Cricket - England v. Sri Lanka

so the first started a few hours ago and England chose to bat first. Strauß passed the 2,000 first class run mark a short while ago and things *sound* like they are tickign along nicely (which means that whilst I am writing this two wickets will have fallen)

80-0 at present

So anyone at home watching this?

Strauss gone for 48.

86-1

Just saw this picture from the morning session, naaaa no way is he a chucker!!

The arm has to be straight at time of delivery so that does not really prove anything. Muri is being watched like a hawk I can promise you. Especially when he bowls the doosra

Afternoon all

Unfortunately betfair.com (and all other betting sites) are blocked at work.

Does anyone know of a site that shows the cricket betting prices (just interested in the match result really) that doesn't get filtered by the usual web filters used?

Failing that, if anyone is feeling particularly friendly, then maybe someone would update this thread with the latest price every now and then?

Ladbrokes?

www.oddschecker.com

Betfair prices...

England 1.5
SriL 17
Draw 3.55

All to back

All cricket is on friggin' Sky, isnt it? I'll have to watch the hightlights on Channel 5 this evening.

I am arc-ing it this evening to catch most of the final session

I shall be home soon and watch it whilst doing a bit of work. Nice

eng 1.48
sri 25
draw 3.4

14 degrees in 'lab conditions.' No batsman at the other end.

You cant convince me that he doesnt exceed 15 degrees (which is IMO Absurd anyway) in the real game.

Boycs agrees with you, so you must be right.
Murali seems to get special dispensation because he's such a nice bloke.

So Wee Mun did you persuade the Arc to show the match last night?

400/4 and a ton for KP. Filling their boots they are.

432-4

Pietersen on 120 and Collignwood on 31.

edit:

456-4

Pietersen on 133 and Collignwood on 42.

I want to go home and watch this!

Listening to Test Match Special on BBC Website, Pietersen has just gone for 158, lbw to Vaas. 5 wickets down for 502. Freddie in now

looks like a typical batting collapse could be on it's way, collingwood now gone, clean bowled. at least we have rackedup a hefty total

Wickets like that often come in pairs. Especially if you are England. But as you say, 505/6 is still pretty handy.

Indeed. I don't think "typical batting collapse" is really the thing to say.

515-6

Post Edit: 551-6 declared

Freddie going for it now with 33 of 29 balls including two sixes. I wonder what kind of declaration he's looking at.

I'm guessing 551

Oh the benefit of hindsight
It seems Freddie logged in to my brainwaves.

SL 0 for 1

21-2.

yay!

4 wickets down now!

Will this go into a fourth day, he asks in an arrogantly English kind of way.
I thought they'd put up more resistance than this. It can't be that bad a batting pitch.
Bring back Jayasuriya.
What do you mean, they are bringing him back?

85 for 6!!! come on england

Not a bad start to your test career, eh!

Follow-on enforced 350-odd ahead. Now they need to beat the English spring weather.

2nd test has commenced.

Sri Lanka batting first and are already 16-3

129-8, but the forecast for the UK is pretty poor over the bank holiday weekend, so we'll need to work fast to get a win out of this one.

They're already working pretty fast.

Doesn't get much quicker than 8 wickets in half the first day

Make that 9 wickets...

It'll need to be that fast - forecast I saw was rain everywhere all the bloody time until Sunday, whereupon it's showers. Hope it's wrong, as them getting off the hook again just wouldn't be, well, it wouldn't be cricket, would it?

play is due to start at 12:20 BST, ie in about 7 minutes.

Hazza or Jason... Will there be someone in your establishment at 5:30? The last session today is now 5:30 - 8:00 CET.

Heheh Pietersen has smacked Murali's first ball of the day for 4!

Reckon Engerland will be looking to rack up quick runs with the weather forecast being so dodgy

Yep - pedal to the metal cricket, get in there score shitloads of runs, get out, then get the Sri Lankans back in ASAP.

155-3

159-3

KP 51 off 54 baws

Wish I was watching this, another 4 for KP 55 off 55 now!!

This situation is made for KP. He can heave a load of boundaries and if he gets out no one is going to whinge.

You say that as if he is a slogger. If he makes a ton today, his average in test cricket is over 50, and 5 of his 13 or so tests have been against the aussies. He is England's best bat just now by quite a distance.

maybe so but i agree with Jeeves that he prefers to bat in this style although he can do the slow plod when required.

He scores runs quickly, but he also plays with a very straight bat. He is very rarely off balance even when smacking the ball into the stands. Not a slogger..

Not what I meant, Wee Mun. I mean that his temperament is such that he prefers to get on with it rather than do too much grinding in public.

fair enough...

It was just the phrase 'heave a load of boundaries' that confused me.

I just know there is no batsman in world cricket just now that I would rather watch in full flow than this lad.

Player out, think it is Hoggard...yup Hoggard is oot

Every batsman worth his salt should be master of the square heave. Probably not the best of descriptions, granted. Pieterson was not named one of Wisden's 5 cricketers of 2005 for nothing.

What impressed me in the first test was that the Sri Lankan bowlers were starting to bowl well outside off stump to stop him working the ball on the onside. He just starts smashing these great square cuts and off drives. He is getting better and better.