Cricket summer 2026

[Billyox]

Remember when test matches lasted 5 days

 

[SteMerritt]

Yep, spin twins Edmunds and Emburey bowling in tandom for days, strangling the run rate without looking threatening... Those were the days.

 

[Essexyellows]

Yep, spin twins Edmunds and Emburey bowling in tandom for days, strangling the run rate without looking threatening... Those were the days.

Mental torture........like water boarding without the water.

Fall asleep in the sun for a while and wake up in groundhog day...

 

[Billyox]

Yep, spin twins Edmunds and Emburey bowling in tandom for days, strangling the run rate without looking threatening... Those were the days.

Pray for rain i have day 4 tickets

 

[SteMerritt]

Pray for rain i have day 4 tickets

It's a terrible forecast for tomorrow, I think you could be in luck.

 

[Upthecowboys]

Remember when test matches lasted 5 days

Yep, and teams scored at 2.5 an over!

Though the reason this game isn’t going 5 days is the wicket, it’s a terrible wicket. The ball that got Bethell out was the lowest a ball had bounced in Test Match cricket in the last 20 years! (ie since they’d started to collect the data).

 

[ZeroTheHero]

On my way home. A really enjoyable day at the cricket. You do have to question the quality of the pitch, but it was certainly exciting!

 

[Essexyellows]

Pray for rain i have day 4 tickets

Ermmmmmmm.............

 

[Marked Ox]

On my way home. A really enjoyable bay at the cricket. You do have to question the quality of the pitch, but it was certainly exciting!

The pitch is awful.

 

[Foley]

The pitch is awful.

Er why?
It is costing the ECB £1ms.
Why can't they get the pitch a bit more in favour of the batsmen?

 

[Marked Ox]

Er why?
It is costing the ECB £1ms.
Why can't they get the pitch a bit more in favour of the batsmen?

Basically the square material is worn out and needs replacing completely according to the discussion on Sky at Tea. They've even tried steaming it and it has done nothing so far to help.

A complete replacement is needed and it has been costed at £12m whilst taking 2 years with no games. The suggestion was the ECB have to show some leadership (so not likely) and say they won't get any more Tests to make them act.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Er why?
It is costing the ECB £1ms.
Why can't they get the pitch a bit more in favour of the batsmen?

Having been there today, I would say that although the overhead conditions did have some effect, it was the pitch that caused the batsmen most of the problems. The main thing wrong was the inconsistent bounce. Bethell got an absolute howler - he had no chance. While I agree that the game has got too batsman-friendly, and I thoroughly enjoyed my trip, the pitch certainly needs digging up and starting again - it wasn't actually a fair contest. Entertaining, but not fair.

 

[Essexyellows]

Has to be a fair contest, batters, bowlers and both teams are using the same pitch.

Can`t beat a good old unpredictable pitch rather than a flat carpet that relies on weather.

 

[holdsteady]

Dunno what people are moaning about, no wickets at all yet, pitch must be flat.

 

[Matty Greens Left Boot]

Test cricket really doesnt help itself. Why did they took lunch over the best part of the day? Why oh why. Its almost like they want it to fail and we all play 20:20 wackathon cricket. Arranging a sport around players meal times is just farcical

 

[londonyellow]

Test cricket really doesnt help itself. Why did they took lunch over the best part of the day? Why oh why. Its almost like they want it to fail and we all play 20:20 wackathon cricket. Arranging a sport around players meal times is just farcical

On the face of it, that was a really odd decision. The forecast was pretty clear – couldn't they have just taken an earlier lunch?

 

[tonyw]

Its almost like they want it to fail and we all play 20:20 wackathon cricket.

Call me Mr. cynical.....but I think they all make more money for less effort that way?

 

[Whingit]

Looks like Stokes and probably McCullum are off. There's a bit of a leadership vacuum now with no obvious replacement captain.

 

[McXal]

Unbelievably brain dead conduct. I understand some will say it was after a game etc. But given the context where they’ve just had a winter playing and acting like complete prats, to get themselves into this situation in the first game of the ‘reset’ summer is unforgivable.

Could they really not go for a few drinks at one of their mansions, just for one summer to let the post-Ashes outrage burn out a bit? It’s moronic in the extreme.

Feel for Stokes to an extent as I like him as a captain (and of the Stokes/Baz/Key triumvirate post-Ashes was the one I most wanted to remain in-post). But it does feel untenable here. Key loses all authority if he doesn’t act to at least impose a severe punishment on Stokes. He’s already a bit of a joke figure. If he goes on tv and tries to insist there’s not a drinking culture…then his bloody captain goes out and gets into a (reported/alleged) incident after LITERALLY ONE GAME there’s nowhere he can go.

EDIT - and the most likely guy to replace him is the guy who was drinking and getting chucked out of clubs literally the day of a game just a few months ago. It’s farcical really.

 

[Whingit]

What is a married, 35 year old father of two even doing in a nightclub in the first place? Would be funny if Harry Brook takes over, what with him being the main reason a curfew was imposed in the first place.

 

[tonyw]

Unbelievably brain dead conduct. I understand some will say it was after a game etc. But given the context where they’ve just had a winter playing and acting like complete prats, to get themselves into this situation in the first game of the ‘reset’ summer is unforgivable.

Could they really not go for a few drinks one of their mansions, just for one summer to let the post-Ashes outrage burn out a bit? It’s moronic in the extreme.

