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NO football this weekend, none that matters anyway...

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[quote user="crabbycanary"]They both get a win though Chops? Happy days[/quote]Yes, absolutely. A 2-0 win, and a well deserved one as we''ve been far the better team in the two matches.  I''m not sure NZ won more than 2 sessions in the series.My point was, Cook didn''t enforce the follow-on, let England bat on to set a ridiculously high total, and was lucky to sneak the win today given the forecast (at least on the BBC site) was for persistent rain throughout the day.  Even when bowling to numbers 8, 9, 10 he kept men on the boundary.You can win games defensively, of course, but this prudent/ultra-pragmatic approach will get a much stiffer test in the Ashes, and while I''m not sure our batting line-up will get more scrutiny from the Aussie attack (NZ have some fine bowlers), an Ashes series is an intense mental test that Compton and Bairstow (for two) may not be up for.

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I was with your point of view but as someone at work pointed out, Cook wanted as much batting practice as possible, and as the series was already won, this was why he chose these tactics.

It sounded plausible to me anyway.

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I don''t buy that reason at all.   Who did he want batting practice for?  Himself? - doesn''t need it.  Compton? - does need it and failed.  Trott? - dug in like Boycott''s more defensive alter-ego and then went for it a bit more yesterday.  Root and Bairstow were left needing to score quick runs, which wasn''t "batting practice" - and there are many county games between now & the Ashes for batting practice.  No, I think he was securing the series first and trying to win the test second.  And he managed it, which is great.Perhaps the problem is professional sportsmen understand they are judged on results, but sad old romantics like me judge on the manner of the victory and not what the scorebook says.  And - never let anyone tell you I''m not self-aware - nobody gives a toss what I think about anything, ever.

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Can''t disagree Chops.

I would imagine a top performing Australian side would not have declared 50 runs beyond the highest 4th innings chase, especially against a team like NZ. Compton is struggling, so who would take his place, if anybody, Pietersen ? Needs practice, but as it is against the Aussies ......

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Once they had accumulated a lead of 300 I wanted them to play 20-20.

 

What do I know? I suppose they did in the end. 

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Fair points Chops. Even though i enjoy it, what I know about cricket can be written on a postage stamp. (One of those larger Christmas ones). So for my education it''s good to hear differing viewpoints.

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Well, we''re coming at it from different backgrounds.  I''ve loved Cricket since I was about 4 and am a "late arriver" to football, as up until I was about 18 I only saw it as a route into social conversation and so thought I should know a bit about what I was talking about.  Perhaps that''s why I think Chris Brown was under-rated.

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Well as a pre-warning I may be picking your brains, asking silly questions or coming up with stupid-arsed comments during the Ashes!

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