England vs India
I’m guessing the pessimists (of which I’ve just become one, having seen how Jadeja is exploiting the rough and the muddle leading to Malan’s run out) are hoping that the departure of the penultimate left hander (discounting Anderson!) will at least give us a sporting chance of a draw, a win now being out of the question.
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Should have said “will at least leave us with a sporting chance of a draw”.
Well, it wasn’t to be (he said philosophically). Not sure why they haven’t delayed tea. India should mop up the last two within half an hour and that would have enabled spectators to avoid the worst of the rush hour.
Well, I’m sat here in the old Peter May stand and India have bowled very well.
England have contributed to their own downfall but Bumrah spell from the Vauxhall Road end was brilliant to see live!
The better side won. In Michael Vaughan’s book, the better captained side won. Bit harsh perhaps.
Agreed, cannot stand Michael Vaughan. As exceptional as he was as a Captain, he is a click bait pundit and truly atrocious.
I wish he was removed permanently from the media.
Changes his mind about the same topic continuously dependent on which way the wind is blowing.
@Commoner I agree, sadly. He was such a great captain, he should be brilliant as a pundit, but is completely transparent in stretching a point to get attention and grab a headline. Is he trying even harder now, to fill the Boycott Exaggeration Void?
Give me the more measured, but really insightful, Vic Marks or Mike Selvey any day. Emily R-B is growing on me. And I even miss Graeme Swann, who in spite of his court jester style, also used to make really knowledgeable points about aspects of the game - both technical and psychological. Has he been consigned to some pay-per-view channel I never see?
*Ebony R-B and Isa Guha are both excellent and bring a lot to the party. Vaughan is almost intolerable. I struggled a bit with Alastair Cook when he started out, but he is slowly getting better. He just isn't a natural speaker yet.
Possible pro-Kent bias but I thought Ed Smith was good, before he was called away to a more serious role.
I've grown up with such a rich and vibrant commentary team on TMS. Lucky enough to get the last few years of Jonners, the 2nd half of Blowers career, Aggers and CMJ.
If you then add to those greats the likes of Vic Marks and lately Phil Tufnell it makes the cricket so special to listen to.
The best teams are generally a mix of good ex-players and enthusiasts who perhaps never played the game. The modern TV move to all ex-players is disappointing, however, the cricketers are certainly better than the footballers! The radio needs to keep the enthusiasts going.
I decided to buy my son a radio (ridiculously expensive at £15) on Monday so he could tune in and listen to TMS whilst we watched the play live. He didn't turn it off the whole day. It really added to his enjoyment of the day, he is only 13 and it gave me hope yet that our youngsters still enjoy TMS.
I confess I turned the noise down a little when Vaughan was on but he was partnered with the excellent Isa Guha so it was a catch 22.
For me the greatest commentators at the cricket are those who discuss anything that comes to mind but always remember to let the listener know what happens each ball no matter what. It maybe just one or two words "Root lets that one go through to Pant" and then back to the main subject in hand! The cricket is just a sub plot to a few friends chewing the cud.
On Monday, there was a period of play where they discussed the old gasworks and all the building work going on around it. The fact all these high rises were going up and new offices but that 4 terraced houses were still standing surrounded by these works. They chatted about the owners refusing to sell perhaps or why they were still standing.
We had a little walk past them after the days play not knowing the real reasons...
I do hope TMS can hold onto this old school approach to commentary, the world and our future generations will be poorer for it if it falls into Room 101.
TMS always reminds me of the Gasroom
I think there's an element of that TMS feel to Bluntphil's 3CR commentaries - running jokes, sometimes oddball asides etc, that never impose on the commentary but do make it feel a bit more like you're watching or listening with friends.
Well, that was a real treat, dipping in to the Gasroom a few minutes ago and seeing such wonderful appreciation of TMS and some of the the best known contributors.
