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“Wouldn’t it be great,” tweets Gary Naylor, “if Joe Root were to say, ‘It’s a summer like no other. Everyone has worked so hard to get this on, not least Pakistan. I’m declaring now and Azhar has agreed to set a target of 280 from as soon as possible after lunch. Let’s get it on!’”
It would, but elite-level sport isn’t like that, it’s about being a hard-nosed winner. If either side was 2-0 up, then perhaps, but with the series in the balance and Test championship points available, you need to be serious.
With nothing doing this Test, we also find ourselves looking forward to the next one. I’m sure England want to pick at least one of Archer and Wood, but who do they leave out given no one will be tired after five days doing not very much and the series on the line?
I suppose we have to talk about the rain and bad light situation. It wouldn’t have made any difference in this Test, but it is fair to start at 10.30 if time’s been lost out of the game; I don’t see much reason to oppose that. The light, though, is different because we need to be sure that the players are safe. It’s fine for Jimmy Anderson to talk about needing “leeway” – he knows a bit about cricket – but ultimately, we have a law specifically so that there is no “leeway”. “Leeway” is what will get people hurt.
Let’s look on the bright side: I cannot wait till England go to Pakistan. Mainly because it’ll be fun watching the struggle to pick a pace attack when you need at least two spinners, but the prospect of reverse-swing is also tantalising.
On the spinning point, I wonder if Root and Smith think Bess has the highest potential of the various options, though Leach was decent in Sri Lanka. Bess was pretty good in the first West Indies Test, and also offers the batting and fielding that Leach does not. If it’s close, which it is, then I can see why that might be the determining factor, even if someone better than both would be better.
Er, oh. I guess no chance of starting on time, and a good chance of no play this morning.
The scene on the final morning at the Ageas Bowl. Not raining but there were big storms overnight and another dump this morning. pic.twitter.com/GuA05xVsNe
Sometimes, the preambles just write themselves ... and this time isn’t one of them. There’s so much to like about both these teams – even the cricket we’ve seen in this Test has been great – but unfortunately, it’s going nowhere.
A few years ago – OK, a lot of years ago – they played three-day games in the Britannic Assurance County Championship, which meant a lot of forfeited innings in pursuit of a result. But with England about to go dormie one, I can’t see Joe Root agreeing to that, however much we’d all enjoy watching Rory Burns and Dom Sibley commandeer a chase.
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