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With their feisty batting in the morning and a pair of wickets each, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad truly delivered non-captains’ performances.
This is what good team members do. They set an example for the captain to follow. It’s like they always say: he who leads the leader slightly reduces the duration of the group’s journey by arriving early.
Yes, they do always say that.
Broad’s batting is now a perfect combination of timing and terror, with exquisite back foot drives bubbling atop a constant undercurrent of jeopardy. His innings are so much more enjoyable for being so fragile.
Moeen Ali’s batting is not dissimilar, although the general experience is dreamier and the end more sudden. Where Broad is keen that you never forget his dismissal is an everpresent danger, Moeen only intermittently reminds you that his is a possibility.
Other events of the day were South Africa going after Liam Dawson a bit (because why wouldn’t you?) and an ICC announcement that Kagiso Rabada would serve a one-match suspension after becoming the first person in the history of the world to instruct Ben Stokes to fuck off.
According to Cricinfo, the Rabada expletive statement was “f**k ***”.
I’m not sure what the dreadful word “***” might be, but it must be far more ghastly than fuck, which for decency s sake only requires two asterisks and two regular letters.
Magnificent. Can only presume that’s willful. Asterisk policy is always intriguing.
Obviously Rabada was concerned about someone so ginger spending any longer in the sun than he absolutely had to. He should be applauded for his concern rather than suspended.
Fork Ben?
In other, non-cricket news; Andy Murray won a tennis match and was so angered by the whole process I thought he was about to demand satisfaction from match officials, the crowd, Fognini and maybe even close blood relatives.
Should someone ever put him on a television with Virat Kohli there’s a good chance the whole studio could be destroyed the first time one of them chooses to compliment the achievements of the other
Is there any chance that Broad will ever become less of a dick? I prefer it when the public personae of brilliant sportsmen are likeable.
Fortunately that’s where Moe comes in.
Stuart Broad’s name contains all the requisite letters for ‘bastard’ if that backs up your pithy character assassination, Aditya.
A bastard he may be but he’s (T)OUR BASTARD
Sad Bra Tutor
In honour of Kagiso’s favourite word and Daisy’s favourite Spanish dish (Asturian dish to be precise), Daisy is now constantly referring to that pushy/lippy player as “Fabada”.
https://g.co/kgs/6f8zWt
Bowling, Ali.
Jurie: “I don’t want to go all sour grapes, but there’s a lot of praise for a guy who has only got his bowling average under 40 in this innings”
The sour grapes thing.
But as A P Webster said, bowling, Ali.
Apparently, Moeen is the first Englishman to get ten wickets and a fifty score in a match since Ian Botham did it in 1836. Or thereabouts. This makes him literally The New Botham, and it is crucial that we refer to him thusly until the inevitable weight of comparison crushes his spirit and destroys his soul.
Also, Morne Morkel has joined Mitchell Johnson on the list of bowlers who have dismissed Alastair Cook more than eight times, both having dismissed him nine times. Compared to the Moeen stat, this is harder to draw any firm conclusions from. The initial M is clearly significant, and is probably what kept Ryan Harris stuck on eight. If this analysis is correct, in the upcoming Ashes it does leave Cook vulnerable to Mitchell Starc, Moeen Ali and My Mum, all of whom seem to be as likely to play for Australia as each other.