MrDuck

14 hours ago, Chindie said:

Finally watched Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Fun, but feels underwritten and very, very thin in places. Not as good as the first, equally not bad really at all. Just a bit nothing-y. It feels like a load of action sequences that then got arranged into a basic plot framework and the details filled in around it. With that said it is absolutely fun, but could have better.

Good end credit sequence mind.

I loved it. Full of excellent gags, and the Morrissey jokes were superb! I like that the Ant Man movies are a little less epic than the others, and they are as you say absolutely fun.

Brilliant twist at the end to link it in with the Infinity Wars ending.

On 01/12/2018 at 08:46, mikeyp102 said:

Bairstow hit 84 off 24 in the T10. Crazy batting 

And Hales beats the record in the next game with 87 off 32!

17 hours ago, Rodders said:

3 years seems pretty short to me, but given the make up of our team over the past 15 years or so, I guess it's not knew. Hope he isn't immediately crow-barred into an England side though and still just gets picked on form. 

Our ODI side is very strong, but I'd certainly have him in the squad as an option for the world cup - form allowing. Better option than Wood.

21 minutes ago, blandy said:

Arguably, though didn’t he grow up in the windies and only move here to earn money playing. I’ve no problem with that, btw, but it’s not good for windies cricket and the game generally, perhaps. I get for the player coming here is more lucrative, but changing the rules to strengthen England still seems cynical to me. Brilliant player though.

Yes, it's easy to see it as a cynical move, but it's worth noting that the 7 year rule is an ECB rule. Changing it to 3 years brings ECB regulations in to line with the ICC regulations on this matter. He's been pretty vocal from the word go about wanting to play for England, although whether that motivation is purely financial I guess only he knows. I seem to recall an interview where he said his reasoning was two-fold... he wanted the chance to play a the highest level he could, so he came to England, and the Windies snubbed him a few years back so he decided he'd try and play for England instead.

Seen a lot of him over here during the Big Bash, very likeable guy. And I've never seen a better last over bowler in T20! The thought of us having a top class genuinely fast bowler available is pretty mouthwatering

1 hour ago, blandy said:

I think the annoying thing is that essentially the rules are being changed to get him in because he’s quite good.  It looks cynical to me. 

Perhaps, although the rules seemed a bit silly... if you're father is British and your mother is West Indian, then I would think the logical thing is to let the player choose.

Oh this is very good news!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/46382499

Quote

Some overseas cricketers will be eligible to play for England after living in the country for three years under new rules coming in on 1 January.

The updated England and Wales Cricket Board rules mean, for example, that Sussex all-rounder Jofra Archer will be eligible to play for England next year.

Archer was born in Barbados but has an English father and a British passport.

Under the previous rules he would not have been eligible until the winter of 2022 after a seven-year residency.

That, since 2012, had been the period required for players who arrived in England after their 18th birthday.

However, 23-year-old Archer, who was signed for £800,000 in the Indian Premier League auction last January, could now be included in England's World Cup squad next summer.

 

I've only seen him play T20, but he's a phenomenal T20 bowler... genuinely quick, most exciting young English player I've seen in a long time. His county record looks pretty good too... would love to see him in the squad for the Ashes and the World Cup.

Right delete this thread now please!

9 hours ago, Rodders said:

We won't play 3 spinners, though apparently there will be a bit of spin - it depends on what the Windies think they're strengths are.

Anderson and Broad both start I guess - with Rashid or Leach benched. If we go one spinner then Curran or Woakes comes in for the other one, I think.

It's going to be tough though, as Woakes, like Bairstow and Broad has done nothing wrong aside from be injured.

Burns, Jennings, Bairstow, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Foakes, Mo, Curran, Anderson, Broad.

