Perfect warm up for Finals day, imploding while chasing a modest total.against the dangerous attack of Tredwell and Stevens.

Hopefully having Bairstow and Miller back will make a difference.

WTF are the ECB on?

They won't decide until after the ODI on Friday whether Bresnan can play at T20 finals day on the Saturday. Absolute bat- lunacy.

Daft innit, undermining their own competition. But they're his primary employer and as leading carrier of drinks and blamehound for failings of others *cough* STUART BROAD *cough* they get to dictate terms.

Saffers won toss and are having a bowl first. No Dale Steyn. Broad dropped (hurrah!) for Woakes. Kieswetter continues in place of the grossly over-qualified Matt Prior. WHY???? Also, no Bairstow.

Lancs cruised (eventually) to securing a home semi final in the CB40 at Chelmsford last night. Lord's.

Rain? In Cardiff??

Why do we keep giving big games to Sophia Gardens?

Over qualified Matt Prior? He's played nearly 70 ODIs and only averages 20 odd. Can't really argue he's not had a chance.

As for Bresnan and Broad, Broad played well enough last summer and over the winter to be regarded as ahead of Bresnan in the pecking order. Though I think that could easily change if Finn establishes himself in the team, as Broad could be seen as just a slower version of Finn, while Bresnan offers something different.

He's in the form of his life and scoring bucketloads of runs in one-day cricket. He's also a far, far, far, far, far, far better keeper than Irongloves Kieswetter.
Now that England have removed themselves from the theory that the keeper has to open, Prior is the obvious man for the job.

You make a good point on Broad. I would have dropped Broad for the last couple of Tests in order to get Finn in. Broad looks down on pace and has stopped swinging it, but he's the golden child innit.



Start delayed again. The cricket gods seem to have determined that international cricket has no place in Wales and it's difficult to argue the point.

It's a bit like the RFL's expansion policy, ain't it?

I was thinking more like Essex CCCs current team !

Barnacle Bailey will be turning in his grave.....

Oh dear. They started, Morkel bowled a leg-side wide and they're back off again... England 1/0 off no deliveries.
Crowd not happy. Time for a good old-fashioned cricket riot.

Got back out. Five overs and three balls later, back off again - for good this time.

Does five and a half overs constitute enough for the ECB not to give a full refund?

Nope, despite their best efforts to get on and bowl the 10/20 overs required in a ridiculous situation where it was clear they'd never get a game in, they are quite rightly going to have to refund all money.

Got back from the rugby today to see Yorkshire in a hole only for Miller and Bres to get us into a winning position.

What followed was pretty impressive from Briggs and Wood. Rubbish sporting day

Miller was brilliant, again. Just couldn't give him enough support. Bugger it anyway, stupid competition.