Key events
Right, the players take to the field at a slightly gloomy looking Lord’s. Let’s have some play.
Good morning to you Tom Van Der Gucht
“Morning Jim,
Feeling your pain regarding the early rise: my 4-year-old rises with the lark and it’s my responsibility to get up with him and keep him entertained… You know it’s early when you find yourself watching pre-Milkshake Channel 5 cartoons with bleary eyes and a strong espresso for company.
Watching the highlights on BBC2, I was struck by the discrepancy in height between lordly Crawley and the Ewokian Duckett when batting together. I imagine that’s another reason they’re sticking with Crawley as it might disrupt the bowlers’ lengths having to adjust between the two of them.”
Sending solidarity on your first point Tom, and you are right on the second. Mike Atherton was explaining yesterday (far more articulately than I’m about to) that the ‘little and large’ opening pair of Crawley and Duckett does disrupt bowling lengths. Crawley’s long levers and stride makes a bolwer push their length back a bit and that is meat and drink to Duckett who is deft on the cut and nurdle. Just like a left-right hand combo is annoying too, it makes sense.
A bucket-hatted Broad talks us through the different grips for his outswinger and inswinger. Here was me thinking his “new” outswinger was all part of the phoney/baloney war.
This did make me chuckle:
The England players are talking about their Ashes memories in a Sky VT. It’s making me feel very old… Zak Crawley can’t even remember the 2005 series, 2009 is where it all began for him. Time waits for no man.
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to Day Two of England v Ireland from Lord’s.
Jim here to tentatively take your hand through the first session and a bit – think something slightly more affectionate than Tom and Shiv in the back of the blacked out SUV in the Succession finale. Palms lightly brushing, air thick with unspoken feelings. Like I say, slightly more affectionate than that.
I’ve been up since 5am y’see thanks to a belligerently carpe diem espousing two year old. So, jacked up on three coffees already, let’s kick off with Some Things That We Learnt Yesterday (That We Probably Already Knew)
(STTWLY(TWPAK) for short, obviously)
1. Stuart Broad knows when to turn it on. With his place in a fully fit and firing starting Test XI not secured, Marmite’s freshly yeasted brand ambassador and self anointed Aussie goader-in-chief strapped on his bandana and did his thing – prising out five wickets for 51, racking up his 20th five-wicket haul in Tests and his first at Lord’s for more than a decade.
2. Ireland are undercooked and struggled to get a foothold in the game. Andy Bull’s excellent piece digs into the myriad reasons why. “I don’t know much about red ball cricket,” Lorcan Tucker said before this game began – “I’ve hardly played any in four years.”
3. Zak Crawley is a flighty and flawed opening bat. A skittish innings comprising of plays and misses and spawny inside edges but also majestic strokeplay – eleven boundaries and a strike rate of over 124 put the pressure on Ireland’s bowlers immediately. The debate will rumble.
There are plenty of other things to discuss too but we can get into them as the day unfolds. It’ll be fun. Play gets underway in about 40 minutes time.
Do drop me a line on email or tweet @Jimbo_Cricket
