These have been England's starts to test innings in 2015: 42/3 today 30/4 73/3 43/3 177/1 62/4 30/4 74/3 38/3 62/6 125/1 144/1 34/3 52/3 Other than the innings vs New Zealand and both innings in Grenada it's pretty rank stuff from the top order. Embarrassing actually. Perhaps more surprisingly during that period not lost a series (yet).

2 bloody awful shots.

Crolla will be gutted. To score Perez winning even though he had 2 points deducted was a very harsh decision on Crolla but sure there'll be a replay. Watched that David price fight other day. What a pudding. From what I've seen of him it's time to hang up his gloves before he comes to serious harm judging by the length he was out cold for. He's no chin and blatantly can't cut it in professional heavyweight.

I love bumbles impression of Bob Willis. http://youtu.be/zQXK1cP2ywI

I know your pain. I had a Hoover going full blast just at the last knockings I got short shrift when unplugged it. Really hope it's a nice day tomorrow and she's outside sunbathing then I'll get the strimmer out. Not that I'm petty and hold a grudge. Domestic bliss aside great win. I really didn't see us winning especially inside 4 days.

History would say so but they do have plenty of time and just the other day Pakistan chased down 380 vs Sri Lanka so I think the modern player has a mindset that nothing's impossible and in the way the 50 over game has moved on I suspect with time there'll be more and more big run chases. May still be enough probably will be but with a 350 ish lead with 5 wickets left it should have been more.

At 236/5 would have liked more than 289 all out. So 53 for last 5 wickets may end up costing us but 411 is still a decent lead.

That's just 3 home series in 6 years it's 5 in total 2009, 2010/11, 2013 and 2013/14 and 2015. Far too much. Problem is the ecb and Australian equivalent only see sell outs and $£$£

My concern is still can we get them out twice. In my opinion jimmy is the only decent bowler we have and the Aussies will just look to see him off then go to town on the rest. Broad not the man he was and even in his pomp he would do nothing for several innings then suddenly get 7 wickets. Stokes is meh. Ali is not a bowler. And wood is still very green and not exactly been inspired by him but not writing him off either. For years I've felt regardless of what anyone else in the team does unless jimmy performs in at least one innings we won't win.

I could never take any consolation from Yarkshite winning tonight. To me they are the cricket equivalent of Burnley. Without the all consuming visceral hatred of course. Just a mild disliking. In these very very lean years for rovers bouncing around the western terrace last month celebrating a lancs win was my best live sporting moment since venkys came into town like a bloody torbnado

We've dug a big hole for ourselves after those defeats last week but it tends to be the way we do it in t20. Start well, implode, rip up the plan, start again with an amended line up, recover and more often than not into the quarters. We're not a million miles away and as we've still got to play this seasons best teams worcs (1st), bham (2nd) twice, Leicestershire (3rd), yarkshire and notts it's in our own hands.

Big game tonight for lancs as far as domestic t20 goes . For all we have clawed our way into 4th if yarkshire/Northants/notts below win and Lancs lose could finish the day in 7th but if lancs win and Leicestershire lose could finish the day in 2nd. But as most teams have a game in hand on us it's a "must win". Fingers crossed mccullum doesn't get going and Faulkner puts another shift in.

I must admit my nimbyism would probably kick in if they ever did it near me. The old not in my yard mentality. It would be a hoot to see the reactions of the home county lot if it was being done there. A bit before my time but people use to campaign against castle cement existing, initially on emissions (which consistently passed whatever criteria they needed to) then on the basis it was an eyesore and property prices would go down. Ultimately it's an industrial plant providing a much-needed commercial product and still one which is a big employer in the town and house prices stayed very strong competitively to rest of East Lancs. I loved the irony that the main campaigner against castle cement and its emissions and health implications was apparently a 30 a day smoker.

