Organised Sunbathing aka Cricket

[SCG]

On the home front - a great win for Ireland over Bangladesh today!

[West Brit]

Very impressive win for Ireland. Stirling is really someone to watch out for - unfortunately the word on the street is that England selectors are already watching him keenly.

After this comprehensive win and the struggle that Australia had I bet other lower ranked countries like New Zealand and West Indies won't be keen on touring here.

[Sea_point]

Very impressive win for Ireland. Stirling is really someone to watch out for - unfortunately the word on the street is that England selectors are already watching him keenly.

After this comprehensive win and the struggle that Australia had I bet other lower ranked countries like New Zealand and West Indies won't be keen on touring here.

Well until we're playing Test Cricket (and that will probably never now happen with the advent of 20/20] we're always going to lose our better players to the England setup especially as the likes of Porterfield, Rankin, Morgan, Stirling get recruited as young lads into the English county setup and so they are prime for being tapped up by the ECB.

Interstingly Stilings profile on Cricinfo says

Stirling was part of Ireland's team that performed well at the World Twenty20 in England in 2009 and signed three-year deal with Middlesex in December 2009, where he'll join fellow Irish-born batsman Eoin Morgan. Unlike Morgan, Stirling is firmly committed to playing for Ireland

We should really try to have two representative sides particpating in the County Championship/ One day & 20/20 tournaments, one based in Ulster (based at Stormont) & the other in Leinster (based at Castle Avenue) with somegames being played at the biger clubs around the country. Probably wouldn't fly with the ECB & County sides but if as a country we are to keep progressing then the quality of the cricket available to our top 30-40 players needs to be higher. We have to beat test sides fairly regulalry if we are to move on from associate/one day status....

[West Brit]

I agree - the next step for Ireland has to be playing county cricket but they'll need a lot of help from the ICC to pay for players.

Down the line the best chance Ireland has of becoming a Test nation is if Afghanistan is ready to take a step up as well. With the politics at the ICC the way it is (two very split voting blocs), there is no way that India is going to allow another non-Asian country a vote without a corresponding Asian vote coming on board for them.

[Sea_point]

Check out the respective caps of the two one day squads, four Bangledeshi's with twice or more the number of caps of our highest capped players.

http://www.cricinfo.com/england-v-bangl ... 50107.html

Ireland really have no right to win either of the one dayers....

We need to squeeze out another 60 runs really today, to give our bowlers something to defend. About 190-200 should be enough. With the moisture in the air Boyd & Trent should be able to get some reverse swing going...

[West Brit]

Check out the respective caps of the two one day squads, four Bangledeshi's with twice or more the number of caps of our highest capped players.

http://www.cricinfo.com/england-v-bangl ... 50107.html

Ireland really have no right to win either of the one dayers....

We need to squeeze out another 60 runs really today, to give our bowlers something to defend. About 190-200 should be enough. With the moisture in the air Boyd & Trent should be able to get some reverse swing going...

That'd be normal swing actually. I've never seen reverse swing yet in Ireland - our outfields are far too green and lush!

[Sea_point]

Good 60 by Wilson, reall got our innings out of a hole. We still need to get another twenty out of the last two overs. Trent was either going to bang out a handful of sixes or go out for a duck..

[Sea_point]

Bugger Mooney out two balls later....

Only Dockrell and Rankin left in (Gulp), slog boys, SLOG......

[West Brit]

You just about got your request of 190-200. I think it's a few runs short myself but at least it gives the bowlers something to bowl at.

[Sea_point]

You just about got your request of 190-200. I think it's a few runs short myself but at least it gives the bowlers something to bowl at.

46 Overs, so it's there or thereabouts. Pyshologically 200 would have been better....

[Darce]

We needed 200 really to be comfortable, TBH. A par score would be 220ish, take away 4 overs thats about 22-28 runs.

We need a big day in the field

[Darce]

KJ O'Brien to Junaid Siddique, OUT, the change works... Big hook attempted but it can't clear Johnston who calmly takes it at the deep midwicket boundary.

Junaid Siddique c Johnston b KJ O'Brien 13 (16b 2x4 0x6) SR: 81.25

[Darce]

So thats Kayes and Siddique out now. If they remove Iqbal, Bangers are in trouble

[Sea_point]

So thats Kayes and Siddique out now. If they remove Iqbal, Bangers are in trouble

Losing their big three, with one game behind would put a lot of pressure on their middle-lower order...(hopefully.. )

[Mauler]

Meteorite hits fan at cricket match
(Proof that something interesting can actually happen at a Country Cricket match)

Two cricket fans' enjoyment of a county cricket match was interrupted when a meteorite sailed towards the boundary ropes, hitting one man in the chest.

