Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Stumps at Edgbaston, thankfully.

Hampshire spinner Mason Crane:

"I'm backing the boys to dig in. We have put ourselves into this position and we have got to get ourselves out of it.

"It would have been nice to bat a bit better in the first innings and be chasing a few less but it hasn't happened and we have just got to forget it.

"We need another 240-odd and have just got to focus on that. It is interesting how six months of cricket comes down to one day but this happened last year and we didn't get over the line.

"Hopefully the batters are feeling determined and can do it for us and we can come back and score the runs and go home knowing we are still in Division One."


We'll see !

Early signs are a delayed start. Warks have again got the heat lamps out.

Inspection at 10:45.

Need someone to snip the leads on those heat lamps.

11.30 start. So presumably we're down to 80 overs for the day. The last eight of which will be with the new ball, if we're still out there then.

That's just enough overs lost to bring the draw back into play. A required rate of three an over is nothing huge, of course. But equally, if we're looking to block our way through the day, then it might not be reached.

With our batting right now though, 80 overs is still enough to bowl us out twice let alone once.

I don't think we're capable of blocking.

Go out with a 50 overs match attitude and they might do it.

budgetmeansbudget wrote:I don't think we're capable of blocking.

Go out with a 50 overs match attitude and they might do it.

But then again, we've showed that in limited overs cricket this season that with no Rilee in the side, only Vince can score any runs! The odd innings from Bailey. So no difference to four day cricket then!

Just seen the problem wet area. That is a shed load of sawdust having to be used. Which is saying something, considering how much we used after Abbott went over at the start of the match.

One down, 79 to go.

First piece of luck of the day. Ervine playing a very loose stroke, but fortunately not getting the edge.

More and more sawdust goes down almost after every ball.

Just looked back to the end of that first match of the season v Yorks. Heady days !

If we stay, we owe Chris Wright a pint. He has bowled awfully this morning. And the new ball now isn't as new anymore.

Nervy or what!