrong, or I would try and record highlights and get a completely different program. Still, I have no patience for finding live streams so for $16 I will probably sign up for the Indian series. Watching the highlights with a good curry and the Sky team does sound good.

I'm prepared to give Twenty20 another look based on your comments, as there are few things better in sport than watching top quality spin bowling. I can remember a quote from a former British Prime Ministers Autobiography (I think it was Sir Alec Douglas-Home although it may have been Attlee) who said something along the lines of "I once had an uncle who couldn't even walk through Westminster Abbey without studying the floor and wondering if it would take spin or not"

Oink

Firstly, That's brilliant, I had never heard that before, although it seems likely as Capt. Attlee was a keen cricket supporter. I had a similar issue with HID who's Canadian, has no interest in cricket and is constantly getting embarrassed as I sort of do the same wherever we go. One evening I had the misfortune of having to have my tea at Boston Pizza but I was far more interested to see how the carpet, which had a lovely sheen on the surface, would turn. The last straw for HID was when I nipped back out to the car to retrieve a golf ball to use to test out my theory.

Secondly, I totally agree with the Cricket plus coverage in the winter. I lasted two tests with both the poor production and Ian Healy constantly prattling on about how they had the Pommies on the run, even though they were 52-7 or something.

Thirdly, what I do now, is record when I know what time the cricket is starting no matter what the programme guide says. Plus add an hour on afterwards. That way, you can skip through the annoying commercials. It's sad they didn't just take the full Sky broadcast like last summer, where they showed the studio commentary and even the lunchtime specials.

Oink

It would appear that it is more likely to have been Douglas-Home as more research has found out he was the only PM to have play first class cricket although it also suggests he was medium-fast bowler.

JonboyE

God, that sounds awful. Its almost like hockey.

I can't recall ever seeing a twenty twenty game. Mind you, I was never a great fan of one day cricket either. I think that time is an intrinsic part of the game, and a draw a perfectly acceptable result.

Even a club cricket level, though our games were all concluded within one day, we nearly always played to time - with the proviso that there must be 20 overs in the final hour. This always left the captain of the team battling first with the decision of when to declare. It makes for a much more interesting game than who can slog the most runs off a set number of balls.

Oink

I wholeheartedly agree. Twenty20 is a spectacle whereas as the longer form of the game is a proper sporting contest. That said, as long as it remains a side show it's still watchable in a relaxed way. A nice plate of sandwiches and twenty20 match is still pleasant way of killing a few hours.

lmartin999

As someone with a Canadian OH, I should point out that you should not give up hope, they can be educated. I found that showing her pictures of Stuart Broad was very helpful - she once had him as her desktop which gave me a strange sense of pride. I also took her to Lords for a decent one day match, worked wonders. Don't give up!

Actually if Canada stopped spending all its money on hockey and invested in cricket it could probably be quite good. It would have a sport that connected to the diverse nature of multicultural Canada (rather than just white yobs), it would be involved in a proper international sport, and it would save money on not having riots. Can't the Queen make this happen?

JonboyE

What could be better?