A no-Cook recipe: England in Sri Lanka 2018

[Satchmo Distel]

If Pakistan lost a dead rubber in that manner...

[Kevin S]

Ha! Yes, with the headlines today you have to raise an eyebrow at that score.

[The_Purple_Cow]

My England team for the first test, presuming Bairstow is indeed unavailable as appears likely.

Denly
Burns
Ali
Root ©
Pope
Stokes
Buttler (wk)
Woakes
Rashid
Stone
Anderson

[Satchmo Distel]

Bairstow is a big loss as he's been England's best batsman this year and he scores at a fast lick.

[diggedy derek]

Great in ODIs, but Tests?

[Duncan Gardner]

New Zealand (A)- 2 tests, 163 runs @ 41

Pakistan (H)- 2 tests, 48 runs @ 16

India (H)- 5 tests, 230 runs @ 26

Overall- 9 tests, 441 runs @ 28

1 century, 2 halves in 16 innings

[Satchmo Distel]

Fair point, I withdraw.

[diggedy derek]

This Test series is an interesting one to call. You could easily see scenarios for it being 3-0 either way. I'm confident England will find some way to be absolutely rubbish. Prediction: 1-1.

Regarding Bairstow, I'm an enormous fan of his batting. When he went out of the side, he seemed to starting playing straighter and more upright, and became a formidable lower order player (and subsequently had a statistically unprecedented year as a wicketkeeper batsman). He has lost his way badly though, getting bowled far too often, has become confused with his role batting at number 5 (as was), has forgotten how to put an innings together, etc, and I'm not sure he has the skill-set to rebuild his game.

[Kevin S]

So 113/5 at lunch. Is that par?

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

The inclusion of Ben Foakes in the team means I can finally tick off item 87 on my bucket list;- An English Test player who's dad has refereed a play off final defeat for Reading.

[The_Purple_Cow]

Foakes is an interesting selection. He is without doubt a massively better wicket keeper than either Bairstow or Buttler, so is this the selectors saying that wicket keeping is important again? Or am I reading too much in to it? Certainly if he scores runs today it would be difficult to justify leaving him out for the rest of the series, because proper wicket keeping is vital in spinning conditions.

[Kevin S]

Inching towards a 50...

[diggedy derek]

I don't think Moeen Ali is cut out to be a number three, though I don't have a better suggestion to hand.

[Satchmo Distel]

Bye Bye Bairstow (Bay City Rollers earworm)

296-7 off 85. Excellent knock by Foakes and now Rashid is walloping a run a ball

[Kevin S]

Whoops, missed a whole day there. One that went very well, in fact.

England 342 & 38-0 (lead of 177), Sri Lanka 203

Should have them snookered by this time tomorrow, hopefully.

[Etienne]

Well, hopefully a bit later than that. Otherwise we'll have had a pretty dismal second innings batting performance.

[Duncan Gardner]

Poor batting effort from Lanka- surely even England can't blow this even if the Imminent Scotsman returns

[diggedy derek]

Jack Leach describes Foakes as a “gun keeper” in a BBC interview. I wonder if you can be a gun anything in cricket. A gun medium pacer? Gun second slip? Gun bits and pieces player?

[nmrfox]

Gun at David "Dave" Warners temple possibly?

[Satchmo Distel]

Gundappa Viswanath

[Etienne]

Collapse is on, after a steady opening partnership Burns run out and Ali and Root both out for 3.

[Kevin S]

Good sesh for SL with those three but England still 250 ahead with 7 in hand.

[Kevin S]

And that session was England's. Jennings on 98* at tea.

[Kevin S]

Ton up for KJ.

[Kevin S]

Whoops, missed a whole day there. One that went very well, in fact.

England 342 & 38-0 (lead of 177), Sri Lanka 203

Should have them snookered by this time tomorrow, hopefully.

Er, we've gone and declared. Seems early to me, but what would I know. I guess Root fancies something could happen in the last few overs of the day.

SL require 462 to win.