Third Test England v South Africa, The Oval, July 27-31

[essbee1]

Come on lads. This is boring - either declare or throw the bat.

 

[dazzer6666]

The few extra runs up until tea may prove vital but hopefully not. Perhaps time to throw the bat and see what happens.

Let Bairstow get his 50 or lose his wicket before declaring a few minutes wont make a great difference.

Wouldn't make any difference as they would take tea anyway. Think we'll declare at the break.

 

[BensGrandad]

Wouldn't make any difference as they would take tea anyway. Think we'll declare at the break.

That seems the right time to declare

 

[dazzer6666]

Tea is at 4 now ?

 

[essbee1]

5 to 4.

 

[jakarta]

This is bloody silly although it will help Bairstow's career stats I suppose.

England now going at 8 an over RR.

Great comment on the BBC Website: Perhaps Joe Root has forgotten he is captain and is waiting for Alastair Cook to declare?

EDIT: and finally with just the 491 lead Joe gambles his captaincy with a risky declaration...

 

[Billy the Fish]

Everyone is making too much out of the declaration, putting them in 5 overs before tea isn't going to make a great deal of difference.

Maybe they go in a wicket down, maybe they go in 10-0 but with 4 sessions left in the game there's plenty of time to take 10 wickets. Sometimes I think the Sky commentators work each other up too much about declaring early.

 

[Titanic]

England 313-8 declared (79.5 overs), and tea is being taken.

The 'target' is 492 with 139 overs remaining in 4 sessions.

All four results are possible.

 

[Titanic]

Elgar dropped on 9 by Jennings at 3rd... not a difficult chance as Jimmy gets it to move across Elgar and takes a thickish edge... Jennings going to his left with two hands spills it.

21-0

 

[Titanic]

Kuhn is a goner... off stump flattened by Stuart Broad.

21-1 (5.2 overs)

 

[BensGrandad]

Hopefully 3 or 4 wickets this evening.

 

[Titanic]

TRJ strikes... it's the dangerous and dogged Amla

47-2 (15.5 overs)

Trying to leave it... clips the toe end and it is a smart low down catch at 2nd slip by Joe Root

BIG wicket!

 

[BensGrandad]

Good wicket to get

 

[Titanic]

de Kock is in and under some pressure to perform!

 

[ManOfSussex]

I wonder if Tobias Skelton Roland-Jones might just jolly well get a ten-for. Well done that man!

 

[Titanic]

Stokes whips de Kock out!!

Castled him, splattering the off stump with a pacy yorker!

52-3

 

[Titanic]

No shot offered by the skipper FduP... and it raps him on the pad... he's given

Review... but looked dead to me.

 

[BensGrandad]

Only 3 more established batsmen to go.

 

[Titanic]

3 wickets in 8 balls... Amla, de Kock and du Plessis gone, that is huge!

Stokes on a hat-trick...

52-4

 

[ManOfSussex]

We're flipping murdering them and they know it.