Every time Isa Guha is on, I bore mrs micra by mentioning for the umpteenth time that she is one of ours, a Wycombe girl (and a delightful relatively recent addition to the TMS team, to boot).
Whatever people who genuinely “don’t like cricket” (10cc) may think of ‘Tuffers’, he is absolutely in his element on TMS and is, in a strange way, a latter day successor to ‘Blowers’. I ‘met’ both of them on separate occasions in my Swan/Town Hall ushering days. Blowers was doing one of those “evening with” shows at the Town Hall when a gentleman in the front row was taken ill. “My dear old thing” was the inevitable reaction from Blowers and he broke off from his talk for a few minutes while first aiders and paramedics attended to the stricken gentleman.
I had the briefest of exchanges with Tuffers at the Swan Theatre as he and Jonathan Agnew were passing through the Circle foyer but I felt honoured just to get a “hello, you alright mate” from the Middlesex spinner.
Love the fact that @Commoner’s 13 year old son clearly took to TMS. There were loads of youngsters there. Let’s hope plenty of them get the bug for the finest format of the game. Incidentally, what commentary are people listening to with those orange earpieces?
I could listen to TMS all day long, and on a few occasions have
Unfortunately can't agree on Isa Guha being any good despite her Wycombe connection, she loves to state the cricketing obvious as if it's insight- I guess that's why she's pretty much universally not rated amongst my cricket playing friends, but liked by the more casual cricket listeners/ watchers in our group, much prefer Ebony of the two regular female commentators.
Vaughan is as described by everyone above which is a shame
I'm loving Dinesh Karthik this summer, great mix of character and insight
Definite pro-Kent bias (as you know, and isn’t that hardy perennial of an all-rounder doing incredibly well in his (?mid) forties) .
What do people think of Rob Key as a commentator/summariser? I remember him being compared with ‘Fletch’, Ronnie Barker’s character in Porridge but I could never see it myself.
Nothing surprises me any more when it comes to Darren Stevens.
My favourite is Bumble, even if the cricket is boring he is so entertaining. Ebony is brilliant and Rob Key has grown on me.
The aforementioned radio that can be purchased at the ground. It’s normally got TMS or Skysports on. There are 4 channels or wavelengths to tune into for the two channels.
Always TMS though. Really heightens the live experience and importantly it works in the toilets at The Oval so you don’t miss a ball!
John Arlott for me, loved listening to him as a youngster. How good were India and the bottom line is how many England players would be good enough for the Indian test team…2 maybe three at the most.
I wonder if there are people in Hampshire (or even further afield!) still talking with that wonderful Hampshire burr. Arlott’s version, his wine-relaxed voice, poetic vocabulary and delivery were a constant delight in those unfailingly (?!) sun-drenched days. Aaaah, nostalgia!
@Commoner - thanks for the explanation about the orange ? earpieces.
PS Jack Leach and Jos Butler back in contention for the final showdown, starting on Friday. Will Jimmy Anderson still have the energy to bowl another 50 overs in front of (if not from) the James Anderson End? Would Ben Stokes have pulled off enough spectacular catches in the fourth Test (plus a few runs) to have made the difference?
All up for grabs - pun definitely intended.
In England 5/6, although with Stokes, Broad and Archer out it makes it closer to your number imo.
A fully fit Root, Stokes and Woakes would be in any world xi in England, arguably Anderson too.
Only really 1 top opener between the sides in our conditions (Rohit- who himself had questions before this tour), and no reliable wicket keeper/bat between both sides. Would be lots of competition for the seam/ pace slots in a combined xi
In India, probably just Root and Stokes would be definites, with one or two of our bowling options depending on the pitch and Ben Foakes behind the stumps if it's a bunsen
Foakes should be keeper anyway, whatever ! Buttler and Bairstow aren't exactly scoring loads, and Foakes is a perfectly good batsman, and a considerably better keeper than both.
Thinking about it, Pant would definitely be in a combined best India/ England xi in Indian conditions, his home batting record is pretty exceptional.