That's the team that's based on current form and holding the shirt, is likely to start in a one spinner match isn't it? Woakes could start instead of Curran for more bowling strength, as I think Curran is fine only in short bursts with the new ball ( at the moment, he'll improve ). So personally I'd have Woakes at 9, but I think they really like Sam ( can't blame them!) and even though Woakes can be  just as good with the bat,  if I'm trying to anticipate their thinking that's how I see it. 2 months to go though, plenty of time for injuries to bugger it up. For me that top 7 looks in pretty good order - with caveats on Burns and Jennings improving.

It's interesting as both Curran and Woakes will be crucial in home conditions for the Ashes so the latter definitely needs some matches beforehand.

I think for the first time in a long time we have depth in a few key positions and can afford to select on a horses-for-courses basis.

Mo is probably our most consistent spinner, but Leach is a great option and Rashid has taken more international wickets this year than anyone else.

Likewise you could pick Woakes, Sam Curran or Tom Curran without weakening the team in any obvious way.

Foakes is the best keeper... but we can squeeze in an extra bowler if Bairstow or Buttler keep, and they're both decent keepers.

Nice problems to have, and I think a lot of these players now know they have to be at their best consistently or they'll be benched. Just a shame we don't have the same quality of options at the top of the order.

Predictably he's spent most of the best years of his career on the bench.

Really good series in Sri Lanka, and England have showed signs of real progress. Hopefully another good series in the West Indies will lead us in to the next Ashes full of confidence.

Bruce stopped the rot initially, I don't think anyone can sensibly argue with that.

Unfortunately he then failed to kick on, and ultimately left us in the shit. So I'm fairly ambivalent about his tenure.

I want to see Bruce or Henry get the job just to watch Zatman explode.

On 20/11/2018 at 00:53, Rodders said:

A year was astonishingly long given the ICC rules were much less ( obviously the ICC rules were too lenient, but a middle ground would have been fine ) 

 

The bans were not just for cheating per se, but for "bringing the game into disrepute" - the length was calculated to represent the damage they did to the image of the game here. While Australia is pretty ambivalent about things like racism and domestic violence, they get very angry about people cheating at cricket.

The appeals from the players union to cut the bans came in light of the review of Cricket Australia, which concluded that the whole organisation was promoting a win-at-all-costs mentality across the board. The union thus decided that the three players should have bans reduced as it wasn't their fault... as if Cricket Australia execs had been in the dressing room holding a gun to Warner's head to make him cheat. Thankfully the appeal was dismissed out of hand, and the cheating Representatives for Wellingborough must continue to lie in the beds that they themselves willingly made.

All the PL clubs seem to be able to find the money to give Scudamore his gift - yet only 4 PL clubs (Everton, Liverpool, Chelsea, West Ham) pay all their stadium staff a Living Wage. <sigh>

4 hours ago, Zatman said:

Like Bruce, Pulis etc. Martin O'Neill is the most stone age of them all

Was he really all that though in his peak or a media myth. Dour football, no ambition and this was 10 years ago

Only manager that ever made Gabby look like a footballer, no mean feat.

The 'Behind Closed Doors' podcast from Gary Lineker and Danny Baker is well worth a listen

1 hour ago, Rodders said:

Yes, I'm not hooked yet, the characterisation seems really twee to put it kindly. I'm only 3 or 4 chapters in, but I'm sticking with it at the moment due to historical interest in the period, but it won't last long at the current rate.

I haven't read that one, but Sansom's Shardlake series is excellent.

There are now more documentaries about Hitler than there are grains of sand on all the world's beaches.

Good win, good test match!

Harry Kewell sacked last week by Notts County. How long before he's managing in the A-League?

Sam Curran for the number 3 slot then

Ah football, the people's game.

Joe's announced his retirement. To be honest I thought he'd already retired, didn't realise he was in the MLS.

Always liked him, but never felt he realised his full potential, despite winning a bunch of trophies for Chelsea. Saw him a few times absolutely running the show for West Ham in central midfield as a youngster, but he never really played that role at Chelsea or for England... always seemed to be pushed out wide where he was less effective, at least when I saw him.