Lord's Tsunami Match: Teams announced

[Pete]

while Brian, 26, named none but asked if Ian Botham was still playing.

Umm..

[Zainub]

That's shocking. Really is shocking.

[Paoli]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Hmmm... Ninjaman reports that a new stadium is being built in Antigua and as several of the other Carribean pitches have already been relaid (as the WI side found to their cost when England toured) my beef with pitches out there is going to subside.

In principle, though, I agree: this match ought to be played ona pitch where 220 (or even 190) would count as a "par" score.. on the understanding that this bunch of superstars ought to be given conditions which seperate the men from the boys.

220, even 190??? May I ask you why you don't like big scores in One-day Cricket? And seeing as it is a charity match, as was the one in Melbourne, gives it even more reason to give a batter friendly pitch. Last time 3 Telecommunications chipped in a lazy $1k for every run scored, and in the end, about $550,000 was raised. I'm sure some English company would chip in 1000 pounds per run provieded they were given a good surface.

And besides, ODI cricket is much more of a spectacle with big hitting and a huge run chase with 300+ scored.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

220, even 190??? May I ask you why you don't like big scores in One-day Cricket?

We're talking two teams of superstars.. with incredible depth int he batting: they should be put on a pitch where most teams would aim at 190-220 and left to see if they really CAN make nearer 300. If they are as superior to ordinary players as is generally suggested then that strikes me as a fair contest.

Who on earth wants to watch stunning batsmen play on a pitch on which second raters like Gayle, Jayasuria, Symonds, Flintoff and Pietersen would all happily fill their boots? I want to see Lara and Tendulkar fiull their boots ona pitch where the ordinary guys would crash and burn!

[Occasional Fan]

Depressing evidence here from the MCC that not all the world's bastards have died out yet.

Report from the MCC.

[Mongoose]

If they could catch them, the culprits should be hung upside down from the Mound Stand by the short and curlies. And 10 runs to any batsman that hit them, 20 for bringing them down. After that they could be sold to a village in Africa to fetch water and maintain a clean supply for the rest of their lives. Then see how they like it.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Rachael

This looks like being a pretty one-sided affair: Gayle's a great 5th bowler for the MCC XI and it's hard to imagine a better line up than Pollock, Kumble, Muralitheran and Akhtar. The INternational XI may boast Warne and Vaas.. but Ntini, Sami and Cairns are surely not going to be able to maintain the pressure (and I wouldn't bet against quite a few extra overs being found from Jayasuria, Sehwag and Smith).

The batting's always going to be a bit of a lottery in this sort of fixture.. with Lara and Sehwag (for instance) capable of pretty much winning a match in a single partnership... but again the MCC side seems stronger: I think the International side will have to play sensationally to even compete.

Quite. They did not play sensationally, and hence did not compete.

[Maranello]

The above post by Rachael is surely one of the more prescient contributions to WAT, ever.