Middlesex at the Oval

Not much life in the pitch at the moment,much harder to bowl them out with so little movement.

It helps though when the umpire puts the finger up for a catch when the batsman is nowhere near it. Poor Stoneman - that decision was worse than the one he was on the end of for us at Scarborough a few years back.

Now it seems we have to check for a No ball every time a wicket falls just because Sky is there. Since when is that part of the rules???

We should still be favourites to win rather than draw, but at the very least there will be a good chunk of play tomorrow.

Does anyone know if Malan will be fit to bat? That could be crucial...

Pity no one really knows what constitutes "bad light". The answer is easy: if the floods are on you play whether it's a red, white, yellow or purple ball. The rule is ludicrous as it stands.

dougieginn wrote:Now it seems we have to check for a No ball every time a wicket falls just because Sky is there. Since when is that part of the rules???

Don't know but I don't agree there should be any referrals just because it's on TV. It's unfair.

Freezing today.Will they ever get the forecast right?

Jackers wrote:It helps though when the umpire puts the finger up for a catch when the batsman is nowhere near it. Poor Stoneman - that decision was worse than the one he was on the end of for us at Scarborough a few years back.

Was Stoneman out? My Middlesex-supporting friend and I at the ground were doubtful - though no replays were shown. There was a decent shout but Stoneman seemed unhappy and presumably didn't think he'd got a touch as he appealed.

Excellent start this morning

Would it kill Dominic Cork to praise Surrey occasionally rather than every wicket being bad batting?

Ironic Butch and Athers are talking about Eurovision when I was literally there yesterday.

Very disappointing to hear Butcher blame our poor result on Brexit. We did come 2nd last year, Butch…

Hard to drop Clark after this performance !

Having correctly anticipated that only the wretched weather would give us any cricket on a sunny day 4, I didn't go today. I looked out of the window at 8am and saw no discernable difference to yesterday's skies. Having frozen for three days, I didn't trust the forecast. Ah, well.  

Well done to those of you who were more trusting and saw us home in the sunshine. Without being unkind to Middlesex, I don't think that our bowling unit were firing on all cylinders throughout this match, but they really didn't need to be. Middlesex's batting from 3 down is as poor as I had assumed it would be, though their bowling unit is to be respected and I was especially impressed with Bamber.

I watched (on Sky) Ryan Patel's sumptuous little innnings at the end. While there were some nice strokes in there, I'm not so sure he has done enough to keep his place against Kent. He was under little pressure given the small target, and with Pope back I just don't think there is a vacancy for him in the batting line-up right now. If any of the all-rounders or bowlers need a rest, then Lawes should come back. Ryan should and will get more championship opportunities when we lose players later in the season, but despite today's pleasing cameo I think he needs a blow.

ps luckily I didn't hear Butch's "expert views" on Eurovision/Brexit. Given that he was one of the biggest enthusiasts for franchise cricket in England when it was still a glint in Graves and Harrison's eye, I'm not inclined to pay much heed to what he has to say about the cause and effect of anything.

A fantastic win. Unlike 2019 where we failed to start well, this collective effort to get 3 from our first 5 with 4 of those being top opposition has been exemplorary, and so far haven't really shown too many signs of complacency. I'm now at the point where anything but a win against a poor Kent side will be very disappointing

Think the weather forecasters got their days mixed up between Sat/Sun; annoying I couldn't be there today...

Jackers wrote:Having correctly anticipated that only the wretched weather would give us any cricket on a sunny day 4, I didn't go today. I looked out of the window at 8am and saw no discernable difference to yesterday's skies. Having frozen for three days, I didn't trust the forecast. Ah, well.  

.

SNAP.......................

Well nicest day of the season so far. Sorry some of you missed out. I get the most accurate forecast from my old barometer.  Really weather sites are best left to the morning of the match.  Anything
over 2 days is at best a guestimate.
And another excellent performance. But Middle are poor. And even their bowling in this match was well......poor.

dougieginn wrote:Hard to drop Clark after this performance !

Always best to wait for the current game to end before picking the eleven for the next one.

Back in the early 1970s Australia used to choose and announce their side for the following Test midway through the one they were playing. John Benaud (brother of the great Richie) learned he had been dropped when he heard it announced over the tannoy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground whilst he was playing for his country against Pakistan. Incensed he made the top score of 142 in the second innings to leave the selectors with much egg on their face and very soon after ditching their approach of early selection.

Great win and first since 2012 in CC against that lot ! Bring on Kent.

RB wrote:Ironic Butch and Athers are talking about Eurovision when I was literally there yesterday.

Very disappointing to hear Butcher blame our poor result on Brexit. We did come 2nd last year, Butch…

Does Butch blame brexit for the failure of his own dismissal songs ever to sell more than a dozen copies!!! Goodness me they really are shockers!

I managed a first day's cricket of the season for day 3. Really enjoyed Jamie Smith's batting, such a shame he was out stumped just short of a ton playing a rather reckless shot. Sean Abbott batted well too, and I always enjoy one of Dan Worrall's "village blacksmith" cameos to round off the innings.

Shame about the weather, it was freezing and wearing shorts was a mistake. I forgot to pick up my cap before leaving home and was expecting to have to buy another one from the club shop, but the sun never broke through the thick grey clouds and with a chilly wind blowing I was more tempted to buy a woolly hat instead. I stuck it out until around 5.30pm and heard the cheer for the fall of the first second innings Middlesex wicket as I was walking out behind the Peter May Stand.

Hopefully we'll have warmer, sunnier weather for next weekend. I can't recall such a prolonged lack of anything resembling decent cricket weather during April/May for a long time. You normally get a couple of nice weeks interspersed with those like last week, even during the first 6 weeks of the season.

guildfordbat wrote:

dougieginn wrote:Hard to drop Clark after this performance !

Always best to wait for the current game to end before picking the eleven for the next one.

Back in the early 1970s Australia used to choose and announce their side for the following Test midway through the one they were playing. John Benaud (brother of the great Richie) learned he had been dropped when he heard it announced over the tannoy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground whilst he was playing for his country against Pakistan. Incensed he made the top score of 142 in the second innings to leave the selectors with much egg on their face and very soon after ditching their approach of early selection.

Was this an ‘accidental Adelaide’ style post GB?

Why don't the commentators/pundits wait till all current games are completed before announcing who is "top" ?

RP looked in good nick in the second dig was a nice time to Bat put put the bad ball away well.Foulkes dropped from the England Squad that’s a raw deal good for Surrey though.

Jhe10077 wrote:RP looked in good nick in the second dig was a nice time to Bat put put the bad ball away well.Foulkes dropped from the England Squad that’s a raw deal good for Surrey though.

Scandalous.In fact fxxxing disgraceful.

Foakes is a better bat than either Crawley or Lawrence, nevermind his wicket-keeping!