jim mk2

Que? England won matches before McCullum turned up This is about a very questionable declaration, surrendering a strong position when Root and Robinson were going along very nicely and could have made the match safe by posting a very big score and scored some psychological points against the other lot As it stands it’s easy to see a scenario in which England can easily lose this match. Bazball is fine when it works but there’s a load of hype around it too and Stokes seems to have taken an unnecessary risk We had a long debate about it down our cricket club last night and the consensus was it was a daft decision

Playing out exactly as I thought - they'll make 450 or even 500 leaving us with a first innings deficit and fighting to save the game.

It's a gamble - it might pay off, but equally it might not. The thing is, at 393-8 you've a chance to take the score beyond 450 and more or less make the game safe. As it stands, the other lot will feel they can now get 100 or more runs ahead and put England under considerable pressure. To me, it was a reckless and unnecessary decision. But we'll see. If England win the match it will be vindicated.

Is anyone actually watching this? Why?

England declare at 393-8. Extraordinary because that's a 450-550 pitch This is not Test cricket as we know it Jim Root in supreme form. You can bet at least 2 of the other lot will get similar scores

It was poor. Losing 3 wickets in the first session was poor. This is a 400 plus pitch

Crawley useless last ball before lunch

Bairstow is best when he's attacking and batting at No 7 means if England are struggling he may have to shepherd the tail to a decent score , which is not his natural game. No 7 is too low for him. Bringing back Ali is unlikely to work. His bowling average is Ashes matches is poor and his batting is very hot and cold. The lack of decent English spinners is worrying Whatever the line-up England are more than likely to be 50-3, because they usually are, and it's also more than likely England will lose the first Test, because they are often poor starters in Ashes series. It's important we beat this lot - there's nothing better in cricket. Nothing.

Gordon McQueen - another one lost early to dementia https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63664992 Top player in his day. Saw him play for the great Leeds team and for ManU in the 1979 Cup final v Arsenal

Championship clubs “living beyond their means” according to a Deloitte’s report. The average wage / revenue of clubs is 108 per cent, having risen for 5 years in a row, with most clubs increasing loans in an “unsustainable manner” as they gamble on promotion to the riches if the Premier League

They didn’t want Colin’s back to basics football style either The same sort who were also happy to see Sam sacked. They never learn

He thinks EPL is acceptable too. Low standards.

As above, I couldn't really care less about English clubs doing well in Europe any more. The 1980s/90s days of supporting Forest, Villa and Liverpool in the European Cup with teams composed of a mix of British players, and British managers, with whom you could identify. have long gone. I didn't watch the Manchester City - Inter Milan game and showed only a passing interest when it was on the 10pm news, something that would have been unthinkable in the past

Some great goals and memories Poignant was David Thompson with a rare header. Saw him outside Ewood shortly after he'd had to finish because of a knee injury He looked absolutely distraught. Very good player

And go back to its true and best form, the European Cup, knockout football home and away from the first round

Pro footballers run on average 7 - 10 miles during a game. Pre-season training is very hard and intense and involves a lot of distance running to get the miles in the players legs to see them through the long, nine-month season. Most amateur players would collapse in a heap after the first day. Once the games start and the players begin playing often 2 games a week the hard stuff eases down and much of their' time is spent ticking over from a fitness point of view, concentrating on match fitness and resting and recuperating from games. Even so, if the squad isn't playing well or had a few bad results, managers often send players out to do the distance stuff again. All sports require different types of fitness and participants train accordingly but to dismiss football as "not physically demanding" is plain wrong.

Dack's body shape is not that of "natural athlete" and he's the sort of lad who needs to work hard at his fitness and playing regularly to be at his best but coming back from two ACLs would be hard for any player. If you're saying he didn't work hard to get back on the pitch after 2 career-threatening injuries you're clearly wrong As far the rest of the post there's so much wrong it's difficult to know where to start. The bits in bold are nonsense.

This is most diaappointing Mike. We were reliably informed by the experts that Bologna are deffo playing at Ewood as part of a pre-season tour.

Good shout. Usually worth the admission money alone - a wonderful player in his pomp. But apparently he didn't like Rovers fans so, fuck him eh?

"Where did it all go wrong, George"? asked the hotel porter on delivering champagne to George Best's room and finding him with Miss World on a bed covered with his casino winnings

And the stones fall far and wide

And some fell on stony ground.....

Deffo another cockup by Rovers. They could have arranged a nice little preseason trip for fans to enjoy in lovely Bologna but instead we’re off to the delights of Barnsley. This lot can’t get anything right can they? Deffo

Leach now ruled out of Ashes series with back injury. Anderson and Robinson have injury issues Stokes obviously unlikely to bowl because of a knee problem Archer ruled out for the summer (again) And then there's the walking wicket (against decent bowlers) of Zack Crawley Typical

Looks like we're lucky to have Mr Waggott running our illustrious football club. Rovers fans are so ungrateful