Feel for Stokes to an extent as I like him as a captain (and of the Stokes/Baz/Key triumvirate post-Ashes was the one I most wanted to remain in-post). But it does feel untenable here. Key loses all authority if he doesn’t act to at least impose a severe punishment on Stokes. He’s already a bit of a joke figure. If he goes on tv and tries to insist there’s not a drinking culture…then his bloody captain goes out and gets into a (reported/alleged) incident after LITERALLY ONE GAME there’s nowhere he can go.

EDIT - and the most likely guy to replace him is the guy who was drinking and getting chucked out of clubs literally the day of a game just a few months ago. It’s farcical really.

I'm with you - I wanted Key and Baz gone but would've been happy to have Stokes stay for another year or two; partly because he was the one who seemed to be most willing to knuckle down and show some fight when needed, and partly because there's no obvious candidates out there to take over from him.

But I don't know how you come back from this. You literally just put a midnight curfew in place to try and limit the team's drinking culture and you're the one breaking it after the very first game.

To be in a position of authority, and then immediate flout the rules you've just put in place is rank hypocrisy, and yeah agree with you that untenable is the word........

 

[Foley]

Rumours that Stokes could stand down and even retire from cricket.
What a sad way for such a teriffic player to end his career IF that happens.

Presumably Brook as captain and McMillan stays? Stokes not being there leaves a hole as the all rounder

 

[ECYellow]

Stokes’s position is now untenable, without question.

Whether he was the aggressor or not; to put yourself in that position immediately after the first test of the summer ‘reset’ is absurd. It’s moronic and lacks understanding of the wider situation, and feeling around his team.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see McCullum go with him, almost in an act of solidarity.

I’m not sure Stokes the players is particularly indispensable, and hasn’t been for some time now. However, his leadership has been largely good on the field, and the thought of Harry Brook taking over suggests that lessons will fail to be learned, again.

 

[ubermeistervonmeat]

Not as if he doesn't have history for this sort of thing

And barely worth his place on his playing ability now anyway

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Unfortunately, he has to go. He is a pretty stupid bloke - as a captain he has responsibilities. To blatantly break the agreed rules after the FIRST test in which they were in force is mind-numbingly dumb. He has been given chance after chance.

 

[Morris Oxford]

Ben Stokes & Gus Atkinson: England cricket need to take accountability - Jonathan Agnew

BBC Sport chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew says Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson's drinking incident in a London nightclub is "not on" and the team has to be accountability over England's drinking culture.

www.bbc.co.uk

Aggers has his say.

If Stokes goes which now looking more likely I’d keep Brook as vice captain and promote/bring in a new captain. Who that should be I’m not sure, but promoting Brook and making him captain at this stage doesn’t send the right signals in my view. He’s still on probation.

Really like Stokes as a player and a leader, but there does seem to be a streak of self destructing in him which he can’t or doesn’t want to manage. What a sad mess.

 

[WE Yellow]

Ben Stokes & Gus Atkinson: England cricket need to take accountability - Jonathan Agnew

BBC Sport chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew says Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson's drinking incident in a London nightclub is "not on" and the team has to be accountability over England's drinking culture.

www.bbc.co.uk

Aggers has his say.

If Stokes goes which now looking more likely I’d keep Brook as vice captain and promote/bring in a new captain. Who that should be I’m not sure, but promoting Brook and making him captain at this stage doesn’t send the right signals in my view. He’s still on probation.

Really like Stokes as a player and a leader, but there does seem to be a streak of self destructing in him which he can’t or doesn’t want to manage. What a sad mess.

Only way I could possibly accept Brook as captain is if Root takes over as interim for the remainder of the summer and Brook shadows him. Ollie Robinson has been captaining Sussex reasonably well, I think he would be a sensible option.

 

[MJB]

Only way I could possibly accept Brook as captain is if Root takes over as interim for the remainder of the summer and Brook shadows him. Ollie Robinson has been captaining Sussex reasonably well, I think he would be a sensible option.

The problem with Robinson taking on the role would be that we have no idea if his fitness will allow him to play the majority of Tests in a series (albeit that's not too dissimilar to Stokes these days, given his injury record). He came back well in the first NZ Test but it was so short, so we'll find out in the coming months if he can keep his fitness up over a longer period of time. Not a fan personally of bowlers being captains either as they have enough to think about without everything else that comes with being captain.

Similarly, I did wonder if Root might take on the role again as interim. Given how hounded he looked towards his last time as captain, I can't imagine it's a particularly attractive proposition however.

Just glad that Ollie Pope isn't going to take it on as he always felt like an odd choice for Vice-Captain. Nice enough bloke I'm sure, but it didn't feel like he had the temperament to lead the side.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

So Stokes and Atkinson dropped and Root interim captain for the next Test.

 

[tonyw]

I know this will never happen, but (and here's one for the old-timers) I'm not sure that I wouldn't go all Chris Cowdrey on them right now. Bring in someone from the outside to be captain, even if it's just for a short while, and try and shake up the culture.

Logical candidate would have been Haseeb Hameed, who led Notts to the County Championship last year, other than the fact that he's been batting pretty poorly. But then so has his county teammate Duckett so maybe you don't lose anything by switching them out?

Then when Brook has shown sufficient maturity to be ready for the role, you hand him the reins.