Heard on the radio there's been anti fracking protests in Preston. So I was thinking where do actual local people sit on fracking in Lancashire? Much of a concern? Don't know much about it myself but seems to me as there's no industry as such or money coming into this area if it brings in investment and jobs then nothing there's not much else going on. If it was we were sat happily on diamond/gold mines and oil fields there'd be no need to bother fracking but where there's nothing surely beggars can't be choosers. From what I've gleaned from the news clips the companies seem to say after teething problems there's limited to no environmental impact whereas the protesters cracking on like it'll be Armageddon. It also seems swampy and his protesting mates aren't from the area and just tour up and down protesting. So either the protesters are right (not too sure about that) and it's a problem or they are just this generations Luddites and hippies with too much time on their hands who are likely to be protesting anything and everything from fracking, hs2, hs3, runways, etc.

4 lbs over!! That's unforgivable for a professional boxer. Super middleweight is about 168lbs so he's nearly gone into light heavyweight there. Although boxers seem to be making up their own weigh limits these days so god knows what max weight is.

So at the break we needed 284 from 50 overs at about 5.5 an over. Then as went out to bat we needed 192 off 26 so 7.5 an over. Duckworth Lewis strikes again. It may be the best system available but that seems a harsh chase. The implosion thereafter is all our own doing mind.

I think you're right. Id go with Deirdre over Ali for the ashes. Although few too many yarkshire contingent in for my liking!! My worry with the ashes is due to the lack of a real quality spinner whoever it is (and Deirdre is probably the best currently) I fear the Australians will target them in the way they did to ruin Simon Kerrigan. It's an issue long term though. Scott borthwick at Durham is always mentioned, Danny Briggs, Simon Kerrigan still about and surrey's zafar ansari are the principal ones I reckon. George dockerell at Somerset who plays for ireland in one-dayers. Stephen parry who seems to be above Kerrigan for Lancs still a good one-day bowler but overlooked by england since playing in windies a year or two ago. Slim pickins

Test cricket will always be the pinnacle and the one I want us to win most but in a context of football I view test=the league, 50 overs=fa cup and t20=league cup. Theses days on paper there's a very distinct pecking order of importance between the competitions but cricket as with football when we are playing they all seem equally important.

408-9 in 50 overs is most unlike England. Butlers last 200 runs have come from 101 balls

That was awesome. We had little to shout about in first 38 overs, particularly painful in the rowdy part of the western terrace but the last 2 overs were well worth waiting for. I felt butler owed us after a poor showing at t20 finals day and how he repaid us. Needed 32 off last 11 balls so even the most optimistic of us had given that up. Or as the bloke behind us put it "you lot need a 6 every other ball to win now. You've no @#/? chance. Yarkshire Yarkshire Yarkshire."

We're off to skeletors lair aka dirty Leeds to watch the mighty Lancashire take on Yarkshite in the t20 today. We always have a good crack at this "away day" although wins have been like rocking horse @#/?. A win today would be very sweet seen as though the savile lovers are currently under the impression that they are gods gift to cricket. Won't hold my breath though. Oh lanky lanky...

Disappointed to lose today but over 10 days of test cricket England were lucky to get a draw this series. I think had it gone 4 or 5 like the ashes England would have struggled. I've been very impressed by the way New Zealand play to say we were 199 away from them we still batted 40 more overs. In fact their 2 innings total of 804 came at basically 5 an over vs our standard 3 an over. They could well have set the blue print for how to play test cricket. Well how to play thrilling test cricket anyway hope we take note for the main ashes event....

That was pretty emphatic. Sure his talent will become clearer when he fights someone who can fight back. But credit where it's due for all Kevin Johnson is finished the likes of vitali klitschko didn't manage to knock him out. I'd like to see him fight price, chisora then fury clean up the domestic heavyweights and perhaps a fight with deontay wilder or wladimir if still about in a few years. I know it was only fraudly Harrison. But wilder looks a beast.

Just re read that didn't phrase it brilliantly. I meant keep it here in that when the Australians bring it back over with them it remains here. There's always one

Don't know a lot about him but his main experience/success seems to come in the form of t20/50 overs so could be a move from the ecb to improve that format. Just hope tests, which I will always view as more important, aren't affected. Will have to see how he gets on. Hope he keeps the urn here