The Cricket thread

[OgraAnDun]

Weather forecast for Napier (where WI play the UAE) is rain virtually all this week and the start of the next, including Sunday, so hopefully the forecasters have got it right.

[JoG2]

Apparently they did, but sure facts and morgan are uneasy bedfellows.

maybe they did. I just google'd the stuff above as you'd be pretty sure Morgan wasn't the only non English man on the team. Much like the England and South Sea Islanders rugby select

[deiseach]

In fairness, Strauss and Hussain are English. Just because you are born in a stable etc. Pietersen and Allan Lamb...not so much. Curious how Lamb's switch was never greeted with the vitriol that followed Zola Budd. As for Piers Moron (© Private Eye), I've seen him say that the English captain should be required to sing the anthem. Can you imagine putting that in a contract?

[lfdown2]

Same fella; http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2015/0307/685330-piers-morgan-tells-lls-im-irish/

[magpie seanie]

Delighted England are gone. There needs to be a serious cleanout of the clowns running cricket over there. This new man Graves looks to be the guy to do it. Downton, Moores, Flower should all go. Pietersen should be playing. Sometimes you have to manage special talents not isolate them. If KP played England would have got through. Cook and Morgan are outstanding batsmen whose form went to shit when made captain. It seems obvious to me that both guys are not captain material and would be better served focusing on their batting.

England are well behind the top 3/4 but have way too much talent to be getting eliminated at this stage and in the easier group at that.

As for Eoin Morgan - the rules are daft. Of someone from a non test playing nation wants to play test cricket they should be allowed to. Each test nation could nominate or claim players from non test nations but let them play ODI's and T20 for their home nation. The anthem crap is typical English xenophobia and no surprises who the internet champion of it is. We're better than them at cricket and rugby and long may it last!

[passedit]

Morgan's had the right hump with everyone in english cricket since his best bud KP got the flick. He'll be jumping in with both feet all day today.

Piers Morgan @piersmorgan  ·  27m 27 minutes ago

Just heard Downton-Shabby on @SkyCricket. Beyond parody. As long as he's in charge, we'll be the laughing stock of world cricket.

Piers Morgan @piersmorgan  ·  28m 28 minutes ago

'I think Eoin Morgan's done a really good job' - Downton-Shabby's actual words just now. I can't even laugh at him any more.

Piers Morgan @piersmorgan  ·  15m 15 minutes ago

Looks like @SkyCricket experts have been ordered to say Moores should stay. Does ECB have that tight a financial hold on them? Embarrassing.

Also heard the Sky boys saying that Ireland qualifying would just rub salt in the wounds???

[Main Street]

Ireland asking questions of India
89-1   15 overs.  Stirling first batsman to go.

[Eamonnca1]

Ireland 259/10 (49) India 144/0 (19.5)

Danger here?

[AZOffaly]

This will be over before 35 overs I'd say. The Irish bowlers can't ruffle them at all. The opening Partnership went for 170 or something like that!

[Main Street]

Joyce and Kevin O'Brien went out very tamely, without a whimper and with them went any chance of getting a decent run total. Instead of being able build upon the early strong platform, Ireland were just hanging on in the last 10 overs.
Probably another 50 or 60 runs wouldn't have made much difference in the end to Ireland.

The last match v Pakistan was always the game where something magnificent can be achieved.

[magpie seanie]

Still the highest score of the tournament against India. Our bowlers were never going to get close to keeping it tight.

Looking like a high chance of rain for the WI game at the weekend. Wouldn't it be ironic if rain got us through! Still - I think we have a good chance of beating Pakistan.

[deiseach]

Goodness, just how bad are England? They could play Ireland a thousand times in the World Cup and come nowhere close to dishing out that kind of hiding.

[screenexile]

This has to be read to be believed. . . I'm actually gobsmacked that a journalist could write a piece like this:

http://www.herald.co.zw/alcoholic-dumps-zim-out-of-wc/

[Main Street]

Gobsmacked?  sure for example  Mickey Harte does that type of thing regularly.
Paranoia is a reality,

[deiseach]

Gobsmacked?  sure for example  Mickey Harte does that type of thing regularly.
Paranoia is a reality,

The comments in that article are reassuring.