More StoriesBosses back Morgan for first Test
Jan Marszel, 51, and Richard Haynes, 52, were watching Sussex players Luke Wright and Monty Panesar bat when a black object soared towards them.

The rock, five inches in length and thought to be up to 4.5 billion years old, crashed into the ground and broke in two just in front of their seats square of the wicket.

Mr Marszel, an IT consultant, told the Daily Telegraph: “We were sitting at the boundary edge when all of a sudden, out of a blue sky, we saw this small dark object hurtling towards us.

“It landed five yards inside the boundary and split into two pieces.

“One piece bounced up and hit me in the chest and the other ended up against the boundary board.

“It came across at quite a speed - if it had hit me full on it could have been very interesting."

Meteorite strikes are extremely rare, but Mr Haynes remains convinced the object that is now back at his home is indeed a lump of rock from outer space.

Mr Haynes, said: “We were quietly supping our pints, both looked up at the same time and saw a black object coming towards us - we didn’t know what it was.

“If it had come from the other direction we might have suspected someone had thrown it, but we saw it come in straight over the ground from quite a way out - it was definitely a meteorite.”

Dr Matthew Genge, a meteorite expert at Imperial College, London, said: “If this turns out to be a meteorite it’s very exciting and would be the first fall in the UK since 1992.

"Potentially it contains secrets as to the formation of our solar system."

[Mackman15]

Meteorite hits fan at cricket match
(Proof that something interesting can actually happen at a Country Cricket match)

Two cricket fans' enjoyment of a county cricket match was interrupted when a meteorite sailed towards the boundary ropes, hitting one man in the chest.

More StoriesBosses back Morgan for first Test
Jan Marszel, 51, and Richard Haynes, 52, were watching Sussex players Luke Wright and Monty Panesar bat when a black object soared towards them.

The rock, five inches in length and thought to be up to 4.5 billion years old, crashed into the ground and broke in two just in front of their seats square of the wicket.

Mr Marszel, an IT consultant, told the Daily Telegraph: “We were sitting at the boundary edge when all of a sudden, out of a blue sky, we saw this small dark object hurtling towards us.

“It landed five yards inside the boundary and split into two pieces.

“One piece bounced up and hit me in the chest and the other ended up against the boundary board.

“It came across at quite a speed - if it had hit me full on it could have been very interesting."

Meteorite strikes are extremely rare, but Mr Haynes remains convinced the object that is now back at his home is indeed a lump of rock from outer space.

Mr Haynes, said: “We were quietly supping our pints, both looked up at the same time and saw a black object coming towards us - we didn’t know what it was.

“If it had come from the other direction we might have suspected someone had thrown it, but we saw it come in straight over the ground from quite a way out - it was definitely a meteorite.”

Dr Matthew Genge, a meteorite expert at Imperial College, London, said: “If this turns out to be a meteorite it’s very exciting and would be the first fall in the UK since 1992.

"Potentially it contains secrets as to the formation of our solar system."

Seeing Monty Panesar in action at the crease would have been enough for me but this just brings it into a new stratosphere, literally.

[West Brit]

Good century by Eoin Morgan in very tough conditions. I certainly didn't think he had the temperement for Test cricket but he's proven me wrong today. I hope he can keep it up and he'll have a decent Test career.

[combatlogo]

Good century by Eoin Morgan in very tough conditions. I certainly didn't think he had the temperement for Test cricket but he's proven me wrong today. I hope he can keep it up and he'll have a decent Test career.

He's a CUS boy, of course he has "the temperement (sic) for Test cricket!"

[wombatloko]

Good century by Eoin Morgan in very tough conditions. I certainly didn't think he had the temperement for Test cricket but he's proven me wrong today. I hope he can keep it up and he'll have a decent Test career.

He's a CUS boy, of course he has "the temperement (sic) for Test cricket!"

Who would doubt it comrade?

[West Brit]

Would anybody object if we just banned Pakistan from cricket as a whole for a few years? This whole spot-fixing debacle is just thoroughly depressing. Why is it always Pakistan being the dodgy ones? Are they actively trying to destroy the game or something?