[Cricket] The Ashes - England v Australia - 4th Test, Old Trafford, July 19-23, 2023

[Scappa]

Pitch inspection at 11:00 if no further rain

 

[A1X]

Follow the radars, not the forecasts

Weather Radar - Live UK Rainfall Radar | Netweather

Live weather radar for the UK including weather type to track whether rain, sleet or snow is falling. Updated every 5 minutes.

www.netweather.tv

 

[The Mole]

Weather not good at the moment- the kind of Manchester mizzle that never looks like shifting.

 

[pasty]

Pitch inspection at 11:00 if no further rain

So frustrating. In normal circumstances play would start at 11, so have the teams ready, as they would be normally, and if the pitch is ok at 11, then start.

 

[Luke93]

So frustrating. In normal circumstances play would start at 11, so have the teams ready, as they would be normally, and if the pitch is ok at 11, then start.

Pitch won’t be okay at 11. That’s the point of the inspection. Heavy rain over night prevented play starting on time (sodden outfield).

 

[BN41Albion]

So frustrating. In normal circumstances play would start at 11, so have the teams ready, as they would be normally, and if the pitch is ok at 11, then start.

I love cricket, but christ its a frustrating sport sometimes. Its laughable that a series can be played over so many days, so much time and effort, and ultimately can be won/lost because of the weather. When there's a wash out why oh why can't a day be added on? I always defend cricket but totally understand why some folk just find it a ridiculous sport

 

[Bozza]

The betting market prices it up as:

Draw - 78%
England - 22%

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Wind is a solid west to east one, so unless it pivots suddenly to go north to south then none of that mess over the Lake District enters the picture, risk is more showery IMHO.

Great. We are directly west of OT and this morning is bright, warmish and dry. Just some grey skies. Perfect conditions in which to get 5 quick wickets in fact.

 

[DJ NOBO]

So frustrating. In normal circumstances play would start at 11, so have the teams ready, as they would be normally, and if the pitch is ok at 11, then start.

So many examples of this kind of nonsense.
File alongside start earlier sometimes , finish later, penalise slow over rate , penalise batting side wasting time

 

[BN41Albion]

So many examples of this kind of nonsense.
File alongside start earlier sometimes , finish later, penalise slow over rate , penalise batting side wasting time

See also being forced to bowl spin because of light - amazing stroke of luck for the aussies and so unfair on England

 

[tigertim68]

So many examples of this kind of nonsense.
File alongside start earlier sometimes , finish later, penalise slow over rate , penalise batting side wasting time

They should stay on the pitch until the appropriate amount of overs have been bowled
especially over here whe it does not get dark until 10 00 pm

 

[banjo]

Why couldn’t this have started an hour earlier? Genuine question, as so much time lost so far.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Pitch won’t be okay at 11. That’s the point of the inspection. Heavy rain over night prevented play starting on time (sodden outfield).

Maybe there’s mitigation in this case but usually there is too much time between the pitch being inspected and play restarting . Sometimes enough time for it to start raining again.

Test Cricket is stuck in its ways , clinging to its unefficient processes

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

The weather and pitch conditions play a part in every game of cricket. Just sometimes you don’t notice. Two days ago the ball was occasionally keeping low. Yesterday nothing. Perfect swing bowling conditions come and go in a session. Anyone who has ever played in Brighton will know the impact of a sea mist drifting in. It sometimes made me unplayable and I was actually shit ! One of the joys of cricket is players battling against the conditions and occasionally those conditions will be too much. I know in football there is this obsession with getting the ‘right’ result with the most ‘deserving’ team winning . Doesn’t work that way in cricket and never has. If the weather costs us the game then so be it. We move on to the next game. The result isn’t everything.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Why couldn’t this have started an hour earlier? Genuine question, as so much time lost so far.

Because fans weren’t scheduled to get in the ground an hour earlier. And in this case because it’s been raining all night.

 

[Triggaaar]

Why couldn’t this have started an hour earlier? Genuine question, as so much time lost so far.

Because it's cricket

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

So many examples of this kind of nonsense.
File alongside start earlier sometimes , finish later, penalise slow over rate , penalise batting side wasting time

Going have to explain to me as I don’t understand why finishing later would be an issue. (Genuine question).

Seems a partial solution to me.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Going have to explain to me as I don’t understand why finishing later would be an issue. (Genuine question).

Seems a partial solution to me.

Travel arrangements for fans getting home is one issue . Not saying it’s a good enough reason to spoil a whole ashes series

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Travel arrangements for fans getting home is one issue . Not saying it’s a good enough reason to spoil a whole ashes series

But if you advertise in advance (for all test matches), that close of play could be extended to cover lost play…… curfew at say 10pm, fans would have the chance to make contingency arrangements.

I know in cricketing terms any change to tradition is radical, but perhaps that’s what is required.

 

[CHAPPERS]

They really need to crack down on slow over rates, both sides have been guilty. We may not be discussing the weather at all if the overs had actually been bowled. If not start all tests at 10am and let them get through the overs as slowly as they want until they have been bowled.